Page 121 of The Spider Queen

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Sorry, not sorry.

“Poppy?” Hunter asked, looking at me, hand still on the wall.

“Just having an argument with Thane,” I assured him. “He says he can break the ward.”

“Good.”

Do you know what’s behind the wall?I asked Thane.

Not a clue.

So we break the ward and then take our chances.

Pretty much, yeah.

Jeez, Thane. If Guardian of the Bridge, whatever the hell that is, doesn’t work out for you, maybe you should become a motivational speaker or a life coach.

And maybe, you should really hone your skills in survival instead of sarcasm. Sarcasm gets you nowhere.

Sarcasm is my reason for living.

“Okay, seriously,” Hunter voiced. “I feel really left out.”

“Thane is mocking my sarcasm skills.”

“Why? I think they’re brilliant.”

“And this is why I love you,” I told him, knowing Thane heard that. I hoped the dig hurt. I was being petulant, but I didn’t care. “Should we do this?”

Hunter nodded.

Ready, Thane?

You’ll pay for that,Thane growled.

Yeah, yeah. I have to survive all this first.

I’ll enjoy punishing you.

Sadistic spider.I sighed.Let’s get on with it.

Chapter 47

Put both hands on the wall,Thane commanded.

I followed his instructions, trying to see if there was a threat lurking behind the barrier. But all I could see beyond was a cavernous stone room with another set of stairs at the end. Which meant Thane wasn’t behind door number one. It would’ve been too easy.

And my life was not easy.

My palms began to tingle and then vibrate, and soon began to glow a dull red.

Thane—

Relax.

The deep red light soon became bright orange flames and my hands began to burn. Fire licked at my skin, shooting up my arms. Fear hit me and I tried to rip my hands away from the invisible wall, but they wouldn’t budge. It was like they’d been super-glued to the smooth surface.

Just a little longer.

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