Page 1 of The Silver Spider
Chapter One
Serephone stoodin a darkened bit of hallway just outside the ballroom, silver spiders crawling over her hands. Marriage puzzled her. She understood, intellectually, the benefit of a single woman marrying a rich man, who did not appear to be a complete knave. But appearances were usually deceiving.
She watched her new stepfather, laughing raucously at something his youngest, pretty, blond son whispered in his ear, a wolfish grin on his face. Her oldest stepbrother, Nuaddan, whom she'd only met today, was sitting in his father's chair, as still as a stone statue and with less personality. She'd steer clear of him—he'd looked at her once, and the hell in his eyes trumped hers a hundredfold. Whatever his story was, she didn’t know and didn’t care. She just knew she wanted no part of it.
The middle son—and weren't middle sons traditionally the ones with all the issues?—was nowhere in sight. Serephone’s eyes narrowed and she shifted her vision. The room hyper-focused as she rapidly scanned the guests, hearing sharpening in tandem. She could only keep it up for a few minutes at a time without risking an awful headache, but it was worth it to keep tabs on that one. She had two unmarried sisters, after all, and after Maddugh promised her mother, Kailigh, to dower them all, what better way to keep the money in the family than to have his sons seduce and wed his stepdaughters?
It was a brilliant scheme, and Sere couldn’t really fault the logic behind it. But….
"Plotting, Serephone?” a voice said in her ear.
She turned, spiders skittering up the loose sleeves of her formal black jacket. She'd refused to wear another gown. Look what had happened last time she'd been trapped in a dress—Cinvarra almost kidnapped and Sere hunting her prey with fancy skirts tripping her up. Her hand rose in automatic response, fingers curling into claws.
"Don't swipe me with those pretty claws of yours, sister," Amnan said. "I’ll swipe back."
How had she not heard him? Sneaky, just like a man. Her hand lowered to her side. "I am not your sister."
He crossed his arms and leaned against the wall, chest facing her, though he watched the crowd as she did.
"No?" His head turned, swampy green eyes focused on her face. "What are you then, if not my dear, beloved sister?"
His voice dropped to a nearly sensual croon on the last three words. Serephone stared at him, stonily, and refused to respond. He'd not get a rise out of her. Whatever game he was playing, and she was certain what it was, he could play with his hand.
Amnan was handsome, in a Dwyrkin kind of way. At least Maddugh pretended to be more a man of the people. Amnan didn’t bother. He slunk around, sticking his nose in everyone's business, stirring up trouble—the trouble with the miners had been all his doing, on the orders of his father. And had almost gotten Cin killed. Serephone wouldn’t forget that anytime soon.
"Go play," she said, and turned away from him, allowing her spiders to come out of hiding. She didn’t trust him one bit.
They emerged from under her sleeves and crawled up her jacket, a swarm of tiny, half-mechanical, half-magical creatures infused with the nascent green light of her magic—and fully at her command.
Amnan smiled, the expression lazy. "Nice toys, Sere. You should put them away before one gets dropped in a punch bowl. Accidentally."
She was nowhere near a punch bowl. And if one of her spidersdropped, it would be no accident. But she was close enough to an annoying, second son with vague ideas of seducing her that she thought setting a spider or two on him to dissuade whatever scheme he had in his mind, would be just the thing.
"Step closer…brother," she said, smiling. With what might pass for a smile.
He eyed her, and shifted away...slightly. Fire flaring in his eyes to show her he wasn’t without fangs of his own. "Lady Kailigh sent me to bring you back into the fold of her ample bosom," he said. "Do I tell her you’re too otherwise occupied, standing in the dark plotting murder and mayhem?"
"No murder. If your Da behaves." A bet she was itching to place, but that would be disloyal to her mother.
"My father is very well behaved. The rest of us? Not so much." His teeth flashed in an almost smile, a mirror of her own. "You're an interesting girl, and I usually squash ants, when they feel the need to threaten me."
She shrugged. "Not threatening you. Just keeping you informed. Stop sniffing around me."
His smile faded, a subtle hardness on his face. Amnan straightened from his slouch and stepped forward, ignoring her spiders, ignoring her stiffness, when he invaded her space. She didn’t like men who were taller than her.
"I plan on doing plenty of sniffing, woman. You're a danger—to yourself, mostly. But, I won’t let you do something foolish because you haven’t dealt with your issues."
And what would he know about her issues? Or that she was contemplating mischief? Just because she had a few choice mechanisms in place in case Maddugh proved to be a villain.…
"I know what you’re doing, Serephone, and you're going to stop as of now. They are married. Stop testing my father."
So, he'd noticed. She'd figured her mother would have said something sooner, and Maddugh seemed oblivious. But she'd just wanted to ensure the man didn’t have a secret streak of cruelty, or laziness, or dishonesty. So, she'd arranged a few little tests over the last several days. It was for the good of the family. Her family.
Serephone's hand rose, palm up, and several of her darlings pooled in the cupped palm. "My mother. My sisters. I’ll protect them, whether you like it or not. Blow off."
His hard eyes lingered on her face for several silent moments, then softened. "Come to the party, Sere. Nothing will hurt your family tonight."
* * *
