ARC: Assassin Queen Read Free Page A

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    “ Thanks. ” Whatever. Just get as far away as possible, please. It wasn ’ t going to look pretty if the spiders attacked. If Kara had any hope to survive she needed to act quickly, and she couldn ’ t possibly do it until Ellah was out of the way.
    It would be good if she could first figure out why the spiders were after her. Perhaps they ’ d lost their minds?
    Ellah’ s feet skidded on the smoothly hewn stone as she darted down the hallway. The spiders showed no interest as they continued to watch Kara with their dark, beady eyes. Dear Shal Addim, they’re bigger than some mice I’ve seen in the palace kitchens. Kara kept her fear in check, relaxing her muscles, receding into the background to appear inanimate – a trick that came with her Majat-trained stealth.
    After a moment the spiders retreated an inch, but didn ’ t change their attack posture. Clearly, whatever was triggering their aggression had to do with more than her actions – a thought that felt both comforting and frightening at the same time.
    She judged the distance. With her skill, throwing three daggers at once wasn ’ t a difficult task. Even from this close, she could probably kill all three spiders before they reached her. Probably. But a miss would most certainly seal her death warrant. Worse, if she succeeded in killing any of these creatures, she would violate the hard-earned trust of Lady Ayalla the Forest Mother, a key ally in their war against the Kaddim. Was she willing to risk bringing on the wrath of such a powerful being, putting everyone in danger to defend her own life?
    Kara ’ s mind raced. She was never fond of wildlife, especially the deadly kind that couldn ’ t be trained or tamed. Still, she had seen the way Alder, the emissary of the Forest Mother at the King ’ s court, took care of his deadly pets. He treated them like sentient beings, whispering to them, listening to their response. He seemed to believe he could reason with them. To her knowledge, he could make them attack on command – or hold them back – by saying the right words. Perhaps she, too, could find a way to communicate with them.
    Very slowly, she lowered down to a crouch and placed her daggers on the floor.
    “ I mean you no harm, ” she said.
    The spiders appeared to hesitate, shifting their hairy feet and retreating another inch or so.
    She put more calmness into her voice. “ You have no reason to attack me. ”
    The spiders surveyed her intently.
    “ This is a mistake, ” Kara said softly, soothingly. “ I am not your enemy. ”
    The spiders flexed their legs in indecision. Kara forced herself to keep relaxed. She knew all animals could sense fear, and she needed to control hers, even if the thoughts of what could happen if the spiders changed their mind were hard to ignore.
    She reached forward with her hand, palm open.
    “Here,” she said. “ You can climb on me, and I ’ ll take you back to Alder. This way, you ’ ll be in control the whole way. If you decide to bite me, nothing could possibly stop you. ”
    She waited, emptying her mind of any emotions or thoughts. A distant part of her screamed in terror as she felt the touch of a hairy spider leg, but she forced that part deeper down, relaxing to welcome the tingling sensation as the spiders filed up her arm. She could sense their weight as they settled on her shoulder, doing her best not to think of them at all.
    “ See? ” she said. “It ’ s called trust. I trust you with my life. I hope you trust me too. ”
    Rapid footsteps clanged in the hallway outside. She sensed the spiders stiffen and forcibly kept her stomach from lurching. When this is over I’m going to go where no one can hear and have a nice long scream.
    A tall, broad-shouldered young man rushed in, with Ellah close on his heels. Alder. Kara met his eyes, momentarily overwhelmed. Will they listen to him?
    Will his presence trigger them to do something rash?
    “ What ’ s happening? ” Alder