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She tilts her head. “Who would help us? We are but monsters to all.”
“The queen,” I reply, tilting my chin up. “The new queen.”
The naga studies me carefully, weighing our words. Once she seems to take in everything, she bows her head slightly. “I am so hungry, but I will allow you to pass without a fight. Today, you. Tomorrow, me. A life for a life.” When she backs away, Dade starts to move again. I don’t think the naga would stand a chance against my monsters, but hunger is the great motivator. I’ve seen humans do terrible things out of hunger. Monsters would be no different.
“The hunters will follow,” I tell her as we pass. “You should move farther inland.”
She bows her head to me as I pass. “I will take your advice, little monster tamer. Thank you.”
From then on, many of the monsters we pass don’t give us any trouble. Most run away at the sight of us, terrified they will become our next meal. Some see me in the midst of monstersand decide that it’s better to remain indifferent rather than become an enemy. A rare few interact and ask questions.
It isn’t until we get closer to resting for the night that we meet our first conflict.
Rook senses it first and freezes, his hand shooting out to stop the others from moving, but they are not fast enough to hide from the creature that steps out from the bushes. Kaito jerks back in surprise, but the others stare at it like they’ve seen it before. I side with Kaito. The creature is grotesque. It’s humanoid, standing on two legs like I do, and he’s clearly male, his physique built like that of a warrior. His skin is a mottled gray and black broken up by streaks of red. His face, however, lacks the most humanity. Though he has two large black eyes, there’s a multitude of other, smaller eyes smattered across his forehead, and his mouth is circled by large fangs. Everything about him makes me think of spiders, and I shudder where I sit on Dade.
“What—” I start, but Rook’s hand on my thigh stops me.
“No sudden movements,” he warns. “Draw no attention to yourself.”
The spider creature tilts his head at the sound of Rook’s voice and takes a step closer.
We won’t leave here without a fight, Dade says inside my mind.This is a fae male from the Arachna Clan. Dangerous. Lethal. Deadly.
My fingers tighten in his mane, the lightning beneath my skin dancing with my nervous energy, and that’s a mistake. The lightning lights up my skin, making me glow, and the fae’s many eyes focus hungrily on me. Whatever power I possess, he wants it. Strands of drool begin to drip from his fangs as he starts to chortle and takes a step closer.
“What a pretty power,” he purrs, and his voice makes my skin crawl. It feels like thousands of tiny spiders crawling along my skin, and I shiver. “I’d like to taste your power, pretty human.”
“She is spoken for,” Rook warns. “I suggest you continue on your way.”
Weyland shakes his head. “His clan isn’t known for peace.”
We should be thankful there is only one. We would not stand a chance against the whole clan, Dade whispers in my mind.
“Do they often travel alone?” I ask him in a soft voice.
No, he replies, and I understand the weight in that word. The others won’t be far behind. We can’t linger.
“Don’t let him bite you,” Rook snarls just before he leaps forward. The fae immediately goes on alert and steps out of the way of my shadow monster, moving with a speed I don’t expect. When large spider legs burst from his spine and help him move, I shriek and cling to Dade tightly as he avoids the fae.
“Come here, pretty power,” the fae coos. “Let me taste you.”
Weyland shifts so fast, I can’t even follow the transition. He leaps into the shadows to help Rook while Dade and Kaito stay with me. I watch in horror as the spider tries and fails to come after me, his large spider legs giving him speed and agility that my monsters don’t have. When he disappears, we all turn, frantic to find where he’s at.
Rook snarls, “Watch your backs.”
The sound of fast-moving legs draws our attention, but it’s a trick we don’t expect. The web comes from nowhere, latching onto my arm and jerking me off Dade’s back. I scream in terror as I slam against the ground, losing my breath from the impact, before being tugged toward the trees. Kaito shouts and leaps after me, slicing the web with his nails and trying to drag me backwards to the others, but the fae appears from above with a hiss.
“Pretty power,” he coos as he drags me toward him. He’s far stronger than Kaito, who calls for the others in desperation. My arm pops as I’m tugged between them, my fear freezing me as the fae moves over me on his spider legs so he’s looking down at me. His fangs spread, and I turn my face away in horror.
“Rook!” I scream as I feel his hot breath. My lightning shoots along my skin, and the fae’s eyes widen in surprise.
“Powerful human,” he purrs. “So potent I can taste it in the air. Just a taste.”
His fangs open, and I scream, waiting for the feeling of being bit by this creature. My monsters attack him, but he doesn’t react to the wounds they inflict.
My lightning zaps out and touches the spider, but he only shivers in ecstasy. “Just a taste,” he repeats. “And then I’ll save the rest for later.”
He leans in, shivering, and then his eyes widen. I feel it a second later—the first pinprick of pain along my stomach. The fae looks down in surprise, and I follow his gaze to see what stopped him. Dade stands over us, his breathing ragged and hard. His large, sharp horn pierces the fae, going through his back and out of his stomach where it continues to pierce my stomach the smallest amount. We’d been too close to judge the true distance. The fae slumps, but before he can fall on top of me, Rook and Weyland haul him off, the squelch of Dade’s horn coming out of him making me cringe. Kaito immediately rushes to me, checking me over. His hand traces over the bit of blood on my stomach from Dade.
