A Time of Dying (Araneae Nation)

by Edwards, Hailey

“I have no gold to buy his silence or clan to aid in forging the alliance he desires.” I slid my hand from his. “I have nothing of value, except for myself.” And information Hishima would kill to keep concealed, which was laughable considering no one believed my tall tales were the truth.

  His stark gaze trapped me. “Why did you run?”

  “What does it matter?” I broke away before he answered.

  “When I first found you, I thought you were mad or desperate. You’re neither.”

  “We have vastly different definitions of desperation.” I clung to sanity by a silken thread.

  “I think you know something or saw something,” he continued as if I hadn’t spoken. “I think you knew it was too dangerous to remain in Titania with that knowledge. By virtue of you being here, you’re bringing that danger to Cathis.” He leaned closer, inhaling my panic. “Confide your secrets in Paladin Vaughn. Give him incentive to protect you against his fellow paladin’s wrath.”

  My laughter rang brittle. “What makes you think I know anything of value?”

  His expression turned so amicable, I knew whatever he said next I would not like.

  “Did you know that spirit walkers can detect lies based on fluctuations in your aura?”

  I flinched. “Can they?”

  How had I forgotten that gem? Perhaps because I never had reason to lie to Mana until now.

  “I can tell from your scent you know it’s true, and that frightens you.” His nose trailed along the curve of my neck until his lips brushed my ear. “The maven is protecting you as best she can. That tells me she believes what you told her.” He exhaled. “And some things you haven’t yet.”

  I put my hands on his chest and shoved. “I liked you better when you thought I was mad.”

  “I liked you better gagged.” He straightened his shirt. “You made more sense to me then.”

  “Take me to my room.” I almost stomped my foot for emphasis. He would have loved that.

  “Follow me.” He set off at a brisk pace.

  I was winded after we rounded the third corner. “Somewhere else you’d rather be?”

  “Don’t sound so hopeful.” He slowed a bit. “You are my new priority.”

  How dismal he made me sound. “What was your priority before?”

  “Nothing that won’t keep.”

  “You wanted my help.” It seemed a lifetime ago. “What did you have in mind?”

  He stopped at a door that looked familiar to me. When he shoved it open, I was treated to the view of Murdoch’s room. The bed had been made, the area tidied, but it was not my own space.

  I planted my feet and refused to budge. “You said I had my own room.”

  “No.” A twinkle in his eye made my blood simmer. “I said you were a guest of Cathis. What you took that to mean is no problem of mine. As you are so fond of pointing out—our clans have little in common.” He made a helpless gesture. “I do apologize you misunderstood my meaning.”

  “As do I.” Sharing a room made escaping it that much more difficult. He swept out his arm, and I took his invitation. “You were saying? About your priorities?”

  He checked the hall before locking the door. “During the first nights after the plague struck, several males left their posts. They never made their rounds, never went home, never contacted a single family member.” His conviction filled me with sympathy. “We have not seen them since.”

  I pulled a hand through my hair to hide its trembling. “In desperate times—”

  “I knew those men, grew up with most of them. They didn’t abandon their families.”

  “That’s the task the paladin gave you. He wants you to locate the missing guards.” Meaning he didn’t believe the males were deserters either. Learning of Vaughn’s quest for answers ignited a dangerous spark in my chest. Could Vaughn be the ally I needed? Dare I tell him what I knew?

  The risk might be worth the reward, or it might cost me what little freedom I had won.

  Murdoch nodded. “The trail grows colder the longer I wait.”

  “So why not let me entertain myself?” I smiled. “You could get in a few hours’ work.”

  His focus on my lips made them tingle. “In a few hours it would be your trail getting cold.”

  I folded my arms. “Do you always do what Vaughn tells you?”

  He countered, “Do you ever do what you’re told?”

  I scrunched up my face. “Is that a trick question?”

  He palmed the doorknob with a sigh. “I’ll be outside if you need anything.”

