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forty-eight

W e landed in a large, hollowed-out den.

Sunlight trickled through cracks in the rock, illuminating the Kunzite ceilings.

Icicle-shaped formations hung down precariously.

As we caught our breath, I pushed my fear aside and grounded myself.

There was no room for doubt. She would be the one who died today.

“That’s more like it,” Rafael replied. Apparently that thought had been loud enough for him to hear. An endless network of spider silk surrounded us. They all led to a single, massive web in the center of the room.

I could sense her before I heard her. Ice crystals formed in my blood as she approached. Ancient, dark power pulsed around us. Something wet dripped onto my head and I grimaced, apprehensively peering up.

An enormous spider hung suspended in the air, slowly spinning as she moved spindly legs towards us, unhurriedly assessing.

She was a shade of bruised violet, blending in with the rock walls that surrounded her. The Kunzite was unpolished and rough compared to her glossy exoskeleton. Everything about her screamed huntress, including the bright white hourglass that flashed along her abdomen.

Startled, I reared up on my hind legs, nearly falling backwards. The glow from my horn reflected on something bone white in the distance and my blood went cold. Countless lumps were trapped in her web, wrapped tightly in white silk, lifelessly hanging. Bodies. Dozens of bodies.

I caught a glimpse of a hand, a foot… some looked partially decayed, others freshly killed. Nausea roiled through me. I backed up slowly, blind with panic. I had seen her… now we just needed to leave with our lives.

She dropped to the ground with a loud thud. Moving at the speed of light, she forced us to leap out of the way, effectively separating us. She came after me first and I acted on instinct, sending out ice arrows that bounced off her impenetrable shell or shattered on impact.

Raf struck with his shadows next. He lassoed her legs with his dark magic, intending to disable her—instead he enraged her. She swung towards him, coming down hard on his shield with dagger-like fangs. They sliced into his shield and he jumped out of the way, inches from getting pierced.

I heard her laugh rattle through my brain and it was enough to cause temporary paralysis. “ You thought bringing your Prince along would save you? Who should I eat first? He smells nearly as good as you. ”

Her eight legs scrambled forward as she tried to corner me. My horn exploded with light and she backed up a step, but didn’t disintegrate like the others had. It had given her pause, though. Raf looped a vine around one of her legs and pulled her away from me.

She whirled, charging towards him with lethal velocity.

The sound that escaped me was a bleating cry for him to watch out.

He disappeared, then reappeared behind her, sending spears of shadow at her.

They ricocheted, hitting the walls of the cave, before turning into smoke.

She scrambled up the side of the wall onto the ceiling and flew towards us, preparing to drop on top of us.

Raf threw out a shield that stopped her fall momentarily, but her fangs tore through it like it was made of paper. Her heavy body shook the cavern as she landed, causing rubble to rain from the ceiling.

They moved impossibly fast. All my eyes could catch were blurry streaks of black and purple in the dim light of the cave as they danced circles around each other. He shadowed himself on top of her, preparing to drive his sword into her head, but she reared up and sent him flying.

He turned to mist, before nearly hitting a wall, and then he was under her, trying to stab her hourglass with the blade.

He swung with the strength of a god, but the obsidian steel hit an even stronger material, shattering on impact.

She side stepped him and sliced his back with one of the spikes along her legs.

My heart stopped when I saw his blood spill, but he was gone before she could get her fangs in him.

“Aim for the hourglass. She’s trying to protect her abdomen—it’s her vulnerable spot,” Raf yelled .

I ran towards her and angled my horn at her belly, but she was too quick.

She charged and I skirted out of the way, missing her fangs by inches.

I felt fear roll off her when my horn was close.

Raf was right—my horn would be strong enough to break through her exoskeleton—but how was I going to get close enough to stab her?

Each time she dropped from the ceiling, she slammed hard onto the ground, shaking the entire cave. Rocks fell around us, adding to the chaos. She wanted us rattled and ripe with fear.

Rafael erupted into his dragon form, snapping razor-sharp teeth at her, aiming for her belly.

She scuttled up the wall, away from his jaws.

He was so large that I had little room to maneuver as his tail thrashed in frustration.

He blew violet fire at her, warming the air around us, but she emerged from the flames unscathed.

She dropped to the ground, preparing to bite Rafael, but he shifted into a bird and flew out of the way. She jumped towards him and knocked him out of the air. He hit the cave wall and my heart nearly imploded at the sight. I didn’t know if he was alive, but I knew she was dead.

My rage was a spitting volcano that could turn entire worlds to ash.

She lunged for me and I had just enough time to wheel around and charge her.

Reeling back, she screamed as she retreated.

Raf’s body had shifted back to his faerie form, but he appeared unconscious.

Every fiber in my being wanted to go to him, give him my blood, heal him , but I couldn’t lose focus.

I was on my own. I couldn’t run—I wouldn’t run without Raf. I stood guard over his body, holding my head low as I kept my horn directed at her. Indigo flames roared around me and she crawled back to the ceiling.

“An immortal witch, scared of a unicorn?” I said mockingly.

“Just choosing the right moment to strike,” she purred back. “I enjoy playing with my food, you see.”

“Then come play.” I held steady as she scuttled towards me and reared up in an attack stance.

As she lifted her front legs, I galloped forward, sliding under her.

I drove my head up with everything I had.

My horn perforated through her hard shell with a deafening crunch as she landed on me, fangs extended.

We both fell to the ground. My legs collapsed under me as the white-hot sting of her fangs sunk into my haunches. The burn from her venom sliced through me, hotter than a freshly forged blade .

My horn was wedged deep inside of her, so I did the only thing I could; I poured all my light into her belly, melting her from the inside out. I couldn’t escape the screaming that reverberated against my skull as a silver, syrupy substance oozed from her, onto me, searing my skin.

As her poison entered my blood stream, my veins caught fire. I writhed and struggled to breathe as blinding pain consumed me. My magic sang a war cry as it battled against her venom.

She curled and twitched as she fought the true death.

Her heart pulsed around me as it slowed, then sluggishly halted to a stop.

As her body relaxed, the full weight of it crushed me, constricting my ability to breathe.

My heart thumped slower and slower, while venom continued to spread.

My lungs grew heavy with fluid and I started to convulse.

I closed my eyes, too tired to fight any longer.