We were a small kingdom, hated and hunted by others in the realm. When I was younger, I couldn't believe that we were monstrous enough for other monsters to hunt. I hated the Orcs, Ogres, and Fae. While the Fae never engaged in combat with us, they provided magic and knowledge to help the other beasts. They all thought they knew us, but they knew nothing. The Nagas they hunted and killed were our exiles and stripped of all their magic. From the other monster's brief encounters, our kind looked like crazed, slithering killers. That is what we wanted them all to believe.
Exiled meant you'd angered the king so much that he used the only magical object we possessed, the Serpent's Staff, to strip you of your legs, voice, and mind. The Staff was passed down from one king to the next. I had a feeling my brother, Ganna, would be the next recipient. The thought angered me, but I pushed it down as I made my way to the grand cavern, per my father's summons.
My thoughts continued to wander to the world outside of my own. The Fae believed they and the elves were the only magic-wielding creatures, but they weren't the only ones who possessed it. We didn't have a noble existence like the Fae, who supposedly coaxed nature's new seasons and protected thehumans. Instead, we were told our purpose was to appease the mountain god and goddess, to keep our territory safe from the rest of the realm. Our mountain gods were the eldest creators. When they roamed the realm, they guarded the mountains and held court deep within. During those early times, nymphs and Fae ran free and mated with the goddesses' children, giving us our magic and appearance. Our ability to shift was a secret no one outside of the mountain knew.
I was in a genuinely foul mood, thinking about my father and what was to come of his legacy and our kingdom. Perhaps he wanted to remind me of the ball in a few days and how it was my duty to bring future generations into being. I hated the idea of cold, faceless fucking. The invited males filled every female Naga in the Mating Ball with cum to breed. Only the most beautiful or highest-ranked females entered the dark, slippery pit. The females could only detect the male's body heat before the fucking began. This disgusting orgy was made to ensure our population's best bloodlines survived and thrived. However, fewer and fewer younglings were born. I was the only birth from that year's ball. To keep courtiers happy, they were invited to the ball, though it didn't prevent anyone from knowing which youngling belonged to anyone except the royal bloodline. Only those of royal blood have a rattle tail. The Ball occurred in the darkest, coldest den in the inner cave. Oils were thrown on the ground to add slickness and entice arousal since none taking part were fated mates.
Those who were truly goddess-blessed and mated, of which there were currently none, nor the lower class, were involved in The Ball. Commoners who were not invited could live their lives as they saw fit. I longed to be unimportant. I had just reached maturity. My second cock showed. It became strong and full of seed, and therefore I was ready to have younglings. My first ball was days away, and I dreaded it. Like any other creature in ourrealm, I wanted a mate. I didn't want to fuck strangers coldly in the dark; I wanted the warm sun to shine as I made love with my one true mate in the forest, or on a secluded shore of our beach. One day, I would pleasure her until she begged me to breed. As hard as I tried, I wasn't pure. I couldn't hide my darkest desires. Along with pleasure, I wanted to deliver a bite of pain to my mate. I've learned happiness is magnified after hardship. I believe pleasure would be heightened with a little pain. But that would be between us, in the dark, and only if she desired it after our sexual needs were sated during the mating frenzy. I wanted to build a cottage and a family. Not reside in the bitter cold of the caves.But I also wanted to live, so I didn't tell a Naga soul about my dreams.
I was already a disappointment to my father, finding his hunting parties senseless. Why go down into the Fae, Orc, or Ogre territories to terrorize their young? We had plenty to hunt and eat like the beastly grozhis that lived in herds, or flying fowl, and fish from the sea. But he enjoyed going to the realm's borders in hopes of catching a human to feast upon, or a lost youngling. Last time they went after an Orc youngling, it ended in a massacre. The Orcs' fury led them out of their southern territory, marching up into our mountains with the aid and blessing of the Fae.
