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Fire raged in his eyes—eyes that looked normal and yet abnormal compared to what the books showed and what I’d seen from the other breeds. His fists were clenched tight, flames slithering up and down the length of his arms. His hair wasalight, standing upright with the fire.
He caught my gaze, and a malicious cloud darkened his expression. I shivered and gulped, flashes of what he’d done to the three Spiders yesterday flickering in my head. His eyes narrowed when I held on to Snow tighter, and his fire intensified. The ground he stood on began to smoke.
I turned to Snow with an apologetic look. “I must leave now. It was truly a pleasure to meet you.”
Snow looked confused but nodded slowly. “Take care, lady Elf. I wish to see you again.”
I smiled and nodded as well, then I released him and turned in time to see Eon stalking away. The way he walked looked tense. Restrained.
I followed him until he disappeared into his portal. I looked behind me and ensured no one saw me before I closed my eyes and hurried into the Spiders’ portal. Warm, blinding light surrounded me. My ears began to twitch furiously before I even stepped outside.
Grimacing, I took a deep, shaky breath, straightening my spine and squaring my shoulders. Keia hid behind the safety of my hair, but her presence was a comfort I needed.
Because what waited for me when I stepped into the world of monsters had my blood run cold.
Anenormousblack Spider stood before me. His eight eyes were a glowing red, and three vertical red lines ran down his back. His eight limbs were long and lean; his two front legs appeared to be the longest, and his four middle legs were the shortest and seemed to be almost the same length compared to his two long hind legs.
Too many limbs. Too many potential weapons against me. He looked similar to what the books had shown, but this… this was no drawing.
This was far bigger than the drawings had suggested.
“E-Eon?” I called softly, yelping and taking a quick step back when he released a quiet hiss.
I raised my trembling hands up in a peaceful gesture when he took a few steps towards me, but when I saw that he wasn’t stopping, I crouched low and launched myself towards a nearby tree. His deafening hiss pierced into my head like an arrow. I cried out, stumbling mid-jump as I hurried to shield my ears. Cool air whooshed around me as the ground pulled me back, and I closed my eyes, bracing myself to break a few bones before a warm, silky thread twisted tightly around me like a snake. I screamed, my heart beating against my chest as I dangled from side to side with my arms squeezed to my body.
Eon hissed and pulled on his thread, his two large fangs poking out as I neared his mouth.
“Stop!” I screamed, squirming to escape even though I knew Spider thread was near impossible to break. It had taken a long time—and a lot of pleading—to find a Fairy with magic strong enough to do so yesterday.
And now he had me completely bound, like prey.
Was he going to eat me after all?
My heart dropped. “Eon, stop! I will hate you!”
He stopped and hissed quietly again, and then he moved. His long legs made soft thumping sounds as he crawled around with me dangling from side to side. My vision spun. The snack I’d eaten a while ago seemed to slowly creep its way up my throat.
Soon, Eon reached the tall, dark cliff that led to his land. He placed his thin legs against it one by one and began climbing, and as he did so, I pursed my lips tight to not spill my earlier snack. Tears blurred my eyes as I breathed hard.
When we made it onto his land, Eon placed me in front of a tree and began tearing his thread apart, leaving me shaking beneath him. The implied threat didn’t escape me. It felt too much like he’d just rippedmeto shreds.
His glowing eyes were unreadable as he looked down at me, and he hissed slowly—another warning—before he crawled away from me.
I sat up and watched him climb to his cave, quickly disappearing inside. A moment later he came out as angry as before, this time wearing another pair of form-fitting black pants. He moved slowly, and it was worse than if he’d used his speed to come to me because I fixated on what he was thinking, what he was planning, what he was feeling and how it would all affect me.
I swallowed, inhaling a shaky breath when he reached me.
“Who was he?” he asked in a low voice, slowly crouching in front of me.
I tilted my head back to look up at him. His frame swallowed me, blocking the sun’s fading warmth and light. I gripped the grass between my fingers to stop my shaking, but I knew those red eyes saw everything. My heart thundered inside my chest; I felt it beating against my ribs and my throat.
“A f-friend,” I stuttered quietly, gulping when he raised an eyebrow. I didn’t know how to interpret this gesture, but it unsettled me, and what made it scarier was that he remainedcalmon the outside.
“Who.” He paused and dipped his head lower. I drew back. “Was.” He paused again, and this time hecrawledone step towards me. I backed away again. “He?”
“E-Eon, stop it.” I exhaled shakily, looking away from his cold gaze.
Silence stretched between us. I didn’t thinkhissilence was a good sign until I felt his hand skim my left cheek. I flinched and froze as his warm palm cupped my cheek and gently turned my head to face him.
