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

few hours, enjoying resting after several days in the saddle. Eventually the number of patrons started dwindling, some heading upstairs with a number of women after exchanging coin. It seemed a strange practice, so I asked Adam about it.

He was taking a sip of mead at the time and coughed and spluttered when I spoke up, causing everyone to burst out laughing.

“Uh, those are…um…prostitutes, women who exchange sex for money.”

“What a strange practice,” I replied. “Though humans and entomancers view sex differently, so that’s probably why.”

“What do you mean?” Makenna asked.

“In my culture, because of the way women were treated, sexual intimacy was traded rather than bought. Especially between the nobility. It was used as a way to further secure favors or trade agreements.”

“Hold up,” Makenna said, setting down her mead. “So your people just passed the women around whenever it was convenient for them.”

“Essentially.”

“Fucking disgusting,” she said, draining the rest of her ale.

“Were you ever treated like that?” Evelyn asked out of the blue, eyeing me intently.

“Oh, um. No. No, I wasn’t,” I said, blushing. “I was the heir to a powerful family, even before my mother became queen. My purity was too valuable to waste.”

“That means our dear guild leader was your first,” she said, smiling.

I nodded. “He was.”

“I admit, he’s pretty good in the sack, right?”

Before I could respond, Gil slammed his mug down. “All right, that exceeds the amount of girl talk I can handle for the evening. I’m heading to bed.”

Evelyn and Makenna just laughed, but Adam held up his hands in prayer and mouthed, “Thank you.”

The inn only had two rooms available, so we were forced to bunk together, Gil and Adam in one room, with me, Evelyn, Makenna, and the children in the other. Our room was the last door at the top of the stairs and could barely be called a room. It was cramped with two small beds and a nightstand in the middle. From the darkened window, I could just make out the light of the moon reflecting off the bog water in the marshlands in the distance.

Makenna complained about the heat, so I opened the window, letting in the humid night air and chattering of insects. On reflex I opened the Hive Mind and spread my consciousness throughout the little ones while the other two got undressed and Tegen and Cheira crawled over the bed and under it. Despite the rambunctious nature of the children, they were barely making a sound as they chased each other over the covers.

I turned back to the window, leaning out and letting the thick, moist air lick at my sweat-stained skin. It was lovely while I pushed my consciousness further, trying to build my magical tolerance. It was only thanks to this that I got a look at something that made no sense.

There were people out in the marsh, a lot of them. Well over three dozen, and as I pushed my reach, I found they were even more, circling the town. I don’t know what they’re doing, but it can’t be good. I need to warn the others.

“There are a lot of men in the marshes surround the town. Dozens of them, maybe more,” I said, turning to the others.

As a credit to both women, they were up out of bed and alert in seconds, throwing on clothes and drawing weapons. Makenna pulled a handful of her needles free and started dipping them in some sharp, noxious-smelling liquid from her belt. “I’ll go wake the others. Eris, can you use your magic to control the insects in the marsh?”

I caught her meaning at once and nodded, pulling my consciousness to the most potent of my little ones. “You want me to attack them?”

“Yep, slow them down and kill a few if you can.”

“What if they’re good people?” I asked.

“Kill or be killed, little queen. I believe this counts as justifiable murder to me.”

I knew her words were the truth, and I had no reason to expect the people in the marsh harbored anything but ill toward us and the town. Last time we were ambushed, we nearly died. I won’t hesitate like that again.

With my mind made up, I focused every facet of my being into my creatures. There were simply too many men and women hiding in the swamp lands to get them all, but it seemed they were just waiting for orders, so I went looking for the leader but quickly realized I would never find them just by their attire alone. Okay, so new plan, I guess. Let’s go after the biggest ones, the ones that look the most trouble.

They all looked like trouble, but there were plenty of large men who oozed danger. There were fewer venomous spiders in the swamp, but I took what few I had and had them crawl up the men. It took a few minutes to get the thirty or so to make their way to my intended targets. When the last crawled up, I gave the order to attack.

Using all the stored-up venom in the spiders, they each bit down on the necks of the brigands. A few pained shrieks slipped from the marshlands, but they quickly quieted. The venom was lethal over time in small doses, but by pouring every last drop into their systems. Their nervous systems would soon seize up and begin shutting down their bodies, paralyzing them and killing them quickly after.

The insect bites were noticed but brushed off as just being outside, near insects. Only potent antivenom would save them, but it was far too late for that.

Gil and the others came into the room, and I released the control of the Hive Mind. One look at me and Gil pulled a mana potion from his inventory and handed it to me. I hadn’t noticed, but