Nanzhi stared at the spider nestled on her palm.
So it was a spider colony that the Ant Queen had defeated.
"What exactly can you do? Can you show me?" she muttered, half-expecting silence.
But as she spoke, the little creature perked up, wiggling excitedly. A sudden, weightless sensation brushed against her mind. Then, a soft, uncertain voice echoed in her head—high-pitched and hesitant. Mama?
Nanzhi's eyes flickered. Did I just imagine that?
The voice appeared again.
Mama?
Nanzhi looked at the spider. "Are you the one who said that?"
The little spider nodded.
Nanzhi's forehead creased. Is its eyesight that bad? She didn't have eight legs or any spider eyes to be its mother.
With a proud little chirp, a shimmering thread of silken webbing unraveled from its spinnerets, floating in the air as if guided by an invisible force.