Every parent wants their child to be special. They rarely consider the consequences when it actually happens.

~ Rebel Beast

___________

Father had allowed him to stay the night. Not that Caelis had done much with the opportunity aside from scrutinizing how much worse things had gotten within his family.

Then morning came, and it was time to leave.

Right now, he stood with his mother, who looked just as radiant as the last time he had seen her. Lady Lina Cobryn was obviously the most favored of Njord’s wives from the love and attention he showered upon her.

She had given him Caelis. A basilisk.

It wasn’t every day a basilisk was born into the serpent clans, which was why he was considered such a rare and mythical creature.

A surprisingly large faction of the serpent population was deeply religious because of it. They believed Lina had been specially favored by the Serpent God himself, which was why she had been able to birth Caelis.

Or to be more precise, the less polite version of it. They believed the Serpent God had personally planted his seed inside her womb and gifted Njord Caelis.

For a beast who was notoriously possessive of his wives, Njord seemed remarkably unbothered by the idea of a deity bedding his favorite woman. Then again, the man tried for a second child.

Caelis wasn’t stupid. He knew exactly what his father had been hoping for. Njord had been trying to squeeze another basilisk out of his mother.

Unfortunately, the Serpent God must have gone on holiday afterward. Or perhaps he had simply stopped favoring Lina because the second attempt had produced the complete opposite.

Then came his sister. Rosie Cobryn. Except she had perhaps drawn the worst fate possible.

Rosie was a rosy boa shifter born into a family of cobras.

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t have been a problem. There were hundreds of serpent species in existence and it wasn’t uncommon for serpent shifters to produce children whose beast forms differed from their parents.

A cobra could have a viper child. A python could produce a rattlesnake. Nobody thought much of it, except the Cobryns weren’t just any family. They were obsessed with bloodlines. Njord’s wives were all cobras, and his children had always been cobras.

Generation after generation, the family had somehow maintained the pattern to the point many considered it a blessing from the Serpent God himself. Then Rosie arrived and shattered it.

A rosy boa was small and harmless. Worst of all, his sister was completely non-venomous. The nobles rarely said it to lady Lina’s face, but Caelis had heard the whispers growing up.

The Serpent God had blessed his mother Lina with a basilisk. Then immediately punished her with Rosie.

If Caelis was not mistaken, then the rumors and backtalk had all been instigated by his father’s wives whose animosity was not exactly hidden. Back behind the barrier, all five of Njord’s wives had come from powerful and respected clans.

Then there was Lina. A nobody who had somehow charmed her way into the Serpent King’s bed and never left. Unfortunately, there was very little the other wives could do to his mother. Not while Njord continued holding her in such high regard. That didn’t stop them from trying, though.

Most times, however, their attention shifted toward Rosie. Which was why Caelis did everything in his power to protect her.

The problem was that protecting someone became significantly harder when you spent most of the year at the academy. It became even worse when the person in question possessed absolutely no sense of danger.

Rosie had a bad habit of assuming the best in everyone. In the Cobryn household, that was practically a death wish. It was honestly a miracle she had survived this long in a family as cutthroat as theirs. Although that might have had something to do with her charm.

Rosie was the most beautiful serpent in the entire clan.

Caelis wasn’t even exaggerating.

She possessed long rosy hair that flowed all the way to her waist like liquid silk. The signature silver eyes of the Cobryn bloodline stood out brilliantly against her fair skin, giving her an almost ethereal appearance.

Her features were soft and delicate, lacking the sharp predatory beauty most serpent women possessed. She had large innocent eyes, long lashes, full pink lips, and a heart-shaped face that somehow made her look perpetually curious about the world around her.

Even her smile was dangerous, not because it was seductive but due to its genuineness.

Rosie smiled at people as though she expected kindness in return, and the fools usually fell in love before realizing what had happened.

Barely fourteen and there were already suitors seeking her hand in marriage. Thankfully, Caelis had broken enough bones over the years to make it clear that his sister was off-limits.

He would already have enrolled her in Bestiaris Academy if it weren’t for the fact that the beasts there were even worse predators. Rosie was too innocent. They would tear her apart and eat her alive.

Or worse, use her against him.

In one word, he would never allow her to study in Bestiaris. Granted, it meant she would never receive the certification required to freely travel the human territories. But as long as she remained safe, he could live with that.

He would take care of her, and perhaps one day, find another way for her to see the human world. The future was long, and full of possibilities. If his father was truly beginning to work alongside humans, then perhaps things were finally starting to change.

Njord Cobryn was not there to send him off to the academy. The Serpent King had already said what he wanted to say and disappeared to attend whatever important matters occupied him these days.

That left only his mother and sister. Which, somehow, was worse.

"Look at you," Lina sighed.

Before Caelis could react, both her hands were already cupping his face. He resisted the urge to groan but his mother tilted his head left, then right, searching for an injury that wasn’t there.

"You’ve lost weight."

"I haven’t."

"You have."

Caelis sighed. There was absolutely no winning against his mother.

Lina clicked her tongue before smoothing an imaginary crease from his collar.

"Be careful at that academy." Her fingers lingered on his cheek. "If it wasn’t for that damned certification, I wouldn’t let my baby anywhere near those monsters."

Caelis already knew exactly which monsters she was referring to. The Dragons.

His mother had disliked dragons long before he was born. The fact that the feeling was mutual only strengthened her opinion.

"I’ll be fine, Mother."

Lina looked entirely unconvinced. Caelis wisely decided not to argue further. Instead, his attention shifted toward Rosie.

His sister was staring at him quietly. Caelis pointed a finger at her.

"If any boy starts bothering you, tell me."

Rosie immediately rolled her eyes.

"What are you going to do?" She folded her arms. "Beat them up again?"

"Again?" Caelis scoffed. "You forgot your brother is a basilisk." A dangerous smile spread across his face. "They’d make excellent decorations for the front yard."

Rosie groaned. "Oh my God. You are insane."

"Better get used to it." Caelis said cockily.

Then before he could escape, his mother pulled him into another hug. Lina squeezed him as though she intended to make up for every minute he would spend away from home.

"Stay safe."

"I will."

"Eat properly."

"I do."

"Sleep properly."

"I do."

"Don’t fight dragons."

Caelis wisely remained silent. Lina immediately narrowed her eyes.

"Caelis." 𝕗𝐫𝚎𝗲𝘄𝐞𝕓𝐧𝕠𝘃𝕖𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝚖

"I’ll try."

"Caelis."

"Love you too, Mother."

That seemed to distract her. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Caelis gently untangled himself from the hug and stepped back. It was time to return to the academy.

And hopefully, Karen Donovan was still alive.