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Perhaps Alvius Androclaria had a reason to imprison it.

I run, my feet sliding along the threads that begin to suck towards the creature. I don’t think. I don’t look back. I pour everything I have into my mad sprint towards the battle.

I don’t stop when I snatch Valen by the arm and drag him with me. I distantly hear him gasp, “What is that?”

“Just run!” I scream.

We’re almost at the seam in the Tapestry that I slipped through to get to this place, but it’s blocked. Those spidery creatures are pouring in, their disturbing, rippling legs moving fast as they crawl along the inside of the Tapestry’s sphere. They make a sound that raises the hair along my arms. It’s as joyful as it is disturbing, and we’re forced to stop or get trampled.

My heart races, and I turn back to gauge the queen’s pursuit.

She’s stretching after two thousand years of confinement. The spidery attendants wave their many arms, more active than I’ve ever seen them. A few hop down to preen the light strands that I mistook for hair. They’re so small on her, and the threads glitter under the attention. Then her too-numerous eyes land on me, and I nearly scream. My hand trembles on Valen, and he clutches me, drawing me closer to him.

Those many eyes flick away from us, one by one, to land on Alasdair.

She shrieks, and I cover my ears uselessly, the sound’s vibration shaking through my form. Alasdair bolts towards us, but a spidery creature falls upon him from its crouch along the inside of the sphere. It catches him and throws him back towards the queen with another earsplitting cry. It’s almost like a signal for the other creatures to descend upon him. Alasdair’s magic crackles all around, but it’s too late; the queen crawls down the cocoon while the others corral Alasdair in place.

I force my gaze away to inspect our exit. The seam is clear. Turning on my heel, I drag Valen with me through the Tapestry. The sounds of the creatures tearing into my brother follow me to the other side, the stars above twinkling brighter than ever before.

Valen and I sprint as fast as we can along the Tapestry of Magic. Our hands are tightly clasped together, too afraid that we’d lose the other as the threads below us ripple and bulge. Creeping child hands with too long, pointed fingers reach through the pattern, grabbing and tugging, worsening the unstable floor.

Valen points ahead. “There! The sacred mirror.”

I swerve with him to head towards the glowing arch against the magic realm’s darkness. I scan the stars as best I can, searching wildly. I scream, “Jinx!” But there’s no answer. I try again and again, nearly falling if not for Valen’s grip on me. My heart is beating too fast, panic nearly robbing me of my senses. She’ll be fine. She’ll find me once I’m back in my body. It will all be okay.

Valen gasps as he stumbles to his knees from a rough shake of the Tapestry, and I whip my head forward just in time to collide headfirst into the mirror. My soul rattles, and I choke with the agony as I crumple. Valen grabs me, dragging me up with him. His gaze bounces all around the glowing archway, and he presses his hand against it. His fingers slip through easily, and he withdraws, taking my hand in his and trying again. It’s like I’m hitting a glass wall, and I squeeze my eyes closed to gather my remaining strength. “Go, Valen.”

I open my eyes to meet his too-wide ones. He shakes his head. “No. I’m not leaving without you.”

A screech rattles the realm, and the queen bursts through the Tapestry. Her many eyes fall upon me, and I tremble under her stare. I grab Valen’s face and kiss him fiercely. “You want to help me? Then get me out of the statue!” And I throw him with all my strength, my fire crackling along my form to burn his hands so he has no choice but to let me go.

He roars for me as he goes through. Light flares, searing my eyes. I shield myself with my arms, and when I lower them again, the archway is gone, and I am alone once again, with creatures tearing their way through the tightly wound threads to behold my defenseless soul.

CHAPTER 31

THE ARCHWEAVER ESTATE, ASTRUM FOREST

LUCAS

I nearly piss myself when Valen returns to his body with a sudden gasp. He sways on his knees, and I grab his shoulder to steady him, shifting from sitting to kneeling as I do. I tremble like the lovesick idiot I am, clutching him while he hacks up a lung. “Thank fuck. You made it. You actually made it.”

Emilia is beside us in an instant, kneeling down and rubbing Valen’s back in soothing circles. “Breathe, Valen. Feel your lungs. Use them to take in air, hold, and expel. Repeat. You can do it. It’s your body. Just settle back into it. You were gone from it for a long time.”

Valen fists his hands in my shirt, and I press my lips against his hair and breathe in his scent. The smell is muddled with that of Alasdair’s decaying corpse that crumpled to the ground earlier, rot bubbling, his eyes milky and sightless, jaw at an odd angle.

Valen claws up my arms, meeting my gaze. My smile falters then falls when his too-wide, panic-stricken eyes meet mine. He gasps desperately, his mouth opening and closing before he coughs, “T… T…”

“Tor?” I guess, and he nods furiously.

Emilia leans in. “She’s still in the statue back in the receiving hall.”

He swallows, and I wish I had water for him. He tries again. “S… Sa…” He coughs, and his teeth rattle with the force of his shaking. “Save her.”

“Save her?” I echo.

He nods furiously and grips me, regaining more control of his body to complete his sentences. “Get her out! Now!”

His terror sends cold flooding my system. My head whips towards the door where the Order is attempting to break in. The door rattles, but my threads hold.