The floor felt cold. The candle light flickered. Corvus was lying on the ground looking at the roof. He wore a small smile.
"So that's how bonding works?"
His spider had to make contact with the flowers. A second later his body began to tremble. He grabbed his stomach.
"Definitely worth it."
His body twisted into a ball. Any position felt better than the previous. It took a minute but he managed to get on his feet.
"Okay, blurry vision check, upset stomach check, shaky hands check," he said to himself as he walked through the door.
"Bleeding?"
He examined himself but couldn't see any blood.
"That means my exposure isn't fatal."
His little body was sweating but a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. A metallic taste filled his mouth. Then he coughed and spat out some blood. His eyes bulged. He took another step and coughed again, spitting even more blood.
"Fuck."
Bleeding meant he was in serious danger. He needed help. Lyssandra would definitely help him. She was his first choice.
"But she'll kill Aurelia."
The only other choice was Ilyana. He dragged his body across the halls and up some walls, avoiding every single maid. It took him five minutes to arrive at her room. His breathing was ragged as he knocked. No answer. Corvus coughed blood on the floor.
"Ilyana!"
Corvus just wanted to lie down and let this pain subside. That would be the end of his life though. Oleander poison acts slowly when you're awake and quickly when you fall into slumber. He knocked again and again. His hand was shaking. No one answered.
"Damn it!"
He slid onto the webbed floor.
"I have no choice."
Corvus stood back up. He dragged his body to another room; the room of the future matriarch. He pushed the door open and stepped inside. The webs were a lighter shade of pink and the windows actually let in sunlight. A chair was in front of the window. A book on the table next to it. Valerica must be reading a lot. A few dresses hung from silk stands.
He sat on the chair and picked up the book. A small chuckle escaped him.
"How to rule the world tree by Evelyn Borealis."
A book from the queen of frost bees.
"I doubt any useful knowledge could be gained from this."
He remembered all the self-help books from billionaires in his past world. They mentioned just enough details for the readers to think they have an idea of how it was done but not enough to copy the technique.
"If everyone could rule the world then no one would."
Corvus' heart beat picked up. He coughed again. Reading the book, he tried to pass time and stay awake. A minute or ten passed by. He was losing his battle against sleep.
"You smell terrible."
He looked up and saw her. Valerica.
"Thanks for noticing," he coughed.
Valerica walked up to him. Her spider was looking at him with all of its eyes.
"Did you start harassing women at the age of six months? That's quite pathetic."
Corvus closed his eyes. He felt like throwing up but he knew nothing would come out. Just dry heaving.
"Can you be a sister and help me?"
She crossed her arms and raised her eyebrow.
"On the one hand I need you alive to become queen. But on the other hand, maybe my next brother could have at least one magic affinity?"
She tapped her foot. Corvus coughed. He was sick. He wasn't letting some misguided sense of pride get in his way.
"I'm begging you," he said as he looked into her eyes.
Valerica stared back. Their spiders were watching each other.
"Fine."
She extended her hand and cast a pink sigil above it. It formed into a pink cloud. Breathing it in, he started to feel better. The mental fog cleared, his heart beat stabilized. His spider body was revitalized.
"Thank you."
He took another breath of the antidote. He could see Valerica staring at him with curiosity.
"You're not going to ask why I was poisoned?"
Valerica sighed.
"It doesn't take a genius to figure out Aurelia poisoned you."
Corvus was rubbing his throat.
"She didn't do it intentionally."
Valerica scoffed, "I couldn't care less."
Her voice had a slight tremble in it. Corvus noticed.
"That's the first time I caught you lying to me."
She narrowed her eyes. He chuckled, "You're always so blunt. You tell me I'm useless and you're going to eat me."
Corvus leaned back into the chair and looked out the window. Aracnia was beautiful at night. It was like half a beehive split in half but made of silk instead of honey.
"Were you concerned she hurt me?" he asked with a light hearted tone.
Talking with his sister doesn't happen that often as she was always busy.
Valerica remained silent. Corvus let out an awkward chuckle.
"Sorry if it sounded like I was mocking you," he paused, "I like that you're honest. No matter how brutal it may be."
His dad used to always sugarcoat his problems. Corvus hated that.
"I don't care if you died at all," Valerica said.
She was behind the chair and she grabbed both of Corvus' shoulders and squeezed.
"Do you know how personal it is to touch a visage?"
The squeezing became tighter. Corvus groaned.
"You touched Aurelia's visage."
Corvus remembered the book on visages. A monster's second body. Every species has a different one. The visage was responsible for casting magic but the book didn't mention anything about it being personal.
Valerica's grip tightened even more. Corvus was in pain.
"It's as if you asked her to be your soul mate."
She leaned closer to his ears. Her black hair falling over his shoulders.
"Imagine how that must have made her feel."
Her spider clicked its teeth. Corvus' flinched.
"I'm sorry I didn't know."
Valerica let go of his shoulders.
"Why would you want to hurt my friend?"
Corvus didn't know what she meant. She rotated his chair and grabbed him by the chin. She made him look at her.
"You have no empathy for others, do you?"
Corvus gulped. The matriarch in her was coming out. Like mother, like daughter.
"You want her to fall in love with you just for you to die in two years?" her grip on his chin tightened.
The pressure hurt but Corvus managed to spit out a "I'm not trying to get her to fall in love with me."
He really wasn't. Magic and survival was the top priority in his mind.
Valerica sighed.
"You're already a playboy at this age?"
Corvus stayed silent. She used her webs to open the door.
"Don't interact with Aurelia or me anymore. When you're an adolescent you can get your dick wet at the red light district."
Her words stung him. It felt like she slapped him.
Valerica turned her back towards him.
"Leave."
Corvus got up and left the room. His little spider was still tired and so was he. On the way to his room, he ran into Lyssandra.
"Oh my little Corvi," she said as she hugged him.
His eyes widened as she checked every nook and cranny of his body.
"You look exhausted."
He couldn't tell her about Valerica or Aurelia.
"I'm dead tired mother."
She picked him up with her webs.
"A good night's rest with your mommy will make everything better."
Corvus let himself be carried away. He was mentally exhausted.