Page 31 of Steeling Light (Shadowed Debts #3)

Calyr’s influence on the Houses within Selithar is undeniable, the House of Webs being the most obvious connection. The only exception seemed to be the House of Light. Now we know just how wrong we were…

~Maeve Arden, The Future of Magic and Dragons

Ainslee

The Keep of Webs is just as it was before. Silkies cling to the webs that cover the outside of the mound, and none of them look at Rhion and me as we stand outside the door.

“Ready?” he asks.

And I am. I’d been dreading this, but standing beside Rhion makes me feel stronger.

Not because I think he’ll protect me. I have no idea what the silkies and weavers inside this building can do.

They certainly aren’t warriors, but they’re powerful in their own right. Far more powerful than my own House.

More importantly, I feel less alone. It’s almost as though his support bolsters my own strength.

Darian and Cole don’t make me feel this way.

They decide what we do, and then I help when I can.

Rhion won’t make any decisions. He isn’t going to deal with Maerlix.

He’s simply willing to stand beside me while I do these things.

I nod to him, and he opens the door for me. I step through the entryway into the foyer, and as expected, Vellith is waiting for me. “You have come to speak to Maerlix,” she says. There isn’t even a hint of a question in that statement.

I nod to her, and she says, “You will have to excuse him. He was… injured this morning right before he awoke from his long dreams. He has agreed to speak with you, but he will not be his normal self.”

I don’t know what that even means, but as long as he’s awake enough to tell me where Vesta might be, that’s good enough for me.

Vellith doesn’t wait for my answer, instead turning to Rhion.

“You will be tolerated as far as the corridor outside Maerlix’s chambers, but you are from the House of Steel.

You will not be permitted to see the Master Listener.

The danger you pose is… significant . It is only because your dreams do not align with your father that you have been allowed inside the Nest at all. Do you understand?”

Rhion smiles at Vellith in that arrogant way that infuriates Cole and Maeve so much. “I’m only here to support a friend. You’ll find no animosity from me, silky.”

Vellith nods to him and turns to lead us into the Keep of Webs.

I glance at Rhion, who shrugs before we follow behind our guide.

The path doesn’t become winding. Instead, we travel through the main corridor for what feels like hours.

The deeper we go, the fewer silkies there are in their strange robes adorned with trinkets.

At the end of the main tunnel, there is a single small passageway, and blocking it from the rest of the corridor is a web of silver.

It reminds me of something, but I can’t remember what.

It seems to drip with liquid silver. Vellith takes my hand and turns to Rhion.

“Do not stray, Prince of Strength. You are a guest, not a leader here.”

Part of me fears what Rhion will do. If she’d said that to Gethin, he would have killed her on the spot purely because she disrespected him. But Rhion…

“Where would I go, silky? This place is as much a maze as the Labyrinth. I don’t think I’d enjoy being caught in one of your webs this far in. I’d probably die of boredom before anyone found me.”

And the corner of her lip curls up in a creaking smile. “Yes. Continue to think this, High Fae .” Then she steps into the web in front of the corridor and pulls me behind her. As I cross the threshold of the corridor, I feel caught for a moment, and I remember exactly where I remember those webs.

My dreams.

Vellith continues to pull me, and I appear on the other side.

The web is still completely intact. I look around, and it only reaffirms my previous thought.

The walls and ceiling are covered in thick silvery webs that seem to drip silver.

Only the floor reminds me I’m still in the Keep of Webs.

No strands of spider silk bind me this time, but fear fills my mind.

This is the cavern from my dreams. Which means…

I turn to where the massive spider always is, and I see him. This time, though, there are strange webs covering part of his abdomen and two of his legs. “Maerlix,” I say as confidently as I can.

Welcome to my nest, Daughter of Brightness.

“You’ve been in my dreams for weeks, and not once did you think to talk to me about my questions for you?”

You did not ask, young one. Were you to ask, I would gladly have given you your answers.

I snarl at him and walk toward him. Anger flows through me, unfettered and undeterred by his size or the dripping venom from his fangs.

“I didn’t know the monster spider that was sneaking into my dreams like a thief in the night was the person I was looking for.

You didn’t tell me your name. Why should I trust anything you’ve ever told me? ”

I was not trying to convince you to trust me.

There is no need. I am here to tell you what is to come.

You need help in preparing for the trials that await you.

You do not need to trust me, merely to remember what I have told you, and I am sure that you will never forget these things. My job is done. For now.

“What does that even mean? What trials? What darkness? Speak clearly, and maybe I’ll listen.”

This is clearly, lightbringer. Dreams and webs are not like receiving a battle report or reading a storybook.

They are… simple yet blurry. Even for myself.

I am not Calyr, nor am I Saelira. My sight is limited, but what I have discerned is unquestionable.

