Page 69 of The Silver Spider
Chapter 23
They skitteredout of her hair and flowed down her arms, pooling into her open palms in mists of green light. Silence descended, a sharp, interested quiet.
“So,” her opponent said. Sharp teeth gleamed. “You aren’t so boring, after all.”
Her spiders flew. The gargoyle deflected, raising his bracer shielded arms, but he could not defend against all of them. They landed on his face, and skittered into his hair. He grimaced, lips drawing back in a snarl and he rushed her.
“They bite,” he growled in an angry, guttural tone.
She refused to engage him. She’d play keep away until the poison on their tiny feet did its work. “They weren’t just going to say hello.”
He slowed.
“It won’t kill you,” she said as he fell to one knee. “And the effects are only a few hours. I’ll call them off if you forfeit.”
He stared at her. “Shit. Fucking animage. Lord, I’m satisfied. Forfeit. Call these damn things off.”
* * *
Amnan stiffenedwhen the gargoyle warrior approached her several minutes later. She watched him walk. Unsteadily, but it was still a walk, and made mental note to tinker with her formulas. Evidently crafting a poison for humans wasn’t the same as for non-humans. He nodded at the dragon stiffly before turning to Serephone.
“What’s the poison you used?”
Her lips curved. “A little something I cooked up in my big, black, kettle.”
Amnan snorted.
The fae nodded again. “I’ll watch you with interest. Take the oath, girl. He’ll halt the tournament if you do. There are some, who would rather see you dead.”
* * *
The next roundalmost killed her. This fae was female, slender, and fought with a set of blades that cackled in her head, their edges glowing red. Serephone truly believed the woman was trying to skewer her. So far the trials had been one, big, nasty gauntlet; the purpose to put her thoroughly through her paces and maybe pay her back for the insult of refusing to take the oath like a good girl.
Evervaine made a remark before the next round. “Her fae blood seems the dominant, why is she so stubborn to take the oath? Stupid child.”
Dawnthorne called for another recess and Serephone was allowed to limp back to her room to tend her wounds. Amnan had been required to remain behind, in discussion with Dawnthorne.
The blades had caught her ribs twice, thin slices that hurt like a bitch and were bleeding more than she liked. She wouldn’t be surprised if the steel had been treated with a substance to prevent coagulation. She stripped down to her bra and tended her wounds while sitting on the bed, finishing up and donning a clean shirt when the door opened and Etienne walked in.
“Get out,” she snapped.
He ignored her, shutting the door. “Your mother’s temper doesn’t look good on you.” He surveyed her coolly from where he stood. “When you are approached by a potential ally, you should always allow them to speak or risk incurring a disadvantage in your dealings with them.”
“Not your ally. Enemy.”
“Don’t be a child.” Etienne came forward. “I want to speak with you.”
“Is this the scene, where you insist you aren’t a bastard and a scoundrel, after all?” She was almost too tired to maintain the sarcasm—but not quite. Even looking at his face burned her gut.
“Can you heal your wound?”
“Go away.”
Her father sighed. “I was two years over the five year permission I had to be gone, Serephone. They would have come looking for me eventually, and they would have found your mother and your sisters. They’ll be brought here eventually, it’s inevitable. But I wanted you to have some kind of a life first.”
“So you cheated on my mother and abandoned us for our own good?”
His expression didn’t change. “What would Kai have done if I told her I was fae, and oathed to obey the head of my Line to the point, where I may not even choose where I will live? What if I had told her Dawnthorne was coming for our family, to take her daughters into service to our blood?”
