Chapter 175: Aftermath
"Fangs," he agreed.
They worked together—she braced, he cut with his field knife at the gum line, twisting. The fang was a curved dagger in its own right, slick with venom and still warm from the fight. They bagged two, then took a spinneret cluster, a plate shard that bore distinctive markings, and a vial of venom that they carefully milked into a stoppered glass.
When it was done, the silence pressed in heavier than the heat.
No skittering, no movement in the web-latticed cavern. Only the low hiss of dying flames and the occasional snap of cooling chitin. The once-living hive was now a tomb.
Inigo stood, giving the queen’s corpse one last look before turning to Lyra. Her braid was half-undone, grime streaked across her cheeks, and the string of her bow looked one shot away from snapping. She met his gaze without a word. They didn’t need to speak to know what both were thinking—time to go.
He adjusted his rifle, slinging it across his chest, and gestured toward the tunnel they’d cleared earlier. "Let’s get out of this grave."
The trek back through the spider nest felt longer. The smell of scorched silk clung to them, thick and cloying. Several of the side tunnels had partially collapsed from the fire, forcing them to step over chunks of stone and hardened webbing. More than once, Lyra paused, head cocked, listening for the faint sound of legs—but nothing came. Whatever brood had survived the flames had fled deep into the earth.
When they finally reached the outer chamber where daylight filtered in, both of them exhaled at the same time.
The JLTV sat exactly where they’d left it, paint speckled with ash from the fire that had billowed out of the cave mouth. Inigo didn’t bother brushing it off; he yanked the passenger door open for Lyra before circling to the driver’s side.
Once inside, the cabin felt almost unnaturally clean compared to the battlefield they’d left behind. Inigo turned the ignition, the diesel engine rumbling to life. He put the vehicle in gear, and they began the slow, bumpy ride down the trail.
Lyra leaned her head back against the seat, closing her eyes. "First thing I’m doing when we get back is burning these clothes."
"Second thing better be a bath," Inigo said, shifting around a fallen tree branch.