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

“Correct, knight.”

I can deal with it. Besides, I can’t use my new appendages without the Hive Mind. Makes it an easy choice. I selected Hive Mind and accepted my choices as wind whistled straight ahead of me.

Jasmine came crashing through the smoke, her bright green eyes trailing ethereally in her wake as her swords bore down on me. I rolled to the side as chitin struck stone where I’d been. She tore into the stone, sending chips flying to the air from the force of her blow.

She’s really trying to kill me!

I had access to new abilities, but I didn’t want to spam them; my fatigue might have been higher now, but I still had to be cautious of how I used my abilities. I activated Aura of the Arachnid, and a soft green glow bubbled over my skin before fading away.

A timer appeared in my vision, set at five minutes and dropping. Strength flowed through me, and my legs were lighter, surer of foot than before. Power breathed new life into my body, and I easily met Jasmine’s next attack.

I ducked her duel slash, and as I rose, I wrapped my left hand around her wrists, clenching them to my side. With a whisper of thought, I summoned chitin to my hand and punched Jasmine as hard as I could. My fist struck her cheek, just above her chin. Her head snapped to the side under the force of the blow. Smooth chitin chipped from her face as I gouged deep furrows across her jawline.

She stumbled back as I disengaged, letting her hands drop as I whipped my sword toward her. Jasmine leaned off balance, throwing her entire body away from my swing as she fell back to the floor. Before she could hit the ground, four slender black limbs crawled from her spine and stuck to the stone as she rolled backward and came up in a high crouch.

Damn it. She’s quick on her feet too. I didn’t know how long Jasmine had been a Hive Knight, but it was clear she’d had a lot more practice than me. I was a better swordsman, but she far outpaced me as a knight. This isn’t going to be easy.

I don’t have a choice. I need to end this now before one of us gets hurt.

With a grimace, I activated Will of the Immortal.

Time halted in its tracks. Jasmine stood still, her arms raised as she readied a slash. Raven and the others stood by the throne, looks of concern frozen on their faces. Only Magnus smiled, staring me down as he propped his leg on his knee.

“Now I understand the impulse, and I even empathize, but using Will of the Immortal is cheating, Duran. Fight her fair. I’ll stop the rise in fatigue, but I won’t reset the cooldown.”

Magnus snapped his fingers, and the world returned to normal, and a timer appeared in the corner of my vision, counting down from ninety-six hours.

I glared at him, but taking my eyes off Jasmine had been a mistake. Her swords came for me, and I was too slow to dodge. They sank into my shadowsteel and scored a heavy gash in the metal from my chest to my waist.

As she pulled back, a soft tear came from my side. Jasmine had severed my sword sash. The green fabric fell lifelessly to the floor as my sheath clanged heavily on the gray stone.

Shit! I kicked the sheath away so it wouldn’t trip me up and went on the offensive. Her duel swords made her dangerous, but she had very little defense save her armor.

All right, it’s time to get serious. I activated Chitin Shield the same time as I called Chitin Armor from the Hive Mind.

Obsidian crawled over my skin like tar and bathed me in darkness as I raised my shield in front of me. I clutched my sword tightly and surged forward to meet Jasmine’s next attack.

Both swords slammed against my shield, and I batted them aside as I thrust with my sword. It landed in the center of Jasmine’s chest and stopped cold. Her chitin cracked under my blow, but I didn’t manage to pierce through.

Jasmine grunted and sucked in a breath. At once, all four of her arachnid limbs struck from both sides. Two of them glanced off my shield, but the other two hit me in the ribs, slicing deep through both sets of armor. The only thing that saved me was the shadowsteel chainmail.

I jumped back as she retracted them, but her attack had been a feint. Jasmine shifted, throwing her hips as a large black tail made of chitin barreled into me. it struck hard enough that my chitin cracked and shattered as the blow lifted me off my feet and flung to the floor several feet away.

The air expelled from my lungs in a great gasp as I landed roughly on the floor and rolled, slamming my back on one of the stone pillars that held up the ceiling. I struggled to my feet as Jasmine came closer, and I saw what had hit me. A long, black tail trailed behind her like a length of thick rope. It coiled around her waist as the tip came into view. Her scorpion tail was capped with a massive stinger; poison welled at the zenith to slither down to the floor in heavy drips.

My back hit the column as I instinctively recoiled from it. So that’s what that blessing does. I need to figure how to fight with my own—and quickly—or she’ll overwhelm me.

I summoned my Arachnid Limbs, as I’d fought with them before. Warmth spread over my back as they formed. Jasmine struck once more with her tail, but I caught it with my spider legs. The tip of the stinger halted just shy of my face, and I heaved