Page 215 of The Spider Queen
In that moment, I found strength I didn’t know I possessed, and my heart no longer felt like it was made of golden light but of stone. I laced my fingers with his. “Are you sure?”
He nodded and then looked at the mage. “I’m ready to die.”
The mage let out a chuckle, shattering the tranquility and dark resolution. “I can’t take your life, merrow.Shehas to do it.”
I closed my eyes to keep from passing out.
“Poppy,” Hunter said, his voice soft. “Look at me.”
“No.” I shook my head, wanting to bury my hands in my face and sob for yet another impossible choice I was forced to make.
“Poppy,” he pleaded.
He gently tugged on my wrist. My hands fell from my face. His eyes, once so bright and full of life, were now dim. Like he was already halfway gone.
A knife appeared over my shoulder. The mage held an opal white, pearlescent blade that shimmered with magic.
I took the handle. Though the blade was light, it felt heavy with purpose. I looked back at Hunter. “I will tell stories of your bravery, of your noble sacrifice.”
Hunter closed his eyes, his silver lashes fanning his skin. “Let the bards sing of the merrow that loved The Spider Queen until his last breath.”
I wanted to cry, but I knew if I broke down now, I’d never do what had to be done. I wouldn’t kill Hunter, and in not doing so, the world would end.
“We are all vessels of duty,” the mage whispered inside my mind.
“Slit my tail,” Hunter whispered. “Let me remember what it was like to have two legs. Let me remember my humanity.”
Gripping the blade, I steeled myself. I leaned over Hunter’s thick, powerful, beautiful tail. I gently lifted it in my hand, and with the magic blade, cut Hunter in two.
I held him in my arms as silver blood coated my skin and floor. I held him in my arms until he took his last breath, and the light fled from his eyes.
Only then did I allow myself to weep.
Only then did I allow myself to cry like the human I’d once been.
Chapter 41
I tasted loam and forest at the back of my throat.
The last I recalled, I’d been deep underneath the ocean, holding Hunter as he died.
Because I had killed him.
A well of grief opened up inside me, and my entire body shook with sobs. It didn’t matter that he’d asked for me to kill him or that he was willing to sacrifice himself.
I’d carry his death with me for as long as I lived. Forever, if I was able to stop the war.
Somehow, I pulled it together and wiped the tears from my face. There was enough light from the moons to illuminate my hands.
They were stained silver.
My tongue was heavy with regret, and my stomach rebelled. I turned my head and vomited, though there was nothing in my stomach. As I wiped my mouth, I shuddered.
In the distance, I heard the clanking of metal and the calls of distress. The sounds of baying beasts and creatures I didn’t know howled in the forest. I shivered and ran my hands up and down my arms.
I had to find Thane.
I still couldn’t feel him at the other end of our mental connection. I swallowed more tears, tears that constantly attempted to escape. I wondered if I’d ever stop crying.
