Page 24 of The Silver Spider
“Stop,” the fae woman said, holding up a hand.
Amnan kept moving, but Serephone stopped. And couldn’t move. The dragon at her side growled, head whipping around to stare at the fae.
“Release her. Damn fae. Should have known you’d have a locking spell.”
“I don’t know your face—and I do,” the woman said, ignoring Amnan and staring at Serephone.
“Heard a lot of that lately.”
“You are in some distress?”
She wouldn’t reveal weakness to a stranger. But her vision was slowly blackening. “Whatever spell you’ve got is affecting me.”
“The wards. You’ve not passed through them before. They are tasting you. Whose Line do you belong to?”
“What?”
“Let’s go, Serephone. Break the hold spell.”
The fae woman sighed. “Another bastard.”
Serephone snarled. “My parents were married. Watch your mouth.”
The woman’s expression didn’t change. “Nonetheless. Relax—the ward will be done soon. You may go in. But you, male—“
“She’s not going in there without me,” Amnan said, voice low. Steely.
The woman stared at him, voice cool. “You are not human. Declare yourself.”
“Amnan, son of Lord Maddugh, Clan Adallsthone.”
She grimaced, a faint expression. “Dragons. And why do you accompany one ofours?”
“She’s mine. Family. Either let us in or we’ll go. I’ll not have a flunky hold me hostage at a gate.”
The fae waved them in. “I would be up to no mischief if I were you. Girl—give me your name.”
The command was a low, vicious blow to her stomach. Nausea nearly overwhelmed her. She wanted to obey, but couldn’t. She had no name.
“Nameless. Poor child. But it’s for the best, I suppose. Go.”
The inability to move melted away from her limbs and Serephone moved forward, a thin-lipped Amnan at her side. He made no sound but she could feel the vibration of the growl in his chest. But once they entered the tightness gripped her in a psychic vice and began drawing her inexorably along the white stone paths.
“Sere, what’s happening?” Amnan asked in her ear.
Another time she might have crouched down to examine the seamless sidewalk. It wasn’t slippery, but there was no apparent texture. And there were no cracks showing where pavers had been laid. The road was cobblestone, but a type she’d never seen before—like crushed pink, white, and gray quartz.
“You ever been under a geas?” she asked, hand rising to mop a few droplets of sweat off her brow.
Amnan said nothing, but took her elbow, guiding her to a small shaded park lush with flowering trees, more of a sitting area, situated on the corner of the block. If the human areas of the Dome were bronze and copper and shades of brown, the fae quarter was silvers and pinks and airiness. She sat down and as soon as her legs stopped moving she grit her teeth against the urge to rise, to keep moving forward.
He knelt in front of her, hands on her face. She said nothing as her spiders began skittering in response to her elevated heart rate.
“Serephone, why would you be under a geas?”
How the hell would she know?
He swore. “Stone and Skies. If I had known—though I suppose there’s no way we could have known. We can try and walk out of here, but I don’t think that would end well for you. Are you being led somewhere?”
