The Ugly Duckling Of The Tiger Tribe

Chapter 356: Well, this scout just retired

"Ah," I looked up at him and smiled. "This isn’t my blood."

Fenric didn’t look comforted. If anything, the sight of me sitting calmly in a pool of gore with a serene smile made him look like he’d just seen a ghost. He reached me in two hurried strides, dropping to his knees so hard the grass divots flew. His large, scarred hands hovered over me, shaking, terrified to touch me and terrified not to.

"Arinya," he choked out, his red eyes darting frantically over the jagged tear on my arm and the blood splattered across my tunic. "When I heard there was a snake in the nursery... I... my heart nearly stopped. I thought I had failed you. I thought—"

"Don’t worry," I interrupted, my voice sounding strangely hollow even to my own ears. I gestured vaguely at the decapitated heap a few yards away with a limp hand. "She’s dead now. I killed her."

The silence that followed was heavy. Fenric stared at the body, then back at my blood-stained claws. The warrior who could take down an entire pack of hyenas without blinking looked like he was about to have a breakdown.

Noah skidded to a halt behind him, his face a pale mask of fury that instantly shattered into pure shock. He looked at the body, then at the head I’d tossed aside, and finally at the group of trembling pups huddled nearby.

"The pups..." Noah breathed, his voice a low, jagged rasp, having heard what had happened from one of the sheep girls. "She went for my pups."

The snarky, playful King was gone. In his place was a predator who had just realized someone had tried to snuff out his entire legacy while he was busy hauling timber. He looked at the carnage I’d left behind, and for the first time, he didn’t have a witty comeback. He just looked at me with a raw, terrifying kind of respect.

"You did this," Noah whispered. "For them." His face softened, and I swear I almost saw him cry. "Thank you, Arinya,"

"Well, she called me a roach, Noah," I muttered, leaning my head back against the slope of the hill because I didn’t want to make things more awkward than they already were. "And she touched what’s mine. I don’t take kindly to either."

I was just protecting what’s mine. Even if they are your pups, Noah, I’d like to think of them as mine as well.

Behind them, a crowd of warriors—wolves, bears, and hyenas—gathered at a respectful distance. A suffocating silence fell over the nursery slope.

They weren’t looking at me with the usual adoration for the ’Land-Mother’ who provided salt and blueprints. They were looking at me with awe. I wasn’t just the heart of the kingdom anymore; I was the claws that protected it.

Oh my, it makes me feel so flattered.

Thalor appeared last, breathless. He took one look at the carnage and his violet eyes went dark with a protective, ancient shimmer. He didn’t say a word, but he moved to my side, shielding the babies’ view of the mess while his cool hand found my shoulder, grounding me.

"Is it over?" Thalor asked softly.

"For her, yeah," I sighed, closing my eyes. The adrenaline was finally leaving, replaced by a bone-deep ache and the stinging reality of the scratches on my arm. "But Fenric... She knew who I was. This wasn’t a hungry predator. She called me Land-Mother and said she thought I only barked orders, like she’d been studying me."

Fenric’s jaw tightened, his fingers finally settling on my skin, trailing over the blood that wasn’t mine.

"A red-scale serpent. Unlike Damar, who is a rare silver serpent, these are well-known, Arinya. They are cruel, territorial, and they haven’t crossed the mountains in a very long time." He looked at me, his eyes holding a little vulnerability. "They hunt in broods, Arinya. So, I assume this one was a scout."

"Well, this scout just retired," I said, opening my eyes to look at my husband. "And they aren’t here for the limestone. They’re here for the vulnerable children."

Noah growled, a sound that started deep in his chest and vibrated through the ground.

"Let them come. If they think the children are easy targets, they can look at that carcass and think again. I’ll double the patrols. I’ll scent every inch of this valley myself."

I looked down at my hands, stained crimson to the wrists. I had built a nursery with rounded corners to keep the babies safe from a stumble, only to end up painting the grass red to keep them safe from a monster. The irony wasn’t lost on me.

"Fenric, Noah," I said, my voice regaining its ’Queen’ edge. "We don’t need the carcass as a hero display. Just burn the body. I want nothing left of her. No scent, no bone, nothing. And from now on, the West Way is a fortress first, and a palace second."

I don’t know exactly where the female snake beastman came from, or how many scouts they sent out to create trouble for us, but I do know one thing. Our security isn’t secured yet.

"From now on, let’s build a fortification that no one can trespass." But even then, there are uncharted lands beyond that we have not yet explored. What if she came from there? We can’t exactly build something like a Great Wall with our limited resources, right? Even if we can, I don’t want to put the folks through such hard labor. So, we’ll do it like this: we’ll mark our current territory, and then leave the uncharted territory as hunting grounds.

If it’s like this, we can at least protect the ones inside the wall.

"Alright," I yelped with determination as I jumped to my feet, and all eyes fell on me. "We’re going to build a mini Great Wall." But as soon as I said that, the world swayed. No, I didn’t faint, but Fenric hauled me over his shoulder and said,

"That’s it for you, Arinya. You need to rest and get your wounds treated."

Eh?

"That’s right," Thalor spoke up. "I can smell not just the serpent’s blood but yours as well. You will not work until you are healed."

Eh? Ehhhh?