Previously...

"This cannot happen..." Jeanette prayed, "help us Goddess please!"

Zuber kept screaming out to Kyrah. The latter looked frozen in place, her ruby eyes seemed far away and lost.

Kyrah saw an image forming in her eyes. She felt as if she was dreaming, but everything was real. A golden light blinded her, her vision blanketed with the rich color. Her mind shut off from reality, she just focused on what she was seeing.

"Dear Kyrah, I am the Snake Goddess," a powerful voice laced with a melodious tune played in her ears. The voice which belonged to a beautiful woman soothed and calmed her down. The lady sparkled as if she was made out of real gold.

"You are a part snake child, the dreams you had been seeing were a signal to your identity. The snake appearing was your inner serpent, who didn't mean any harm. It was an indication that you would shift soon," the Goddess explained.

"You are the protector of the Naag Mani and the only one who can find it. Make sure you utilize its power for good. Greed always causes destruction," she whispered.

"My beloved niece, together we can rule this world. I get to become a full snake and you can get anything you wish for," Hiram pressed, bringing Kyrah back to reality.

"Kyrah, your uncle's greed snatched his powers away from him. He came to the Sholak Stone House years back, asking for greater powers. He felt that your father didn't deserve to be a king."

"Kyrah, it's been so many years. My powers got snatched away from me for no reason. Don't you wish your uncle stays happy?" Hiram asked adding a saddened tone to his voice.

"He wasn't happy just being a full snake, he challenged my authority and decisions saying that I favored your father. He wanted to rule everybody. I could clearly see his evil intentions. So, I took away his powers, leaving him to be a half snake."

Kyrah's eyes flickered between a blazing red and a lime green. Jeanette beamed seeing this and felt that Kyrah would remain on the good side only. She thanked the Goddess for listening to her prayers. She just hoped that everything would get better. She didn't want the Naag Mani to be misused.

Zuber, however, stood there quietly. He just gazed into Kyrah's eyes, which changed color rapidly. He felt terrified. He had never expected that Kyrah would be a snake. He had gathered up all his courage and held her arm forcefully. He didn't have a single idea what was wrong with her, but he knew only one thing: red meant danger. Even if he was wrong, Hiram wouldn't be so happy seeing her in this state.

He couldn't let his love get influenced by evil. 

He realized that he loved her. 

He was broken from his trail of thought when he saw Kyrah placing a hand on her forehead, rubbing it in circles.

"Kyrah, do you know why your parents aren't here? They don't care about you," Hiram spat. "Only I do. If they did care they would be here." He chuckled. He felt that the Goddess was here to intervene. He just wanted to turn Kyrah against everyone and be on his side.

"Your parents endured great hardships to pray for you. They didn't leave your side, they have been worried about you since you were gone. They will be here soon, dear."

Kyrah's eyes turned fully to lime green. She was broken out of her trance and took a sharp breath. Her tail vanished and was replaced by her long legs. She was covered in jeans and a simple top. Her hair returned back to their original, gold shade. 

Her head hammered with pain. She felt nauseatic and wished to sleep. The lime green vanished completely and her eyes reverted back to their stunning, blue color.

Hiram grew angry seeing this as he couldn't get her to his side. On the last resort, he mocked her.

"Do you think everyone is on your side, niece?" He sneered.

"Your beloved kidnapper here works for me! What did you think that he loves you? He wanted to kill you! Do you hear that?" Hiram bellowed.

Kyrah looked at Zuber with horror. She covered her mouth and let out a huge sob. She shook her head vehemently in disbelief.

"Tell me this is a lie, Zuber?" Kyrah whispered.

"Why don't you enlighten her kidnapper? Or shall I?" Hiram scoffed, his eyes glinted with mockery.

Zuber just gave a warning glare towards him but didn't say anything in return. Kyrah's heart broke as she felt that Zuber was guilty. Pain washed over her and she didn't know what to do. Her heart felt as if it had been stabbed by a knife. She felt empty. The shift fatigued her, tiring her inside and out.

A voice rang in her mind for the final time,"Everyone has their own struggles and reasons..."

It wasn't long that she succumbed to exhaustion and fell down to the ground losing consciousness. Zuber tensed up and bent down towards her. He carried her in his arms, his eyes glued to her all the while.

"Take them to the cell," Hiram ordered Jeanette. "Once she's awake, I need the Naag Mani one way or other."

Jeanette merely nodded and dragged Zuber along with her. She placed them inside the cell and locked the door.

"I should have never trusted you, Jean," Zuber's voice raged.

"You have all the right to be angry, Zuber," she sighed. "I will be back in a while to release both of you when Hiram is busy. You can escape then," she said calmly.

"I wish that you can forgive me," she murmured sadly and walked away leaving Zuber stunned.

***

Zuber sat down on the cold floor with Kyrah in his arms. He looked at her with longing and sadness. He wanted to tell her everything.