  The door closed with a sharp thud. After checking to see that the knob turned, to be sure the surly guard wasn’t poised to spring at the first whiff of rebellion, I inspected my surroundings as I hadn’t had the luxury to do so earlier. What caught my eye first was a pink glow seeping under a tapestry hung above a stubby table strewn with papers Murdoch used as a desk. Oh so gingerly I peeled back the fabric, nudged the shutters gently open, and I was treated with a welcome view.

  Warm air hit my face and blew hairs free of my braid.

  “Hello, freedom.” I patted the arch of a narrow, paneless window.

  It was slender, but I was skin and bones. Squeezing through it would present me no problem. Careful not to make a sound, I unhooked the fabric panel from the heavy metal rod that hung it.

  Without a rope, I turned to the next best thing—the closet full of Murdoch’s clothes. He was so tall his pants were long and easy to tie into knots. They were made of thick cloth I was unfamiliar with, but it was tougher than the sheets or his shirts would have been. Once I had coiled several lengths of makeshift rope, I worked up the nerve to peer past the ledge, all the way to the ground.

  The view made me swallow convulsively. Despite the fact I climbed well, a skill all Segestriidae honed in order to harvest the finest crystals for our crafts, such great heights terrified me. I even avoided my family’s niche in the crystal cavern until necessity forced a visit.

  But if my choice was dare the fall or accept defeat, I chose the risk.

  Using the tapestry rod, which reminded me of an old banner pole on closer inspection, I tied the ends of the pants in the center of the rod and balanced the thing on the lip of the window. My stomach bottomed out when I climbed up and dangled my legs. It was a long way down. Rope in hand, I shut my eyes and eased over the side. I could do this. Eyes shut. That was the key. Bit by bit, hand over hand, I would lower myself nearer the blessed ground. I gulped and slinked down.

  Hands grasped my shirt collar and yanked upward. I screamed bloody murder and thrashed.

  What wits I had scattered as crushed leaves on a breeze. Hishima. I was found.

  I could not bear to go willingly. I would rather fall first.

  “Stop fighting me, you fool,” a booming voice rolled like thunder over my head.

  I froze. No rustle of wings, no humming, no claws raking my face. I tilted my head back.

  Murdoch fisted my braid when my shirt began tearing. “Give me your hand.”

  I gave him both and let him haul me up and into his arms. He dragged me into the room and his legs gave out, dumping us both onto the floor. His back hit the stones, and I landed astride his chest.

  Murdoch crushed my shoulders in a brutal grip and shook me. “Have you lost your mind?”

  “Me?” I slapped his ruined cheek to get his attention. “I was fine until you grabbed me.”

  He caught that wrist and pinned it. “I saved you. You leapt from a window.”

  “It was more of a hop, really.” I swept my free arm toward my proof. “Besides, I had rope.”

  “You had—” His gaze lit on the coil of black fabric. He bellowed, “Are those my pants?”

  Every last pair, not that I’d tell him that. “They seemed sturdier than your sheets.”

  He bumped the back of his skull against the floor and covered his face with his hands. “This is a dream.” His arms dropped, and he glared at me. “No. You’re still here. This is a nightmare.”
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  “I’m the prisoner here.” I stabbed his chest with my finger. “If anyone is dreaming, it’s me.”

  The door crashed open, and I scarce moved myself to care until Murdoch swore.

  “For the love of the gods, what’s with all the yelling? Have you—?” Lleu stood in the doorway. I glanced down to where Murdoch’s hands had come to rest on my upper thighs and scrambled back.

  I kept scrabbling until my head cracked against the wall. “It’s not what it looks like.”

  “Are you sure?” Lleu leaned a bulky shoulder against the doorframe. His gaze raked over my clean face, my body. “If that’s how you plan to escape, I am most amenable to persuasion.”

  “I’d rather have leapt from the window,” I muttered.

  I slumped at Murdoch’s desk, which he had shoved against the wall opposite his window. It afforded me a clear view of the window and Murdoch, who sat in a chair between it, the door and me. The heavy tome he had set before me, demanding I entertain myself by reading, listed in my hand, allowing me to peek over the top edge and peer longingly toward the door. The book fell. I let it crack loud on the desktop and jerk Murdoch’s head up from his own study.

  His nostrils flared so wide from this angle I swore I could see what was on his mind.

