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

back into his tunic and spoke. "Her contract was that she would become mine. She can't leave my side for more than three days without suffering excruciating pain that would render her useless to you."

"That's a pretty ruthless contract," I said.

He shrugged nonchalantly. "The Alice isn't someone you enter into a bargain with lightly."

He had a fair point, and it was the reason I distrusted shifters. Never make a deal with the queen of the fairies—she'll find a way to screw you over every time. Only the damned or the desperate chose to make that deal. Still, contract or not, I didn't want to be a part of this. Here goes one more futile attempt. "Any chance I can get you to say you'll let me go alone?"

"None."

"Damn it all to hell, but I had to try," I said, marching over to Raven.

"Don't you need the knife?" Magnus asked.

"Hopefully not," I said as I reached her.

She shrank under my harsh glare, and I eased off a bit. She looked ready to bolt from the room at any second, and as much as I didn’t care for her kind, I needed her acceptance.

“Look,” I whispered. “I really don’t want to drink your blood. It would be problematic for a number of reasons. There is another option, but it’s not really a better one.”

Raven nodded, waiting for me to continue.

“I’ve found that it doesn’t always have to be blood that is required to bond. Saliva works just as well, but that would mean we would have to kiss.” I held up a hand. “I don’t particularly like either option, but since it seems I can’t get out of this, I’ll leave the choice up to you.”

Her eyes widened as her lips parted just so. “You would give me the choice?” she asked softly.

I nodded.

She paused over the choice for what seemed like ages. When she spoke again, it was nothing more than a whisper.

“Kiss.”

All right. It’s better than feeding the Aspect, at any rate.

Before my nerve could remind me what an awful idea this was, I grabbed the nape of her neck and kissed her.

It was hardly a kiss. As soon as our lips touched, I brought my tongue into her mouth so our saliva could mix. For half a minute, I swirled around her mouth with no response, and I was about to resign myself to tasting her blood when a force tugged on my heart.

At first, it was only the black magic side of my heart was being drawn out, but it was no longer just one side of magic in my heart, and both came at the call. It flowed through my veins, searching for an egress, the gash in my wrist.

An itch nagged at my arm before tendrils of thin smoked drifted out from my bloody wrist. I pulled away from our kiss as the smoke gathered around my arm and slithered around to enter Raven's mouth.

She jerked as it flowed down her throat and into her lungs. She stopped breathing as it seeped into her bloodstream. She twitched and wheezed when she started breathing again, doubling over and nearly falling to the stone floor. I caught her and lowered her to ground before stepping away while my magic tore through her body. She shuddered and groaned softly in pain but did not cry out. For several long moments, her body was wracked with spasms of pain, before finally settling.

I knew it when it stopped; some twitch in the back of my head told me when we'd bonded. Different than mine and Eris’s bond, but similar enough.

All in all, the entire encounter took less than three minutes but left me mentally drained. I was itching to leave, the gray stone walls felt claustrophobic.

I scratched at my beard and left Raven to get up on her own. "All right, Magnus, I did what you asked, now I'm ready to leave. I don't want to spend another minute here."

He nodded. "I understand.” Magnus held up his hand and flicked his fingers to the side a few times. “Here you go.”

Quest: Steal Lachrymal’s Heart

Type: Unique

Difficulty: S

Reward: 48000 Exp!

 

“I do apologize for demanding it of you, but rest assured, I can undo the bonding if the job gets done,” Magnus said after I accepted the quest.

"If?"

"I said when, didn't I?"

"Doesn't matter," I said, turning to leave through the same door Magnolia went through a few minutes prior. “I'll bring you your accursed rock. The Gloom Knights always get the job done."

"Safe travels," Magnus said, smiling.

I was thankful I didn't have to speak to Aliria as I left; I wanted nothing more to do with either of the two lords of this castle. I'd been cooped up inside for too long, and already the outside world beckoned.

I rounded the corner just as Magnolia came into view. She spotted me and walked over, large canvas pack in hand. “I was looking for you, Lord. I was given clear instructions on what needed to go in, so you should find everything to your liking.”

I took the pack and dropped it in my inventory. “Thank you, Magnolia. You’ve been very kind to me.”

She smiled. “It’s no trouble, My Lord. Though I do apologize for my daughter’s behavior. She’s been spending too much time with Aliria, and I fear it’s had an effect on her personality. Jasmine has also never been around someone her own age before. I think that has caused her to become a little enamored with you.”

I laughed and waved her off. “Jasmine’s a nice girl, but Aliria could corrupt even the gods with that attitude of hers.”

“I like your daughter, but not in that way. I should’ve been more direct with her. That was a blunder on my part.”

Magnolia shook