“Yes.”
“What should I do?”
“You already know what you will do.” She gives a low, solemn laugh. “My dearest Taurus dragon, nothing stops a bull charging in to save his mate.”
I slide a glance over my shoulder at her. “I meant, should I take her somewhere else or do it here?”
“Ah, the particulars. Take her to Taurus House. You have my permission to remain with her on Cardinal Island. You have three days. After, I will send an acolyte to check your status, and we will take action if it appears you have failed.”
“You’ll put us out of our misery.”
She nods slowly.
I lift Zoe into my arms.
“Good luck, warrior. You know, Zoe is a Pisces. A leapling. Very special, intuitive, extraordinary. A water sign. You are earth. Nothing contains water better than earth.”
Tell that to the Grand Canyon, I think. “I’ll keep that in mind.”
Chapter Forty-Three
SEB
I rarely stay here. Every warrior in the brotherhood has a house on Cardinal Island where we can stay while we train. Modern conveniences, though, have made them far less appealing or necessary. Now we use them only when a new dragon is ascending or we have to meet with the Oracle for something. Still, the bed is comfortable, and it’s safe. I lie down next to Zoe and run my hand along the side of her face.
Then I close my eyes and enter her mind.
It begins with darkness, then a thick fog. When the smoke clears, I’m in some kind of a cave, crisscrossed with silver thread. What the hell is this? I reach out and touch one of the strands, and my fingers stick to it. When I pull my hand away, the string vibrates with the pluck of disentangling myself.
With terrifying speed, I am lifted off the floor from above. Before I even have a chance to scream, I am pinned to the center of what I now know is a web, by eight black legs that dexterously begin to roll me. Spools of silver silk wrap around my arms, my legs, my mouth. Tighter and tighter. The more I struggle, the faster she works, this spider who is easily three times my size, with pinchers as long as my forearm.
A conversation comes back to me. Zoe once said that her addiction was a spider in her head. Fuck, has she become the spider? I turn my head to the side and manage to free my mouth.
“Zoe, stop!”
The spider pauses, her pinchers hovering near my neck. The fly knows our name.
“We need to talk. Can we just talk?”
The fly wants to talk to the spider? The spider’s voice seems to come from inside my head. You’ve walked so carelessly into our trap, little fly, and we are so incredibly hungry.
I take a second to get over the description of me as little. I’m not as large as Connor, but no human would ever call me small. Which reminds me that I’m a dragon, and I have the ability to change this dream.
She begins to spin me again, but this time, I concentrate. A dagger forms in my hand, and in one fast, upward stroke, I cut myself out of the bundle of silk. I drop to the floor and toss the silk off me. Only because this is a dream does it not stick to me. I lift the dagger between us.
My blade is gold and shines as white as the sun. Although my dragon abilities allow me to create things within dreams, I have unwittingly drawn on the power of the ring Zoe gave me rather than my imagination.
She scurries back into the upper shadows of the cave. Too bright, she hisses. You’ll burn us, you filthy fly.
“I’m not a fly!” I yell. “Zoe, it’s me. It’s Seb, your mate.”
Zoe is no more, fly. Her pincers snap. Only spider remains.
“No. She’s in there. You said we before when you were referring to yourself. Both of you are in there. Transform back so I can talk to Zoe. I need to talk to Zoe.”
Where were you when she was burning? the spider hisses. I took care of her. I helped her survive the pain.
“The pain is over. It’s time for Zoe to come out again. She’s safe.”
