I promised a longer one and here it is! I apologize for the delay in getting this up, but I had to work a bit on Landon and Alasdair's conversation a bit...this is going to turn out to be a little longer than expected, but expect more A/L interaction, so I guess it's a good thing. But, at the moment, I've got four long-term projects for school (for four separate class, to boot) all due by the end of March, so I'm expecting to get chapter nine up sometime around then, maybe even on April Fool's Day!

And I really want to thank the recent reviewers of this, and the ones that have been here since the Serpiente's first arrival. You guys rock and definintely keep me writing!

If there's any change in the h/w situation, I'll let you guys know. For now, take a deep breath, drink it up and review!

Chapter Eight
"Kiesha shouldn't have allowed you absence this night."

I recognized Landon's voice immediately, but only because I'd spoken with him earlier in the Serpiente quarters. The other male I still could not decipher.

"Why? Because it might damage this silk-thin unwritten truce there is between us?" He sounded incredulous…and I still couldn't place his voice.

"I knew your feelings about coming here before we ever made the journey. But this isn't about you, Donte—you're mature enough after all your years. Use your head for once," Landon reasoned with an impatient tone. How long had they been conversing before I stumbled upon them?

Then I paused.

Donte. As in Donte Taipanite, the only Serpiente not in attendance at the Festival. So what was the quarrel about? I was not threatened about the fact…concerned, yes, and maybe worried, but I attributed those emotions to my pre-performance feelings.

"Like you've been using yours?" Donte snapped, but I could hear the sarcasm and taunt in his tone. "Really, Landon," now he sounded amused, "She's only seen fourteen winters. She is beautiful, I will give you that, but I doubt our gods would smile upon such a union."

Three things happened all at once: I felt my heart skip a beat—possibly three. I heard the telltale grunt of someone being punched. And something inside my chest—not my heart—reached a whole new level of some kind of nervous. One I'd never felt before and had no idea how to begin to describe.

Donte was referring to either another lady around my age, or the Tuuli Thea of the Avians.

Which was me.

So why did I feel like smiling and running scared at the same time?

Landon's voice snapped me from my thoughts.

"You are disgusting, Donte," he spat. "How far will you go to jeopardize this opportunity? She is their Queen, the one person who holds the hope of the Avians—and Kiesha and the rest of us are doing everything we can to ensure that that power does not shift into the hands of the wrong people. Do you see how powerful this civilization could become?" Landon's voice was strained and his tone was incredulous.

Obviously, this was not the first time Donte had chosen to go against the tide of things.

But. I held hope? The thought planted itself in my heart, and warmed.

"I didn't hear denial in that noble speech," Donte retorted, and I heard a jaw crack shortly after. Landon had hit Donte on behalf of me.

Why? Even though asking that question was pointless.

"You don't hear anything beyond your own selfishness. Think, Donte, if that's even possibly with your mind capacity. We were once the Dasi—powerful, respected, symbols of strength with the support of our gods." There was something in Landon's tone I couldn't decipher then. Reverence, perhaps? Longing? "And it led to exile. The Serpiente are weak—we are weak. The wolves are reclusive. I have no idea what the falcons are planning. But these Avians…" he trailed off.

What of our race?

"Finished?" came Donte's annoyed reply.

I heard Landon scoff, which sounded more like a sharp snarl.

One pair of footsteps carried off down the hallway in the opposite direction, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I'd been holding. I sucked it back in when I realized the hall had gone dead silent and that exhaling had made my presence known.

Or so I thought.

"How long have you been listening?" Landon called to me.

Damn.

With a resigned sigh, I stepped out from behind the corner of the wall, and saw Landon leaning up against the wall, the heel of his palm pressed against his forehead. There was a soft sheen of sweat covering his pale face. His black outfit, I realized for the first time, shimmered in the hallway's light. The feeling in my chest grew.

"How long have you known I've been listening?" I countered carefully, hoping to lighten both his mood and my swirling feelings.

Landon dropped his hand to his side, and turned his emerald gaze on my approach. I smile tugged at the corner of his lips.

"Your Avian heart beats twice as fast as our Serpiente at a normal rate. At least, that's what I have observed. And when you get excited…" he left the question in his statement hang between us.

I ducked my head to hide the blush, even if the lighting in the hallways was less than satisfactory for someone wishing to read. When I met his gaze again, he seemed amused, not attempting to hide his smile, his white teeth flashing. I still could not see the fangs.

Before I could speak, Landon said, "I apologize for Donte's behavior. He doesn't like things he doesn't understand."

"No one does," I answered without thinking, remembering all the firsts I had forged in my life in the past year. First public speech. First coronation. First oath of allegiance. First Market trade dispute. First challenge of my authority. First bountiful harvest in hundreds of years. I had had many firsts, and I realized now only how exhausting it had been to reign as monarch. Despite my age.

Landon nodded in agreement, and then he let his emerald gaze flicker over my body—bronze-dancing bodice in all. He had his excuse ready, and I was able to control the blush more this time.

"I'm not an expert on Avian culture, but I think you danced well tonight," he complimented. It sounded like a statement coming from his lips.

"Thank you," I said too shakily. Was there only four feet separating us? At the same time I had no idea where these thoughts are coming from, but they are like a torrent of alien emotions, and as a monarch trained to explore the unknown and seek out its benefits and its risks, I knew I had to heed them with caution.

Landon's gaze searches mine and for a moment I thought he was going to say something more, but his attention moved past me, and back toward the main entrance. Had he seen something? Had someone seen us?

"Donte may be headstrong, but his instincts can be quite inconvenient sometimes," Landon said with a half-smile half-smirk.

I tried to ignore the meaning of his words, and before I could respond, he bowed his head more deeply than was necessary – his station as a Dasi member was very highly respected, as was mine as monarch – then turned and walked down the hall at a silent but brisk pace.

It didn't take long for me to realize that the Serpiente had impeccable hearing.

"My Lady?" I heard Evelyn's voice approach from behind.

Composing myself, the feeling in my chest continued to remain at a steady hum; I turned around to face the dancer. If she was uneasy about my current location—either Aderyn or Cairbre escorted me almost everywhere—she gave no sign of it.

Taking both my hands in hers, she said, "Lady Alasdair, would you mind performing with us again? I simpler pattern this time, I think, one to celebrate—"

"Kismet?" I cut her off, arching an eyebrow.

Evelyn's entreating expression shifted to that of the devious Avian bride-to-be I had known for years.

"I've no idea of what you speak of, my lady, but please, do not keep your people waiting," she began to pull me in the direction of the main entrance again, and the bustling Market Square. "Dance!" She implored with so unguarded an excitement I could not help but laugh along with her and re-enter the Festival activities.

———

Donte may be headstrong, but his instincts can be quite inconvenient sometimes. For the rest of the night, I tried in earnest to push those words—and their possible meaning—from my mind, but to no avail.

There was more to Landon than I had seen so far, and something—I still didn't know what—made me want to know more about that Serpiente, if only to just look into those piercing emerald eyes.