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

“Sam, time to get up,” I called as I exited the bath.

“Ugh, don’ wanna.”

I chucked as I changed clothes and slid next to him in bed. I kissed his neck all the way up to his lips and lingered just above his lips. “Don’t make me get the spiders,” I said, teasing.

His eyes bolted open to see my smiling face peering down at him.

“You’re evil.”

“Yep.” I kissed him softly. “Now let’s get up. I’m starving.”

“Uh-uh.”

So fast I didn’t have time to react, Sam grabbed me and locked his legs around the back of my knees. He rolled with his whole body and pinned me to the bed.

I yelped in surprise as he smiled down at me, all traces of the anger and pain last gone from his eyes. Only love remained, and it mirrored the look in my eyes.

“We have unfinished business, love,” he said with a smirk.

“And what would that be?”

He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine. I returned his kiss and pried his mouth opened with my tongue, meeting his and pulling him close to me. I ran my tongue around his mouth, and my eyes widened when I passed over his teeth.

I pulled back, catching my breath before I spoke. “Sam, your teeth?”

He shook his head softly, letting his copper strands fall over us like a curtain. “We can talk more later, but I think we both deserve a proper homecoming, don’t you?”

I couldn’t agree more, and I told him with my touch as I grabbed him by the collar and pulled him down to me.

An hour or so later and after another bath, we got dressed.

Sam went to fix his nest of copper hair. By the time he came out a few minutes later, he looked much more refreshed. He wore a royal blue shirt and gray washed pants. As I was walking toward the door, his hand grabbed mine and stopped me.

“What is it?” I asked, my stomach gurgling loudly.

His expression darkened. “There’s something I need to tell you, should’ve told you yesterday, but we had so much going on I didn’t want to add to it. But you need to know, and I don’t have the right to keep it from you.”

Sam’s expression was forlorn, pained. Whatever he had to tell me was hurting him, and that worried me. “What is it?”

“When I was brought to Magnus, I met someone. Her name is Aliria, and she’s y─”

“She’s an entomancer. I know, Reina told me about her.”

He paused, his eyes haunted. “No, Eris. Aliria is your mother.”

That familiar age-old pain shoved a dagger through my chest and caught my breath. Chills crawled over my skin, and my mouth went dry. “What? That’s─that’s impossible.”

“I know, I can’t explain it either.”

“No!” I shouted, my hands going to my temples as blood pounded too loud through my head. “I watched her die; you watched her die in the Mnemosyne. It’s not her, it can’t be.”

He stepped to me and pulled me close, holding me tight while my strength failed me.

I had no more tears to cry, and after a while of fighting my emotions and trying to understand what he’d told me, I finally took a deep breath. Calm down. I need to calm down. I dabbed at my puffy eyes and blew my nose as Sam stroked my hair and cheek.

“Are you sure?” I asked, terrified of the answer either way.

His chin pressed to the top on my scalp as he nodded. “She looks just like you, and she knew things that make it unquestionable. It’s her.”

“How?”

“I don’t know. My first guess is Magnus. His power is unlike anything any of us have seen before. He said he wasn’t, but I think he’s manipulating the system somehow.”

I wrapped my hand around his. “What does that mean?”

Sam sighed, his breath blew soft through my hair. “I can’t really explain it; it wouldn’t make sense to you. But basically, I think Magnus has powers that exceed the bounds of this world. He can do things that shouldn’t be possible, but are.”

I stood from the bed, too many conflicting emotions running through my head. I needed some time to think, to process.

“Thank you for being honest with me, but I think I need to be alone right now,” I said, my heart in tatters.

Sam came over and kissed the top of my head. “I’ll be here when you need me.”

I left the room, unsure of where I wanted to go, but knowing I couldn’t just sit in Sam’s room. I’d fall to pieces if I did. I wandered around at random, barely acknowledging the presence of the maids and guards who walked by. I soon found myself outside, along the walls of the castle.

The gray stone shrank in the sunlight overhead and tempted my skin with sweat. I walked around until I faced Lake Gloom. A subtle breeze rolled through, bringing the pungent scent of the water rising to my nose. It’s peaceful here. The sun is hot against my skin, and I’m surrounded by nature.

Mother is alive.

She’s alive.

I couldn’t put into words how that made me feel, but it was something that I had to face, had to deal with. I just didn’t know how.

The sun sat high in the sky when I arrived, but by the time I roused myself from staring at the water, it had begun to fall back over the horizon. I’d spent hours trying to sort through my emotions, and I was no closer than when I started.

Maybe this isn’t something I can understand. Maybe I just need to go see her. I’ll understand everything then.

It wasn’t much, but it was a goal. Something I could wrap my head around and push toward. It would