  “Must we burn the afternoon sitting here…” I thumped the novel’s cover, “…reading?”

  “As much as you enjoy savoring the taste of trouble,” he said, thoughtfully marking his own spot for later, “I would have thought you’d enjoy sinking your teeth into a good adventure story.”

  “A History of Cathis,” I read the title from the page. “Consider me…riveted.”

  His stare made me wonder if I had food stuck in my teeth. “Bound histories are rare.”

  “Are they?” I studied the tooled-leather cover embossed with a canis’s head.

  “For those who don’t live inside crystal cities or spend their days designing ear baubles, yes, such items are rare treasures.” He stood then and scooped the book from the desk to join another leaning on his lone shelf. Once his prizes were stored, he appraised me. “Are you wearing that?”

  “A female wearing pants at dinner?” I gasped. “The scandal will mark Cathis for all time.”

  He watched me stand. “I fail to find you half as amusing as you seem to believe you are.”

  “As much as a discussion of your failures interests me, truly, I must be going.” I smoothed a hand down my crumpled shirtfront. “I would prefer to dine while my meal is warm and my hosts are merry. If I wait for you to finish your recitation, it might be dark, my meal cold and my hosts abed.” I shivered. “No offense meant to your paladin, but I can’t imagine Mana sharing his bed.”

  Grasping my elbow, Murdoch led me into the hall. “I can’t say I’ve ever tried.”

  Blood rushed into my cheeks and must have stained them red. “That’s not what I meant.”

  His response was no response. He held his tongue while I tripped over mine, a clever tactic. I kept his silence, studying tapestries and decorative carvings hung on the wall while we strolled.

  At last Murdoch stopped before an arching door with a heavy knocker. “Be on your guard.”

  “Why?” I stared at the door as though that might help me see who waited on the other side.

  “The paladin’s mother will be in attendance, and the former maven Isolde is just as likely to cut your throat as to agree with her son’s reasons for sparing your neck.” He straightened and let me take his arm, treating me as his companion. My palms went damp, and I crushed the silly thought.

  “Is she as bad as they say?” Isolde was legendary. A Mimetidae maven widowed and left to rule in her husband’s stead. Gossips spun stories about her cruelty and bravery in equal measure.

  His shoulders lifted, then fell. “She is who she is. She makes no apologies for it.”

  “You respect her for that.” His entire being thrummed with admiration.

  “I do.” His right fist pounded his chest. “I am hers until she no longer wishes to have me.”

  Despite my sudden interest in what being hers entailed, I faltered when a bony hand shoved me aside. A short female with wrinkled cheeks and black hair coiled atop her head marched up to Murdoch. She screwed her knuckle into his chest. “Get on with opening that door. I’m starving.” When his eyes widened a fraction, she patted her hair and began to scowl. “Not one word, boy.”

  In a huff, she waited while he opened the door, shouldered past and entered the dining hall.

  I glanced at him questioningly. He shushed me with a nod and checked the hall behind us.

  A slender female skidded to a halt with a hand over her heaving chest. “Is she in there?”

  “Just arrived.” He picked a thorny twig from the shoulder strap of her dress.

  “Thank the gods.” She took the stick from him. “I was with Mana, tending the rose gardens. I don’t know what possessed Isolde to—” She indicated her hair and wriggled her fingers wildly.

  “Her hair is very…dark.” It was the kindest thing I could think to say.

  She jerked upright as if just realizing that I stood there.

  “Nerys, this is the future Segestriidae maven, Kaidi,” he said warmly to her. Rewarded with a shy smile from her, Murdoch completed our introduction with flourish neither of us warranted. “Kaidi, this is Nerys, Mana’s most apt herbology pupil and the Lady Isolde’s gentlest attendant.”

  Nerys curtseyed. It was as neat and tidy as the rest of her. “Forgive my rudeness, Maven.”

  Ignoring the title Murdoch seemed to enjoy bestowing upon me, I smiled. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nerys.” Her gaze was darting in search of the bolder female. “That was Lady Isolde?”

