Page 56 of There's No Place Like Oz

I stuck my fork into the potatoes, so it at least looked like I was going to try the food, while Sasha began cutting her pork/maid/whatever steak cheerfully. Leon sniffed the air subtly, using his beast senses to figure out what we were eating, I imagined, and Tobias, played with his vegetables.

I just watched the spider crawling about my plate with irritation.

I lifted my fork and committed to putting it into a piece of sautéed summer squash, when the little pest went darting for my veggies without any mind for where I was trying to eat. Before I could stop myself, my prongs plunged into the little black body, and the spider stilled. Its legs curled into itself.

Mortified, and now definitely not touching this food, I made my best effort to appear outwardly normal. Sasha had already half finished her meal however, and she was too distracted by her wine to notice the rest of us just pushing the food in circles on the plate.

Sasha swallowed the last bite of her meat, then she stood up and grabbed her goblet of wine. She clanged a knife on its side three times to get everyone’s attention. “So how about a toast? To my Mountain’s new friends!”

We all mimicked her, standing with our metal cups. I lifted my chalice into the air to be agreeable, and I tried not to think about what the sloshing red liquid might actually be.

She clanged her knife against the cup one last time, and I swear the whole entire room started to shake.

Tapping. Rapid tapping of spider legs on stone began echoing through the chamber, and all of the blood drained from my face.

Fuck.

Sasha tilted her head to the side and smiled widely. “I hope you’ve all left room for dessert.”

Six massive spiders surrounded the dining table on the ceiling, the walls, and in the corners of the room. I’d not even had time to shout before Crowe was pinned to a wall in webs, and Tobias and Leon were bound in white cocoons. I pushed back the large, heavy seat behind me, ready to run, but my legs didn’t move fast enough. In an instant, a rope of webbing had my wrists, my ankles, and my neck. I was thrown into the wall beside Crowe, completely trapped in sticky webs.

Chapter 42

The spiders did a great job of securing me, and Talos was doing an even better job of appearing loyal to his witch.

Complicated.

This was a perfect moment to use Talos’ silent channel to communicate behind her back, but then, chances were likely, Sasha could hear his thoughts as easily as I could. Possibly more easily considering she’d ridden his dick before. She couldn’t hearmythoughts, but he wouldn’t be able to respond.

So the question then was: Would it be best to help navigate this situationwithhim, sharing information one way, or would it be best to keep our channel closed so he wouldn’t risk blowing his cover from an accidental, idle response? All we had to do was get Sasha into a vulnerable enough position that Dorothy could land a finishing blow, but currently having the majority of us bound to a wall wasn’t making that particularly manageable.

I met Talos’ gaze, and the look he returned was impressively unflinching. I’m not sureIcould even feign loyalty that well. My mask had slipped a few times over my years with Hildy. Though Talos did strike me as someone with impressive discipline, whereas I wasn’t much for caring about consequences.

When Sasha approached Dorothy, he followed behind in perfect step, like the good little soldier he was.

The giant spider crawled down the wall above us. It poked and prodded my shoulders then felt around my chest and face, as if gauging my size and digestibility. Next it crawled over to Dorothy. I tensed as it followed the line of her neck with its sensors. I couldn’t do anything while trapped in its webbing, and as much as I trusted the Tin Man, I would prefer to know I could step in if needed.

Sasha walked the perimeter of the room, inspecting each of us like she was evaluating a painting. She started with Leon, looking him over while her spiders continued prodding. She moved over to Tobias, who was still testing his binding despite the furry, striped arachnid poking at his face. She watched them struggle for a few moments until she was satisfied, then she continued on without even a taunt or a jab. Next she was in front of me, looking up at me from her diminutive height. She was even shorter than Dorothy, if that could be believed. She placed a hand on my cheek and tilted her head back as she inspected me.

“You’re similar to my Talos.” She said, measured and matter of fact.

“Barely. I promise the ride is entirely different.” I smirked down at her, and that elicited a pleasant smile. Her soft touch moved down to my chest, where she traced the spider’s ropes, then with a raised brow, she lifted her skirt and removed a small knife from a garter belt. Her enchanted item.

She drew a line along my bicep with her blade. She watched as my body healed itself near immediately. “You must have been Hildy’s toy. Gwen and Eloise prefer their men more… killable.” Her face was much too sweet for her words. “I wonder…” She shoved the knife in until she’d gone completely through the muscles and was hitting the wall behind me. When she’d not gotten so much as a flinch from me, she leveraged the knife downward, and it cut through my bone with impressive ease. A flick of the wrist, and my arm was severed completely. And a second later, it had reattached. Sasha frowned. “How boring.” She pouted. “No flinching, no crying, no screaming. Either my cousin took your nerves, or you’re simply too tough. Neither is a quality I want in my bed.”

“What a loss for me.” I rolled my eyes.

Sasha returned a glare, then she continued on to Dorothy. Talos still stood idly by.

“You, however…” She touched her knife to Dorothy’s neck, and every muscle in my body tensed. She started to draw a shallow line to her collarbone—enough to draw blood but not enough to cause real damage. Dorothy swallowed. Her eyes were moist with the threat of tears, and her heartbeat was pounding with unbridled fear. A shiver shook the witch like a chill down her spine, and the corners of her lips ticked up slightly. “You’re my favorite flavor of vanilla.”

She withdrew her knife and replaced it in her garter. “Talos, baby. Won’t you give me a show. I’ve been so bored lately.”

She stepped back, heading back to her seat like a queen waiting for the court jester to make her laugh. Talos took her place in front of Dorothy. His muscles flexed as he tore the webs binding her there, his superior strength on full display. He still communicated nothing, and his acting was starting to makemenervous.

“T-Talos, what are you doing?” There was panic in her voice and anger in the surrounding eyes. Tobias upped his effort to free himself, while a spider was pressing its fangs to his neck, and Leon was jerking roughly in his webs, while venom was dripping down his shoulder.

He hauled her over to the table and used one hand to sweep away Sasha’s place setting. Porcelain shattered and metal utensils clanged when they hit the floor. Talos slammed Dorothy onto the table, and she cried out at the pain of the blow.

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