Leo groaned, pain etched into his features.Betrys took his hand and squeezed.This was her fault, and she intended to stand by his side and help correct the consequences of her actions.
“Right.”Casey scanned their faces, her manner calm despite the simmering tension that filled the room.“Everyone ready?”
“Do it.”Leo’s pained groan made the hair at the back of Betrys’s neck prickle.
“I’m injecting the area,” Casey said in a level voice.Her face was serious, her concentration absolute.
A woman who handles herself well in a crisis,Betrys thought.Good, Leo needed stellar people on his side.
Leo grunted, his big body arching upward as the thing in his stomach protested the numbing agent Casey injected.It bucked and writhed beneath Leo’s skin.
Casey picked up the medical wand and made an incision.
Iseult screamed, daggers of pain transmitting from her head to the myriad tiny hooks on the ends of her legs.White-hot and searing, it was agonizing.Too much to bear.She collapsed onto the white floor of her web and curled into a ball.The two on-duty guards rushed to her aid, but she struck out at them.Hissed.One of her feet caught a guard in the leg, jerking him off balance.He toppled with a loud thump then tried to scuttle from her reach.
Iseult screeched, the torture indescribable.The agony came from inside, radiated outward, much like her web.
“Take me to Tiraq,” she ordered, the words sharp and clipped in the Spiderus language.“Six guards.Don’t care what that manager at the resort says.”As soon as she relayed the command, some of the pain inside her subsided—enough for her mind to clear.Tiraq.Yes, gut instinct told her she needed to travel.Every part of her shouted the action was necessary.
“When do you want to leave, my lady?”one of the guards asked.
“Now.No, wait.Tomorrow.We will need to make preparations, gather weapons.”The blast of pain tailed off, Iseult uncurled her limbs and struggled to her feet.“I will prepare.Be ready to depart on the morn.”
Betrys couldn’t see much because Leo’s family crowded him, their faces full of tension, their bodies held in still readiness.She kept holding his hand and watching his expression.He watched her in return, and she caught the strain in his features, the worry, a trace of fear, and once again, guilt clawed her mind.All her fault.All her fault.
“Not your fault,” Leo whispered, his voice harsh.
“Fuck.”Saber’s voice held shock.“Is that what I think it is?”
“What is it?”Leo growled, a sharp demand.“A worm of some sort?”
“Not exactly,” Scarlett said.“It’s more of an egg sac.”
“Let me lift it out to see what we’re dealing with.”Casey set down her scalpel and exchanged it for a more suitable instrument.
Leo bit his bottom lip, his fingers clenching hers so tightly Betrys winced at the pressure.
“You’re hurting him,” Betrys croaked, and Leo slackened his grip a fraction.
“Don’t care.Don’t care.Get it out of me.”Leo clenched his jaw.
“I’ll do it as fast as I can,” Casey said.
Leo moaned and squeezed her hand again.Betrys bit on her tongue, determined not to distract Leo or Casey.They were right.The thing—egg sac or whatever it was—had to come out because it was endangering Leo’s health.
“Got it,” Casey said in triumph.“Slide that jar over here.”
“What is it?”Leo demanded.“What’s inside the egg sac?”
“Two creatures.They’re insects of some description,” Casey replied.“Ugh, they’re moving.Quick, put the lid on.”
Saber slapped a gloved hand over the top and held up the jar.“Where did you put the vinegar?”
“It’s here,” Sly said.“I’ll pour it into the jar.”
“Lid.”Saber fastened the top of the large jar then held it to the light.
“Tell me what they are,” Leo demanded in a hoarse voice.“I need to know.”
