Page 191 of The Spider Queen

I felt his tears on my skin as he slid into me. I felt my own, but refused to close my eyes. I wanted to remember this moment. Carry it with me forever. However long that might be.

He branded me with his touch and set my soul aflame. He made me wish for a life I hadn’t yet had a chance to live.

When we lay still, our hearts beating as one, I whispered, “I’m sorry.” My mouth touched his bare shoulder. He tasted of honey and sunshine, of endless possibilities. If Heaven was a kingdom among the clouds, then Thane was my kingdom of wishes. Wishes I’d one day hope to dream, believing they’d come true.

“Why are you sorry?” he asked with aching gentleness. He shifted, still inside me.

“For all the times I turned away from you. We could’ve had so much more of this.”

“We’ll have more,” he vowed. “You can’t believe we’ve already lost. You have to have hope.”

I smiled, but it was sad. “I guess that’s one part of me that will never change.”

“What part is that?”

“Scientists have a hard time believing in something so illogical as hope.”

Thane grew hard and rocked against me. He made love to me under the light of the three moons. Eventually, we separated into two beings once again.

After we dressed, we clasped our hands, and then stepped into the Desert of the Forgotten.

Chapter 27

“It’s peaceful,” I said.

Thane looked at me. “That’s not the word I would use.”

“What word would you use?”

“Arid. Dry. Every inhalation makes me feel like I’m choking on sand. There’s no movement here. The air doesn’t flow. It’s just…oppressive.”

“You’re going to be a real treat tomorrow,” I said with a teasing laugh.

We were walking across the dunes by the glow of the three moons. The air wasn’t cool even at night, and I didn’t want to think about the heat during the height of the day.

“How are you not miserable right now?” Thane grumbled.

“Well, I did go to college in Charleston, so I’m used to stifling heat and humidity. This is a dry heat, so—” I shrugged.

“So you think you know what tomorrow brings with the rising of the sun?”

“Why don’t you tell me,” I said in a sarcastic droll.

Note to self: Thane was pissy when he was hot.

“The dunes haven’t shifted yet. They will tomorrow. We’ll walk in circles. We’ll back track and find our own footprints. The sun will beat us down; it will suck the moisture from our lips. There will be no reprieve. There will be no shade, no water.”

“But we won’t die here, right?” I pressed. “I mean that’s a stupid question. We’re immortal and all. We’re not going to die by heatstroke or blistered skin?”

He shook his head. “We won’t die. We’ll just suffer and suffer while we wait for the Ebony moon to rise to the highest point in the sky. We’ll wish we were dead. Because that’s what happens in the Desert of the Forgotten. You wander, you forget a time without heat, without the taste of sand on your tongue and in your teeth.” His tone was bitter with memories. “I’d gladly be imprisoned another hundred years than have to wander through this desert.”

I was uncomfortable, but our suits were keeping us moderately cool. So why was Thane in such a dark place?

“What happened the last time you were here?” I asked softly.

“When I had my bouts of insanity,” he said, “in my prison, it was always the same. Me, here, wandering forever and ever. Once you’ve been to this place, Poppy, it stays inside of you.” He clenched his jaw.

“You still didn’t answer my question. What happened to you the first time you came here?”