Page 70 of The Salvation

“I guess you’ll find out if you don’t take it back.”

With a piqued huff, she narrows her eyes and drops her shoulders to say, “Fine, Quinn, I take it back.”

“Good.” I let her go and climb off her before giving her a little shove. “No one deserves to go through something like that.No one. I don’t care what you did.” I stab a finger at her. “I’ve learned a few things while you’ve been away.”

“Never expected you would grow a backbone,” she chuffs a laugh.

I throw my arms around her again. “I just can’t believe it’s you.”

“Well, what do we do now?”

I pull away, lowering my brows in question. But Qora rolls her eyes and gestures to our surroundings. “Shade wouldn’t have sent me here for no reason. How can I help you get these objects? Before I warn him about what’s happening, I mean.”

“Merikh said I need to stay to the thickest and find someone called Necrosyne.” I shrug, hardly knowing who to look for.

“Well, pup?” Qora summons Jinxy, and I guess I shouldn’t be surprised that he pricks up his ears. How much still lingers of the Shadow of my past? “Care to lead the way?”

I don’t let goof Qora’s hand as we embark into the thickest part of the forest, following Jinxy’s trail. But as the layers grow denser, and as Jinxy’s fur rises to a prickle with his hackles raised, Qora squeezes my hand, tugs me closer, and whispers, “I know I’ve given you no reason to, but do you trust me, Quinn?”

I lick my lips, hesitating. She is right. No reason to trust her, but we both know she wouldn’t have asked if she was planning to betray me. I want to believe she would never betray Aislynn...even if she hasn’t met her. There is something different about Qora. Something new in her eyes. Not just because of this Shade. My long-lost sister has been on her journey, one inconceivably darker and more twisted than mine.

With a hard swallow, I work against the knots twisting in my stomach and finally nod. She kisses my cheek and lets go of my hand. “I’ll see you soon, little sister. Promise. Keep going, Quintessa.”

She slips through my fingers, disappearing into the netting. My shoulders lower in defeat. The irony. I’ve always tried so hard to hold onto Qora, even when she was my Shadow. In a way, she was the one being I could always trust and hold onto—despite how many times she tried to kill me. None of that matters now. I have no choice but to trust her...and let her go.

Aislynn is all that matters.

Lifting my bare feet, I squeeze through a tunnel formed of those silky threads, one that hems me in on all sides, growing narrower by the second. A bone-deep chill spears me with the memory of crawling through the Hag’s tunnel.

Jinxy’s tails swish in the air ahead of me, the ends nearly flicking my face. If I hadn’t gone through all my past trials, and if it weren’t for my fox, this would be much more difficult. As it is, my breath thins in the compressed environment. Vision blurring, I make out the end of the tunnel as it expands—and quicken my pace, scrambling forward.

When Jinxy scurries right off the edge of the tunnel, I dive after him.

At least I don’t tumble into a disgusting swamp this time!

Instead...I’ve fallen into a thick bundle of netting—like landing on a dense cloud with countless threads clinging to me. Tickling sensations creep all over my arms. With shivers attacking my skin, I lift my arms and choke on a yelp at the sight of dozens, if not hundreds, of little spiders crawling all over me.

Some deep inner sense recognizes if they meant me harm, their mandibles would have already sunk inside me, biting me and injecting their venom. Thankfully, I never had a spider phobia. One method Qora never used against me...or my fatherwith his torture. I found spiders to be wonderful listeners, and they would take care of any pesky flies that invaded my room.

And these spiders skitter and crawl without ascending my throat to plunder any of my cavities. That’s when I realize...

“Aww...” I coo to the tiny creepy crawlies traveling in spiral patterns. “You like my tattoos?”

“The only reason you are not a captive in one of my shiny cocoons, little scarred one, is because my babies like those pretty drawings on your skin. And because you haven’t thrashed and tried to kill them.”

I freeze at the voice behind me. It’s deep and smoky, but there’s a melodic resonance—frightful enough to haunt but mesmerizing enough to ensnare. Much like the world of delicate threads she has woven.

When some of the little spiders disappear beneath my slip, I giggle from the tickling sensation.

“Do those pretty trails go everywhere?” the voice asks, and I spin my head all around, but I can’t make out anything beyond the dense white curtains all around me. As if I’m trapped in some milky orb. “Take it off and let me see those scars.”

A knot forms in my throat, but I lift my trembling fingers to my straps. All I know is I’m in the presence of someone ancient and powerful—probably this Necrosyne herself. The last thing I want to do is anger her. So, I swallow my pride and shed my meager dress, covered in nothing now but my tattoos and the spiders following the scrawls of ink.

“Such a slight, scarred little girl,” she says. “Hardly more than a bite for my belly. But your heart is strong, and your blood would be delicious.”

No sooner does she speak than the walls of netting vanish. Whisked away by some unseen force, leaving me gazing up at a colossal silk throne—upon which sits the Queen of Hollows herself, a gigantic dark spider. My jaw drops. Two large eyesgleam like great specters. Intelligence manifests in those eyes, ones that can sense my inner state more than my outer. Even the air seems to crackle with this enigmatic queen’s energy.

She moves with a regal grace, descending from that throne with the intricate patterns of silver silk adorning her exoskeleton shining and casting an ethereal glow across the silky walls around us. I glance around. The nest is massive, reminding me more of an elaborate throne room with ghosts and spiders gathered around the base of the throne. Spiders much larger than the tiny babies skittering across me. All shift aside to make way for Necrosyne.

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