Page 116 of The Spider Queen
I don’t like feeling indebted to anyone. And you saved my life. Which means I have to save yours.
I’m not dead, Poppy. I’m trapped.
That’s no life at all. I’ll free you, Thane. And then we’re even.
The pull—
Forgetthe pull. Freeing you just became my choice.
“This changes everything,” I said interrupting their conversation and struggling to rise. “If the house can be infiltrated, then we aren’t—I’m not safe.” I looked at Hunter. “We have to go to the cliffs. Now.” I wobbled on my feet and would’ve fallen if Hunter hadn’t caught me.
“You can hardly stand,” he pointed out. “How are we supposed to make it down—”
“Give me a few minutes. I’ll be okay,” I assured him.
“We need supplies,” Hunter said to Seamus.
“Come with me,” Seamus said.
Hunter gently released me, and when he sure I would remain upright, he followed Seamus out of the room. As soon as they were gone, I leaned against the wall and closed my eyes.
“Easy there,” Maggie crooned, taking me by the arm and leading me into the bedroom. “Sit,” she commanded, pointing to the bed.
She went to the armoire and flung open the heavy, dark wooden doors. “Are you sure you have the stamina to do this today?”
“I don’t really have a choice, do I? I can’t stay here, it’s not safe. And I will not put more people in danger.”
Maggie stopped riffling through the clothes in the armoire to look at me. Her face softened and then she was back to business. “It will be cold on the cliffs. You’ll need to layer. There’s a good chance it will also be raining, so I’ll give you a rain mac and hiking boots.” She set a pile of clothes on the bed.
I pulled on a gray tank top and then put a white thermal over it. “Is that where Seamus took Hunter? To get the same stuff?”
“Partly.”
“Partly?” I got into a pair of clean underwear, Lycra leggings, and then finished it with a pair of rain pants.
“Supplies—food, water, ropes, lanterns—”
“Oh! Like camping gear. Got it.”
Maggie found a white wool sweater but before she handed it over to me, she took one of my hands in hers and gave it a squeeze. “I was wrong about you.”
“You were?”
She nodded. “You know how I can feel essences? Well, I couldn’t feel yours. It was like you simply didn’t exist. And that didn’t sit right with me.”
“Let me guess,” I said with an ironic drawl. “I almost died and now you can feel me?”
Maggie smiled. “Yes. Exactly.”
“What do you feel?” I asked. She opened her mouth to respond, but I cut her off. “You know what? I don’t want to know.”
“You really are going to free him, aren’t you?” She dropped my hand.
I put on the sweater and breathed in the smell of lamb’s wool. “I am.”
“Because you feelthe pull?”
“Partly,” I drawled.
