The Naga Pearl & The Traitor

Xiao opened the door and found that what lay behind was not the pearl but something just as precious. The heart of a divine star, born of the most profound promise and the most potent love. It seemed Ria had guided Xiao to Princess Aashvi's essence, the last piece of her heart.

As Xiao looked around the room, she found talismans were being used to keep all of the buildup energy from seeping out. It seemed the current King's power stemmed from Princess Aashvi's remnants.

The Golden City wasn't heavily guarded to keep ordinary bandits out. No, it was evident the city had been safeguarded to keep the Divine Star trapped within the palace.

Xiao only had four minutes left to find the Naga Pearl, but she couldn't leave the Divine Star behind. Borrowing energy from the star, Xiao broke every talisman causing a gust of wind to blow the windows open and the star to glide out the window as shimmering stardust. Xiao realized the moment she broke the talismans; the guards were alerted. Unfortunately, so was the King.

Using one of the blades she had stolen from Lilitu, Xiao staved it where the Divine Heart used to be. It seemed like the star had been stolen by the one and only Mother of Serpents.

Xiao dashed out the window scaling upward rather than down. No one would ever think to look up. A sleeping figure could be seen through the sheer curtains, but Xiao had no choice; she still wore the King's face; it shouldn't be a problem. The sleeping figure stirred as Xiao entered through the window.

"My King," a sultry voice greeted, "have you decided to join me tonight?"

Xiao looked over the female; her golden skin had been oiled to give her a shimmering appearance as if she were a Deity and not a simple Mortal. The female reached a hand out as she stood, revealing she'd worn only bangles to bed.

Since Xiao had yet to hear the King speak, there was no way to mimic his voice. Instead, Xiao moved towards the female, pulling her towards herself; Xiao lowered her lips to the female.

The King's woman shivered under Xiao's touch. Just as she reached to remove Xiao's robe, Xiao pressed an acupoint behind her ear and laid her back to sleep.

"As delectable as you may be, I have no time for this." The energy Xiao had absorbed from the mortal wasn't as sweet as Song's, but it would do. Xiao took a strand of the female's hair and changed her appearance.

Xiao moved through the palace unbothered it seemed the appearance she had chosen was as powerful as the King's. Where else could the Naga Pearl be if not in the King's bedchamber? Xiao came to a stop outside a heavenly guarded door.

"Consort Nadia the King has forbidden anyone from entering his chambers tonight," a guard informed her with a tinge of compassion in his eyes.

Song had informed Xiao the current Cobra King had five consorts. One was a spider spirit and should be avoided at all cost. The other three were snake spirits, and just like the first should be avoided, the fifth was mortal and highly favored by the King. Should Xiao come across the fifth consort, she should expect an arrogantly overbearing Mortal. Due to the King's favor, she was more venomous than any serpent or spider. So why were the guards looking at her with pity?

Stretching her neck like an ostrich, Xiao pushed the guards to the side, "I am the King's favored Consort; how dare you stop me?" Xiao went past the guards shoving the heavy doors open; she stepped through.

The sight that greeted Xiao was a bit compromising; two women lay in the King's bed, but he was nowhere in sight.

"We got started without you," a breathless voice spoke, "hurry and join us."

It seemed neither had noticed Xiao was not the King, too enthralled in passion to care. Xiao's eyes searched the room. The pearl had to be here; it just had to. There was no way the massive energy she sensed was coming from the two consorts.

"My King," one called out breathlessly.

"My love," the other echoed.

How annoying? Xiao approached them, earning looks of disgust. "How dare you come here?" The snake spirit asked.

"After what you did, you still dare show your face!" the spider spirt added. Reaching into her robe, Xiao pulled out a curved tip dagger and with a graceful flick of her wrist, slit their throats.

"A gift to your King," Xiao licked the blood of the dagger's edge, "such filthy blood isn't worth my time."

Dipping her fingers into the puddle of blood, Xiao changed her appearance for the final time that night. The blood having merged gave Xiao the snake's silky corn hair and the spider's amaranth eyes with skin that was neither serpent nor spider.

Xiao had meant to get in and out unnoticed, but since fate kept trying to test her patience, she would bathe the palace in blood. Stepping into a closet, Xiao waited for the King. It didn't take long for the Cobra King to burst through the double doors, his tan skin ashen at the sight he beheld.

"What is this?" The Cobra King's face went from ashen to enraged within seconds. First, the main source of his power was stolen. Now his two beloved consorts were dead. "Find the Mother of Serpents!"

Guards rushed out of the palace leaving the King to mourn his two consorts.

"You can come out now," the Cobra King looked towards the closet Xiao had hidden in. "Who are you?"

Xiao stepped out; having blended the appearance of his two consorts, it was difficult to distinguish her actual futures. Her reddish-rose eyes glowed like that of a Divine being.

"I am the Moon, I am the Stars, I am the Sun," Xiao's voice had the sultriness Nadia's had. "I am the earth, the wind, and all that is was and will be."

Perhaps the Mother Goddess would forgive her for using her entry line. Right now, Xiao needed the Cobra King to believe he knelt before a Deity. A being far too powerful for him to insult. Xiao had borrowed a few items from Lilitu's shop. Mixing her energy with the items gave her a different essence from her own.

Xiao lifted the King's face, her clawed hand piercing his chin until crimson drops started to fall.

"The old King took you in and treated you like a son," Xiao realized the pearl was within the King's body. "His daughter treated you like a brother, and how did you repay them?"

The Cobra King wanted to look away from those hypnotic eyes, but every time he tried, his heart ached.

"But I was not his son," the cobra sneered, "what made them so special they could be Royalty while I had to be a peasant. While I had to watch my real family be torn apart due to our poverty."

Xiao cackled, mimicking the Croan Mother's laughter, "that was no excuse to swallow the Naga Pearl, nor was it an excuse to massacre the entire royal line."

"Will even the gods stand against me?" King's eyes were filled with disdain.

"I just want the Pearl." Xiao reached into the King's chest pulling out the Naga Pearl, "How could someone one as treacherous as yourself contain the Naga's essence within your filthy body."

Xiao stepped back, the pearl pulsing as if it were a heartbeat, "don't you know, only beings with divine blood can use it to its fullest potential."

With those parting words, Xiao faded into the rising sun, dissipating like the mist.