My father used this as an opportunity to rid himself of enemies. He sent the oldest of our kind and those with females he wanted to fuck out to greet the Orcs. After they'd killed my father's enemies, the Orcs were satisfied, not knowing that most of us were still hidden, watching behind the stones. Father threw a grand party that evening and celebrated with another mating ritual. It was his excuse to fuck the recently widowed. He was despicable.
His rule and the behavior of my kind disgusted me. I hated what my kind did, and I didn't want to imagine what I'd becomewithout my thoughts or moral code. Because banishment by his Serpent Staff meant death, I stayed. Not because I wouldn't be able to survive on my own, but because it meant insanity. Becoming a crazed killer was the last thing I wanted, so I went along as much as I could with what my family and king asked of me.
I arrived at the king's den to be greeted by my brother's hissing tongue. It surprised me that there weren't any guards or soldiers waiting. Father's den was completely empty except for the two of us.
"You dumb fuck, you're late. The king hassss been sssspitting venom, waiting. Not that I care, but watch your back sssso he doesssn't ssstrike you down once he sssees you." Ganna laughed with a sinister undertone. He was a brute who relished pain. While we all had forked tongues, he split his deeper to ensure eachSwould draw out when he spoke—dramatic asssshole. The females enjoyed it. This giant red hooded Naga bragged about mating with two females at a time in his chambers. Two rode his cocks, and then he would use his tail to choke the one who displeased him. Their cunts fully gripped him, but he didn't bother to engage with theirhedyos, the second opening that ensured a female's pleasure. Once he tired of her gasps, he would send his rattling tail deep inside her throat like a third cock. Having his tail sucked brought greater heights to his orgasm, he said. And he knew better than to make any of their bellies grow with his young since they were lower class. He continuously scented them and tasted their blood to ensure they weren't fertile.
Once a poor, though pretty, red coral Naga made her way into his bed, hoping to breed his young to move up in our world. He nearly killed her. For her trickery, he had Father banish her into the wild. I didn't know what became of her, but I hoped thegods were kind. It was foolish, but she didn't deserve death and insanity.
"What is he seething about this time?" I groaned.
"The fact you dragged your feet and ssscales across the sssand to make him wait." His black eyes slid to mine.
"I'm here now. Let's go."
"Niksha," my father appeared out of the darkness. "Because you kept them waiting, I've sent my other soldiers home since you obviously believed you didn't need them. You and Ganna check the trail. Rumors of a sweet berry scent are running through the caverns. Go and check. If it's a Fae male, they will be gone by now. If it's a female, bring her back for our meal. Put that great temper of yours to good use for your king." He licked his two fangs with his forked, slender, black tongue.
"Delicioussss," Ganna hissed.
I gave a tight nod before quickly turning to leave. I didn't want either of them seeing the disgust on my face or the plan that was forming in my mind. The idea of killing and feasting a hurt Fae was deplorable. But how far would I go to protect a stranger while endangering myself? I felt the gods were testing me, I only prayed I passed.
Tallulah
Damn it,I thought as I ran through the forest.
We'd always been told not to go through to the human realm. If you ever came across a tear in the realm's wall, you never knew when it would close. But, I had been having a good time with my friends. We were playing, drunk on Faerie wine. Stupidly, we took turns running in and out of the human realm. I think it was my third time through.I don't even remember, to be honest. We kept drinking, laughing, dancing, and running. Then it happened. The fire and jars of light that surrounded our littleparty were gone, and all I saw was more of the forest I'd been standing in. I'd trapped myself in the human realm.
I ran up and down the space around the tear, but nothing. I reached deep within to find my pitiful bit of magic and glamoured myself into human form in case I got caught. The pale teal skin, dark blue hair, and pointed ears would give me away on any day but Halloween. Unlike the older Fae, my generation knew more about the human world because of our foolish games and occasional interactions with humans nearby. In human years, I was around twenty-two. A decent age, but as a Faerie, I was a not allowed to sit with thegrown-ups,not considered old enough to be presented into Fae Society. That's how I ended up in this mess. My friends and I were too young to be at the mating ceremony for one of the Centaur princes. Centaurs were strange in how they shifted, so many more rules than us. I packed, and used the portal as my parents demanded, and then enjoyed the accidental freedom they gave by ignoring me once we arrived.
