The giant snake’s hiss became a gurgle as its head flopped to the ground—separated from its body.

  “Cut the head off a snake,” Ravina spat, wiping the creature’s blood off her sword on its scales.

  She’d been wandering this jungle for over a week now. No stranger to being alone in the wilderness, she’d been carving her way east—not that she knew whether that was the right direction or not. She just knew that was where the sun rose, so it was an easy heading to follow.

  Any direction was as good as another when you had no idea where you were.

  She was vaguely following a river, but every time it veered away, she kept heading east. It always circled back around eventually…or maybe she was just encountering different rivers. The jungle was incredibly wet and rainy—she wouldn’t be surprised either way.

  The dungeon rations she’d packed in her storage bag were beginning to run out, but there was prey aplenty when she got to the point of needing it. For example, an enormous, dead snake…

  She bent down to inspect the creature she’d just slain. It was gargantuan. Its head was bigger than her entire torso, with fangs the length of her forearm. The whole thing must’ve been a couple spans long, at least.

  Fortunately, it didn’t have any kind of magic, so its dispatch was relatively simple. Though, she wouldn’t want to imagine what the venom those fangs likely held could do. Actually, maybe she could make use of some of that venom…

  A ruckus sounded behind her, and she spun around—sword in hand. She could hear muffled voices approaching her location exactly. She’d yet to encounter any signs of sapients the entire week she’d traveled, so she was a bit hopeful. However, she’d not make the mistake of assuming people weren’t hostile because they were sapient.

  “...don’t see what’s so great about it. It’s wet and humid and gross,” said a muffled voice, low in pitch but clearly feminine.

  “Come on! Look at all this abundance! All these creatures living their lives—no regard for whether the sun will rise tomorrow. Just pure, unbridled life. Isn’t it beautiful!?” came another voice—jubilant, higher-pitched. Also feminine, from the sound of it—though that could’ve just been excitement.

  “I fail to see what’s so great about animals killing and eating each other perpetually,” the first voice groused. She sounded less annoyed than like family entertaining another family member’s enthusiasm.

  “You just don’t have any eye for the beauty in nature, Auntie,” clucked the second voice—actual family, then?

  The first woman to clear the treeline into Ravina’s clearing was tall, perhaps a stretch-and-a-half, with skin like polished onyx. She had horns that curved from her forehead toward the back of her head, tracing the path of long, black hair streaked with purple highlights.

  Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.

  She wore a rather risqué outfit of black leather that clung to her form and left little to the imagination. The leather—made from a creature Ravina couldn’t identify—was reinforced with metal buckles and rivets. The metal was purple, matching the highlights in her hair. It wasn’t a metal Ravina recognized.

  She had a pair of long, wavy daggers at both hips—though their length suggested a title closer to short sword. Then again, maybe the length was fitting, given the woman’s size.

  Ravina also noted the sharp, purple-painted nails and the fangs that extended just slightly past the woman’s glossy purple lips.

  Most striking of all were her eyes—black sclera with glowing purple irises. Even under the midday light, they seemed to shine. The contrast gave her the appearance of a celestial object—like a purple moon.

  This woman, while beautiful, gave Ravina the same impression as a coiled snake: dangerous, elegant, and ready to strike.

  The woman smiled upon seeing Ravina—still in a guarded stance—and threw her hands into the air. “Finally!” she exclaimed.

  “Finally what?” came the second voice just as its owner emerged. Where the first woman was a sheathed blade, this one was a branch swaying in the breeze. She had shoulder-length brown hair adorned with a tiara of intertwined vines blooming with pink flowers.

  She was a little shorter than Ravina—just under a stretch—and wore a green gown that fluttered in the breeze. A staff of pale, gnarled wood was in her hand, which she used as a walking stick. Two twisting branches formed its shape, ending in a large, green flower blooming at the peak.

  Her sclera were normal, her irises a deep forest green. Bronze cheeks were flecked with freckles, and her demeanor radiated friendliness.

  She visibly brightened upon seeing Ravina. “Finally!” she repeated, echoing her “auntie” unconsciously. Ravina realized the horned woman had vanished—just as arms wrapped around her from behind and lifted her off her feet in a suffocating hug.

  “We’ve looked for you for so long, dear!” said the first woman.

  “Auntie, you’re gonna squish her!” the second said, running up to the two of them and wrapping Ravina in a second, only slightly less crushing hug.

  “What the bloody blue fuck is goin’ on ‘ere?!” Ravina shouted in confusion.

  The brown-haired girl blinked, stepped back, and gave a small bow. “Sorry, I got excited and forgot myself. My name is Gala. Nice to meet you!”

  Purple-eyes walked around to stand beside her and bowed as well. “Sithraah, but you can just call me Sith. Or Auntie. We’ve been looking for you, Ravina dear.”

  “Lookin’ for me? Ain’t no one should even know I’m out here, seein’ how I got surprise-teleported against my will. Who the fuck are you to be lookin’ for me—to even know I’m out here at all?” Ravina said suspiciously, squinting her eyes at the unusual pair.

  Sith’s mouth twisted into a smile that chilled Ravina’s blood, her fangs showing prominently. “Form up, Mithril-rank. We’ve got a job from the Founder himself.”