“I told you to give up,” Jaedia said. She pressed her hand against Maya’s temple. “I was going to stop your heart first, out of respect. But now I think I’ll keep you alive while I … repurpose you.”

Please. Maya had no more breath, but her lips formed the word.

Jaedia held her palm against Maya’s skull, and a long moment passed. Slowly, the vicious smile faded from her lips.

“No-no,” she muttered. Her head jerked one way, then the other. “Not-not-NOT possible.”

The tendril holding Maya’s arm peeled back, opening like a flower. She hit the ground in a crouch, gasping for breath, right shoulder screaming with pain.

“Nononono,” the Jaedia-thing snarled. Her flesh-tentacles writhed wildly. “I am in control. I am always in control. I—”

“Maya!” Beq’s voice.

From the corner of her eye, something came flying toward her, and Maya reached out with her good arm, snatching her haken out of the air. Jaedia’s eyes went very wide, and the tendrils reached, but fire was already blooming around Maya, pushing them away. Maya surged to her feet and brought her hand around to the back of her mentor’s neck. She felt the hard shell of the black spider under her fingers.

“Sha’deia,” Jaedia gasped. “Maybe you are the one—”

Maya focused a burst of flame, as small and hot as she could make it, tearing through the monstrous thing in a blaze of focused plasma. Jaedia dropped at once, like all her bones had been removed. The horrible flesh-armor with its tentacles collapsed around her, disintegrating into twisted meat and shattered bones. Maya landed on her knees, coughing and struggling for breath.

“Jaedia!” Maya tossed her haken aside and scrambled forward, heedless of the slick of blood and torn flesh. Jaedia lay amid the ruins, her breathing ragged. As Maya reached her, she gave a scream, arched her back for a strained moment, then fell limp.

No no no no. Maya fell to her knees beside her mentor. Not now. Not after all this. She pulled Jaedia toward her, resting her head across Maya’s stained lap. Blood ran from the back of Jaedia’s neck where the spider had bitten her, a steady trickle of crimson. Her breath rattled harshly in her chest, and her eyes were closed.

“Jaedia,” Maya said frantically. “Jaedia, please.”

Her mentor’s soft green eyes opened, focusing slowly. “M … Maya?”

“I’m here,” Maya said. “I found you. You’re going to be all right.”

“I …” Jaedia’s features tensed as a wave of pain ran through her. “I couldn’t. Let him hurt you. Not you.”

“I know,” Maya said. Her throat was thick. “You beat him.”

“I … I killed …” Her eyes filled with tears.

“It wasn’t you. I’ll explain everything to Basel.” Maya furiously wiped her own eyes, spreading gore across her face. “We’ll get you back to the Forge and figure everything out.”