Hive Queen

by Sinclair, Grayson

  I set up the tent while Sam got the fire going and Raven prepared the food. While not as skilled as Sam was, Raven was still a hand in the kitchen, and her cooking was delicious.

  Sam pulled out his flask and raised it to his lips, but he paused, and after a moment, he lowered his arm and handed it to Raven, who happily took a drink.

  Once we’d eaten, we all crawled into our tent together and went to sleep. I don’t think any of us were quite ready to spend the night together in that fashion, but it was nice cuddling up with both Sam and Raven.

  In the morning we began after a light breakfast, and we made it to Castle Aliria before lunchtime. Raven landed on the tower, and as we disembarked, the faint clang of steel against steel could be heard. It blew away with the wind fast enough that I thought I’d imagined it.

  I shook my head, and as Raven transformed back to human, the three of us made our way to the door.

  A young woman with lovely light brown skin and auburn hair waited for us as the door opened.

  “Welcome back, Duran,” she said, a dark blush to her rich cheeks and a spark in her honey eyes.

  “Good to see you again, Jasmine.”

  Jasmine peered around Sam and Raven to look at me. “Who’s she?”

  Sam laughed. “This is my wife, Eris.”

  I walked over and held out my hand. “Hello, it’s nice to meet you.”

  Jasmine bowed slightly, brushing her radiant hair out of her face when she stood. “This way, Duran. Magnus has been waiting for you.”

  She turned on her heels and headed inside without another word. As Jasmine disappeared from view, Raven snickered. “Someone likes you.”

  “Someone is just a kid. Now let’s not keep Magnus waiting. I’d rather him be in a good mood.”

  We hurried after Jasmine through a winding maze of identical corridors that started to make my head spin after a few minutes.

  With each step, my heart beat a little faster. Heavy fear hooked deep into my stomach before rising to my throat. My mouth went dry, and my fingers trembled the closer we got. Sam noticed at once and took my hand in his. “It’ll be all right, my love,” he said. “We’ll be right here the entire time.”

  I gulped and nodded as we reached our destination.

  Jasmine opened the door and motioned us inside.

  The throne room, for it could be nothing else, was long and wide. Along the walls were beautiful stained-glass windows that cast a rainbow of lights along the gray stone tile. In the back of the room rose a large black throne made of obsidian glass.

  Sitting on the throne was a blond-haired man, who looked normal for a human. He had a kind face and deep tanned skin.

  To his right was a woman who looked much like Jasmine, though older, with longer hair.

  But my eyes swept to his left, and my world crumbled.

  I forgot how to breathe as I stared unblinking at the woman whose name and face I couldn’t have recalled before this very moment. A person who I’d thought lost to time. I could remember her actions, what she’d done, but I could never recall her face.

  As I stared at her, the wall around what I’d forgotten about my mother fell away, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was her. Her long blonde hair that tickled my nose when she held me as baby. Her gorgeous black and yellow eyes that always held the answer to whatever question I asked.

  It was her.

  “Momma?” I whispered.

  She smiled at me, her eyes softened and held such warmth that I came undone. “Hello, my little fly. I’ve missed you.”

  My hand slipped from Sam’s as tears fell freely down my face. “Momma!”

  I raced across the floor and nearly collapsed into her chest, sobbing for everything I was worth.

  Chapter 28 - Truth At the End of the World

  Sampson

  Aliria smiled down at her daughter and hugged her back, stroking her hair and whispering that everything would be okay. Her malice and hatred bled away as she consoled her daughter. So much so, she seemed like an entirely different person. She looked so like Eris in that moment, they could’ve been twins, rather than mother and daughter.

  I left them to their reunion and approached Magnus. He smiled widely as he glanced over at them.

  “It does the heart good to see that in this day and age. So many dark things abound that I don’t get to witness this very often. But I digress. How was your trip? I only know pieces.”

  I told Magnus most of everything that had happened—the important bits that mattered, at any rate. He sat back in his chair and listened intently while I explained things. And when I was done telling him everything, he laughed.

