Page 13 of Anchor

But she knew all along, even when I wondered if she did. Even when I wasgladwhen I thought she didn’t.

“It’s okay, Poppy,” I said anyway because what the hell did it matter now? “It’s fine. Stop crying.”

“It’s really not. I’m a coward. I hate that I always chose easy,” she said, again, smiling and crying, her shoulders shaking.

“Everybody would if given the chance.” Goddess knewIwould have chosen easy…right? I would have chosen easy because why would anyone ever choosehardon purpose?

“Of course you’re gonna try to makemefeel better,” she said, and she was laughing now as she wiped her tears. “Of course, of course, Ro, of course you would!”

I let her get it off her chest. I let her laugh and cry for a few more minutes, and eventually, she came in for another hug, and I could stand perfectly fine. I wasn’t out of breath and I wasn’t dizzy and my stomach didn’t feel heavy and my leg didn’t hurt at all.

At. All.

Like I never gotten shot by my traitorous team leader. Like that day at the woods hadn’t happened at all.

But it had, and I would get to it. I would think about all that had happened that day, the very thing that had led Madeline to smuggle me into the Iris Roe. I would think about it, but first…

“Show me the footage.”

Apparently, there was footage of me in the Iris Roe, just small parts that the Council had released.

“They haven’t yet put out the whole package, which will also have pictures and a score board to show how much time you needed to complete each challenge,” said Rora when she grabbed the laptop again, and we sat down at the edge of the bed, and she showed me.

“This is it,” she said, entering a new window, and only four small thumbnails of videos appeared on the colorful background. The names under them said,

The Greenfire Challenge, The Blackfire Challenge, The Bluefire Challenge,andthe Blackfire Challengeagain.

“You’re not on the first two, but I think I see you in the Bluefire Challenge, and the second Blackfire,” said Poppy. “Do you want to?—”

“Yes!”I shouted. “Yes, just open them!”

She pressed play on the third thumbnail—the Bluefire Challenge—and I was face to face with Madame Weaver again.

Chapter 3

Rosabel La Rouge

Eight long legs. One gigantic body, like two large round pieces glued together. Eight eyes made of gleaming sapphires.

Suddenly, I was back in the Iris Roe, and it smelled like lemon, and it was dark, and there was water below me and darkness above, and Madame Weaver was coming to mummify me before she ate me little by little.

No, no, no, no…

My breath cut off and my heart beat a mile a minute and sweat lined my forehead and my instincts insisted for me torun-run, Rora, run!

Then a cold hand fell on my forearm. “Look!”

Poppy sounded excited.

A blink, and I realized the camera had zoomed out and the image on the screen no longer showed a close-up shot of Madame Weaver. It showed her large web, so many levels of icy white threads attached to the trees that didn’t look half as disgusting here as they were in real life. As theyhad been. Andthe dots glued to them here and there, all around the very center where Madame Weaver’s nest full of tiny spiders was…

Bile up my throat.I had my hand in that nest. Tiny spiders bit my knuckles and scratched my fingers—I had my hand in there.

Goddess, it was a miracle I didn’t throw up everything Poppy had just fed me.

“That’s you!”

Again, the sound of Poppy’s voice pulled me out of my trance, but this was too much, too soon. Everything about the Roe was still so damn fresh in my head that it took so little to throw me right back in there. My memories were so detailed there was no way I could separate them from reality, not right now.

---