Page 176 of Where Darkness Falls

“Do you think it needs blood?” she asks.

While this is a logical assessment, her blood is of the rarest purity. What if offering it to the door only allows the monsters within to be unleashed? What if it backfires and morphs her into one of them—trapping her soul here forever?

I can’t risk it.

I can’t riskher.

“Absolutely not,” I growl. “You aren’t going to give it anything until we figure out what it nee?—”

The hairs on the back of my neck prickle as I sense something climbing up the walls, toward the landing. A faint tapping sound echoes. Then it stops. My shadows pool within my hands, and my heart rate climbs.

Maeva comes up beside me. “Emyr?”

“Shh,” I whisper. “Do you hear that?”

The group stills, listening for one beat… then two…

Then, the tapping continues, only this time, it’s much closer as the landing quakes beneath us.

Laisren and Riordan curse under their breaths while Maeva creates small orbs of starlight in her palms. “You shouldn’t use your power here,” I chastise her.

A feral snarl passes through her lips. “I’m the one retrieving the gem—not you, High General. I’m the one prophesied to awaken the Na Fíréin—not you,” she barks out. “I’ve heeded your advice this entire journey. Look at what it cost us when I didn’t summon my ability”

I’m too stunned to speak. This version of Maeva reminds me less of the woman I found in Aurelius.

“Think about it,” she continues. “The only time anything has gone well is when I’ve used it, while the others have ended in tragedy. This is my gift, and I won’t waste it to preserve your pride. My starlight is speaking to me, and this time I won’t refuse its summons.”

I want to argue with her because she’s being reckless, but deep down, I know she’s right. Even if I’m not ready for this, she is, and something about that kills me. I’ll never truly be the one to protect her.

“What in all Celestae?” Riordan curses.

I turn my head just in time to see a long, black limb hook over the side of the landing—followed by another… and another. The furry limbs continue climbing until there are eight in total. My blood runs cold. The door wasn’t enchanted to accept blood, but something else entirely…

One of its creatures.

Eight limbs for eight locks, which means it can only be one thing.

“What… is… that?” Laisren gasps.

I don’t answer as the body of an enormous arachnid emerges from its hiding place. Maeva shrieks, backing away from the creature, whose large eyes are trained on our every movement. Its pinchers alone are double our size. The body alone is at least the size of half the palace in Zulgalros.

Horrific is an understatement.

The arachnid breathes deeply. “Chosen Daughter,” the spider hisses. “You’ve come at last, and I see you’ve brought friends. Unfortunately there’s two too many.”

The spider clicks its pincers excitedly.

Excited for what exactly is undetermined.

Maeva’s starlight intensifies as she snarls at the creature. “Yes, I have,” she replies, “but I’m afraid none of them are here for you.”

“Your starlight scares me not, child. I’m eons older than you, and I shall continue to live for millennia even after you’ve breathed your last,” the spider retorts. “Either way, I mean no harm to you or your friends, as long as you comply.”

“Comply with what exactly?” she bites out.

“What is it you seek behind the door, Chosen Daughter?” it asks.

Laisren scoffs, stepping forward. “How’s that any concern of yours?” he sneers.