Page 16 of The Princesses of Ruin (The Princesses of Ruin #5)

Chapter fifteen

Zane

S carlett drives into the woods with fervor and I follow, strapping my bag to my front to allow my spindles free. She leaps into the trees, using my magic to swing from branch to branch with increased speed.

Where are you going?

I think the words and stare in her direction, hoping she can hear me with Alyse’s power.

“To the Hollow Spider. I can hear it.”

What’s the likelihood of us stumbling across the very creature we need so soon into our trek?

It could be a trap.

“It’s not. Trust me.”

I dismiss my doubts and focus on our surroundings, looking for ambushes and predators.

Moisture slicks down my spindles and peppers my face as we fly from tree to ever-growing tree.

They’re so large now that when I look down, the shade is deep enough below the canopy to obscure the ground. Anything could be lurking down there.

A sharp caw of a hawk pierces the air. I look up, expecting to see the bird directly overhead, but it’s far off—and absolutely massive .

A demon beast.

Blue magic spirals off the tips of the bird’s wings as it glides on the wind. With another shrill call, it folds in its wings and dives. A bright blue streak of its arcane essence lights up the thick canopy, revealing another creature in the shadows of the branches: the Hollow Spider.

The bird zips past the spider in a crash of leaves and branches, then swoops back toward the sky, a prize in its mouth. One of the spider’s legs, still twitching.

Scarlett’s mind hurls thoughts at me faster than I can process, but the underlying message is clear. This is our only shot at getting what we need, and that fucking bird is about to snatch it away.

We hasten our leaping swings, but the hawk is faster. It dives again, and Scarlett screams as if that might ward off the bird. I sacrifice a spindle, launching it toward the beast, and it swerves. The diversion makes the bird sacrifice speed, giving us the seconds needed to reach the spider.

The colorful arachnid is guarding a silk-wrapped bundle in its pedipalps, waving its remaining front leg at Scarlett as if to scare her away.

She turns her back to the horse-sized spider and projects two of her spindles out in front of her like spears.

I want to yell for her to be careful, to not trust the creature at her back, but there isn’t time.

The hawk is lining up to strike again. I climb to a higher vantage point. The thinner branches threaten to snap under my weight, bowing deeply, but they hold.

The hawk glistens with blue magic and dives again, its beak projecting a vortex in front of it. The air turns icy cold in a flash, but I don’t let the chill distract me. I launch myself from my hiding spot, sailing toward Scarlett on a collision course.

The bird’s fist-sized eye tracks me a flash too late. I bury my spindles into its wing with a wet slice. I brace myself as I slam into the bird’s side with a bone-snapping crunch. I’m not sure if its mine, or his, but my ribs hurt. Talons dig into my thigh and latch on.

The bird screeches, its sharp beak clicking next to my ear. I stab another spindle into the monster’s chest, and another, as a third slices at the beast’s legs. Pain rips through my shoulder and I roar, reflexively cradling the injury. Hot blood spurts between my fingers.

We tumble through the forest, end over end, smashing through branches as we go. I close my eyes on instinct and reach out with my magic, trying to find anything else to hold onto, to catch myself.

A heavy thud looses me from the hawk’s grasp, and I stab a spindle into a thick trunk.

I bash against the tree and scramble to get a proper hold on a nearby knot.

My eyes are out of focus as I watch the demon bird flip over a large branch, then disappear into the darkness below.

I can hear it falling, hitting more of the behemoth trees on the way down, until finally it thumps to the earth below.

Dead.

“You’re hurt!” Scarlett’s panicked voice has been running in the background of my mind but flares to the surface now with a fresh wave of pain. I look at my left arm and growl through gritted teeth. The fucker cut me all the way to the bone, right at my shoulder joint. I can’t lift my arm.

Red hair and black-laced teal magic swim into view. The colorful spider follows her, its movements quick and lithe. She dangles in front of me, holding onto the same knot as she reaches into the bag strapped to my chest.

She’s saying something, but I’m not sure what. She presses a vial to my lips and I drink. The cold slide of a tangy blood-clotter potion across my tongue tells me what I need to know. I’m dying.

“You are not,” Scarlett roars as she puts another potion to my lips. Pain dampener .

Her other hand covers my ruined shoulder and teal magic pours into the wound. It’s icy cold, yet somehow burns. My throat aches. I must be screaming.

The spider appears at my side and I haven’t the faculty to acknowledge my fear for Scarlett. What if this creature hurts her?

“It won’t hurt us. It thinks we’re spiders, too.”

I reach for her with my good hand, smearing blood across her face. “I love you.”

“Shut up,” she says, her tear-stained eyes focused on my wound. “You’re not dying, so shut up.”

The world is getting darker. I worry that more monsters will come, attracted by the scent of my fresh blood. “Night is falling.” The words tumble out of my mouth in a slur. “Leave me.”

“You promised me forever, Zane, and I want it. I will steal it from Nol’Ther’s grasp if I must.”

She looks at the spider and it moves as if in response to some unseen command.

It crawls above me on a shimmering white web I didn’t even notice it making.

The spider lifts my damaged arm and a twinge of pain scratches at the back of my mind like a ravenous army pounding on a stronghold’s door.

It’s muffled, but I know the severity of the agony.

The spider works quickly as it wraps the wound in white silk, weaving and binding. Scarlett continues to pour her magic into my flesh until she has only one spindle remaining to hold her up.

The blood has nearly stopped. Whether that’s because I’m out or because the clotting potion is going to work, I’m not sure I’ll ever know. Darkness permeates my vision until it’s only her red hair and a glowing teal eye.

“I love you,” I try again, desperate to hear it from her just one more time .

She whimpers in frustration. “Stop saying goodbye.”

“Please.”

She leans in and kisses my lips, but I can’t feel it. The fucking pain dampener.

“I love you, and you are going to live.”

There were so many things I wanted. So many. Her belly swollen with my child. Little spiderlings running between our feet. I would put them on my shoulders and climb across the kingdom, showing them all the best places to ambush their enemies.

My head droops and the Nest calls out to me.

“You may yet see the day.”