Chapter 38
CHAPTER
Twenty minutes later, I was sneaking into the jungle behind the Wild Whisperer sector, heading toward that same cliff Mr. Conine had made us climb in our Predators I knew he was up to no good.
It would be pointless to try to look the other way.
“Fine,” I sighed, squeezing my eyes shut.
How to tell him the truth in a way that didn’t reveal any confidential details?
“I had a boyfriend last year, but everyone’s memory of his existence got erased, including mine.
” I opened my eyes again to find Rodhi listening intently, his eyes sparkling with utter amusement.
“But I recently re-met him, and I’ve been meeting up with him in secret every week. Happy?”
“Extremely,” Rodhi grinned. “I told Wren you were getting laid in secret. She owes me another thirty coppers.”
“What? No, I— He and I aren’t back together in that way.
” Every one of my nerves had perked up at the insinuation, though, so that wasn’t a good sign.
Trying to force my sudden blush back down, I said, “But if you tell anyone that I’m even seeing him, I could actually get tortured and die a very cruel and painful death, Rodhi, so… please don’t tell.”
It sounded dramatic, but it was true. If Dyonisia heard that I was meeting up with him so casually or if Lexington discovered that my meetings with him weren’t just to try to steal that batch of pills….
To my surprise, Rodhi didn’t turn that into any kind of twisted joke. In fact, his face fell with something like horrified recognition.
“Oh. Is your not-boyfriend the pirate fugitive who’s been staying at that abandoned lighthouse north of Hallow’s Perch by chance?”
I froze.
Then attacked.
Throwing my knife into the mud so that I wouldn’t be tempted to use it on him, I yanked him toward me by his ear.
“What the hell, Rodhi? How did you know that?”
Something feral and monstrous had sprung alive in my chest at those words spoken aloud. If Rodhi Lockett, of all people, knew about Steeler’s whereabouts, then he wasn’t safe at the lighthouse anymore, and neither was Felicity. Both of them would have to—
“Calm your tits, Rayna,” Rodhi hissed, wrenching himself away. “I was literally just about to tell you my secret, which would have explained everything.” He rubbed at his ear with a wince. “By the orchid and the owl, your not-boyfriend’s a lucky guy—that’s a strong grip you’ve got there.”
I smacked his arm, and not in an amused, playful way.
“Explain yourself.”
“Okay, okay.” Rodhi raised his palms. “Do you guys want to come out now?”
I stared at him, sure he’d gone crazy as he raised his hands toward the rumbling sky.
Until, that is, five or six giant fishing spiders scuttled out from beneath his sopping clothes and settled on his shoulders and arms.
“What…?” I leaned forward for a closer look. “I haven’t seen any other spiders except for—”
“Ms. Pincette’s?” Rodhi suggested. “Yeah, that’s because they’ve been at war with each other for the last six months. All the spiders on campus are either guarding one of us, dead, or engaged in some other battle on another part of the island.”
“Wait, what?”
I blinked at him, confident that I must not have heard any of that right.
Rodhi heaved a deep breath as if in an attempt to reel in patience.
“Ms. Pincette put me in charge of the rebel spiders. That’s my secret.
We killed every dickhead arachnid working for the Good Council on campus ages ago—” Here, he puffed out his chest, clearly proud as the giant fishing spiders on his shoulders nuzzled his cheeks with long, velvety legs “—and we’ve been slowly pushing our way toward Bascite Mountain ever since.
Huh, guys? You’ve done so good, haven’t you? ”
I needed to sit down. Or gulp some wine.
Still not quite believing what I was hearing, I repeated, “There’s a spider civil war going on?”
“Yes.”
“But why?”
“Well…” Rodhi pulled a grimace. “Dyonisia Reeve may have squashed one of their princesses with her shoe last year. Now, granted,” he hurried on as he saw my expression change, “there are about a thousand prince and princess spiders on the island, but given that there are around two hundred million total… it offended them, to say the least. So the ones faithful to the royal family asked Ms. Pincette for help, she organized a resistance for them, and they’ve been battling ever since. ”
One of the fishing spiders on his shoulders added in a high-pitched, clicking voice. “We will not serve and spy for someone who would so easily murder our revered in cold blood.”
My gut was churning. I knew exactly what spider princess Rodhi was talking about, though I’d never even asked for its name. I’d seen it in the memories I’d uncovered with Garvis, seen how it had helped me and spied for me during the short remainder of its—her—life.
The rest of it was clicking into place, too. Not just the absence of all the spiders and Rodhi’s disappearances, but what Gileon had claimed in class that one day, too: Nuisance says Rodhi’s off on a high-stakes adventure, battling deadly foe and winning armies to his name.
God, that had actually been true all along. And Ms. Pincette had known…
“She put you in charge of the spider resistance?” I asked, wanting to make sure I understood this completely.