Then, footsteps approached.
“Help! We’re here! It’s Neve!”
A moment later, a gasping Aleksander stopped in front of me. He was joined by an armored dwarf.
“Thordur!” I sucked in a breath as the prince took off his helmet. “How?—”
“No time for talking. Aleksander, watch the opening.”
My half-brother did so, as the Prince of Dergia turned to me. “There have got to be around seventy spiders out there. Thanks to your dragon friend, the big one is on fire, but she’s still killing dwarves. Now, press your body back as far as you can.”
I did so, and the prince’s axe hooked onto the silk right at my nose. He pulled down, slicing through the spider silk so close to my skin that I barely dared to breathe. Despite the frigid temperature in the mountain caves, sweat formed between my breasts and along my forehead.
“Zupriansteel. Dwarven made, at that.” When he cleared my face, neck, and belly, I allowed an exhale. “A good match for spider silks.”
“Thank you.” As he reached my legs, I had enough room to step out of the confinement. “I need to get my sword. We all do. Did you see weapons in the cavern?”
“I didn’t. But I was only looking for you.” He moved on to Thyra, freeing her too.
I nodded to the opposite wall. “Everyone there is with us.”
“Fates,” Thordur swore, but went to work, freeing each person we’d come with, taking great care as he did so. One by one, they emerged from the silks unharmed, but when Thordur cut through Ulfiel’s prison, the rebel collapsed out of the cocoon of silk.
“No!” Thyra yelled and ran over to him.
“His heart stopped about three minutes ago,” Freyia said softly. “I believe he was suffocating in there.”
Tears pricked my eyes. Today, my sister had lost both Xillia and Ulfiel, both rebels who had joined her in this search. People loyal to her. She must feel so responsible for their deaths, but as Thordur came to my side, I knew there was no time for grief. We had to move.
“An army of dwarves is fighting for you. I will not risk them for longer than I need to.” Thordur’s hands gripped his axe. “We entered by the sunshaft, and we will leave the same way. Air workers are waiting with the dragon up top. They’ll begin lifting those without wings to the shaft the moment they see you enter the cavern.”
“I understand,” I said and gestured to Ulfiel. “Can we take his body?”
Thyra sniffed and stood. “No. He’s too large, and we won’t be able to fight. He wouldn’t want anyone to die just to bring his corpse back to Valrun. He hates it there.”
I wasn’t sure she believed that, but no one else put up a fight and with Aleksander and Thordur in the front, werushed out of the small cave. When we reached the opening of the larger cavern, I gasped.
The dwarves had sent a small army, and in the middle of the melee, fighting right beside the imposing Valkyrjas, Halladora and Tonna, was a dwarf with such an extravagant helmet he could only be King Tholin. I watched in awe as the king sliced one ice spider in half with his battle-axe.
Falagog fought many dwarves and rebels, but she had also been hit by dragon flameandtwo gryphons had soared through the enlarged sunshaft to attack the mother spider too.
And still Falagog is nearly winning.My stomach plummeted as one dwarven soldier barely escaped being hurled into the cavern wall by her massive hairy leg.
“I see our weapons!” Vale pointed to the right.
They were all piled together, tossed carelessly at the base of the Drassil. Even though the Shadow Fae seemed to have retreated to wherever it was that he went deep within the tree, I didn’t want to go anywhere near the Drassil. But we had to arm ourselves, so I shoved down my discomfort and sprinted for the weapons.
We reached the Drassil, and Vale immediately grabbedSkeldaand Sassa’s Blade. He handed the latter to me, while everyone else picked up whatever weapon they touched first.
“You have the Frør Crown?” I asked Thyra.
“Still in my pouch.” She patted the bag hanging off her hip. When they’d captured us, the spiders took our weapons, but hadn’t stripped anyone of their bags or clothing.
“Thank the Fates,” I said. “I?—”
“You have another chance!” The Shadow King appeared in the bark of the tree. Although the cavern was a cacophony of battle cries and the shrieking of spiders, somehow the Shadow Fae’s voice carried all the way to my core. “Free me, and I won’t hunt you. Free me, and I’ll forgive those who came to find you.”
I snorted and was about to retort, but Thyra had other ideas. She drew her sword back and slashed the blade against the tree, right at the Shadow Fae’s throat.
