Lying in that crib almost all day was driving her insane. The only movement she got was when Kofery picked her up gently, like she might break if he breathed too hard. Sometimes he took her on walks around the Tower, narrating everything they passed. "This is the library's third tier. Don't look directly at the books on the left, they contain forbidden knowledge and might try to possess you. This is the kitchen, though Master never eats so it's mostly for me. This is the door to the void. We don't open that one."
But most of the time, she just lay there. Staring at the ceiling. It had been a month since Leonarth's visit, since her father said he would "think about a name."
But then what? Did he forget about me?
She tried not to think about it. Let's think positive, stay positive. Kofery brought her milk on schedule. Changed her diapers. Read to her from books about magic theory that she couldn't understand yet but appreciated anyway.
But her father hadn't visited once. Not even to check if she was still alive.
Kofery had mentioned, during one of his rambling monologues, that Dravin had gone to "check on his pet." Some creature he kept in a cave system beneath the mountains.
So he has a pet, and that's more important than me. A pet he actually visits huh...
She stared at the ceiling, feeling something ugly curl in her chest. Why should I always suffer like this? In my old life, my parents forgot I existed. In this life, apparently the same thing is happening. What's the point of being reincarnated if nothing changes?
The thought made her angry. He has time for a pet, for experiments, for dealing with the king's messengers and Leonarth's drama. But not for me. Fine. I don't care.
She tried to convince herself of that. Tried to think more positive thoughts. Maybe he's just bad at this. Maybe he needs time. Maybe having a companion, even a pet, is a good thing. Even powerful mages need connection, right?
But the anger wouldn't go away. She stuck in this useless baby body, waiting for someone to remember she exists.
Her temperature started to rise. At first, she didn't notice. But then she felt warmth spreading through her chest, radiating outward through her limbs. The mark on her forehead began to tingle. Then glowingly burn.
Kofery was across the room, organizing books on a floating shelf, when he glanced over at her. He froze. "Little moon?"
He rushed over, reaching into the crib, and his hands jerked back immediately. "You're burning up!" His voice went high with panic. "Is this a fever? Do babies get fevers? Of course babies get fevers, what am I saying."
He started pacing, hands fluttering. Books appeared floating around him in a flurry—Infant Diseases and Remedies, Magical Ailments in Children, Emergency Pediatric Care for Non-Healers.
But there wasn't time. She could feel something building inside her. Something that wanted out. Energy. Magic. Whatever it was, it was too much for her tiny body to hold. She closed her eyes, and thought of him.
Idiot father! I just want to smack that arrogant face! If only I could go to you and see you. Just once.
The thought consumed her. She focused on what she want, and poured everything into it—all her anger, all her loneliness, all her desperate desire to be seen. She felt something flowing, moving, hot and cold all at once, streaming through channels she didn't know existed. It hurt but also felt good. She didn't understand it but she didn't want to understand it, she just wanted to see him.
The room filled with light. Kofery made a strangled sound. "No no no, your mana is going wild, how is your mana going wild, you're just one month old."
The light intensified, swallowing everything. And then she was gone.
"NONO — BABYYYY—"
✧ ✧ ✧
She floated in darkness. It felt like drifting inside deep water. Am I doomed to be alone?
A small light appeared far away. Then a familiar voice. "Hey. Wake up. Do you know anything other than sleep?"
The burning in her forehead started to fade. The itching sensation cooled. And she felt the warmth of being held.
She opened her eyes. Her vision cleared little by little. A man was holding her. She stared at his face and blinked up at red eyes looking down at her.
Am I dreaming? That I'm seeing this man holding me.
She'd decided to call him "this man" in her head. Until he gave her a name, he was just "this man," the same way she'd been "that thing" to him. Fair was fair.
"You're becoming a problem," Dravin said, in a flat voice.
What.
"Aww, such a cute child." The voice came from somewhere to her left. She turned her head and saw something that made her tiny heart stop.
A woman. No... Not a woman. Just a creature wearing a woman's shape. She had purple hair that fell in waves down her back, black eyes with vertical slits for pupils, and pale skin that gleamed like polished bone. And from her back emerged eight spider legs. Long, chitinous, ending in sharp points that clicked against the stone floor as she moved. Her tongue flicked out when she smiled, forked like a snake's.