  “Hmm?” Nerys leapt back to attention. “Forgive me, again, but I must go before she…”

  I turned in time to watch Isolde carve herself a helping of some rich cake and plunk down at the head of the table. A hefty goblet sat to her right, which I bet she had filled with a sweet wine.

  “Go on.” Murdoch held the door, and Nerys flushed prettily.

  “Is she a friend of yours?” If not, the female appeared to wish that were the case.

  “No.” He eyed me strangely. Had such a thought never occurred to him?

  Good. Nerys struck me as calm and peaceable, too much like Murdoch. A mating of two such people would bore their friends to tears.

  Threading my arm through his, I relished his flash of surprise. “Is dinner informal, then?”

  He led me into the room. “Being relieved of her title has cultivated some…eccentricities.”

  I watched her eat cake with her fingers, then lick them clean. “Poor thing.”

  “Don’t let her hear you say that.” Lleu’s voice slid into our conversation uninvited. He edged past us and sized up a table where ornate clay carafes awaited.

  “I meant no harm.” And I didn’t want to attract her attention, eccentric former maven or not.

  Being the center of one Mimetidae’s undivided attention was more than enough for me.

  “What are you all yammering about?” Isolde pointed at her head. “It’s this, isn’t it?”

  “Your hair is…lovely,” Nerys assured her. “It’s your manners that make people stare.”

  To spite her, Isolde stabbed the fluffy cream dregs on her plate and slurped off her finger.

  “They don’t make females like her anymore,” Lleu observed with a smirk.

  Murdoch shared a pained glance with him. “Thank the gods for small mercies.”

  The affection in their tones left me aching for nights spent around the table with my family. Did they know how lucky they were to share such kinship? Or how fortunate was their laughter?

  “Do you have no sense that you openly gawk at her?” Murdoch asked under his breath.

  “I was admiring her hair.” I was, sort of. I wondered how she managed that coal-black shade. I made a mental note that if her hair was grayed or whitened by age and could b
e turned so black, I had hope of disguising my too-pale hair. Perhaps I could get her alone and ask her at some point.

  When I got free, and I believed I would, I needed every advantage to remain that way.

  “Who’ve you got there?” Isolde abandoned tormenting Nerys in favor of studying me.

  Murdoch gave me an I hope you’re happy frown. “This is Kaidi of the Segestriidae.”

  Isolde began tapping her fingernails on the table. “Kaidi. Hmm. She looks familiar.”

  “She’s betrothed to Hishima,” Murdoch offered.

  “First thing out of my son’s mouth was her title.” She snorted. “No. This is something else.”

  He waited for her to elaborate. When she didn’t, he pinched my arm as if I had a clue.

  “Ouch.” I rubbed at the hurt.

  He prompted, “The maven is waiting.”

  “How is that my fault?” I flashed a smile at her. “No offense, Lady Isolde.”

  “You might try helping her remember how she knows you,” Murdoch scolded.

  His gall set my last nerve ablaze. I had opened my mouth when Isolde began cackling.

  “Aye, I remember you now.” She slapped her thigh. “I saw your fool arse dangling from his window earlier.” Howling with laughter, she pointed at Murdoch. “Best laugh I’ve had in days.”

  “Figures I’d miss that,” Lleu huffed.

  Isolde kicked the leg of the nearest chair from the table. “Here. Sit with me, girl.” I reached for Murdoch’s arm, but Isolde shook her head. “Leave Murdoch be. It’s you I invited. Not him.”

  “Yes, Lady.” I ducked my head.

  Murdoch gave my arm a reassuring squeeze.

  Isolde’s fingers tapped faster while she watched us. What she saw there made her snicker.

  Fresh heat sweeping up my neck, I walked stiffly to the chair and sat. “Thank you, Lady.”

  She flicked her wrist. “Call me Isolde. I’m no lady. Never have been, and gods willing it’s an affliction I will never suffer. Being maven was one thing. I’m glad to have passed that duty on to my son. Being called Lady Isolde?” Her lip curled. “It’s an insult to who I am, that’s what it is.”

  “You’re a lady in heart if not in temperament.” Nerys was the picture of serenity. Her words sounded practiced, as if she’d spoken them to Isolde often. I wondered if Nerys believed herself.