Hive Queen by Sinclair, Grayson (ereader iphone .TXT) 📗

hope to measure up to it again. Even though my entire world consisted of Eris, I became acutely aware of the eyes of the audience behind us, and I realized our touching reunion had a few more guests that I’d anticipated.

I broke the kiss with a final brush over her mouth and stood up. My fingers found hers and intertwined as I walked over and greeted my family.

“So what’s new?”

Gil just laughed; his baritone echoed throughout the bailey as Wilson rolled up his sleeves of his black tunic, revealing his multitude of tattoos as he crossed his arms.

“Seems we have a lot to discuss. If we could all adjourn to the guildhall…”

“Oh, goody. A meeting.”

***

Saying there was a lot to cover was an understatement to say the least. Since I’d met with the puppet master himself, I went first. I told them nearly everything. About meeting Magnus, the power he wielded, and the staggering amount of wealth he possessed. And stealing Lachrymal’s Heart. I left out anything about Aliria, and I especially left out the fact that we’d been here for nigh on a millennia, at least for the time being.

Magnus had promised answers, and when I had all the facts, then I would share them.

And then they told me of their journey to Slaughter Woods and meeting the Arachne queen. Eris told me of their fight with the gigantic spider Misumena.

I winced when she told me of getting impaled.

“That explains what happened in the vault,” I said.

“What?” she asked.

“I had the Heart in my hands when my own stopped. I fell, and things got…complicated.” I knew the forlorn look on her face and stopped her. “Wasn’t your fault for getting stabbed, love. Don’t even think of blaming yourself.”

She chuckled and squeezed my hand. “You know me too well, my bonded.”

Neither of us broached the topic we knew we needed to discuss. It would come later, and I just wanted to enjoy being next to her for a while longer.

“Can we see the Heart?” Wilson asked.

“Sure,” I replied and pulled it out of my inventory. It retained its size, sitting comfortably in my hands. “Just be careful of it. It’s no mere gem.”

I slid it to the center of the table, and everyone stared in wonder at it.

“Kinda small, don’tcha think?” Harper asked, his hands absentmindedly running through his short hair.

“It’s always about size with men,” Yumiko joked, snorting with barely suppressed laughter.

“Har, har.”

“Adam, look,” Evelyn said, nudging her brother.

“No, I see it. But how would he know?”

Evelyn shrugged. Her golden eyes dimmed as she squinted at the emerald on the table before they widened. “Couldn’t be. Guild leader, this Magnus—what does he look like?”

“Uh, average, I guess. Not tall or short, medium build. Shaggy blond hair, green eyes.”

Her eyes lit up in surprise, which was the most emotion I’d ever seen in them, and that terrified me.

“Excuse us,” Adam said, standing from his chair.

They both left the guildhall before I could ask them what the hell was going on.

The rest of us stared after them until Wilson spoke up. “Well, I guess that concludes this meeting. I’m going to grab a bottle of brandy and try not to think too hard.”

I stowed the Heart back in my inventory, and grimaced as the curse set in. Guess I’ll go grab a shower and some sleep. Though I still need to introduce everyone to Raven.

I’d only briefly explained her presence, and that she was a shifter. The others took that fact much better than I had, though there was still plenty of distrust towards them.

“You can come in now,” I called out.

Raven came in through the open door, followed by Mika. We exchanged nods.

“Glad to see you decided to take me up on my offer.”

He laughed. “Well, I wasn’t busy. Figured why not?”

Wilson cleared his throat. “So is everyone in agreement about allowing Takamikazuchi entrance into the guild?”

My hand shot up first, followed swiftly by everyone else’s.

“Then it’s settled. Welcome to the Gloom Knights, Mika.”

“Glad to be here.”

Eris came up and placed her hand on my lower back. “Who’s your friend?”

“Oh, right,” I said, motioning towards Raven. “Eris, this is Raven. Raven, Eris.”

Raven smiled and held out her hand. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. Duran wouldn’t stop talking about you. All good things, of course.”

Eris took her hand and jumped like a bolt of lightning struck her. Her eyes flicked down at their hands and then over to me. “So that’s what that feeling was. You’ve bonded to my Sam.”

Raven nodded and looked over to me. “It wasn’t exactly by either of our choices, but it can be undone when we return the Heart.”

She shrugged. “Oh, I don’t mind. I completely understand. The Alice isn’t known for her kindness, and I’m sure her contract was probably as ruthless as she is.”

“That’s putting it mildly,” Raven replied.

“Anyway, Sam trusts you, and that’s good enough for me.”

“How do you know that?” Raven asked.

Eris smiled at her and let her hand go, turning to me. “Because we are bonded, I can feel what he feels, but even without that, it’s plain in his eyes, his bearing. He relaxes around you, which tells me he trusts you, and that’s all I need to know.”

Raven beamed at her. “Thank you, but I still think Duran isn’t exactly comfortable with the arrangement. If it’s his choice, I will unbind with him.”

“I think we can table that discussion for another time,” I said, gesturing around the empty room. “I’m in desperate need of a bath and to catch up on my sleep. We can talk more in the morning.”

“Of course.”

We filed out of the guildhall and to the third floor, I showed Raven