Page 42 of Sy

“They used other species as gestational hosts,” he blurted out and then immediately looked like he wished he hadn’t said anything.

Her mind went blank for a moment before the words fully registered.

“Gestational…” She looked down at her arms. Her breath came in short, sharp gasps. “Shit. Are you telling me these things can put their babies in me?” Her voice rose. “Do I have spider babies in me?”

She began frantically brushing at her clothes, her skin crawling with imagined sensations. The krevasta around them shifted restlessly, their movements making her jump. “Oh god, oh god, oh god?—”

Tor grabbed her upper arms, spinning her around to face him. She tried to pull away, but he held her still, waiting until she met his gaze.

“Not. Anymore.” His voice was rough and quiet but certain. He motioned to his eyes and then to the black, toughened skin that covered his throat and spread across his face. “They’re like me now.”

She forced herself to take a deep breath. “What… what does that mean?”

“He means they’ve changed,” Kal said, moving closer. “These aren’t regular krevasta anymore. They’re… different. Like Tor. He says they don’t reproduce the way they used to.”

Tor nodded, finally releasing her arms. He turned slightly, studying the nearest spider. The creature moved closer, its movements almost… deferential?

She watched as it raised one leg in what seemed like a greeting.

“Did it wave at me? But… you were worried.” She looked back at Kal. “You were arguing about it.”

“Because we’ve never seen them act like this before,” Kal admitted. “They’ve changed, yes, but they’re still dangerous. Still unpredictable. And the way they’re?—”

Tor shook his head sharply, cutting off whatever Kal had been about to say. He made a gesture with one hand, and the krevasta around them began moving again, reorganizing themselves along their path.

She took another deep breath, trying to steady her nerves. The panic was subsiding. Slightly. She watched as one of the spiders scuttled past.

“So I’m not about to become a spider mom?”

Kal’s mouth twitched in what might have been a smile. “No spider babies. Promise.”

Tor made a soft sound that might have been amusement, though his attention remained focused on the path ahead. He frowned and held up a hand.

Then she heard it… voices.

At first, she thought she was imagining it… that it was a faint echo bouncing off the cave walls. But Tor’s raised hand and suddenly alert posture told her it was real. Her heart leaped as a familiar voice cut through the cave’s ambient sounds.

“Lila!”

“Mom?” she called back, surging forward only for Kal to grab her.

“Wait,” he whispered, his eyes scanning the darkness ahead. “Let Tor check first.”

Tor moved silently toward the junction where the tunnel branched. The nearest spiders followed him like little puppies. In a way she guessed they were.

“Lila, honey, is that you? Where are you?” Her mom’s voice was closer now, tinged with worry and exhaustion.

Tor peered around the corner and then relaxed. He turned back to them and nodded, gesturing for them to follow.

“Mom!”

Kal let her go, and she ran forward, the sound of her footsteps echoing off the cave walls as she rounded the corner and threw herself into her mother’s arms.

“Oh my god,baby, I thought we’d never find you,” Ashley murmured into her daughter’s hair, holding her close. Then she pulled away, looking down at Lila.

“Are you okay?” she demanded, looking her over. “Are you hurt?”

Lila chuckled. “No, Mom. I’m okay?—”

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