Page 123 of The Spider Queen
“Because I do. Trust me.”
“Okay,” he said, worry on his face.
I ambled down the stairs, trying to prepare myself for what might be, but it was like preparing for a battle where you couldn’t see the enemy.
The air was stifling and sticky. It clung to my lungs, and I bent over, trying to catch my breath. My steps faltered before turning sluggish.
“Poppy! Are you okay?” Hunter called.
“Fine!” I yelled back, feeling winded.
The magic torches that illuminated the cavern and staircase suddenly snuffed out, and I was left in heated darkness.
The warm air swelled and engulfed me. It stole the air from my lungs, leaving me to gasp like a fish on land. I began to pant violently, but the more I struggled, the worse it became. So I forced myself to calm down and stop moving.
Without warning, the torches flared to life again.
And that’s when I saw a bright blue speck in the distance. It grew, and soon I realized it was a ball of energy flying toward me. And then suddenly I was in the middle of it, surrounded. I reached out to touch it, but my fingers encountered nothing.
The ball contracted until it began outlining the contours of my body, and then it wasinme. I felt the power move through my blood, my cells, and then it went to my heart. I looked down, expecting to see blue light shining out from my chest, but I didn’t emit a glow.
My heartbeat quickened; there was a slight burning in my ribcage and then coldness.
Frozen.
Before I could react to it, the ball of blue light shot out of me and disappeared, dissipating like a doused flame.
I was winded but otherwise fine. I rubbed a hand over my sternum, still feeling the traces of cold.
What was that?
Purification of the heart.
Why?
A pure heart is a free heart.
Whatever the fuck that means, I growled. “Hunter!” I called. “It’s safe for you!”
I heard his footsteps on the stairs as he came down behind me. “Are you okay?”
“That’s the new party line, isn’t it?” I drawled. Hunter didn’t smile. “Yeah, I’m okay. Onward?”
He inhaled a deep breath and then nodded. “What happened?” he asked as we continued on our journey.
“Honestly, I can’t describe it,” I answered. I was still trying to process the blue light and purification of the heart stuff.
“Oh. Got it,” he said, tone bleak.
“Got what?”
“You don’t want to tell me, do you?”
I halted and put my hand to his arm. “Look at me,” I commanded. “Whatever just happened, I feel like it was a deeply personal experience. I can’t explain it, let alone work through it—I don’t have the time. There’s so much I have bottled up that I’ve had to push aside because I haven’t had the time to deal with it, ya know? Let me think on it for a little while, okay? And after some time, maybe I’ll be ready to talk about it.”
My hand dropped from his arm and we trekked on. We’d only gone a few paces in silence when Hunter spoke.
“Why do I get the feeling that I’m not the one you want to confide in?”