What I did was foolish, I further realized as I sobered up and saw the muted glow of the human sunrise. It seemed monotone compared to our realm. Thanks to my magic, I could use public trains and search out magical sites across the part of the world I landed in. After weeks of traveling and feeling for magic, I finally had good luck. I was near what the humans called a "Fairy Tree" in a beautiful field on the Emerald Isle. I'd heard tales from locals and felt the pull of home.
I ran as fast as I could until I saw a change in the landscape. The field turned into the woods. Then, as if I blinked, it was gone. There was a tiny hole of ocean on black sand in the middle of the lush green forest. That was my way back home. Once back in the Faerie realm, I could find a portal and return to the palace. I wasn't a royal, but my parents were courtiers for King Zephyr. I'd be in trouble for sure, but I feared staying in this world morethen my punishment from my parents. As I got closer, I felt a change in the weather. It was cold, but as soon as my feet hit the warm sand, I knew I was where I was supposed to be. It even smelled right. Different, but right. The scents of summer citrus and sunshine overwhelmed me in this strangely cold land.Did I enter the King Kai's ocean kingdom?I didn't recognize it, but at least I was in the magical realm.
I felt as if everything was going to be alright until I tripped over a large jagged rock in the sand and cut my leg. It hurt like a bitch, but my Fae blood would heal in a matter of minutes. Except as I tried to walk, nothing happened. I continued to bleed; the black sand wouldn't allow me to heal. It burned. The warmth that felt so nice a few moments ago was now like fire in my wound. There was no need to be brave. I let out a whine and made my way to the icy water. It seemed like a promising idea until I heard movement in the sand. When I looked around, there was nothing. It was just me.
But the sound grew faster and louder. Whatever it was, it was close and well-camouflaged. It wasn't until it was a few feet from me that I saw a massive red cobra racing across the sand. But it wasn't just a snake. It coiled in front of me, its body larger than mine. He had the face, arms, and chest of a Fae, but his waist continued into a thick-scaled belly that narrowed into a rattling tail. Skin and scales hooded his face like a cobra. Two fangs dropped from the top row of his teeth and dripped paralyzing venom. I knew that because as younglings we were warned against the vicious creatures and their delight in killing us.
Somehow, I had landed in Naga territory. No wonder I didn't recognize it; no one came up here. I was in the far north of the realm, weeks away from my Fae kingdom, and no idea where to find a fae-made portal. Now, all because of a drunken mistake, I was going to die. One foolish night was about to end my life. I didn't have magic strong enough to protect myself. I threw upevery sigil I knew for healing, speed, and protection. Yet with every step I took back, for some reason I didn't want to take my eyes off of him, he slithered closer. Then I gave up. Despite my wound, I ran. I don't know how many feet I made it away from him when I heard a loud crash, followed by a high scream and rip.
My curiosity got the better of me. I stopped, turned around, and came nose to nose with the most tantalizing-smelling creature. His golden eyes matched his scales. They blinked. I stood, mesmerized, as a black forked tongue lightly licked up my neck to my ear. I moaned with desire. Then I felt a small pinprick on my shoulder, and though I was awake, I couldn't move. The beautiful bastard bit me, wrapped his tail around my waist, and took off, leaving the carcass of the red Naga that tried to kill me.Would my fate be the same in this Naga's grip?
Chapter 2
Niksha
I slithered through the caves with Ganna, hating every moment. His incessant excitement about the Great Mating Ball infuriated me. He and some others from his brood were in a race to fuck and breed with as many females as possible. Ganna's red rings and hood around his face would show in his offspring. Others had distinct colors and patterns as well.