Chapter 64: The Royal Rumble

Finally, the massive snake head dipped in a slow, regal nod.

“Very well,” Syris said, his voice low and resigned. “If you wish to keep the cat, I will allow it. I will share the Nest. But know this, Ren—if he bites me, I will bite back.”

Ren let out a breath she felt like she’d been holding since the day started. “Thank you,” she gasped, clutching her chest. “Thank you, Syris. I promise, no more running. No more stealing. I’m yours. Uh, and his. I’m ours? We’ll work on the terminology later.”

A fleeting thought crossed her mind: ’Wait, Syris agreed because he’s rational (mostly). Kael is currently a drooling murder-machine. What if he wakes up and decides he doesn’t want to share?’

Ren shoved that thought into a mental box labeled “Future Ren’s Problem.”

“This is madness!” Lyssa shrieked, stepping forward with trembling indignation. “My King, you cannot be serious! A Tiger? In the Palace? It is against tradition! It is—”

“LOOK OUT!” Ren screamed, her voice cutting through the court politics like a siren.

The warning came a fraction of a second too late for the guards as Kael suddenly exploded into motion.

With a roar that shook the stalactites loose from the ceiling, the White Tiger lunged. He moved faster than a creature that size had any right to move. Two snake guards standing in his path were swiped aside like bowling pins, their bodies flying into the stone walls with a sickening crunch.

“ROAAAAAR!”

Ren scrambled backward, falling hard on her butt as the massive tiger launched himself through the air, aiming directly for Syris’ throat.

The two Apex Predators collided with the force of a freight train hitting a nuclear power plant.

CRASH.

The sound of scales grinding against fur and claws tearing at armored skin filled the Foyer.

“Get back!” Syris roared, his tail whipping around to smash Kael in the ribs.

Kael didn’t even flinch. He sank his teeth into Syris’ long body, shaking his head violently. Syris hissed in pain, purple venom dripping from his fangs as he struck back, burying his teeth into Kael’s muscular neck.

It was a blur of white and black, a tornado of violence.

“Oh my god,” Ren shouted, scooting backward on the floor as a stray piece of rubble landed near her foot. “This is it! It’s Godzilla versus King Kong! Swamp Edition!”

Syris was thrashing, trying to get enough distance to use his size, but Kael was relentless, clawing at the snake’s underbelly.

“Syris!” Ren yelled, cupping her hands around her mouth like a ringside coach. “Don’t let him grapple you! Use your range! Jab! Jab!”

Syris, currently busy trying not to be disemboweled, didn’t look at her. “What is a jab?!” he roared, smashing Kael’s head against a pillar.

Kael recovered instantly, swiping a claw across Syris’ snout.

“He’s going for the eyes!” Ren screamed. “Syris! Do the John Cena! You can’t see me! Wave your tail in front of your face!”

“WHO IS JOHN CENA?!” Syris bellowed, genuinely confused as he wrapped a coil around Kael’s hind leg.

“He’s a champion! Anyways, just slam him!” Ren advised frantically. “Give him the steel chair! Or the stone pillar! Suplex him!”

Whether he understood the wrestling terminology or just got lucky, Syris finally found his opening. As Kael lunged for another bite, Syris twisted his massive body, looping his tail around the tiger’s torso.

He squeezed.

Kael roared, thrashing wildly, but the Titanoboa’s strength was legendary. Syris coiled again, and again, wrapping the tiger up like a very angry, furry burrito.

“Yes!” Ren cheered, pumping her fist. “The submission hold! Tap out, Kael! Tap out!”

Syris had Kael pinned, his coils constricting the tiger’s lungs, but Kael was still snapping his jaws, his red eyes burning with feral hate. He wasn’t giving up; he was just immobilized.

“I cannot… hold him… forever!” Syris grunted, the strain evident in his voice. “He is… strong!”

Ren’s eyes darted around the room. She needed to stop this. She needed to knock Kael out cold so she could treat him without losing an arm.

Then she remembered.

The Vault.

When she had broken into the Vault, she had found a small, clay pot of sleeping herbs—a heavy, grey powdered sedative. She had stolen it, but she had used the entire supply on Syris during the failed escape attempt.

“There has to be more,” Ren whispered to herself, panic rising. “He must’ve bought in bulk, right? Everything depends on there being more.”

“Syris!” Ren shouted, scrambling to her feet, ignoring the shooting pain in her leg. “Keep him pinned! Don’t let go! I have a plan!”

“A plan?!” Syris hissed, dodging a snap from Kael’s jaws.

“What I need is inside the vault!” Ren pointed at the King’s massive tail, which was currently wrapped tight around Kael’s midsection. “The key! The Jade Key! It’s on your tail ring!”

Syris looked back. “I cannot… reach it!” He strained.

“Viper!” Ren screamed, grabbing the terrified guard by the shoulders. “You have to get that key! Go! Now!”

Viper looked at the thrashing ball of death that was his King and the Tiger. “Me?”

“Go!” Ren shoved him.

Viper swallowed hard. He slithered into the fray, dodging Kael’s flailing back claws.

“Forgive me, King! Don’t crush me!” Viper squeaked.

He reached for the tail tip. Syris thrashed, tightening his grip on the tiger. Viper grabbed the ring, fumbling while Kael’s claws missed his nose by an inch.

“I got it!” Viper yelled, holding the Jade Key aloft like a trophy.

“Run!” Ren commanded.

She grabbed Viper’s arm and dragged him toward the inner corridors. “We need the clay pot! Small, brown, with the symbol of a closed eye painted on it!”

“The Slumber-Ash?” Viper gasped, slithering alongside her. “You are going to use it on the Tiger?”

“I’m going to put him to sleep so I can save his life!” Ren panted, limping as fast as she could. “Move your tail, Viper!”

They disappeared down the dark hallway leading to the Vault.

Lyssa stood there, her hands clenched into fists, her eyes burning with a silent, seething rage. With a silent, predatory slither, she followed them into the dark.

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