"Are you offering her to us, Archmage?" The spider woman's voice was smooth, almost musical. "Babies, greet the Archmage for this delicious feast."
From the shadows behind her, small shapes emerged. Half-human, half-spider babies. If you could call them that. They clicked and chittered as they crawled forward on too many legs, their eyes gleaming with hunger.
The feast they were talking about… is that me?
She snapped her head back to look at Dravin.
Tell me that this is not what it looks like. This man. No. Wait. Tell me this is a lie.
"Well, you came here willingly," he said, looking down at her with mild interest. "So you must be eager to participate, right?"
Who came willingly?! WHERE?!
She looked around for the first time. They were inside a massive cave. The walls were covered in sticky threads. Thick strands hung everywhere.
Guuuu… Bones littered the floor. Things she couldn't identify.
What is this horrible place? How did I get here?
She looked back at Dravin.
Hey. I didn't come here. I mean, I don't know how I ended up here. I was just thinking about you and then something happened. I don't remember.
Dravin walked over to a pile of stones, jagged rocks stacked haphazardly against the cave wall and placed her on top of them. The stones were rough and cold. They dug into her back through the thin fabric of her onesie. He stepped back.
Hey. Are you seriously leaving me here?
She stared at him, trying to convey her thoughts through her eyes. I swear I won't disturb you. Just don't leave me here.
He turned his back to her and started walking away.
HEY. If you're giving me to them as a feast, then why didn't you let Leonarth take me?! At least he wanted me! At least he would have given me a name!
But what came out of her mouth was: "WUAAAAAAAAA!"
The cry tore from her throat, and with it came the uncontrolled mana again. The spider eggs tucked into crevices along the walls started to shake. Their pale, leathery shells vibrated, cracks spreading across their surfaces.
The spider woman hissed, her many legs clicking in agitation. "It's not fun, Archmage!" She gestured wildly at the trembling eggs, her human arms flailing while her spider limbs tapped an angry rhythm. "Did you summon her to destroy my unborn babies?! How cruel! What kind of baby is this?!"
Dravin glanced back at the infant on the rock. "I didn't summon her," He said calmly. "She came on her own."
The spider woman's eyes narrowed to slits. "Are you kidding me? Don't underestimate me!"
She launched herself forward, her body a blur of purple and black, her eight legs propelling her across the cave with terrifying speed. But Dravin moved faster. One moment he was standing several feet away. The next, his hand was wrapped around her throat, lifting her into the air. Her spider legs flailed, scrabbling at nothing.
"How many times must I deal with this," he said with a bored voice. He looked at her the way someone might look at a fly. "Hope you convey my message to your queen."
The spider woman's face turned darker, veins standing out against her pale skin. "Why... why would I?" she choked out. Her eight spider legs spread wide, the tips glistening with emerald venom. "You... you murderer. Our queen does not fight with arrogant leeches like you!"
Her abdomen contracted. She spat a massive glob of toxic webbing directly at his face. Dravin didn't blink or move his head. Didn't even raise his free hand. He just said one word: "Glaciesirus."
The web froze mid-air, turning from sticky liquid to brittle crystal in an instant. It shattered before it reached him, falling to the ground in a thousand pieces. The frost spread. It raced up the spider woman's legs, all eight of them, turning the chitinous black to translucent blue. Ice crystals formed along the joints.
Dravin flicked his wrist. CRACK. All eight legs snapped off at once, falling to the cave floor with sounds like breaking glass. The spider woman screamed.
Dravin tossed her toward the shadows where her children waited, her legless body tumbling across the stone. "Here is your feast," he said, brushing frost from his sleeve. "Enjoy."
The spider children swarmed forward, clicking and chittering.
The baby stopped crying. She lay on the rock pile, eyes wide, staring at the man who had just casually dismembered a monster and fed it to its own offspring.
Dravin turned and walked back toward her. Picked her up. She was shaking. From the aftermath of whatever she just saw and magic she'd just unleashed, she didn't know.
He looked down at her, his red eyes meeting hers. "Problematic," he said again.