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It’s spiderwebs.
24
"Don't trust whatever you see, little dove..."
QUINTESSA
After three daysand nights of Reaver’s court games, I’m ready to plunge headfirst into the Hollows.
At the edge of the Sea of Bones shoreline, I stand before the black gates of the mystical realm. After a final kiss to Aislynn, I surrender her to Bartie, who has claimed his role of official babysitter/uncle to her. My chest twinges as I wonder how the other stewards would find her like Oliver and Eyn-Amaru. Mayce’s dryad nanny, Aldorys, loved her, of course. I can only hope all four courts will unite someday...somehow. Could it be possible?
There’s no time to consider, much less dream. I hardly know if I’ll make it out of the Hollows.
Drago and Mayce flank us while Merikh stands next to me, turning me to him. Out of the corner of my eye, I’m keenly aware of Reaver with his hands folded casually behind his back. Only the remaining Founders are present. Reaver does not need guards. Kronos’ mark and his blood tie with Aislynn guarantee our obedience.
“Quintessa...” Merikh’s voice reminds me of the night he took me down into the depths of the sea. Deep, dark, and full of wonder.
“Are you certain I should go like this?” I glance down at myself. Clothed in little more than a transparent shift, much like the ones I would wear to bed when sleeping with them, I have little to protect me. I carry no weapons. I don’t even wear shoes.
“The Hollows does not operate like our realms. Any weapons would be futile as you cannot kill a ghost. But your half-soul light will shine through this fabric, and your ink and scars will testify to a story even Necrosyne will find intriguing. Do not trust her. She is a trickster and will want to keep you as a prize. And if she does, nothing in this world will stop me from ripping into her realm, even if it means I must descend into the Underworld itself and bargain with the Unseen.”
A shiver ripples through. I assure him I’ll come back with the three objects. While I don’t believe it, I’m awfully good at convincing myself, perhaps more than others.
Unlike his voice, his eyes speak a different story. One of death and danger, predatory need...as if he will defy the laws of nature to enter the realm of the Hollows just to come with me and protect me.
“Don’t trust whatever you see, little dove,” he warns me. “Keep to the thickest part of the path. It will make sense once you are there. The thickest part will lead you to Necrosyne.”
I muster a soft smile. “I won’t be alone...” I gesture down at Jinxy, who lingers at my side, his tails perked up, but his fur does not prickle with agitation.
Merikh glances at my rook fox, and Jinx instantly lifts his head to meet the vampire god’s eyes. He licks his snout, but their eyes hold one another, Jinxy’s like lustrous moonstones to Merikh’s fathomless dark chasms.
“Take care of her and bring her back, Jinx,” he warns in a lowered voice.
Jinxy licks his snout without looking away as if to confirm his request. I reach down to pat his head, but the moment I look away, Merikh grips my throat and dives in for the kiss, commanding my mouth in a searing, crushing kiss that obliterates all my thoughts and sets my blood on fire.
I barely get a chance to recover before he’s shoving me toward those obsidian gates, spelled so only ghosts or half-ghosts may enter. Another magic about this realm is that none may see what lies beyond without passing through the gates. I have no idea what to expect.
Heartbeat pounding a symphony of drums in my ears and pulse galloping in my veins, I step beneath the archway of the gates. And with the faces of my monstrous boys gathering around our daughter, I embark into the Hollows.
Reality fades to the mystical—morelike the ethereal.
Silence thickens the air and crawls along my spine with a tingling chill. But Jinx fairs better since he’s flicking his bushy tails and tilting his head, one ear pricked while gazing at the scene before us.
Whatever else I expected, it was not this.
Before me, the landscape has become a forest of glistening threads. I lower my brows, wonder and curiosity quickening my breath as I approach trees—no bark but strands of silk. Like delicate pillars for the trunks and bodies with thin wispy curtains for the endless canopy above—one shimmering with a supernatural luminescence. Beneath my bare feet, the forestfloor is the same. Warm, soft, and wispy, some strands cling to my ankles and tease the ends of my slip-like dress.
Tiny drops of dew blot countless leaves, some collecting onto my skin like glittery pearls. I’m stunned by this place with the intricate silky patterns forming a forest. It seems to go on for miles in all directions.
But as I venture deeper into the woods, the Hollows transforms into a tapestry of illusions. Spectral visions dance between the gaps in the trees or spiral upon the threads, ghost-like figures flitting in and out of my vision. As soon as I get close to one, it disappears—only for another to manifest further from me. Whispers assault my senses, calling my name, beckoning me. But I remember what Merikh said.
Stay on the path that is the thickest.
I keep to that path. Jinxy does the same, trotting ahead of me. Now and then, he bats at the silk with his paw, but not one strand is knocked out of place. He eventually gives up.
I lose track of how long I walk. But at one point, the strands thin on my right to show a clearing, where the white silk expands into shapes resembling a whole city. The sight steals my breath as I pause to watch the ghostly inhabitants wandering the spectral constructions.
Whole spires rise to disappear into the black sky. Glistening silk seems to pave the streets while countless figures of translucent phantasms drift through the city. Their whispers carry along the misty breeze, and every one calls to me, but I can’t let anything distract me.
