Page 24 of To Quench Her Thirst

Addie bit back a gasp. It was as big as a cat and it seemed to bristle all over, like it was covered in hair. It skittered down the netting with horrible speed and she suddenly wondered if it could get inside with her. And also, whatwasit?

Then she remembered one of her Ladies-in-waiting talking about the “silky”—the giant spider that lived in a cage in the corner of the room.

“They don’t start shrieking unless you forget to feed them,”either Teeza or Peeza had said. Addie couldn’t remember which of the nearly identical tall, skinny ladies-in-waiting had told her that, but at the moment she barely cared.

Oh my God, it’s the giant spider—it got out of its cage and now it’s screaming at me to give it food!

But there was no way in hell she was going to feed it. That would mean leaving the safety of the black netting that surrounded the bed and reaching into a box of long-tailed rodents in the dark, all while hoping the monstrous spider didn't jump on her.

The silky moved again, skittering closer to the seam between the two halves of the netting, still giving its tea kettle shriek all the while. Addie’s blood ran cold and it felt like every hair on her body was standing up. She was afraid to move—but she was also afraidnotto move. What if it got inside the netting with her? What if itcrawledon her?

“Get away! Get away from me!” She grabbed one of the cylindrical pillows and hit at the spider, trying to knock it off the netting. But the creature had a strong grip. It hung on while the netting swayed and then skittered closer to the seam.

Addie gave up trying to deal with it herself. She had a Protector for this kind of situation—also, shehatedspiders.

“Drago, help me, I—” she started to shout but just at that moment the connecting door between their two rooms banged open and the big Drake Kindred ducked inside.

“What the fuck is going on in here?” he demanded, scanning the room. “What’s that fucking noise you’re making?”

“I’m not making it—thatthingis. The silky spider thing!” Addie pointed at the spider, which was nearly at the seam between the two panels of netting. “Please, Drago—don’t let it get me!” she begged.

His golden eyes widened when he saw the cat-sized spider and a growl rose in his throat.

"Get away from my mate, you little bastard!" he snarled and strode across the room. Grabbing the netting just below where the spider was clinging, he gave it a brisk shake, flapping the net as hard as he could.

The action finally made the spider lose its grip and it was flung to the other side of the room. It immediately skittered up the wall and more importantly, itfinallystopped shrieking.

“Oh…oh my God!” Addie gasped, putting a hand to her pounding heart. “Oh, Drago, kill it! Kill it right now!”

“I’ll try,” he said grimly. “You go back into my room and close the door behind you. Don’t come back in here until I call you.”

Addie wasted no time in obeying orders. Jumping off the bed, she ran as fast as she could to the open connecting door and rushed inside. Then she pushed it shut and dived into the bed at the center of the room—which was much smaller than the one she’d been sleeping in.

She pulled the covers over her head and buried her face in the pillow—which smelled like Drago’s scent—burning Autumn leaves and masculine spice. Breathing it in comforted her and she inhaled deeply, trying to still her racing heart.

From the other room she could hear muffled thumps and bumps and the sound of Drago swearing in a low, angry voice. But she wasn’t about to open the door—or even put her head out from under the covers—until he came and told her the horrible silky was dead.

It was taking the big Kindred a surprisingly long time to kill it though. When her heart finally slowed and she was able to breathe more normally, Addie took stock of herself. She was still wearing the black feasting gown—which was fairly stretchy and comfortable. But she also still had on the elaborate necklace Sparki had given her. She fumbled it off in the darkness and set it aside with a sigh of relief. There—that was better.

She felt all right, she decided…except for a throbbing pain in her right, inner thigh. What the hell wasthatfrom? Had the spider bitten her while she was asleep? But how could it? It had been outside the netting.

Her mind began to clear and events of the recent past came back to her. She had a vague memory of lying on the cold stone dais in the Room of Sighs and feeling something sharp pinching or biting her thigh. Then a bristly thing had brushed past her fingertips and a black shadow had scuttled into the shadows, too fast for her to see what it was…

Realization dawned on her.

“Oh my God!” she whispered to herself. “It bit me—one of them bit me!”

Could that be the reason for the pain in her thigh? And what about the way she'd acted afterward? Addie couldn't exactly remember what she'd done, but she had an idea she'd embarrassed herself in some way. Also, in addition to her painful thigh, her nipples were throbbing and her pussy felt extremely wet. What was going on with her?

She was still wearing the silky black dress she’d had on during the blood feast and the Choosing Ceremony. Pulling upher skirt, she reached a hand down to touch her inner thigh and winced as her fingertips found a hard little knot, about the size of a dime. So somethinghadbitten her! She needed to get into the bathroom and see how it looked.

A new thought occurred to her. What if the spider that had bitten her was poisonous? Addie had been raised in the Southern US around Black Widows and Brown Recluses. She'd even known an old man who had died from the bite of a Brown Recluse, which made venom that acted like a flesh-eating agent.

Poor old Mr. Dumphry had diabetes and couldn't feel his feet, so he didn't even notice when he was bitten on his big toe. By the time his foot began to swell up and turn black, it was too late. The venom had entered his bloodstream and he had died, being eaten from the inside out by the horrible stuff.

Addie felt a surge of panic at the memory.

Oh my God—what if that’s going to happen to me? I have to look at the bite! I have to see what’s wrong with me!

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