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

“Shit, that thing’s strong,” Adam said as the crystal returned to his hand.

“She’s a clever hunter, but she relies on deception and camouflage. Misumena’s slow to move, but incredibly strong when she does. We have her out of its element, but that only helps us so much,” I said.

“Dammit!” Gil cursed.

He tried to sneak around behind it, but a leg darted out and left a vicious gash across his arm.

“This thing’s a walking tank,” he said as he retreated.

“I don’t know what that means, but we’ve got to come up with a plan.”

“Fuck this,” he replied and gripped his axe tight.

Gil ran at Misumena, and as he kicked up tufts of dirt and grass, his axe head glowed a bright silver. “How about a taste of Steel-Breaker!”

He swung his axe down at Misumena’s abdomen, and with a sickening crunch, her carapace buckled and cracked under Gil’s attack. Misumena let out an unholy scream as blood oozed from her damaged side.

Having dealt a heavy blow, Gill tried to pull his axe out, but it had gotten stuck inside Misumena, and he couldn’t free it. Misumena lashed out with her leg, catching Gil in the side and sending him flying to the dirt a few feet away.

He groaned as his hand went to his side; the leather and chainmail had been punctured, and a sliver of Gil’s life stained the armor red.

“Are you okay?” I asked, running over to him.

He brushed me off. “Never better,” he said through a pained smile. “I’m a berserker. More damage I take, the more I can dish out. Don’t you worry about me.”

“And you just blew your ace up your sleeve. Save Stun Shout—we might need it soon,” Evelyn snapped.

“I know, but I figure now’s a good time for Bloodletter, don’t you?”

Evelyn nodded and stepped back. Her swords disappeared, and her dragon-horn bow materialized in her hands in their place. “The little queen has the right idea by keeping out of range. If she’s slow, then we can just stay back and pepper her with arrows. The two of us will hold Misumena’s attention while you get ready.”

Adam ordered his remaining wolves to back up. We couldn’t get through her tough carapace, but she did have weak spots.

“Go for her mouth and eyes. Besides the underside, they’re her weakest spots.”

I took my own advice and grabbed another of my chitin arrows. I nocked an arrow as Evelyn did the same. We circled around, and as Misumena eyes flashed to us, I released my arrow. It sunk in just below her eye. Evelyn’s arrow hit dead center in Misumena’s eye and blinded her as a thick trail of blood arced toward us.

Evelyn readied her next shot as I nocked my own, and we fired at the same time. We’d both aimed for its eyes again, but as our arrows sailed towards their target, Misumena shifted.

She ducked her head and snapped her front legs, knocking our arrows out of the air.

“Well, shit. So much for that plan,” Evelyn whispered.

“Like I said, she’s smart.”

“I’ve got an idea,” Makenna said as she ran towards us.

Her hands disappeared inside her cloak. When they reappeared, her fingers were wrapped around two large vials of what could’ve only been poison. The muted brown and gray liquid sloshed inside the glass as she tossed me one of them and Evelyn the other.

I stretched out a hand, but before I could catch it, the vial shattered in midair. Evelyn’s also burst, and she stepped back out of the noxious rain before it could land on her silver hair or armor. We both looked up when Reina laughed.

She kicked her feet languidly and wagged her finger at us. “No potions. I told you the rules.”

“Those were poisons, not potions!” Makenna shouted, her face going as red as her hair.

Reina shrugged, yawning. “Doesn’t matter, same thing. No more cheating, or you’ll fail.”

I stopped myself from yelling in anger, but only just. Can’t get angry, I need to keep a calm head. They’re counting on me!

Our attack had done what we intended and successfully distracted our quarry as Misumena covered her head to avoid more arrows.

I took a quick glance over at Gil and gasped.

Gill had a small dagger in his hand, and he brought it to his exposed skin again and again, slicing large gashes down his arms and his face and neck. A slight red aura pulsed just off his skin, and as the blood flowed across his dark skin, it didn’t drip to the ground. It slithered over his hands and up the axe, defying gravity.

As it covered his axe entirely, Gil let out the most horrifying scream I’d ever heard, and I jolted in pure terror as a wave of fear slammed into me. I wanted to run, to hide myself away and never come out again.

Then the shout faded, and rationality bled through my fear, and I fought to keep my eyes on Gil as he launched into his attack.

He was ferocious as his blood covered him, and he charged forward as Adam’s bane wolves circled around to flank Misumena. Gil leapt into the air and brought his axe down. A wave of pressure swept over us, kicking up a cloud of dust and tearing grass from the dirt as a thundering crash rang painfully inside my ears.

Misumena’s legs shuddered under the weight of Gil’s attacks, and blood poured freely from her wounds as she howled in agony, but it wasn’t enough for her to go down.

A fact that Gil realized too late.

She reared back with savage speed, and Gil didn’t have the balance to hold on. He sailed through the air and hit one of the stones encircling us with a heavy