Page 58 of Nightingale

Vrea’s hands trembled for the first time in her life as she unsheathed her knives, letting them fall into her palm as she flipped around to see the newest threat.

AsthreeBlackleg Spiders poured into the pass and blocked off one exit.

They were taller than she was- nearing six feet tall and bore legs that cranked up even higher. They had eight eyes, four on each side that found her within an instant and held onto her as if she were the only interesting thing for miles to come. Each one wore different colours, as if there was some sort of rank installed by the size and shade. But it was clear who was in charge as the largest and most colourful skittered forward a couple of inches, clicking its pointed beak at her with a dreadful sound.

One that she hated.

Rian returned, out of breath and without a single horse. He fumbled to a halt, almost skidding along the dirt-encrusted earth as he took in the massive creatures that loomed far above them both.

No horses in tow.

“Oh,shit.” He swore.

His sword was out and he didn’t falter as he came around to her side, ready to stand with her until the end, if that was what fate had in store for them.

Within his actions, the very reaction that followed, was a faint murmur of appreciation for the male. He could have left her, could have chased after their mounts without one thought towards her and avoided the situation entirely, But instead, he’d come back. And alongside that appreciation, was a heat of something new.

Vrea couldn’t deny that she liked him.

Found attraction and lust in him.

But whereas those were feelings that headed towards desire and a heady want, a husky emotion, one that she’d felt a million times before in her life thanks to the skill honed into her from an early age, this was something else.

Something different.

It was almost like respect, with a dash of passion.

Which terrified her.

She’d never once felt anything similar to anyone before, including her past lovers. This was a spark of something formidable, of something long in the making. Of something that could ruin her and remake her rolled into one. Of something she hadn’t expected to feel for the Golden Heir.

“Shit.” Vrea agreed in a hoarse voice as she struggled to control the raging war within her. “Very muchshit.”

The biggest Blackleg had red strips around the top portion of its legs, with predatory eyes that refused to leave them alone. They moved and whirred between the two of them. It was approximately two feet larger than the other ones, which invoked some sort of leadership by the way they hovered behind the one in the front. It towered over them, around eight feet tall from the tip of its legs to the very top of its massive head.

“I know for a fact that there’s more than three.” Rian uttered, no longer whispering. “Which means that we have about ten minutes if we’re lucky, before more of those damned beasts come flying out of the rest of these tunnels.”

They didn’t move, nor did the creatures.

It was clear that there was communication passing between the three spiders as they tapped their pinchers together, sticky webs trailing behind like drifting snow that coated the world in white.

“We have two options.” Vrea began, eyeing the narrow road behind her and taking in the distance between the barely-visible war camps.

It was a mile, if she measured right.

A half-hour on horseback, perhaps a bit longer on foot.

“Want to share those with me?” He asked with a lacing tone of terror, and winced as the smallest of the spiders shot forward.

Vrea slammed the pommel of her dagger into the closest leg, spotted with blue that faded into a dark black. The beast screeched in pain and fell back, only for the second to charge for Rian.

If anyone was killing him, it would be her.

“We can try running, but I don’t think we’d be able to keep up a quick enough pace before they have the advantage. I’d give it half a mile at the most.” She grunted as one creeped overtop her, her knife finding the softest part and dragging it through the underside of the belly.

A disgusting, putrid smell filled the air and she gagged at the molding reek of it. It was wet, it was dust, it was everything she hated rolled into one.

“What’s the second?” He jumped over a sweeping joint, bringing his sword straight down as black blood spilled. It sprayed the earth, coating it in a slick layer.

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