Page 141 of The Spider Queen

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The air hushed, and all was silent.I didn’t even hear the sound of magical birds or the ripples of the lake.

Thane?

I’m here, Poppy.

I opened my eyes to darkness.

Where did the moon go?

It’s still here. Just…give yourself a moment.

A moment? A moment for what?

I opened my mouth to speak but couldn’t form any words. Alarm blasted through me.What’s happening? Why can’t I talk?

You chose, Poppy,Thane said.

Chose? Chose what?

Queen Aisling… You had to choose either Hunter or me… You chose me.

But I—

You were dying. The only way to save you was to turn you into your true form.

The sky lightened as the silvery moon peaked out from behind the clouds, just enough to illuminate the stone altar and a man standing in front of it. Dark blond hair, caramel skin, stern countenance. He was bare-chested and his lower half was covered in what looked like a loincloth made of leaves and reeds.

Who is that?I asked Thane.

Baylor. The water troll. The vampire plant we tried to use to save your life came from the bottom of his lake.

Introduce me. I’d like to thank him.

Poppy—

Introduce me. And where are you? I don’t see you.

He sighed.Turn around.

I stumbled, my center of gravity off.

Easy, Poppy.

I’m still a little woozy.

Finally, I turned—and that’s when I realized I wasn’t standing on the ground but on the stone altar.

Thane…I breathed.

A set of dark eyes blinked.Yes, Poppy. It’s me.

I drew closer. He was crouched down to my level. Half his nose was in shadow. I stared deep into Thane’s glittering obsidian eyes and saw my reflection in them.

Sleek, shiny black body.

Eight legs.

The night Beyond the Veil heard all the noises of the world. A bird’s song. The wind through the trees. The lapping of water along the grassy shore.

The night heard everything.

Except for my scream.

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