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

Jasmine bowed slightly, brushing her radiant hair out of her face when she stood. “This way, Duran. Magnus has been waiting for you.”

She turned on her heels and headed inside without another word. As Jasmine disappeared from view, Raven snickered. “Someone likes you.”

“Someone is just a kid. Now let’s not keep Magnus waiting. I’d rather him be in a good mood.”

We hurried after Jasmine through a winding maze of identical corridors that started to make my head spin after a few minutes.

With each step, my heart beat a little faster. Heavy fear hooked deep into my stomach before rising to my throat. My mouth went dry, and my fingers trembled the closer we got. Sam noticed at once and took my hand in his. “It’ll be all right, my love,” he said. “We’ll be right here the entire time.”

I gulped and nodded as we reached our destination.

Jasmine opened the door and motioned us inside.

The throne room, for it could be nothing else, was long and wide. Along the walls were beautiful stained-glass windows that cast a rainbow of lights along the gray stone tile. In the back of the room rose a large black throne made of obsidian glass.

Sitting on the throne was a blond-haired man, who looked normal for a human. He had a kind face and deep tanned skin.

To his right was a woman who looked much like Jasmine, though older, with longer hair.

But my eyes swept to his left, and my world crumbled.

I forgot how to breathe as I stared unblinking at the woman whose name and face I couldn’t have recalled before this very moment. A person who I’d thought lost to time. I could remember her actions, what she’d done, but I could never recall her face.

As I stared at her, the wall around what I’d forgotten about my mother fell away, and I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was her. Her long blonde hair that tickled my nose when she held me as baby. Her gorgeous black and yellow eyes that always held the answer to whatever question I asked.

It was her.

“Momma?” I whispered.

She smiled at me, her eyes softened and held such warmth that I came undone. “Hello, my little fly. I’ve missed you.”

My hand slipped from Sam’s as tears fell freely down my face. “Momma!”

I raced across the floor and nearly collapsed into her chest, sobbing for everything I was worth.

Chapter 28 - Truth At the End of the World

Sampson

Aliria smiled down at her daughter and hugged her back, stroking her hair and whispering that everything would be okay. Her malice and hatred bled away as she consoled her daughter. So much so, she seemed like an entirely different person. She looked so like Eris in that moment, they could’ve been twins, rather than mother and daughter.

I left them to their reunion and approached Magnus. He smiled widely as he glanced over at them.

“It does the heart good to see that in this day and age. So many dark things abound that I don’t get to witness this very often. But I digress. How was your trip? I only know pieces.”

I told Magnus most of everything that had happened—the important bits that mattered, at any rate. He sat back in his chair and listened intently while I explained things. And when I was done telling him everything, he laughed.

“That was some adventure,” he said, clapping. “I couldn’t have imagined there was a curse on the heart itself, but I’m thrilled you persevered where others did not. I must admit, you didn’t exactly inspire confidence at first, but you’ve exceeded my every expectation. Well done!”

“He’s not bad,” Aliria admitted, her arms around Eris.

“My bonded is amazing.”

Aliria chuckled. “I’m beginning to agree with you, little fly. You picked a good one.”

Magnus smiled. “That just leaves the completion of the quest. The Heart, if you will, Duran.”

“Of course.” I pulled the Heart from my inventory and handed it over, rightfully glad to be rid of the damn thing.

Magnus snapped his fingers, and the emerald appeared in his outstretched hand. He stared at it for a second before wincing. “Ow, that is a hefty curse. I can see why the quest gave so many of my men trouble, but at last it is completed. Thank you, Duran.”

Quest: Steal Lachrymal’s Heart

Type: Unique

Difficulty: S

Reward: 48000 Exp!

I waved away the notification and pulled up my Stats.

Exp: 6000/6000

Level Up! (x8)

Level: 68

100/6800

90 Stat Points Available!

1 Ability Point Available!

I whistled, long and slow. That’s quite a jump, though for how much I went through, it’s a little light. I had ninety stat points to allocate, and I knew almost exactly what I wanted to do with them. I added twenty-five to Endurance, maxing it out. Then I added the rest to Durability, Battle Fatigue, Attack Speed, and Movement Speed. When I was done, I was quite happy.

Character Name: Durandahl

Level: 68

Exp: 100/6800

Race: Hybrid (Hive)

Class: Hive Knight

Reputation: Wanted Criminal

Bounty: 1300 Gold

Stats (-)

Strength: 100 (Max)

Sub-Stats (-)

Attack Damage: 50

Constitution: 100 (Max)

Sub-Stats (-)

Health: 25

Health Regen: 25

Durability: 75

Endurance: 100 (Max)

Sub-Stats (-)

Battle Fatigue: 50

Battle Fatigue Regen: 10

Agility: 50 (75)

Sub-Stats (-)

Attack Speed: 25

Movement Speed: 20

Wisdom: 25 (35)

Sub-Stats (-)

Mana: 20

Luck: 0 (30)

Charisma: 0 (10)

Proximity to Hive Queen less than 30 meters: +10 to all Main Stats

Arachne’s Blessing: +15 to Strength and Agility

I accepted the changes, and a rush of strength flooded through my veins. The penalty from being away from Eris was gone, and I now had the boost from being near her. When I was done with my stats, I stared back