Something yanks my arm back. I can’t move. I twist around to find my hand and sword hilt snagged in a stream of web. More webbing shoots from his spinneret, coating my whole arm. I draw my other sword, hacking at the thick, sticky mass, but there’s too much.

His human body rotates, his spine twisting in a way that should snap it in two. Red claws clamp around my leg and rip me off his back. Layers of webbing trap both my arms and swords as he hefts me up before him. One clawed hand wraps around my throat.

Each fragment of his many eyes stares back at me, unblinking. I struggle against his hold, even as his claws bite into the skin beneath my jaw. Each small movement works my blades against the webbing.

“If only you’d been a soulguide instead.” The regret in his voice makes my skin burn with anger.

“So you could use me? What does it matter, anyway? You’d still kill everyone.”

He hauls me close. I gasp as his face hovers a breath from mine, his snarling mouth stretching with crowded, too-large fangs. “You’ve seen more death than others twice your age, and still, you know so little of sacrifice.”

I struggle harder, moving more easily as my swords saw away at the webbing. Suddenly, the Soulless’s dark power slithers around me, as if to replace my loosening bonds. It hooks into my skin, probing for weaknesses.

Ronin’s mouth gapes open, impossibly wide. His jaws unhinge and his lips tear in a way no human mouth ever should. His enormous fangs unfurl.

That dark magic scratches at my ribs, demanding to be allowed in. I fear that power, wicked temptation wrapped in venom and thorns. But in this moment, I fear Ronin more.

I seize the Soulless’s power. Instantly, magic rages through me, igniting my craft like a breath against kindling. Liquid fire burns in my veins, imbuing me with blazing, scorching magic that’s almost too much for me to contain.

And then I see it—Ronin’s souls. There are two, one human form and the other Spinner, both transposed against the abomination he has become. I don’t need my hands to grip his souls tight. I need only to will it.

He goes rigid. His mouth slowly closes, fangs sinking back into the depths of his jaw. His magic heaves against mine. It takes all my concentration to hold him immobile.

The black drains from his eyes. Suddenly, his face is human again, brimming with an emotion so intense, so bleak, I hesitate. “You don’t understand what you’re doing. Only my power can keep Thiy safe.”

“Thiy doesn’t need you anymore, not once the Dead Wood is destroyed.”

With an inhuman snarl, he wrenches free of my magic. His mouth snaps wide, fangs flashing.