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And now here I was, reborn anew.
“In my defense, my love,” I told her, bowing my head to hers, as her body trembled against mine. “I have never died before, so I had nothing to compare it to. And I haven’t molted for at least a decade, and when I did?—”
My voice drifted.
When I did last—it hadn’t been like that.
I hadn’t felt the need to nest and guard.
I had truly been close to death, and the taint of its potential rode with me still.
But I had been given a second chance to make things right—as long as my mate would let me.
“It doesn’t matter,” she said, looking up at me as I set her down. “You’re here now.”
“I am.” And I was flooded with need for her—but her safety was paramount. “How long was I gone for?”
Sloane gestured at the cave we were in, that lacked time cues. “A day-ish? Maybe?”
I stroked my hands—my new, freshly skinned hands, that had never had the joy of touching her skin before—against her cheeks. “Then we need to go.”
“To . . . the outside world?” she asked.
“Yes.”
She sighed and gave me a look of consternation. I couldn’t interpret it, so I tilted my head. “It’s not you,” she began. “It’s just—it’s going to be so real out there, Nia’n’an.”
“I know.” For as much danger as we’d been in inside Threadstone—everything had been simple. Outside, there was her father to deal with, and the fact that we still didn’t know who’d kidnapped her, and all sorts of things she felt she had to deal with regarding the circumstances of her kidnapping, I knew. “But you’ll have me. And I love you.”
I watched the tension melt away from her body as I said the words, so I said them again.
“I love you, Sloane Marlow. You will be my mate, and an Arachnaea mates for life. There is no other person in the world for me but you. You will always have my heart, and I will always be your protector. From here on out, everythingabout me is yours. So please trust that whatever is waiting out there for you, you will not be facing it alone. I will be at your side forevermore.”
Her eyes shimmered and she sniffed. “If you don’t kiss me before you pick me up again, I will—” she started, and then paused as she tried to come up with an adequate threat, but it didn’t matter, because I did as she requested, taking her in my arms and bringing her even with my face. She laughed and moved the translation device for me as my tongue unfurled, and I angled its dark tip toward her lips. They parted and let it in, so that I could seek inside her mouth once more, and I knew why so many humans enjoyed this kind of touch. It felt like we were spinning a web together without substance, weaving with sheer emotion, as her tongue pressed mine and mine pressed back.
And now that I knew where else I could use my tongue upon her—I pushed her away before instinct could take over, making her pout and moan. I was still tired, and I still needed to mate her, but I would never put my needs above hers again.
“Later,” I swore. “Let me take you out of here first.”
Forty
SLOANE
Nia’n’an went aroundand inspected all of the bodies, trying to solve the mystery of my kidnapping, but when he couldn’t, he carried me out of the caves. I enjoyed keeping my arms wrapped around his neck until we reached sunlight, when I let go with one to shade my eyes.
The second the minotaur I’d met earlier spotted us, he rushed out of his chopper with a whoop. “Fuckin’ A!” he shouted, and it reverberated into the cave behind us.
“Indeed,” Nia’n’an said, with a laugh, as he ducked beneath the chopper’s blades and loaded us on board.
He created a skein of webbings to fasten himself down, and also created space for me, with a chair and straps to run across my chest, plus anchor points for me to hold onto—by the time we were in the air, it felt almost civilized.
His minotaur friend handed me a set of headphones, and for a moment I had a flash of all the other times I’dgotten to wear headphones, out late at night, rocking inside of clubs—and the last horrible time that had started this ordeal for me. I put them on and sighed.
“Are you all right, my love?” Nia’n’an asked, as the helicopter took off.
I thought about being my brash former self, who pretended that nothing bothered her, but then realized I didn’t have to be around him. “I’m scared about going home, facing my father, and generally dealing with reality.”
Nia’n’an nodded deeply. “I will be there with you, for all of those things. You will not be alone.”
