Page 67 of A Haven of Brimstone and Darkness

“No—” Ruen begins to say at the same time that I turn and snap, “Yes.”

Kalix wastes no time as Azai calls out, “Let the Hunt begin!”

It’s too late. I don’t have to look back to see that Azai’s promise has done the exact opposite of what I’d hoped for—he’s incited their blood thirst, their desire for power, and acceptance.

Another of Makeda’s warnings enters my mind as I race towards the tree line.

See not with your eyes. Hear not with your ears. Sense not with your flesh. All the connections that you have made reside within your soul. Use the threads your parents left within you at your creation to find who you seek.

Without closing my eyes as I jump over a fallen tree and leap across a ravine—sensing the Darkhavens fast on my tail—I reach for those threads. They appear in my mind’s eye like strings of spider silk, glimmering and sticky, but also … lethal.

All it takes is one word, one name, and they know who to find.

Maeryn.

Chapter 33

Kiera

Irun for seemingly hours. I run until my legs burn and my lungs threaten to collapse within my chest. Still, I run. Deeper and deeper into the woods that were once my home.

Everything is different now. I know what this place really is thanks to Makeda. The Hinterlands were not left alone because of the Gods’benevolence. The mere thought has me baring my teeth as I come to a halting stop at a ledge, looking down into a deep crevice carved in rock.

To my right and left, two Darkhavens come to a standstill as well, their harsh breaths drifting into the cool mid-morning air. There are so many threads, but the one that I’m following is fast—faster than most others. Already, I’ve watched as thread after thread has been severed and disappeared from my mind.

They’re dying.

“What the fuck are we doing?” Theos demands, a rough hoarseness to his voice as he doubles over and puts his hands on his knees, panting.

I toss him a look. “You’re a fighter,” I remind him. “You should have more stamina than that.”

He flips me his middle finger before straightening. “I fight in arenas,” he replies tersely. “I don’t race through uneven terrainfor hours on end searching for…” He arches a brow. “Well, that’s just the thing, isn’t it? I don’t know what we’re searching for.”

Not bothering to answer him, I glance back over my shoulder, finding Kalix lounging back against a tree as a snake curls down from one of its branches, reaching for him. “How many serpents can you call?” I ask.

He arches one dark brow. “As many as you wish for, Little Thief,” he says. “I assumed you would not be interested in a quick fuck in the forest though.”

I ignore his insinuation. “Call them,” I order.

Kalix’s body doesn’t move, doesn’t react, but his demeanor changes completely, going from relaxed and casual to focused in an instant as his jade eyes sharpen on me. “How many?”

“All of them.”

And he does. Just like that. If I can count on Kalix for one thing above his brothers, it’s not to ask me questions. It’s a blessing because a third voice in my ear, demanding to know what’s going on and what I’m planning is going to drive me over the edge of the cliff and down into the ravine below. I don’t answer them as I stare out across the vast dips and hills of the Hinterlands, memorizing their hollows and curves. Once, I’d thought that coming back here would make me feel free and safe.

Freedom isn’t a place though. It’s a person … maybe people, perhaps. Minutes later, Ruen and Theos have given up trying to get answers out of me and moved away to scout out the surrounding areas. Kalix sits on the edge of the cliffside a few feet from me with his legs dangling up over the edge as a collection of snakes begin to make their trek to him.

Small, baby snakes with hardly a scale to them. Massive long serpents with hissing fangs and black shimmering bodies. They come, one after another, called to him by the invisible pull he has.

Without looking back at me, Kalix whispers. “Your turn.”

My lips curl upward. I step up, my shins meeting his back as I settle my hands on his shoulders. He sighs and reaches up, but I rise, not letting him touch me as I move my fingers to his hair. Darker than a raven’s wing and silkier than my spider’s thread, I weave my hands into the locks as I follow his command and I call my familiars to me as well.

Thousands if not hundreds of thousands of spiders dwell within these woods. Spiders so small that they’re nearly invisible to the naked eye. Spiders that can jump and fly. Spiders that burrow and hide. I signal to them all, entreating them to come to me. Some are curious and some are resistant, but they do. They come.

When Ruen and Theos return a short time later, it’s to find Kalix and I in the same position. My hands in his hair, his head tilted back against my abdomen, and our bodies surrounded by a sea of snakes and spiders.

So many threads linger in my mind—each of them shivering in terror and confusion.See not with your eyes.In one rush, I shove the image into my spiders where they rest upon Kalix’s serpents. The rush of my mind melding wreaks havoc on their smaller minds and the fierce army of spiders I’ve called to this place scatter at once, their bodies vibrating as they skitter over scales and tails, trying to escape what they see as a threat. It takes a moment for them to calm, but when they do and the brave ones chance to venture out from beneath their serpent brethren, I take a deep breath and perform the next part of my plan, hoping it will actually work.

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