  “That was some adventure,” he said, clapping. “I couldn’t have imagined there was a curse on the heart itself, but I’m thrilled you persevered where others did not. I must admit, you didn’t exactly inspire confidence at first, but you’ve exceeded my every expectation. Well done!”

  “He’s not bad,” Aliria admitted, her arms around Eris.

  “My bonded is amazing.”

  Aliria chuckled. “I’m beginning to agree with you, little fly. You picked a good one.”

  Magnus smiled. “That just leaves the completion of the quest. The Heart, if you will, Duran.”

  “Of course.” I pulled the Heart from my inventory and handed it over, rightfully glad to be rid of the damn thing.

  Magnus snapped his fingers, and the emerald appeared in his outstretched hand. He stared at it for a second before wincing. “Ow, that is a hefty curse. I can see why the quest gave so many of my men trouble, but at last it is completed. Thank you, Duran.”

  Quest: Steal Lachrymal’s Heart

  Type: Unique

  Difficulty: S

  Reward: 48000 Exp!

  I waved away the notification and pulled up my Stats.

  Exp: 6000/6000

  Level Up! (x8)

  Level: 68

  100/6800

  90 Stat Points Available!

  1 Ability Point Available!

  I whistled, long and slow. That’s quite a jump, though for how much I went through, it’s a little light. I had ninety stat points to allocate, and I knew almost exactly what I wanted to do with them. I added twenty-five to Endurance, maxing it out. Then I added the rest to Durability, Battle Fatigue, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed. When I was done, I was quite happy.

  Character Name: Durandahl

  Level: 68

  Exp: 100/6800

  Race: Hybrid (Hive)

  Class: Hive Knight

  Reputation: Wanted Criminal

  Bounty: 1300 Gold

  Stats (-)

  Strength: 100 (Max)

  Sub-Stats (-)

  Attack Damage: 50

  Constitution: 100 (Max)

  Sub-Stats (-)

  Health: 25

  Health Regen: 25

  Durability: 75

  Endurance: 100 (Max)

  Sub-Stats (-)

  Battle Fatigue: 50

  Battle Fatigue Regen: 10

  Agility: 50 (75)

  Sub-Stats (-)

  Attack Speed: 25

  Movement Speed: 20

  Wisdom: 25 (35)

  Sub-Stats (-)

  Mana: 20

  Luck: 0 (30)

  Charisma: 0 (10)

  Proximity to Hive Queen less than 30 meters: +10 to all Main Stats

  Arachne’s Blessing: +15 to Strength and Agility

  I accepted the changes, and a rush of strength flooded through my veins. The penalty from being away from Eris was gone, and I now had the boost from being near her. When I was done with my stats, I stared back up at Magnus, not entirely sure what would happen next.

  “What now?” I asked as Magnus stared at his prize.

  “Now, we have one final order of business to handle,” he said, stowing the Heart away. “Your reward. I promised you one, and I always keep my promises. So whatever you want—if it’s within my power, I’ll grant it.”

  I alread
y knew what I wanted, knew it for a while. “I have two requests I would like to ask,” I said holding up two fingers. “One, I would like to be a part of this going forward. Whatever is going on is obviously big, and I want to help.”

  “Done,” Magnus said with a half-smile. “I was going to offer you a pace within my organization regardless. You’ve proven yourself a worthy and capable lieutenant.

  “In fact, I have a gift for you. I think you’ll like it.”

  Magnus held up his hand and scrolled through his interface before he flicked his hand out to me. a notification appeared in front of me.

  Ability Share: Will of the Immortal

  Accept Y/N

  Yes.

  Damn, he can share abilities just like Evelyn. Will of the Immortal—it’s a much better version of Dance of the Immortal. It gives me twenty seconds of complete time stop, and I can manipulate the time and space around me. I think that means I can bring people into the time stop with me if I’m close enough.

