Page 93 of The Spider Queen
At some point, I fell asleep. When I woke up, I realized I was no longer wearing the robe, and I was naked underneath the silkiest sheets I’d ever felt. The room was dark, and it took me a moment to realize I wasn’t in my slanted apartment back in Charleston, but in a hotel in Nashville.
Next to Hunter.
Who wasn’t at all whom he’d claimed to be.
And me? Who was I?
The woman of this generation with the potential to free Thane from his prison? What sort of prison? An actual prison? A magical prison? And what washe? A powerful being of some sort. Whatever that meant.
There was still so much I didn’t know.
I heard Hunter’s breathing next to me and realized he wasn’t asleep.
“What happened?” I whispered. “To Marigold, Violet, Amaryllis…and the others? Why couldn’t they free Thane from his prison?”
“They failed the final test.”
“Why?”
“Because they weren’t the one.”
“And you think I’m the one?”
“I don’t know, we’ll have to see.”
I rolled over to face him even though I couldn’t see him. He must’ve gotten up at some point to close the curtains. There was nothing but darkness.
“Why can’t I hear Thane? I could hear him before the hospital… Did that mess with everything?”
“I don’t know. Maybe when we get to Ireland you’ll be able to hear him again. The Veil between—”
“Got it,” I said, even though I didn’t. Every question led to more.
An unwelcome thought burst into my head. “The times we weretogether, was I really with you? Or was I with him?”
“Me. It was me, I swear.”
I let out a breath of relief, but it was short-lived.
“We can’t be romantically involved, Poppy,” he breathed, heartbreak in his voice.
“Why not?”
“Because,” I heard him swallow, “you were never meant to be mine.”
“Whose was I meant to be?” I asked, already knowing the answer.
“Thane’s. You were always meant to be Thane’s.”
Chapter 35
“I’m not going,” I said, crossing my arms over my chest.
Hunter sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “You have to.Wehave to.”
After a terrible night of sleep, I was now sitting on the bed in a pair of brand new jeans and a white muslin blouse, courtesy of Hunter’s black Amex.
“No, Hunter. I’m not going to Ireland. I’m not going to be tested to see if I’m the one who can free a man—spider, or what the fuck ever Thane is—from his prison.”
