I blinked, suddenly seeing a thousand different threads hanging around us, nearly translucent as cobwebs. Unlike the night before, all of these were gold, and I knew each was a fate binding someone to their destiny.
I glanced at Tallu, and saw a golden thread wrapped around his neck. This one wasn’t translucent—it was as solid as him or me—and when I reached out to touch it, all I felt was his warm flesh.
“Please,” I bowed my head to her, “we have come to negotiate. You see the fate of men, you walk along the web of destiny. Release Tallu and Prince Hallu from the curse of the blood monks. House Atobe is no more. The Imperium is in tatters. Even the blood monks who cursed the heirs of House Atobe have admitted their vengeance is done.”
Spider gave a deep sigh, standing. She wore tight pants, the waist tied with a deep red sash that matched her hair. She reached up, grabbing hold of a thread in the air.
With the slightest smile on her face, she yanked on it. Tallu screamed, going down to his knees, clutching his throat. Blood trickled from the corner of his lips. I was already three steps forward, two blades in my hand when she clucked her tongue, pulling the thread tight again.
Tallu gave a groan. “Airón?—”
“Release him. All we want is his freedom. He and Prince Hallu don’t deserve the fate they were cursed with.” I tried to keep my tone even. “We will do anything.”
“Anything? And what wants do I have? What could I possibly want from you?” She raised both of her eyebrows. Tallu’s thread was still wrapped around her hand, the curse that the blood monks had given him had been spun into his fate.
“We can give you Namati’s head. We can promise that the Imperium will never again enter Tavornai under a flag of war.We can order every imperial in Tavornai out of the territory.” I narrowed my eyes. “There must be something you want.”
“I have everything I want. Namati is where I want him. The Imperium is in chaos. It is in no state to invade anywhere, much less the kingdom I call home. And there are enough elves in Tavornai to kill these imperials you offer to remove.” One finger at a time she released the thread around Tallu’s throat and I stepped forward, reaching out to hold his shoulder.
“You will not negotiate with us?” I asked.
I had told Iradîo already that if Spider wouldn’t negotiate, there were other ways to force her to yield. I moved quickly, doing two things at the same time. I dropped the bubble of frozen time around us and leapt at her.
She easily caught me with one of her tendrils. It wound around me, tossing me to the side, but Sagam already had his blade out, slicing off the tip of it before she could wind it close to her again.
She screamed, turning on him and raising her hand to grip his face and lift him off the ground. She threw him next to me, but that left her back to Gotuye and Asahi. They were fast, Asahi severing the tendons in the back of her knee as Gotuye lifted his blade, ready to decapitate her.
He carved through the skin and bone, his blade so sharp that it paused only briefly as it severed her spine. Her head fell to the ground, rolling until it rested next to Tallu’s feet.
“What happened?” Sagam asked.
“We tried to negotiate, and she used strange magic?—”
But I froze, staring as her body moved, the tendrils that grew from her back multiplying. They lifted her severed head, replacing it on her body.
The skin melted back together, and she frowned at us. “You may have succeeded in killing one animalia, but that does not mean we are all as foolish.”
Vines exploded out of the floor, encasing Sagam, Asahi,and Gotuye. It was so tight that I couldn’t even hear their muffled shouts, and soon their bodies were still.
“Let them go,” I said.
“They live. Their fates are not fulfilled yet.” She glanced at Tallu, who held a handful of electricity in his hands. His arms trembled, the blood at the corner of his lips turning into a trickle as he used more of his life to power the electricity in his hands. “Emperor Tallu Atobe, release that. You cannot beat me.”
“We can,” I said with confidence I didn’t feel. “Tallu’s family killed the One Dragon, and I killed Centipede myself.”
“Youhelpedto kill Centipede. There is a difference. Even the ice dragon that assisted you in accomplishing your goal has fled. They know that fighting destiny is not the same as the malicious cancer that Centipede was.” Spider’s tendrils reached back, righting her chair, and she settled into it, crossing her legs at the knee.
I knelt next to Tallu, draping one of his arms over my shoulder and helping him back to his chair. I wiped at the blood that had trailed down his chin with the sleeve of my jacket.
“You are persistent, and your goal is a worthy one. Save your lover, save the affection that grows between you.” Spider shook her head, something fond in her smile. “Do a task for me and then I we can discuss his fate.”
“Justdiscusshis fate?” I asked sharply. “You take me for a fool.”
“You have traveled the length of the continent to find me, and now you wonder if it is worth it? He will die without what I have to offer. Your options are to do a task and save his life, or let him perish,” Spider said.
I started to agree, but hesitated. “What task?”
“You have regrown one elder tree, but one cannot keep the memories of all of the elven people. One cannot keep balance in Tavornai lands. Regrow more elder trees and then I will treat with you.” She watched Tallu for a long moment, shaking her head. “You should work quickly.”