  “This is─”

  “The highest tier of the Immortal ability. I’m sure you’ll find it useful.”

  “I’ll say.”

  I quickly replaced Dance of the Immortal with its superior counterpart.

  Magnus smiled and inclined his head. “Now that concludes our first order of business, what is your second request?”

  I glanced over at Raven, who kept her gaze firmly planted at her feet and refused to meet Magnus’s eyes. Ah, returned to your subservience again. I much prefer your true personality. Meek doesn’t suit you.

  “Raven. I want her released from her contract.”

  Magnus frowned slightly, leaning back in his chair as his eye flicked from me to Raven and back again. He drummed his fingers on his stygian armrest. “You’re asking a lot of me. I depend on Raven quite heavily…but I also asked much of you, and you delivered where many others have failed. You’ve proven yourself, and I do owe you. Very well. You shall have her contract. Is she going to remain bound to you?”

  “That’s not my decision to make,” I replied.

  Raven finally looked up from the ground and to me. She smiled. “I wish to remain his bonded.”

  “Excellent. Well, there you go!” Magnus said, standing from his throne. “I say a celebration is in order.”

  “That sounds lovely. I’m positively famished,” Aliria said. “What about you?” she asked Eris.

  “I’m perfectly fine with whatever.”

  “Darling, I’m going to take Eris and get her cleaned up and dressed properly. Why don’t you and Duran have a drink in the dining hall in the meantime?”

  “That’s a lovely idea,” he said, holding out his hand.

  His ivory cane appeared out of thin air above his hand and dropped into his palm. With a flick of his wrist, it twirled around, and he leaned on it as the base struck the ground. I stared slack-jawed at his casual display of power.

  “You said you weren’t cheating.”

  “I told you once before, Duran. Cheating the system is impossible, and it’s offensive to insinuate. Twist your thinking a bit. Perhaps the cane was always there, or would’ve been, given enough time,” he said with a cheeky grin.

  Magnus rubbed the carving embossed on the ivory with his thumb, drawing my attention. The hand holding the hourglass. The hand that holds time in its palm. Realization hit me like a sucker punch as all the pieces lined up. I’m an idiot. It’s been in front of me this entire time.

  “You’re a time mage!” I nearly shouted, stunned.

  Magnus stopped walking and turned back to me with amusement plain on his face. He rubbed his blond beard and chuckled. “I basically had to tell you, so you get no points for cleverness this time, Duran. But yes. Though I prefer chronomancer.”

  “How is that possible?” I asked.

  He waved me to follow him as he left the throne room. “We have much to discuss about our future together, Duran. Let’s at least do it over a drink.”

  I walked behind him as we headed to the dining hall. As we stepped inside, I found it had been changed a little.

  Most of the long banquet tables had been removed for individual circular ones that littered the stone floor. Only one long table remained, and it was at the center of the room. Magnus’s personal team of chefs worked like devils to get the room set up for us as we sat down at the table.

  A swish of cloth behind me caused me to turn. Jasmine was beside me, leaning over, too close to me. “Can I get you an ale, Duran?” she asked sweetly, her earlier frosty attitude gone.

  “Uh, water. Please.”

  “Of course.” Her hand brushed mine as she left, and she spared me one last look before exiting to the kitchen.

  “You’re quite popular with the ladies, Duran,” Magnus said with a laugh.

  “I don’t know why,” I replied shaking my head. “I’m crass, easy to anger, and hyper-violent. I’m the furthest thing from a catch.”

  “You’re also honest, dependable, and not hideous. Plus, Jasmine is young. She’s spent her entire life here after her father was killed defending the castle. She doesn’t know what love is and is misconstruing her infatuation.”

  I nodded. “Still, she’s a lovely girl, but I’ve already got more than I can handle at the moment.”

  “Right. I was quite surprised you and Raven had gotten so close. Your first interactions were…hostile, to say the least.”

  “You could say she grew on me,” I said, laughing as I ran my fingers over the smooth stained oak. “We actually get along really well, and after I let go of my anger, it was easy to become friends.”

