Page 50 of Queen Takes Blood
How long would I still be able to move if she injected me with venom? I had to assume it would incapacitate me almost immediately. She couldn’t see my hands beneath her, so I lifted my arms into position, my hands ready to strike as soon as she moved.
:Blood.:One of her legs reached up and touched my cheek. A bristly graze that made me shudder.:Mine.:
If she was trying to communicate with me… Could she understand words? “Your Majesty,” I rasped out, my voice cracking with strain. I couldn’t bring myself to call hermyqueen, or to even offer myself willingly to her service. “Queen Tocatl.”
She stroked me again, her upper portion nodding in agreement.:Eggs.:
I blinked, not sure what she meant. “Eggs?”
Rearing back, she lifted her upper section away, showing me her rounded bottom abdomen. Thankfully, it was too dark for me to begin to see anything but the vague outline of her shape.
:Heirs.:
Dread tightened my throat. She wanted me to fuckingmatewith her?
:Not four. Many. Rise again.:
Evidently this time she meant to spawn many heirs and bring Teotihuacan back to its former glory. Even disregarding her spider form, the last thing I’d ever want would be to see a bunch of baby spider queens running through the jungle, spreading the horror of House Tocatl through Mexica and beyond.
:Nest.:She dropped back down over me, her smaller front leg tapping along my body again. She touched my arm and I braced for her to feel the flint in my hand, but she moved on up to my shoulder.:Sac.:
Hopefully that meant she had a lot of webbing in this chamber. I couldn’t imagine any male being able to maintain an erection long enough to climax with a giant, monstrous spider looming over him. Had Itzcoatl lived through a spider mating? Perhaps that’s why he was so terrified to come back to her altar. “You have other Blood. Weren’t they able to sire your heirs?”
Her furry leg touched my bare throat. In the darkness, I could only imagine the giant hole of her mouth looming over my head. Her fangs and pinchers ready to decapitate me like Itzcoatl.
:Afraid.:A surge of emotion flooded her tenuous bond. Disgust. Impatience.:You. No struggle. Listen.:
Only because I had an ulterior motive. Or because I’d been able to calm myself despite being trapped. Not everyone could have endured being helpless, wrapped in a cocoon of spider silk. She’d cut some of the strands open so I had less of a target, and I’d never used flint to start a fire. Hopefully there was enough webbing to still ignite.
Her tapping continued, more of her legs touching me. Two on my shoulders. Two on my thighs. A rhythm back and forth, almost soothing. I eased my arms along my sides, mounding up the sliced cobwebs against my body. “Are you going to kill me too?”
:Mate.:
“Spiders eat their mates.”
She let out a screechy hum, almost a laugh. The sound of pleasure she made while she’d hung Itzcoatl’s head in her web.:Babies.:
Not a promise, and I certainly didn’t want to loose a bunch of baby spiders. Though that made me think there must be a way out of this place. Not that it mattered.
Closing my eyes, I held myself very still as she touched my cheek again. She was closer, the hairs tickling my shoulders.I blaze for you, Mama.
I lifted my hands a few inches above my body and cracked the metal against the flint. Very few sparks. At least she couldn’t see them—and evidently she didn’t hear the distinctive sound. I let my body tremble to disguise my movements, listening to the soft humming and taps. Again. My breathing came too fast, too shallow, my palms sweaty. Itzcoatl had made fire so easily.Fucking hell, it can’t be that hard. Again!
A brighter cascade of sparks exploded with the strike. Heat flashed on my chest. Ropes of silk caught fire, blazing around me. I was too relieved to feel any pain.
Though with the blaze of light, I could see more of her monstrous shape. Her three fangs, fully distended, ready to pump me with venom. Short leg-like pinchers that were wet with the other man’s blood. She reared back, extending to her full height. Throwing herself back from the fire.
Crackling and snapping, the ropes of web caught fire, a racing red wave that swirled higher to the cave’s ceiling. Faster, circling down to a point above her head. A spiral of fire.
Red spiral. Oh, Mama.
26
ITZTLI
“Your brother’s not of this world any longer,” Seti insisted in a shrill, high voice. “When she’s done, she’ll send him back. If he survives.”
I teased the wicked-sharp blade over his flesh, fighting the urge to see exactly how little pressure would be required to slice him open. “How? Where will he be?”
