“I wasn’t planning on it,” I said.
“Good,” he replied. “Because they don’t like being startled.”
Keegan’s voice was low. “What happens if it is?”
Twobble glanced at him. “It gets territorial.”
“That’s not vague at all,” Stella murmured.
The spider paused, and its body angled slightly toward us, and for a moment, everything held.
I didn’t breathe or move, nor did anyone else.
Slowly, the goldspinner turned back to the wall and continued on its path, its delicate thread catching the light as it stretched across the stone.
Twobble let out a quiet breath. “See? Completely fine.”
I exhaled slowly. “You have a very different definition of fine. So this little creature is responsible for the lighting in the tunnel walls?”
“Indeed.” Twobble nodded. “And it didn’t attack us.”
“That’s the bar now?” I laughed.
“It’s a reasonable bar.” His chin lifted.
Keegan didn’t move right away as his gaze stayed on the spider until it disappeared around the bend, and only then did he shift slightly, his body relaxing just enough that I felt it through his hand.
“We keep moving,” Keegan said.
Twobble nodded. “Yes. Let’s not linger. They travel in… well, not packs, but they do like company.”
“That’s so not cool,” I said, shaking the dreaded feeling that something was crawling on me.
“The truth is the truth.”
We started forward again, the tension easing just slightly, though the awareness stayed, tucked just beneath the surface like a reminder that this place had its own rules, and we were very much guests.
The tunnel curved again, opening into a wider stretch where the ceiling rose just enough for the air to feel less compressed.
But I felt it then, stronger this time, that pull…Gideon, the stone.
I slowed again, my breath catching slightly. What did the stone truly want of me?
Keegan noticed immediately. “Maeve.”
“We’re close.”
Twobble glanced back. “Close to what?”
“Where he’s going,” I replied. “Or where he is already at with the stone.”
“So he's not as deep into the wetlands as we assumed,” Nova said.
“Guess not.” I glanced at her. “If this feeling can be trusted.”
“Has it led you astray yet?”
I smiled, even though that wasn’t comforting.
