Chapter 312
"Ahhh—"
A piercing scream tore through the night.
Julian Langley jolted backward as if electrocuted, stumbling three meters away.
His back slammed against a tree trunk.
"Snake! There's a snake!"
His voice cracked with terror.
A pitch-black serpent coiled on the branch, its crimson tongue flicking in the air.
Its cold, vertical pupils locked onto him.
Julian's blood turned to ice.
He had always been terrified of slithering creatures.
The snake was barely ten centimeters from his nose.
He could even smell its musky, reptilian scent.
"Hiss—"
The serpent suddenly arched its body.
Julian's pupils constricted in panic.
At that critical moment—
A figure darted forward like lightning.
Evelyn Laurent's slender fingers clamped precisely behind the snake's head.
Thwack!
The serpent's tail lashed against her wrist, leaving a red welt.
She didn't even flinch.
With a swift motion, she hurled the snake through the air.
Whoosh—
It landed over a dozen meters away, smacking against a boulder.
The entire ordeal lasted less than three seconds.
By the time Ethan Sullivan rushed over, he only saw Evelyn shaking out her hand.
"Are you hurt?"
He grabbed her wrist, his thumb brushing the red mark.
Evelyn pulled away. "Just a scratch."
She turned to Julian, who was still trembling.
"Third Brother?"
She waved a hand in front of his dazed eyes.
Julian snapped back to reality.
"I'm fine!"
His voice was an octave higher than usual.
He straightened his posture with forced bravado, though his gaze kept darting toward where the snake had been flung.
Ethan suppressed a smirk. "Third Brother is quite brave."
"Of course!"
Julian lifted his chin defiantly.
"I just... found it disgusting."
Even as he spoke, he inched closer to Evelyn.
She bit back a smile.
Her third brother—
terrified out of his wits but still putting on a tough act.
"Let's go."
She looped her arm through Julian's, feeling the faint tremors in his muscles.
When she glanced back, she met Ethan's warm gaze.
Under the moonlight—
his eyes overflowed with tenderness.