Page 186 of The Spider Queen
I thought for sure Thane would reach out and lift the forest troll by the neck and shake him like a rag doll. But he didn’t. He kept his eyes locked on me.
“Why do you look so sad?” I asked, a cloud of air escaping my lungs. It was difficult to make my lips move. They felt frozen, stiff, like they’d shatter if I smiled.
The snowflakes had stopped falling, so there was nothing to catch on my tongue.
“You said nothing could harm her,” Thane said, addressing Virbius.
“I said nocreaturescould harm her. She must’ve seen something in the water.”
“Hunter,” I said, my eyes drifting shut. “As a merrow. I wondered if he was real. He wasn’t.”
Neither of them replied, and I let my eyes remain closed. My breathing was shallow, and when I tried to take a deep breath, it felt like my lungs were being shredded and pulverized.
“Ow,” I muttered, my hand going to my chest.
Thane’s hand whipped out to grasp my fingers. “Poppy, wait.”
“Wait, what? Help me sit.”
Thane looked to Virbius for confirmation, which in turn caused me to frown. Thane was Guardian of the Bridge. He didn’t bow to lesser beings.
Virbius placed his hands on my shoulders—hands, not paws.
I frowned. “Wait, last I saw you, you were in your beast form.”
“I changed.” He shrugged and then looked away. “Sun is rising.”
The three of us took a moment to watch the three moons sink into the horizon and the sun poke its head awake. “I don’t think I’ll get tired of seeing that view,” I whispered, my voice full of awe as the painted canvas of colors stole my breath. Rays warmed my cheeks, and I felt my skin crack and ice fall from my face.
“What happened to me?” I asked, finally able to take a deep breath. I held out my hands, and the both of them helped me sit up.
“You dove into the water,” Thane said slowly. “And you went under. An ice reed stabbed you.” He put his finger to my chest, right over my heart.
“I pulled you out,” Virbius bragged.
Thane shot an annoyed look at the forest troll. “We both pulled you out.”
I frowned. “Okay. So…I’m fine. Right? Aside from being a little bit frozen.”
“The ice reed impaled your heart,” Thane said. “The human part of it.”
“I don’t understand.”
Thane dropped his head and then looked at me from beneath his brows. “Your heart was in the process of changing, Poppy. It was becoming immortal. The reed lanced the part of your heart that was still human, and it was enough that you began to freeze.”
“So we had to cut it out of you,” Virbius added.
“I have half a heart?” I asked in stupefaction. “Can I live that way?”
Thane nodded, but his gaze was somber. “You can. Only—only it means you’ll change once again.”
“How?” I shrieked.
“I don’t know,” Thane admitted.
I launched myself at him, tackling him to the ground. Maybe he let me, or maybe my newfound rage lent me a surge of unnatural strength.
With a half a heart, would I lose all my empathy? Would I lose my essence? Would I lose everything that made meme?
