“I’m sorry, Nico,” Raphael said sincerely. “I know how much Chaos means to you.”
“You of all people knowwhyit means so much to me,” he reminded his longtime friend. “The demon who chooses not to use his power. You’re different from the rest of your kind. Kingdom of Chaos is for those who don’t fit anywhere else. They deserve just rulers who care aboutthem, not power. Wolfgang used to be a man of good character. I don’t understand what happened.”
“Well”—Raphael held out his hand, and they clasped forearms—“for what it’s worth, I’m with you.”
“Ididn’t realize it would be so sticky. Or that it would spray so far. How on earth did he spray me across the room?” Maddie tried to wiggle her arms, but they were wrapped up tightly.
“Could you please stop moving?” Roan said through clenched teeth. He knew this wasn’t Maddie’s fault, but his anger at their situation, at letting a spider shifter get the drop on him, was testing the last of his patience.
“How are we supposed to get free if we don’t move?”
Roan sighed, trying to rein in his frustration. Getting angry wouldn’t help them break free of this predicament.
“Just … hold still for a minute.” He attempted to twist his wrist, which was trapped on the side of their bodies. If he could just get a little range of motion…
Maddie huffed but stopped squirming, allowing Roan to concentrate. He slowly flexed his fingers, feeling along the sticky bindings. There had to be a weak point somewhere.
He jerked in surprise when Maddie’s forehead bumped his chin. “Oops, sorry,” she muttered. “My neck was getting a cramp.”
Roan clenched his jaw, willing himself to be patient. “It’s fine, just try not to headbutt me anymore.”
“No promises. I can’t really see anything with my face smushed into your chest. It’s a nice chest, or at least it feels like a nice chest. Not that I’m feeling you up with my face or anything. Okay, that’s a lie. I’m totally feeling you up with my face. But to be fair, I deserve it after the couple of days we’ve had.”
Despite their dire situation, Roan felt his lips twitch. Trust Maddie to find humor even while they were both trapped and weaponless. Focusing back on the task, Roan continued searching for any slack in the webbing.
“How’s it coming? Not that I’m rushing you. Feel free to take your time. Or you could find a paper clip, rubber band, and bubble gum and use it to bust us free.”
“How would any of that help us get free?”
She shrugged. “I don’t know, but it worked for a dude on TV.”
“Working on it,” Roan gritted out. “But it would go faster if you would please stop talking.”
“Sheesh, someone got up on the wrong side of the web today,” Maddie muttered.
However, she fell blessedly silent, letting Roan concentrate on finding a way out of this sticky mess. He tried not to get distracted by Maddie’s proximity, her soft curves pressed against him. He needed to focus on finding a way out, not how nice she smelled even while covered in spiderwebs.
Flexing his fingers, he felt along the sticky bindings, searching for any tiny give in the material. But the webs cocooning them were thick and stubbornly unyielding.
Maddie continued to stay quiet, though he could feel her breath against his neck as she waited patiently. He had to give her credit for holding still despite their cramped position. Her lithe frame came up to his chin. After all the chest talk, she tilted it back at an awkward angle to avoid her nose being smashed. She had one arm pinned between their bodies, the other wrapped around his back as far as the webbing would allow.
Roan shrugged his shoulders experimentally, trying to see if that would loosen the strands. But it was futile, the webs locking them in an embrace that allowed barely any movement. Frustrated, he twisted his neck, straining to see if he could make out any weaknesses in their prison. But with Maddie’s head blocking his view, all he got was a face full of her hair. It smelled like coconuts and something uniquely her.
He exhaled heavily. “I can’t see anything at this angle. We need to figure out a way to shift positions.”
“Up, down, left, or right?” Maddie quipped. Then she tensed, eyes widening. “Wait, don’t actually move! I was kidding.”
But her warning came too late. Roan had already tried to rear back in an attempt to gain space. The result was instant chaos as their cocoon lost balance and toppled over, sending them crashing to the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Maddie’s muffled voice sounded from where her face was pressed into his shoulder. “Next time, warn me before you rock the web.”
“How many web jokes can I expect before we get out of this?” Roan asked dryly.
“Are they annoying you?” Her voice was full of mischief.
Roan sent up a thanks to Visata that she was as good-natured as she was. He knew warriors that would panic or whine incessantly in the same situation. “Not yet.”
“Well, I’m not a woman who gives up easily, so if I’m quiet, it’s because I’m trying to think up more.”