Kyrah groaned and woke up a while later. She looked at her surroundings with surprise and her eyes fell on Zuber, who was holding her close to his chest.

Then, everything came rushing back to her mind. The Goddess's words, Hiram's lies, and Zuber's deceit. She looked at Zuber with anger and put her small hands on his chest to push him away. She got up slowly and sat at the far end of the cell.

"Kyrah, listen to me." Zuber pleaded, shifting to her side. He caught her wrist gently.

"Stay away." Kyrah fumed and removed her hand from his grasp.

"Just listen to me once, please," his voice laced with desperation.

"What is left, Zuber? Was everything a lie? Whatever we shared..." she sighed. "I thought," she breathed deeply. "I thought that you liked me."

"Why did you betray me? Why did you break my heart?" She cried and hit his chest with her fists.

Zuber felt guilt-ridden and his heart squeezed with pain. He couldn't bear seeing her hurt.

He was going to say something, but was stopped when Kyrah said solemnly, "Do you know that I have never been with anyone before?"

"Kyrah, I... I know, same here, just listen to me please," he said, holding her face in his hands. He looked directly into her eyes and broke the fall of tears by gently brushing them away with his thumbs.

He touched their foreheads slowly expecting that Kyrah would move away. But she didn't. He stayed like this for a minute and then hugged her, resting his head on the crook of her neck. He pressed a kiss gingerly on her shoulder and rubbed his hand over her back, trying to calm her down.

Kyrah's breathing quickened as she had never experienced such emotions before. She could clearly feel the fast-paced beats of Zuber's heart and his heavy breathing. She waited for him to continue speaking, however, she could only hear him sniffling.

"Are you crying?" she asked him and tried to remove herself from his hug. But nothing happened.

He squeezed her furthermore in his hug. "I did everything to protect you. I can't even think of harming you, not even in my dreams," he spoke sincerely and his voice quivered.

"Please believe me," he added sadly. "I never wanted this to happen. That's why I joined Hiram and kidnapped you. To keep you away from him..."

He released her from his hold and closed his eyes. A tear rolled down from his eye and fell down on Kyrah's palm. She looked at him sorrowfully and was at a loss for words.

"Nothing was a lie," he said and suddenly held her face. He kissed her forehead gently, his lips leaving a moist imprint on it. Then, he proceeded to kiss her nose and touched their noses together. Kyrah brushed away the teary trail which was left on his cheek. He stopped her hand and entwined it with his own.

"I love you, Kyrah," he said and kissed her lips. 

An emotion so foreign, so overwhelming and exciting, flowed through both of them. It was their first kiss and all their feelings were put forth in it as their lips moved together in sync. All sadness, doubts, and fears washed away, leaving just pure love in their minds and hearts. Their bond which was already strong felt more strengthened and complete. It was as if the world had come to a still and only the two of them lived in it.

Kyrah broke away from the kiss, a goofy grin plastered on her face, but a frown replaced it quickly.

"What happened? Did I do something wrong?"

"No... we can't be together, Zuber. My betrothal..."

"I will talk to your parents. Hopefully, they won't say no to us," he said, giving her a small smile.

"How?" she asked.

Zuber couldn't answer her question as Jeanette came rushing towards their cell. She looked right and left and exhaled a breath she was holding. She fumbled with the keys, trying to unlock the door with her shaky hands.

"You two," she said pointing to them, "run away, now!"

Kyrah and Zuber looked at each other and back at Jeanette incredulously.

"We don't need your help. You betrayed us," Zuber spat back.

Kyrah was reminded of the Goddess's words,"Everyone has their own struggles and reasons..."

"Jean wants to help us, I believe in her," she said, flashing Jeanette a bright smile.

"We don't have time, just go," Jeanette urged, snapping her fingers.

"Darling, you thought you could let them get away so easily," Hiram's disembodied voice reached them.

Hi, everyone! How are you all? 🤗This time I have updated faster than before. 😀 The chapter, along with the dialogues and scenes, kept ringing in my head. So, I decided to free my poor brain with all these thoughts and wrote down this chapter. LOL.

Once again the Goddess saves a member of the royal family. Are you happy that Kyrah is on the good side?

What do you think of Zurah's romance? Did you feel their love towards each other? Just give me your honest feedback. This is the first time I'm writing like this. Comment in and let me know what you think.

What do you think will happen next? Jeanette wanted to save both of them, but Hiram is back at the end of the chapter. Don't kill me! I love cliffhangers! 😍😉

Like this chapter? Please make me happy by clicking the 🌟 icon below. It just takes a second to vote and I will feel appreciated if you. Have a nice day buddies! Enjoy your day/night! 😙😙😙

VOTE, COMMENT, SHARE AND FOLLOW❣

❤💙💖💙❤
❤💙❤