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

words, but I wasn’t meant to; it was a lamentation for Jasmine and Magnolia alone.

Her words tempted my own grief, and I fought back my own tears and stood, turning back to the throne. “Please, Magnus, please bring Jasmine back.”

“If it were within my power, I would have done so already. There is nothing anyone can do to help her any longer but lay her to rest.”

My hope shattered, and I couldn’t fight the tears any longer. They spilled freely down my cheeks. I couldn’t take my eyes from the young woman I’d killed.

“Oh, Sam,” Eris said, rushing over to me.

Her arm brushed mine, but I pulled away. I couldn’t speak, couldn’t have responded even if I wanted to. There was nothing I could say at that moment. I fell to my knees in front of Jasmine, trying to find the words, but none came.

“I─I’m…” I choked and cried.

Warm fingers took hold of mine, and I blinked away my tears to see Magnolia, smiling at me through her own tears. “It’s okay.”

“No, no, it’s not. I…I killed her. Nothing is okay.”

Magnolia squeezed my hand tight. “No, you didn’t. She did,” she said, before her gaze turned black as she tilted her head to Aliria. “You took advantage of my daughter’s loneliness and twisted her to benefit your goals. All she ever wanted was a friend, and you used that against her!”

I wasn’t any better. I brushed her aside when I could’ve so easily taken the time to get to know her. I’m sorry, Jasmine. I’d have been honored to be your friend. I reached over to the small pool of blood underneath her body and dipped my finger in it. I brushed it across my lips and closed my eyes.

Jasmine’s memories flooded through me, and I made sure to burn every single detail into my mind, all the good and bad I experienced as the Mnemosyne showed bits of her life to me. Her senseless death could have been so easily avoided.

I won’t forget you, Jasmine. I swear. It was a promise made to a dead girl. It didn’t matter to her any longer, but it mattered to me. She deserved to be remembered by someone other than her mother.

I placed my hand over Magnolia’s and looked into her eyes. “I swear I will remember her, always.”

“Thank you, Duran. She liked you more than you know. Even after you left, she couldn’t stop talking about you,” she said, twisting the knife even deeper into my heart.

I let go of Magnolia’s hand and stood. I turned to face Aliria, who held the same cold, impassive look as always, despite just watching her knight die right in front of her.

“Jasmine just died! Your knight. Say something!”

Aliria gave me a bitter smile. “She failed and lost to a knight who doesn’t even know how to use his power properly. I’ll find another.”

I don’t remember moving. One second I was by Jasmine’s body, then the next my blade was a centimeter from Aliria’s throat.

The only thing that spared her was Magnus.

“Let me go!”

Magnus shook his head in my periphery. “Your anger is understandable. Justifiable, even. But I can’t let you harm Aliria.”

“Argh!” I screamed wordlessly in her face, spittle flying to pepper her cheeks.

Magnus released me, and my shoulders hung heavy as I walked away from Aliria. I didn’t know what to do with myself, stuck between wanting to avenge Jasmine and to just leave and go home, but I could do neither.

Magnolia lifted Jasmine in her arms and rose. She faced us, and with tears streaming down her face, she inclined her head in a shallow bow. “If you’ll excuse me, I must go bury my daughter.”

“Of course, Magnolia. Truly, I’m sorry for your loss,” Magnus said, his voice weary.

“I’ll help,” I began and took a step.

“No…thank you, but this is something I must do myself,” she said and carried Jasmine from the room, leaving behind a trail of too-bright blood and another ghost in my heart.

I stared at the pool of blood for a long moment before Raven and Eris walked over to me.

“There was nothing more you could’ve done, my bonded. You gave her every chance.”

Bonded? Not so much now, my love. But the sentiment is still there.

“Doesn’t make it hurt any less.”

Raven ran her fingers over mine, not saying anything, but her crimson eyes held what she knew her words couldn’t. We’d all experienced loss in our lives, and sometimes, a thousand words couldn’t express what a simple touch and a look could.

“I love you both,” I said.

No point in fighting how I feel, not anymore. I let go of them and stood in front of Magnus as he looked down from his throne. Sunlight streamed through the stained glass and covered us both in shimmering colors.

“Tell me why?” I said. “You brought Aliria back, and she was nothing but ash. Tell me why you couldn’t do that with Jasmine?”

Magnus sighed. “I’ll explain everything, I promise, but we’re about to have company. It’ll be easier to understand when they get here.”

I threw my hands up, too impatient to wait. I wanted answers, I needed to understand why Jasmine had to die. And Magnus was the only one who could give them to me. “How long do I have to wait?”

He cocked his head to the side. “Not long. If you’ll stop and listen, you can hear them.”

What?

I paused, closing my mouth and doing as he suggested, listening. For a long moment, all there was was the steady breathing of the five of us and a bird singing softly outside. I was about to give up when Eris spoke.

“Metal, thuds. Someone’s fighting in the hallways, getting closer.”

It took a minute longer for me, but eventually I picked up what