You will stand at a tipping point. You will be forced to make a decision that will change the future.

You must Steel your Light. And you must be the Light in the darkness for the many.

You will know these things when they arrive now that I have told you.

I snarl again at the lack of actionable clarity. It doesn’t matter, though. “Do you know where Vesta might be? I need to find her.”

And Maerlix smiles . His sapphire eyes seem to twinkle, and when his fangs spread open, extra venom pours onto the ground in a hissing puddle.

Vesta is a sylph, Young One. She is everywhere and nowhere at once.

“You don’t know how to say anything with any simplicity, do you?” The anger inside me is only getting hotter.

Calm yourself, Ainslee Emlyn, Daughter of Brightness and Strength. You will have your answers, but I seek a favor.

I can’t help but roll my eyes. “Are you kidding me? After harassing me for weeks and asking me to be something I’m not, you’re going to ask for a favor now?”

It is about who attacked us this morning while you were dreaming. The fire.

And this time, the snarl is not toward Maerlix. “Who?” The pain that fire could have caused if I hadn’t literally almost died stopping it is too much for me to ignore.

The creature is one of the Old Ones from before the dragons.

Unlike the rest, he was not put to sleep because he was imprisoned.

Until recently, he’s been fully contained, and his powers were nearly stripped, but now…

Now he has found a pathway out of his prison.

He has learned to follow the web of dreams, to cause the pain and fear that he feeds upon.

We have fought him there, in the ever-night, but his powers are not bound on that plane.

Here, in the physical, he is weak, but in dreamscapes, he is…

too much for us to combat. He cannot escape his prison, but if he is not destroyed soon, he will become powerful enough to destroy the wards that contain him.

I blink. An Old One? From before the dragons? “What kind of creature are you talking about? What are you asking me to fight? I’m not a warrior.”

It is… a god. The God of Nightmares, since you ask for clarity. A creature with no true form. A creature that, if freed from its wards, would be unstoppable even by dragons. It transcends this world, but I have seen your strands pulled toward it. You can defeat it… with help.

“Rhion,” I say.

And another. Adelynne the Bright.

I blink. “My mother? She can’t help. She’s…” I leave the word hanging. Useless .

It is the God of Nightmares, young one. Your mother’s light shines just as brightly as yours, and against one like this, it cannot be a candle. It must be a bonfire.

A sigh escapes my lips as I consider the repercussions of this decision. We’ve never worked together. Even our most recent chats over coffee have surrounded simple and safe conversations. Nothing important.

How am I supposed to convince her to fight a god with me? “What if I say no? What if I don’t think I can do that?”

Maerlix turns his head slowly, his sapphire eyes staring lidlessly at me.

You will agree to this, Bright One. There is no question of this.

You nearly died to save an inn, did you not?

If the God of Nightmares escapes his cage, he will consume Selithar.

He will put every person in this city into an endless nightmare to fuel his power.

And then he will push to consume the rest of Nyth.

There is no one in this world who will be able to stop him then.

The rest of the Old Ones are sleeping, and I cannot awaken them.

“I’m not Cole,” I say softly.

Cole Cyrus could not do what needs to be done. You alone, along with the strands that are so desperate to be near you, are the ones that can prevent Morvael from becoming the eternal darkness of Nyth. No other conflict is as important as this one. Not even your war with the Conduit of Strength.

How is this possible? Morvael is a god—something I didn’t even know existed. And I’m supposed to kill him?

“Tell me what to do, and I will try.” I sigh, furious that I know Cole would resist doing this.

He would be focused on reclaiming the Thrones and removing Gethin from power.

But if Maerlix is telling the truth, and something deep inside me trusts him more than I’ve trusted anyone before, then he’s right.

Morvael is the greatest threat to Nyth in the world.

I do not know. The Prince of Strength may have ideas, though.

He is a clever one—cleverer than I think he even knows.

The Lady of Brightness may have ideas as well.

My place is on the web, and he is more at home there than I am.

I cannot tell you how to defeat him, only that you can. The web does not lie.

I nod and close my eyes to center myself to accept this challenge. “I’ll do it, but when I come back, you will tell me where Vesta is.” It isn’t a question, and Maerlix doesn’t answer, merely nodding his head and splashing venom over the floor in the process.

I turn to Vellith, and without a word, she takes my hand and pulls me through the web back into the rest of the Keep. Rhion is waiting for me, a smirk on his face as he leans against the rough brown walls.

“Well, did you find out where Vesta is?” he asks.

I shake my head. “We have to do Maerlix a favor before he’ll tell us.”

He arches an eyebrow. “A favor? What kind of favor? What does the Spider King need from you?”

“Not a big deal,” I say. “He just needs you, me, and my mother to kill the God of Nightmares.”

And for the first time that I can remember, Rhion is left speechless.