Page 69 of Queen of Serpents and Shadows

Vanth leaned down and picked up a long bone that was probably from a leg. “The eye is the only weakness.”

“How do we reach it? I can’t use my shadows,” Ryvin said.

Guilt squeezed in around me. “Was that my fault? I used them.”

“No, there’s something preventing magic here,” he clarified.

I started walking toward the entrance. The fire was still crackling away, and I noticed that a massive roasting spit was positioned above it. It was large enoughto support a man. A chill ran down my spine. He was preparing to eat my friends.

“Where are you going?” Rvyin asked.

“I have an idea.” I stepped out of the cave, Ryivn and Vanth behind me. My steps were a little uneven and there was a spin on the world around me. I knew I wasn’t going to be the best person for the task.

“I need both of you up there.” I pointed to the rocky opening of the cave. “When he arrives, you jump on him.”

“What are you going to do?” Ryvin asked.

“I’m the bait.”

26

Ara

I waited near the cave,behind a large shrub that mostly shielded me from view. Between the smell coming from the cave, and the fact that cyclops are rarely challenged, I hoped he wouldn’t be able to detect me until I was ready.

It felt like forever waiting there. I was getting restless, moving from foot to foot, while giving myself the occasional break to close my eyes so I could have a reprieve from the spinning. My stomach churned and I was starting to sweat. The poison was getting worse. I wasn’t sure how much time I had.

Several times, I wanted to leave my spot and check on Ryvin and Vanth, but I couldn’t risk giving any of us away. Finally, I heard the unmistakable sound of a lumbering creature. As I hoped, the cyclops didn’t care if anyoneknew it was coming. At least that meant he was probably the worst monster around. Hopefully, he was the only one guarding the sorceress.

Heavy footsteps came closer, and I prepared to be caught. Swallowing hard, I tried to convince myself that I was going to be fine. That the waves of nausea weren’t distracting. That I didn’t need the ground to be still to complete my task.

The monster stopped in front of his fire, dropping some wood on it before stoking it. Then he headed toward his cave.

I moved, making the shrub rustle. I shifted so more of me was uncovered, then ducked behind again, as if desperate to stay out of sight.

I couldn’t watch the monster anymore, but I heard the steps getting closer.

“Who dares come to my home? Are you here for your friends? I was hoping I’d get a few more of you for my dinner,” the cyclops called.

I balled my hands into fists and prepared myself. I knew it was possible this was it for me, but I was already on borrowed time.

Making what I hoped was a believable startled scream, I ran. The monster laughed, giving chase.

I ran until I was positioned in the correct place, then stopped and stared at the cyclops. The fear in my expression wasn’t false. He towered over me, his fists larger than my head. The giant eye was locked on me and he grinned at me, his expression full of hungry malice. He was alreadydrooling and I could see the sharp points of his rotting teeth.

“Please,” I begged. “Please don’t eat me.”

He reached a massive hand toward me, and I tensed, preparing to be captured. Instead, he roared and flung his hands away from me, flailing wildly as he tried to get the two men off his back.

Ryvin and Vanth were holding on with everything they had as Vanth climbed on top of the monster’s shoulders. He leaned forward, preparing to strike while Ryvin used a blade to poke at the cyclops every time his hands came too close to the shifter.

I turned away just as Vanth shoved the bone in the monster’s eye. When I looked back, I caught him slicing his sword through the already injured eye. The bone stuck out, looking impossibly small in the massive eyeball, but the blade had sliced all the way across.

The cyclops screamed, the sound making me cover my ears. Ryvin and Vanth were now attacking the monster, going for his neck while the cyclops was trying to cover his injured eye.

I couldn’t watch. I’d killed people, but this was brutal. The monster was so large, it dragged on. It felt cruel, but then I reminded myself he planned to eat me.

When I opened my eyes, I saw that the cyclops’ mouth had gone slack. He swayed, then began to fall like a tree that had been hacked down with an axe.

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