Chapter 195: Ophidian Sticks With Ophidian

Charlotte Greenwood was still nowhere to be found, and her roommates were ready to leave for the party.

"Let’s go." It was Evelina, one of the dragonesses aligned with Tamara and among those who had dragged them down to the basement earlier that day.

Zainab, Indigo and Meredith had no choice but to climb into the dragoness’s car, nervous as hell. At this point, all three could only pray that by some miracle Charlotte was already dead somewhere and they wouldn’t have to go through with what Tamara had ordered them to do tonight.

Even though Evelina blasted music through the speakers and sang along in her horribly crooked voice without a care in the world, none of the girls felt safe. They sat pressed close together in the back seat, drawing what little comfort they could from one another’s presence.

It didn’t help that the road to the arena was surrounded by nothing but tall trees and thick bushes. They were deep enough in the woods that Evelina could easily pull over, kill all three of them and leave behind nothing but ashes for someone to find.

The paved road beneath them and the distant thump of music ahead were the only assurances that Evelina was actually taking them to the party. Even then, neither did much to ease the tension inside the car. Every minute trapped with the dragoness felt longer than the last.

Finally, they reached the arena, and for a moment, even their fear was forgotten. Their eyes widened and mouths fell open as the massive structure came into view, illuminated almost entirely by fire against the darkness of the night.

"Amazing, right?" Evelina said cockily, clearly enjoying their gobsmacked expressions.

"At least that snake is good for one thing," the dragoness muttered as she drove farther into the crowded parking area, searching for an empty space among the fleet of cars.

Once she’d finally parked, Evelina twisted around in her seat to face the still-nervous girls. "Don’t expect me to drive you home. I’m not your servant. You’re ours. This ride was a favor to Tamara, so you’ll have to find your own way back." A condescending smile curled her lips. "If I were you, I’d find a beast or two with a taste for humans."

It was the way she said it that sent a shiver down their spines, as if getting stranded tonight was the least threatening thing she had meant by those words.

Then the beam disappeared from Evelina’s face completely. "That’s your cue to get the fuck out of my car."

The girls looked at one another, and as if someone had shouted Jack Robinson, all three scrambled out at once. Relief came the moment their feet hit the ground, but none of them allowed themselves to linger. They quickly put as much distance as possible between themselves and the dragoness before Evelina decided she wasn’t finished tormenting them after all.

The smell of smoke, spices and dozens of different beast scents saturated the air. This was a party unlike anything the girls had ever attended. Quite a number of the male beasts walked around bare-chested, displaying bodies that looked almost deliberately sculpted for attention. Some flexed whenever a female passed, while others stood around in groups as if silently competing to see who could attract the most interested looks.

Some of them even had elaborate markings painted across their bodies and faces, the colors forming strange symbols and patterns the girls didn’t recognize. Combined with the firelight, pounding music and beasts prowling around half-dressed, it almost felt like they’d wandered into one of those movies where a group of clueless tourists ended up stranded on some remote island, only to discover the locals were preparing them for a ritual sacrifice.

The females weren’t dressed much differently. Pieces of fabric covered so little that Meredith couldn’t help wondering why they’d bothered covering themselves at all. Others had decorated their exposed skin with body paint designed to emphasize features belonging to their beasts— a feline female had painted black stripes down the sides of her body to match those already marking her face, while another woman with small scales along her shoulders had outlined each one in shiny gold, making them gleam whenever she passed close to the flames.

It was simply wild.

And then there was the other part of the crowd, dressed exactly as one might expect at a normal human party, still the girls didn’t feel any more comfortable. Standing there among predators drinking, laughing and openly displaying parts of themselves humans usually kept hidden, the reality of where they were finally sank in. They were three human girls surrounded by beasts, carrying poison meant for their own roommate, with Tamara’s threat hanging over their heads. They were way over their heads.

Right at that moment, another car arrived and pulled into one of the remaining spaces. When the doors opened and Zainab, Indigo and Meredith saw Fatima, Olivia and Liv stepping out, relief immediately washed over them. At least there were more humans now. They weren’t going to be completely alone in a party filled with beasts.

They watched the three girls take in the scene around them, their expressions changing as they probably came to the same realization Zainab, Indigo and Meredith had only moments ago. Then their eyes met across the distance, and for several seconds, both groups simply stared at one another.

It seemed both sides remembered at the same time that before Karen and Charlotte had fallen out, they had all been able to get along. Whatever disagreement had divided them suddenly seemed ridiculous in a place like this. Tonight, they needed one another.

Meredith especially wanted desperately to speak to them because she felt like she was losing her mind. She needed to know whether the Ophidian girls had been treated any better than they had, and if they knew anything that might help them survive whatever Tamara had dragged them into.

The serpent beast who had driven Fatima, Olivia and Liv said something to them before walking away. The girls nodded, then started toward them. Zainab, Indigo and Meredith moved too, intending to close the remaining distance and meet them halfway.

Except someone suddenly stepped between both groups. "Excuse me."

It was Karen Donovan.

"Ah-ah," she warned, stopping Zainab, Indigo and Meredith before they could take another step. Karen planted herself directly between them and the other girls, who were now only a few feet away.

Karen looked different tonight, but the smile she gave them was painfully familiar.

"I don’t know what you’re thinking, but I’m sorry, it’s not going to happen. Charlotte made that decision for all of you, so now you get to live with it."

Her grin sharpened as she added, "Ophidian sticks with Ophidian. Aetheris sticks with Aetheris. So go find Charlotte wherever the hell she is and stay away from my girls."

Then she glanced over her shoulder at Olivia, Fatima and Liv. "Let’s go."

However, none of them moved. For the first time, they remained exactly where they were instead of immediately falling in behind her. Karen’s eyes narrowed.

"I said let’s go."

None of the girls even twitched.

For a moment, Karen looked ready to explode. Then, almost as quickly, she forced the anger from her face and replaced it with a sweet smile.

"You guys do know Caelis won’t be happy when he finds out you disobeyed my orders, right?"

Liv was the first to flinch. The reaction spread quickly, uneasiness appearing on Olivia’s face before Fatima’s confidence faltered too. Karen saw every bit of it.

"Thought as much," she said coldly. "Move. Now."

Karen started up the steps toward the center of the arena, and this time, the three girls reluctantly followed.