Hive Queen by Sinclair, Grayson (positive books to read .txt) 📕

Panicked, she squinted her eyes, and a burst of rainbow light flared to life through her wings and they flitted, trying to fly. With the last drops of magic in her system, she tried to escape. Her feet lifted an inch from the ground before I reached behind her.

I took hold of the base of her wings and ripped them from her spine.

Tel wailed in tortured suffering as sinew and muscle tore free from her and stuck to the ends of her wings, dripping blood. I tossed them aside and clamped my hand over her mouth to silence her screeching.

“I only came for Orryn, but you had to interfere. I’d have left you alone, but you got in my way.”

“Let me have her, let me taste of her, let me savor her sweetness!”

I sighed, but I owed it for lending me its power. Just make it quick, we need to leave.

“With pleasure.”

***

I wiped the macabre stains from my mouth and spat, trying to remove the salty sweetness from my tongue. “I hope you enjoyed that, because I’ll never get used to it.”

“She was delicious. Her memories even more so.”

Glad you liked them, but I really didn’t need those memories, Aspect.

It chuckled darkly. “They were some of the best she had. The others were…tame.”

I shook off the twisted laughter and left the Low Road. I needed to leave Aldrust, but it wasn’t going to be easy. The entrance would be heavily monitored, and I was sure mine and Maus’s escape was already spreading through the city. It might turn into a fight if I try to leave that way, but I don’t have much choice.

There were still a few things I had to grab back at the hideout, namely the knife Thrayl had given me. I’d left it under the bed, and I didn’t want to leave without it. Thrayl hated me now, so it would probably be the last thing I would ever own by him.

As calmly as I could, I slunk through the streets of Lowtown till I reached the house. I had a few scrolls left, and after the door slid away, I bolted through, eager to get in and get out.

My foot hit the stairs when a shuffle came from my right, and a heavy weight bore down on me.

Something incredibly sharp dug into my neck hard enough to draw blood, and I froze. They had me dead to rights. I risked tilting my neck to get a look at my assailant and sighed in relief when I saw her pale skin and bloody eyes.

“By the nine kings of hell, Raven. Scared me to death.”

She flinched as if I’d shocked her and jumped back. Her wicked talons reached for the lantern by the couch. When light filled the room and she got a better look at me, she let out a breath and retracted her claws.

“Duran, thank the gods,” she said, crossing the room to pull me to my feet.

Before I could respond when I stood, she wrapped me in a crushing hug.

“I’m okay, Raven. No need to try and squeeze the life out of me,” I said, my voice strangled.

Raven pulled back, but her hands lingered on me. Her right cradled my neck, and as she stared up at me, a decision crossed her eyes and solidified.

Her fingers tensed and drew me closer to her as she pressed her lips to mine. They were incredibly soft and only a little chapped. Raven’s mouth lingered on mine, but it was chaste, loving. It was a kiss that made clear her feelings for me.

Ones that I didn’t know if I could reciprocate.

She pulled away a lifetime later with a subtle pop as our mouths uncoupled. Her breathing was uneven, her pulse raced, but she wore a wide smile as she backed away and dropped her hands.

My hand went to my lips as a whirlwind of emotion writhed in my chest. I was conflicted, so very conflicted.

“I’m sorry for springing that on you, but I wished I’d done it back at the cathedral, and I swore if I saw you again, I would find the courage to do it.”

“I─I don’t─we can’t…never mind. What are you still doing here? I told you to leave.”

“I did, and I came here. I was going to take the Heart back to Magnus, but I couldn’t. I couldn’t abandon you, not when you risked your own life to save mine.”

“So you still have it?”

She nodded.

I sighed and went to the fridge to grab the last ale. I took a long pull and went and sat on the couch. We don’t have time to be sitting around, but I was planning to bust through the gate solo. I can’t do that if she’s beside me, let alone carrying the godsdamned Heart.

“This complicates matters. I don’t have a plan for getting us both out of Aldrust.”

Raven plopped down next to me and snagged the ale as I was about to take a sip. She took a drink and passed it back. A small smile curled the edge of her lips. “I’ve got one.”

“Oh, do tell.”

“We use the vents.”

“The vents? The air vents?”

“Uh-huh.”

“You’re insane, there’s no way that could─” I tugged at my unruly beard, lost in thought. “Well. Okay, that might work.”

I paused, working the logistics out in my head. There isn’t anything but a series of nets to keep debris clear from the vents themselves. In theory, it’s a straight shot to the surface, though we’ll have to break the metal encasing the shaft at the bottom and top to escape. I didn’t know how it would play out, but it was a better plan than rushing the guards and slaughtering them.

“All right, we’ll get