Page 15 of Of Pixies and Promises
“You stupid man,” blurted Nyra, a tremble in her voice. “You let go!”
“I weighed you down,” he grumbled, rolling to detach himself from the sticky net. “What the fuck is this shit?”
“It’s just a web.”
“A web?” As in… spider’s web?
They locked eyes. Heart racing, Sid wrenched himself from the web but only succeeded in sticking further. Nyra wasn’t doing better—her fragile wings were plastered to the silk.
Sid stilled. The net vibrated beneath him like a plucked string. Something was coming.
“Sid?” Panic entered her voice. “I’m stuck and…Sid behind you.”
A glance over his shoulder rewarded him with beady eyes glistening in the moonlight. The spider was about the size of a Doberman and balanced along the web with ballerina-perfect legs.
No weapon.The spear had fallen when the robin was side-swiped.
He swallowed.
Fuck being small. He was over it.
“I don’t suppose you’ve refilled,” he whispered to Nyra.
“Not enough to grow us.”
“Can you do that thing you did with the robin’s mind?”
“The spider’s mind isn’t like a bird, but I’ll try.” She bared her fangs at it. “Get away from him!”
The spider paused. Then resumed crawling along the web, only this time, it went toward Nyra. Fleeting dread crossed her expression before she hardened it.
“Shield yourself, Sid,” she said, never taking her eyes from the creature prowling toward her.
Shield himself? How? He was stuck.
Within moments, bright fiery light exploded from Nyra’s hands and shot toward the arachnid. It screeched as its legs flailed. Everywhere the fire touched, the web melted and broke. Sid started to fall, but another flailing web string stuck to him and kept him aloft.
“No no no,” Nyra cried.
Glancing over, Sid caught her flinging hands, but no more fire came out.
“I’m empty again!”
Sid checked the spider. The fire had fizzled out, and it regained control of its senses. Sid snarled and rolled, trying to peel himself from his restraints. Each gained inch was like a marathon run. He wouldn’t get to Nyra in time.
But then he felt something hard press his thigh as he rolled and stuck to the web.The rock.When he’d fashioned the spear out of a stick, he’d put the sharp rock into the pocket of his fatigues for safekeeping. He yanked it out.
With effort, he turned it in his fist and cut at the web around him. It was a hack job, but it worked. With renewed frenzy, he sliced at the web holding him down. As soon as he freed a limb, he climbed toward Nyra with only one thought driving his actions—protect her.
Chapter
Seven
Nyra had never felt so helpless in her life. No mana. No strength left. No hope. The spider was in kill mode as it crawled its broken web toward her—she couldfeelits need to end her before she ended it.
When they’d fallen from the robin, and Sid had told her to save herself, she’d almost had a heart attack. She couldn’t lose him.
On the flight over, he’d pinned her wings to keep her safe, and she’d tingled. The sensation had continued for hours, shivering through her body—making her desperately hot despite the cold. Her wings tried to make pixie dust, of that, she had no doubt. Biology didn’t understand appropriate times or logic. It didn’t care that he was the enemy. It wanted him as her mate, and it had wanted him then. If she hadn’t resisted, hadn’t held a piece of her heart back, she would have made dust and maybe even gone into heat.
