Page 201 of The Spider Queen

I choked down bile.

“How long will this last?” I asked, trying to keep my emotions under control.

“I don’t know. The storms can last anywhere from a few minutes to a few days.”

“Days?” I cried. “Of raining blood?” I tucked my hands into my armpits, not wanting any blood to touch my bare skin again.

A tremor pulsed inside of me. I grinned and asked my spiders for what I needed.

My sunglasses and hat disappeared, and I held out my hand to grip the handle of the massive golf umbrella.

I shot a smile at Thane who laughed—and then he hurried underneath. He took the umbrella from me since he was taller, and with his free hand, he wrapped his arm around me.

“Let’s sit,” he suggested.

Looking down at the ground, I wrinkled my nose. “On bloody sand?”

“Do you have any better ideas? There’s no point in walking.”

“Explain something to me,” I said when we were both nestled against each other, the umbrella shielding us from the blood drops. “Are we even in the middle of the desert? I mean, this obviously goes on for miles and miles.”

“It does. And I don’t know if we’re in the middle of the desert, per se.”

“Then why keep walking at all? Why not sit in one spot and wait for the Ebony moon to rise?”

“The Desert of the Forgotten does something to you, remember? It makes you crazy; it magnifies your doubts and fears. What do you think would happen if you, too, decided to stay in one place, choosing to be stagnant? Moving keeps the insanity at bay.”

“You know a lot about a lot of things,” I said with a sigh. “You should go onPurgatory Jeopardy!”

He arched an eyebrow. “You’ll know things, too. In time. It takes time.”

We don’t have time. I may never get that time.

Let’s play a game.

I’m not in the mood.

You just said you thought I should go on a game show. Come on.Thane chuckled.It’s not really a game. Remember when you showed me Charleston?

You mean, do I remember you hitching a ride on my backpack when you were in spider form, and I showed you Charleston?

Did I ever tell you how much I enjoy your snarkiness?

I smiled.

Do you remember that day?he asked again.

Yes.

Do you remember showing me the quaint carriage house you hoped to move into? You showed me a vision of what the house looked like, the gray cat curled up in the sun… I didn’t have the heart to tell you that you’d never live that life. I didn’t have the heart to tell you that all your human wishes and dreams wouldn’t be possible, and that in time, you would no longer even yearn for them.

I thought about the moment he was describing. How innocent I’d been. Naive. Kept in the dark about everything that was happening to me. My cousin had had me committed. She’d witnessed some terrifying, inexplicable behavior.

I’d forgotten that day. I remember it now. You’re right, though—about how I don’t wish for those things anymore. They’re so incredibly…human.

Human. Yes. It would make sense that you’d want those things, those dreams. What do you want now? Now that you can have anything and everything? Immortality brings so many choices, Poppy. What do you want?

I’d like to succeed in our quest.