  “More than friends, from where I’m sitting, but far be it for me to judge. I’ve had plenty of dalliances myself over the years. Aliria finds them healthy.”

  The door swung open, and Jasmine returned, followed by Magnolia. Jasmine set down my water and brought Magnus his wine. I thanked her and took a sip. The water was crystal clear. Condensation ran down the glass as I drank. It was cool, probably the best tasting water I’d ever had, and all I could think about was the whiskey I wasn’t having instead.

  Huh, maybe I do have a problem. I drank the water and held the glass to the bridge of my nose, basking in the cold glass as water dripped into my eyebrows.

  My headache went away as the chill soaked into my slick skin. I set the drink down as the main door opened and Aliria, Raven, and Eris walked in.

  All three of them had discarded their casual clothes for much more formal attire. Aliria wore a black dress that revealed too much of her substantial cleavage. The dress was stunning and stopped just shy of her smooth knees.

  Raven wore a simple red linen blouse that matched her eyes and a black skirt. Her hair fell down her back, and she looked stunning in the outfit. It fit her perfectly, but my eyes swept to Eris, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

  She wore black, like her mother, but it was a blouse, rather than a dress, that paired with a golden skirt that swished to her thighs. Her hair was tied back out of her face, and her smile lit up the entire room.

  She was blissfully happy, and I loved how it made her glow in the firelight.

  “Why, don’t you all look lovely,” Magnus said, taking a sip of his wine.

  “Thank you, darling.” Aliria took her seat by Magnus while Raven and Eris flanked either side of me.

  Both of them rested their hands on my legs, and I gave them both a tentative squeeze. “You both look lovely.”

  They beamed at me.

  Magnolia came around and brought them their drinks, while I stuck to water.

  “All right, Magnus. Spill. How can you control time?”

  “Oh, figured it out, did you?” Aliria asked.

  “He had help,” Magnus replied. “But I did tell you I’d answer your questions. To keep it simple, chronomancer is a legendary class, with only one person able to use it. Me. I’ve had it since the beginning. I was given greater power in this world, along with two others, to ensure we could maintain order. This was, of co
urse, before the schism.

  “Now I’m just trying to keep everything from falling apart.”

  Two others? Who─no, I’ve got a good hunch already, and there are more important questions I need answered now.

  “You used time travel to bring Aliria back to life?” I asked.

  “I did, though it cost me dearly to do it. Traveling that far back through time is something that I can only do once a lifetime. And since most of time has been erased, it’s not something I can risk doing again.

  “To be honest, most of my greater powers have been diminished. I’ve had to remove the spells and abilities that no longer work or are too dangerous to try to use.”

  “Is that how you can cast spells without using Script?” I asked, rubbing my chin.

  He chuckled and took a sip of his wine. “In a manner of speaking. I’m still casting using Script circles or incantations, but one of my abilities allows me to manipulate time in my immediate vicinity. I simply condense the casting into nanoseconds. Before your eyes can even register the spell, it’s complete.”

  I laughed. “Well, how do you explain the finger snaps and hand waving?”

  He snorted as the glass of wine was at his lips, and he nearly did a spit take. Magnus quickly set his wine down and dabbed at his mouth with cloth. When he was finished, he smiled wide at me. “Consider it an idiosyncrasy of mine. It’s easier to visualize a spell if I ground it with a physical motion, but it’s not necessary.”

  I absorbed what he told me and leaned back. Everything he told me added up to what I’d seen him do, so I had no reason not to believe him. The logic fit.

  “So what do we do about the system?”

  “We wait. I have a few guests who should be arriving shortly, and we can procced once they arrive.”

  “In the meantime, I believe I made you a promise, Duran,” Aliria said, speaking up over the rim of her wineglass.

  Huh? Oh, right. She promised to get rid of the Aspect.

  “Don’t trust her, she speaks lies!”

  Right, she promised to get rid of you.

  “Don’t do it.”