Page 47 of From the Mouths of Sirens

She jerked her head towards his voice. There, on the edge of the cavern, Rook stood in the mouth of a passageway, flailing his arms frantically. Aurelia saw him too, and she immediately changed direction and ran towards him. The great spider shrieked above them, her spindly legs moving at a frightening speed.

But it was too late. The spider was almost level with Aurelia, crawling right above her head. She made the decision without much thought, panic consuming her body as the spider prepared itself to jump on Aurelia. She stomped on one of the eggs, screaming as acid burst from the orb and splattered on her boots and calves. The spider instantly halted, spinning around to face her with murder in its eyes. Aurelia kept running, looking back over her shoulder with terror-stricken eyes. Beyond Aurelia, Rook went utterly pale as he watched her at the center of the room.

The spider lurched forward, fury glistening in its bulbous eyes. Saoirse gripped her sword tighter, spinning on her heels and running for a nearby passageway. She kicked several eggs as she ran, grimacing with pain as the acid erupted from the collapsed shells and burned through her shoes. Heart thundering, she ran as fast as she could, pushing forward even as the shadow of the spider loomed above her. She was limping now, her feet stinging with acid. She was so close to the passageway, the stone archway only a few paces away. But the spider leaped over the entrance to the passage and blocked her way with its round body.

Saoirse cursed, stopping just before she ran straight into the hideous spider. The beast lashed out a hairy arm, knocking her to her knees. Saoirse lifted her sword just before another leg came crashing down, blocking the spider’s blow. The spider screeched as it collided with the sword, reeling back. But before Saoirse had time to get to her feet, it reared up and lunged at her once more, its venomous fangs snapping at her. Sprays of venom leaked from her repulsive mouth, just barely missing Saoirse’s head. She crawled away from the spider, clawing at the ground and pulling herself toward the entrance. She rolled away as the spider hovered over her, jabbing its ugly fangs into the ground instead of her flesh.

Miraculously, she managed to climb through the entrance of the passageway, just barely missing another blow. The spider screamed in frustration, its slender legs pushing into the passage behind her. But the beast was too big to fit in the cramped tunnel, its plump body dwarfing the passageway. Saoirse got to her feet and sliced through one of its probing legs, leaping back as another spray of acid splattered across the stone. She didn’t stop to watch the spider retreat as she limped down the tunnel, feeling her way through the darkness. Distantly, she could still hear the spider shrieking in the nest room, but she didn’t allow herself to stop for a breath.

The tunnel ended, opening into another cavern. Even with the glowing silk of her uniform, she could barely see two feet in front of her. Saoirse collapsed to the ground, suddenly feeling impossibly lost. Only her ragged breathing filled the silent cave, echoing through the hollow cavern. She dared to look down at her legs, sucking in a breath. Her trouser legs had shriveled up around her knees, the singed holes in the fabric exposing her skin and scales. The acid had eaten through her boots too, burning her feet and the protective scales that covered them.

She cried out in pain as she eased the tattered boots from her feet, almost vomiting at the seared flesh. The webbing between her toes looked like burnt parchment, shriveled like the charred edges of paper. Tears pricked at her eyes as she stared down at the mangled burns. She wouldn’t be able to swim as easily without the webbing that acted as paddles in the water. Her flesh was raw and reddened, but the acid seemed to have halted before reaching any deeper. Tears pricked in her eyes, half due to the pain and half due to the implications of her maimed feet. In the darkness, she cried alone.

A skittering sound echoed through the cave, sending gooseflesh up Saoirse’s spine. She looked up and wiped the tears from her face. Fresh anger churned through her blood, quickly replacing her sorrow with murderous heat. On shaking legs she rose once more, clutching her blade as she turned toward the rustle of noise. She bared her teeth at the shadows, daring whatever creature that lay hiding to come forward and face her. Her heart nearly stopped as she squinted into the darkness.

Impossible. For a moment, she thought she saw her own face in the shadows, staring back at her with familiar pale blue eyes. She blinked rapidly, sure that she was dreaming. But when she looked back into the darkness, she could see nothing at all.

She was going mad down here.

But just as she let her guard down, a whoosh of movement swept in from behind her. She spun around, terrified to see another monster. At the sight of white hair, Saoirse lowered her sword.

“Neia,” she breathed.

The Terradrin captain stood in the darkened corner of the room, her cloak in shreds. A glowing orb was tucked under one of her arms.

“Mer Princess,” the woman acknowledged, breathing heavily. She strode over to Saoirse and sheathed her sword. Neia was alone, her two companions nowhere to be seen.

“Hel, what happened to you?” Neia asked, eyeing Saoirse’s mangled feet.

“Avgi acid,” she replied, shoving her feet back into the tattered boots. She nearly screamed at the pain, but she bit her lip to stop herself from crying out.

“Where is your companion?” Neia asked. She scanned the cavern, clutching the egg tighter as if Aurelia might leap out and steal it from her. “I swear, if this is some kind of deceptive Mer trick, I will gut you like a hog-”

“I don’t know where she is,” Saoirse assured her. She shoved her tangled curls from her forehead and tried to stand. When she couldn’t get to her feet on her own, Neia offered her a hand. Saoirse took her hand gratefully and pushed off the floor, a muffled cry escaping from her lips as she gained her footing.

“If it brings you any comfort, I lost my fellow tributes in these passages a while ago,” the Terradrin woman told her with a bitter laugh. She turned her pale eyes to Saoirse. “I could kill you right here, you know. I could end your bid for the Crown with one swipe.”

“If you wanted to kill me,” Saoirse challenged, “you would’ve already done so.”

Suddenly, a screeching spider darted across the ceiling.

The beast dropped before Saoirse could unsheath her sword, its hideous teeth bared. As the spider leaped, a blade shot through its plump abdomen from behind. The spider let out a blood-curdling scream as it reeled in pain. It managed to crawl away from her, scampering off into the darkness to die. Neia stood there, her blade dripping with dark blood.

“A life for a life,” Neia breathed. “You saved Diru from the labyrinth yesterday. It’s the least I could do,” she said. “But do not think that just because I saved you, we are allies.”

“Thank you,” Saoirse replied, her heart racing.

Neia merely nodded, sheathing her sword. She spun on her heels, heading for a jagged passageway. “Do not follow me. You’re on your own now,” she threw over her shoulder.

Saoirse watched as the white-haired woman vanished around the corner without another word. She stood there for what seemed like an eternity, feeling utterly alone. She could follow Neia, but she had a feeling the Terradrin military captain wouldn’t hesitate to kill her like she did the spider. Saoirse chose a different passage, wincing with every painful step forward. She had no idea where she was going, but it wouldn’t do her any good to stay in one place.

To her horror, she heard more distant skittering echoing through the surrounding tunnels. But she forced herself to keep moving, trying her best to ignore the horrifying sound.

“You won’t die here,” Saoirse told herself through gritted teeth. She limped through the cavern as fast as she could, each step agonizing as she lurched toward another passageway. All around her, the nimble skittering of spiders rumbled through the cave. She forced herself to put one foot in front of the other, agonizing pain splintering through her with every step forward.

Hearing movement behind her, Saoirse took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She was ready for the end. She opened her eyes and unsheathed her sword, whirling to face the next monster. She nearly sent her sword into Rook’s heart.

“Rook,” she gasped. It took all of her strength not to collapse to the ground. “What are you doing here?”

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