Page 50 of Bound By Roses

“Knowing you share her blood changes nothing.”

I squeeze Quinn’s hand in a silent reminder to keep his cool. There will be plenty of time to get after her about that, but right now we should be focused on Kaylee and the revelation she just dropped on us.

“It changes everything!”

I have to stop myself from rolling my eyes. So much for keeping cool. Aurelia, at least, seems unperturbed by the outburst.

“All it has done is make her actions against you more personal. Imelda is not the issue at hand.” For once, I have to agree with her.

“Has anything like this ever happened before?” I ask. “Needing two seers to weave, I mean.”

“Only once in our history when a set of twins were born. They could only weave when they locked fingers.”

I think back to the mural in the cave but don’t remember seeing a set of twins, though I was a bit distracted by Imelda’s cold eyes staring back at me.

Erwyn speaks before I can. “Are you certain the other one is Imelda’s daughter?”

Is he implying that Sierra had another child? “Yes,” I tell him quickly. “I saw Imelda pregnant. Heard the screams the night Arabella was born. Saw the baby only hours later. She couldn’t have faked that.”

“And my mother only had one daughter,” Quinn adds. “Not two.”

Erwyn looks as if he doesn’t believe us, but Aurelia nods. “Then this should not be possible. Unless…”

“Unless what?” I’m surprised that the question came from Rhett. He’d been silent this entire time, but I can see a change in him since he and Kaylee accepted their bond. Imelda hurt Kaylee in ways we might never fully understand, but I haven’t a doubt that Rhett does. Even if she hasn’t told him, he’ll feel it through the bond. He’ll want Imelda dead as much as any of us, and if this is yet another thing she’s done to Kaylee, of course he’ll demand to know about it.

Aurelia and Erwyn share a look that has me more on edge than I have been since we entered this room. “Unless she visited the Spider.”

“Who is the Spider?” Quinn and I ask at the exact same moment.

“A mageborn,” Aurelia explains. “The daughter of a God and the last of her kind. She lives underground deep within the forest, striking bargains and taking lives. If Imelda made a deal, there may be no stopping this.”

Merrick steps forward. I’d nearly forgotten he was here. “Unless another deal is struck.”

Aurelia takes a step of her own. “You cannot be serious! Or perhaps you have been away for too long and have forgotten the stories. The Spider is dangerous.”

“And so is Imelda. I have to protect my unborn child, and I would very much like a weaver on my side.”

“And what if she kills you? We both know you do not want Jade to take your place as Regent. You cannot take that risk.”

“But we can,” I say, nearly regretting it when all eyes settle on me. The fear in Quinn’s hit me the hardest. “I understand that it’s dangerous, but if she can give us answers, then maybe she can tell us how to stop Imelda. Stop Void before he reaches his full strength.”

To my surprise, Erwyn is the first to object. “Or we could just take Imelda’s child. We do not need answers if we have her.”

“As much as I’d like to get her out of there,” Quinn says, “we can’t just march into Lunae. She’ll be guarded. Imelda will have no qualms about using her daughter as bait. This could have been her plan all along.”

I turn my attention to Kaylee. “Do you know anything that can help us?” She may not be able to see things now, but she has seen things.

“Visiting the Spider alters the path. There will be a cost, but the rewards will be great.” I don’t miss the flicker her eyes make to Quinn before they settle back on me. Her face is still and near emotionless, but those eyes… As they stare deeply into mine, I know that this is her way of asking—no,tellingme that we need to do this. Why she doesn’t just say that, I can’t be certain, but whatever the reason, she doesn’t want her brother to know she wants this.

I square my shoulders. “The way I see it, we don’t have a choice. Imelda has already made it clear that war is coming, so we might as well get as much information from this spider as we can before she shows up on our doorstep for a second time.”

Quinn takes my hands in his. “Are you sure you want to do this?” I know what he’s asking. I’m not exactly a fan of the forest right now, and after what we found this morning…

“Yes. It’s better than sitting here and doing nothing.” And it is. Repairing buildings, growing vegetables, and learning the hand language of sirens can only distract me for so long. I want to be doing something real. Something that brings us one step closer to true freedom.

I almost miss Quinn’s slight sigh as he turns to address his aunt. “What can we expect in terms of a cost?”

Aurelia moves behind the throne and pulls out a small chest that must have been tucked away beneath it. “This is all theriches Marein has left. If you are to do this, offer them to her and pray to the Gods that it will be enough.”

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