Page 178 of The Spider Queen

Good job, Poppy. You somehow got the attention of a forest troll.

Forest troll?

They’re creatures that prefer their beastly form to their other form.

What other form?

Never mind.

I don’t like the direction of this conversation. Where is it taking me?

Its lair.

Is it going to eat me? Do forest trolls like the flesh of human women not prone to athletics?

Thane chuckled.Uh, no. It—well—wants to keep you.

Keep me? If not for food then for what?

To be its mate.

You’re coming to get me out of this, right?

Already on my way.

Chapter 20

The forest troll lifted me off his shoulder and gently set me on the ground. Because all the blood had rushed to my head, and I’d been nearly upside down for who knew how long, I swayed and then collapsed.

My vision swam as the forest troll loomed, peering at me with red eyes. He crouched down onto his furry haunches, and with a gigantic paw, patted my face.

I batted his furry arm away, but the troll was adamant—and bigger. It continued to stroke my hair and face as if to assure itself I was hearty enough to bear its young.

“What do you normally look like?” I asked, not really expecting it to answer.

It barked something in a garbled language.

I shook my head.

The forest troll ran a paw down its face, like it was deep in thought.

I wondered what I had to do to get a drink of water. I mimed a sipping motion. The forest troll shot up on its hind legs and then dashed off into the thick brush. I was suddenly alone in the middle of the magical woods. I could hear the faint sounds of insects—or what I assumed were insects—and the flapping of wings. The forest was clearly alive with wildlife—but obviously not with anything I’d ever seen before. Minuscule purple and pink flower buds grew along the base of the tree trunks, and they swayed gently in the breeze.

I thought about leaving the forest troll, but I had no idea how much time I had to flee, if I could even escape, or if it was a smart idea. I was in a place with beasts I didn’t recognize—and danger lurked in places I wouldn’t even have considered. I also had no idea the direction of the desert, which I was supposed to cross with Thane.

So I waited.

Where was Thane?

One of the purple flowers nestled in the dirt bounced in the gentle breeze, its petals dipping forward. Its stem elongated, and the head of the bud pushed forward and began to slink toward me. I hastily crab-walked backward as the flower continued on. The stigma parted and something resembling a forked tongue slithered out. It danced in the air, perked up, and began to pulse.

I watched, frozen with bemusement, as the flower tongue wriggled at me. And then it shot its tongue to latch around my wrist. I struggled to free myself, but it tightened its hold, crunching the bones of my wrist. I cried out in pain.

While I was busy struggling with the flower tongue, there was a rustling sound, followed by more flower tongues charging out of pink and purple flowers. They tied around my arms and legs, and I went down on my back. I opened my mouth to scream, but a flower tongue curled around my head to cover my mouth, effectively ending my call for help.

I couldn’t rely on Thane, nor could I even rely on the forest troll to come back to save me. I shoved the fear down and focused on summoning my spiders. They poured from my mouth, slicing through the flower tongue that covered my lips. The sound of clanging metal was sharp in my ears. They attacked the flowers, their legs sharp as knives. Shrieks of dying buds rang through the forest as their tongues were severed from their stigmas.

I pulled my arms to my chest and sat up. Petals that were once pink and purple were now ash gray. My spiders roamed free for the time being, climbing trees, their black eyes twinkling. They were a comforting, watchful presence.