Chapter 73: Apparently I’m “Scary”… According to a Snake Hatchling
Chapter 73: Apparently I’m "Scary"... According to a Snake Hatchling
Elyn’s POV
For a moment, the only sound in the room was the faint twinkle of crumbs falling off half-eaten pastries.
And when I mean half-eaten, I don’t mean by me or Rin and Vaelory or even Seraphielle, I mean half-eaten by the snake that now looked nothing like a... no, sorry. Those eyes will forever remind me that he’s a snake even if he looks cute.
Seraphielle slowly straightened and swept her gaze across the bedroom, her wings shifting behind her as she did so. And to her credit—annoying, seductive, too-confident credit—she assessed the room like a hawk, or maybe I should say like the succubus she was.
Everything was intact. The only evidence of chaos was the trail of snack trays, half-consumed sweets, and one suspiciously licked frosting smear on the desk. The room was exactly the same way we had left it.
Seraphielle frowned, eyes narrowing. "That is... odd."
"Exactly," Rin told her.
Seraphielle pointed a finger at the tiny boy, studying him like he was a grenade disguised as a toddler.
"He is still a Syrenthis. And even a hatchling at that," she said firmly. "A Syrenthis is extremely dangerous, but more than that, a hatchling like that boy is very volatile. They can destroy mountains alone. They are very dangerous. They do not answer to anyone too except the king, which is why they all pledge allegiance to him when they hatch."
Rin let out a short, very inelegant snort and said under her breath, "The King answers to the Queen."
Seraphielle turned sharply. "What did you say?"
"Nothing," Rin replied instantly, posture stiff, expression innocent in the same way cats pretending they didn’t knock things off the shelf are innocent.
Rin thought she was discreet, but I heard what she said.
I decided to ignore both her and Seraphielle and just concentrate on the boy instead. Also, Rin was wrong. Zorathys didn’t answer to anyone.
The boy was staring at me curiously. He didn’t even look interested in what the other two were arguing about.
No.
He was just focused on me.
I inhaled deeply and knelt in front of him.
Rin and Seraphielle kept arguing behind me like background noise.
"He might be harmless now—"
"He’s a danger at this age—"
"He didn’t even destroy the furniture—"
And I ignored all of it.
Instead, I looked at the tiny creature that had once been a massive serpent.
"Hello," I said softly.
He blinked up at me. First one eye. Then the other. The movement was slow and oddly synchronized, like a confused lizard trying to remember how blinking worked.
"What’s your name?" I asked him softly.
"My... name..." He paused, searching for the next word like someone rummaging through a dictionary they couldn’t read yet. "A... Azzzee... rion."
"Azerion?" I repeated.
He nodded, pleased with himself. "Yes, Azzeerion."
"Azerion," I said again. "Are you the one who stole my snacks?"
He lowered his head, long strands of blue-black hair sliding forward like silk.
And then... he nodded.
Very slowly.
Very guiltily and very cutely.
I swear, the cuteness was a physical attack.
"Why did you take them?" I asked gently.
His lips moved, trying to form words. When he spoke, the syllables came out soft, squishy, and mismatched.
"’Cause... ish... shweee."
I blinked. "What?"
He tried again, pointing at the snacks. "’Shweeeet. Swee’... shwee... sweet."
Sweet.
He meant sweet.
Oh no.
Oh no, he was cute.
He was terrifying-snake-will-eat-you-whole dangerous... but cute.
I closed my eyes briefly and inhaled. "Okay. But you do know taking something that doesn’t belong to you is stealing, right?"
Azerion frowned.
Then shook his head with such conviction that the hair swooped dramatically like it had its own choreography.
"No... steal," he insisted. "You... put... dere." He pointed at the table. "I... take."
"That," I said, pinching the bridge of my nose, "is the definition of stealing."
He shook his head harder, hair flapping like he was trying to take flight.
"No," he insisted. "Not steal. Ish jus’ dere. I see. I take. Ish shweeet."
Behind me, Rin whispered, "My lady, I believe he’s trying to say he simply took what was available."
"Yes, Rin, I figured," I whispered back.
Seraphielle scoffed loudly. "This is how they lure you. They’ll appear innocent and—"
"Shhhh." I waved her off. "Let me handle this."
Rin smirked at Seraphielle like she’d just been defeated in a silent debate.
But I focused on Azerion again.
I sighed. "Okay. Then tell me something." I paused. "Why were you taking my snacks? And from what I heard, your kind wreaks havoc anytime they take snacks, but you didn’t do that."
He blinked up at me, eyes wide, jewel glowing faintly.
"Well that becaush I... like you."
I swallowed.
Rin and Seraphielle froze mid-argument.
"...What?" I whispered.
"I... like... you," he repeated in that baby voice, soft and halting. "I like... sweet. I like... you. So... I take shweeet... from you."
The math was so absurd and simple that I had to admit that it made perfect sense. And I also noticed how he insisted he took and didn’t steal from me.
Rin slowly turned toward him, her expression somewhere between startled and impressed.
"You like my lady?" she asked him.
Azerion gave a small but shy smile. His shoulder slipped slightly where the oversized white cloth fell, but he didn’t seem to notice.
He looked... heartbreakingly cute.
Cute enough to make me forget he had been a massive serpent five minutes ago.
Cute enough to make me reconsider my stance on snakes.
And I was about to smile back—
When he nodded, answering Rin’s question, and then spoke up again.
"She... shcary."
I froze.
My smile died a violent and immediate death.
"...Excuse me? Did you just say I’m scary?" I asked him.
The boy nodded very seriously. As if this was an established fact recognized across the demon realm.
"You... shcary," he repeated with absolute conviction. "More shcary than the king."