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

over the smooth stained oak. “We actually get along really well, and after I let go of my anger, it was easy to become friends.”

“More than friends, from where I’m sitting, but far be it for me to judge. I’ve had plenty of dalliances myself over the years. Aliria finds them healthy.”

The door swung open, and Jasmine returned, followed by Magnolia. Jasmine set down my water and brought Magnus his wine. I thanked her and took a sip. The water was crystal clear. Condensation ran down the glass as I drank. It was cool, probably the best tasting water I’d ever had, and all I could think about was the whiskey I wasn’t having instead.

Huh, maybe I do have a problem. I drank the water and held the glass to the bridge of my nose, basking in the cold glass as water dripped into my eyebrows.

My headache went away as the chill soaked into my slick skin. I set the drink down as the main door opened and Aliria, Raven, and Eris walked in.

All three of them had discarded their casual clothes for much more formal attire. Aliria wore a black dress that revealed too much of her substantial cleavage. The dress was stunning and stopped just shy of her smooth knees.

Raven wore a simple red linen blouse that matched her eyes and a black skirt. Her hair fell down her back, and she looked stunning in the outfit. It fit her perfectly, but my eyes swept to Eris, and I couldn’t take my eyes off her.

She wore black, like her mother, but it was a blouse, rather than a dress, that paired with a golden skirt that swished to her thighs. Her hair was tied back out of her face, and her smile lit up the entire room.

She was blissfully happy, and I loved how it made her glow in the firelight.

“Why, don’t you all look lovely,” Magnus said, taking a sip of his wine.

“Thank you, darling.” Aliria took her seat by Magnus while Raven and Eris flanked either side of me.

Both of them rested their hands on my legs, and I gave them both a tentative squeeze. “You both look lovely.”

They beamed at me.

Magnolia came around and brought them their drinks, while I stuck to water.

“All right, Magnus. Spill. How can you control time?”

“Oh, figured it out, did you?” Aliria asked.

“He had help,” Magnus replied. “But I did tell you I’d answer your questions. To keep it simple, chronomancer is a legendary class, with only one person able to use it. Me. I’ve had it since the beginning. I was given greater power in this world, along with two others, to ensure we could maintain order. This was, of course, before the schism.

“Now I’m just trying to keep everything from falling apart.”

Two others? Who─no, I’ve got a good hunch already, and there are more important questions I need answered now.

“You used time travel to bring Aliria back to life?” I asked.

“I did, though it cost me dearly to do it. Traveling that far back through time is something that I can only do once a lifetime. And since most of time has been erased, it’s not something I can risk doing again.

“To be honest, most of my greater powers have been diminished. I’ve had to remove the spells and abilities that no longer work or are too dangerous to try to use.”

“Is that how you can cast spells without using Script?” I asked, rubbing my chin.

He chuckled and took a sip of his wine. “In a manner of speaking. I’m still casting using Script circles or incantations, but one of my abilities allows me to manipulate time in my immediate vicinity. I simply condense the casting into nanoseconds. Before your eyes can even register the spell, it’s complete.”

I laughed. “Well, how do you explain the finger snaps and hand waving?”

He snorted as the glass of wine was at his lips, and he nearly did a spit take. Magnus quickly set his wine down and dabbed at his mouth with cloth. When he was finished, he smiled wide at me. “Consider it an idiosyncrasy of mine. It’s easier to visualize a spell if I ground it with a physical motion, but it’s not necessary.”

I absorbed what he told me and leaned back. Everything he told me added up to what I’d seen him do, so I had no reason not to believe him. The logic fit.

“So what do we do about the system?”

“We wait. I have a few guests who should be arriving shortly, and we can procced once they arrive.”

“In the meantime, I believe I made you a promise, Duran,” Aliria said, speaking up over the rim of her wineglass.

Huh? Oh, right. She promised to get rid of the Aspect.

“Don’t trust her, she speaks lies!”

Right, she promised to get rid of you.

“Don’t do it.”

Yeah, like I’m willing to trust you, either. You’ve only been playing nice because I’ve been feeding you blood. Don’t think I’ve forgotten who got me into this mess in the first place, Aspect.

“You think you can get rid of it?”

“I know I can,” she said as she drained her glass and stood. “Follow me.”

All of us stood and returned to the throne room. Magnus took his place, and with a flourish, threw his cane in the air and it vanished. Raven and Eris stood next to Jasmine as Aliria walked over to me.

“Don’t do this, knight…Sampson, don’t let her destroy me!”

You brought this on yourself. You sought to control me, and you should have realized the foolishness of your plan. We could’ve been allies, but you turned against me first.

It bellowed in rage and sank its frigid claws into my heart. I dropped to my knees as pain tore apart my insides.

“Enough of