As the last tendril retracted, his creatures, one by one, settled into digesting his blood.
As they relaxed, Noah's gaze drifted upward. Through the gap in Arachne's nest, high above their home, the serpent basked in the sunlight. Its black scales seemingly absorbed any light that shined around it.
Its expression revealed nothing, but the way its body relaxed, uncaring about the noise and motion below, it looked… content.
At that moment, Noah realized he had not only forgotten about it now; he had forgotten about the serpent last night.
He recalled how Pandora had appeared before him, her aura carrying a quiet urgency. Even without words, in her own way, she cared about the snake, more than he had given her credit for.
This was the reason he made the decision to give everyone his blood in the first place, and yet he had still forgotten.
