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

“One last thing, Sam. Before we part,” she said, raising the knife to her palm. “A gift, and a curse. Perhaps you’ll use it better than we did.”

Evelyn stuck the knife in her palm, wincing as she dug deep into her flesh. After only a second, she pulled something free from her hand. It was a small orange crystal, smooth like a cut gemstone. Her blood stuck the gem as a light pulsed within it.

“Catch!”

She tossed it back to me as she strolled toward Magnus. “It’s been fun, Sam.”

I caught the crystal in my right hand. As soon as it touched my hand, a searing pain flared to life as my skin bubbled and hissed. The gemstone burrowed into my palm. I clenched my teeth as I fought to keep from screaming and took off towards Raven.

Evelyn walked calmly towards Magnus, but as she turned away, she changed. The pale silver of her hair fell away to midnight as her hair changed colors. Her skin grew a few shades darker as she walked away from me. In a handful of seconds stood the girl who walked into my life all those many years ago and offered me a chance at salvation.

Evelyn was gone. In her place stood Jessica Bell.

As soon as Jessica got close, she activated Aura of the Antimage. It shot from her skin in a whirlwind towards Magnus, but I blinked, and he disappeared, reappearing in the same instant twenty feet away, out of range of her aura.

The wind picked up as I ran, but a single word carried.

“Move.”

I turned back as Magnus spoke. Jessica shook her head, raising her swords.

Magnus spoke again, but it was lost to the breeze as she stood in his way, refusing to back down.

He shook with rage. The veins in Magnus’s neck throbbed against his tan skin as he bellowed an unhinged scream.

Jessica fell.

She jerked, turning, her head tilted towards me. Her vacant eyes glassed as they stared through me. Jessica dropped to the ground and closed her eyes.

They would never open again.

I ran and climbed onto Raven as Adam stared at his sister, an all-too-familiar emotion clear in his eyes.

He twitched, two summoning crystals in his hands as hatred filled his face. I knew what he was about to do, and I understood. I understood. But I couldn’t let him.

My sword cleared leather, and I bashed the emerald pommel into his temple.

Adam dropped unconscious, and I caught him on my shoulder as Eris took my hand. Raven didn’t even wait for me to climb aboard as she took to the skies. We were high in the air in seconds, and only when I was sure Adam and I were secure did I look back.

Magnus and Aliria were small as they stood on the castle’s tower, staring at us. He watched us leave for a few seconds before turning and walking away.

I pulled Eris close as we flew away from Castle Aliria as fast as Raven could. I didn’t know what to say, what I could say. Evelyn was gone, but I didn’t have time to mourn her. I would wait until we were safely back at the castle before I let myself grieve.

Evelyn and I had had a rocky relationship at best, but she was a comrade, a mentor, an infrequent lover at times, and my friend. But I never really knew her. The revelation that she wasn’t who I thought she was was proof enough. Despite that though, in a dark part of my heart, I’d cared very deeply for her.

A single tear slipped down my cheek before I could stop it, and I brought my hand up to wipe it away.

What came up wasn’t my hand. It was, but my skin was ghost white, the color bleached from my skin.

“What the hell?”

Eris turned at my voice, her compound eyes going wide as she looked up at me.

“Sam?”

“What?” I asked.

“We need to land,” she said, loud enough for Raven to hear.

Raven swooped down to relatively open stretch of the Badlands. Sand swept up around us as she landed. Eris hopped off as I carried Adam and set him down gently.

“Hand me your pack,” Eris said, holding her hand out.

I pulled it from my inventory as Raven shifted back to her human form and walked over, her eyes as wide as Eris’s, and they never left mine.

“That is you, isn’t it, Sam?”

Eris pulled out something and handed it to me. It was a mirror. I took it and held it up to my face. I couldn’t hold back the gasp that slipped through my lips. What the hell?

I didn’t look like myself any longer. I shared the same features that Evelyn had. My hair was a polished silver, my skin pale as a corpse, and my once-amber eyes were a brilliant gold, shining bright as I stared at myself.

“What the actual hell?”

Eris just stared at me, but Raven shrugged. “It’s not a bad look.”

I turned on her and pointed at my face. “This doesn’t freak you out?”

Raven shook her head, kicking at a stray rock in the sand. “I served Magnus for years. You’d be surprised at how little fazes you after that.”

I mean, that’s fair, but this is…I don’t even know.

Adam stirred on the ground, sitting up with a pained groan. He glanced around at the desert before his eyes landed on mine. He stared at me for what had to have been hours before he broke contact and dropped his head and slumped his shoulders.

“She’s dead?”

“I…I’m sorry.”

He was motionless for a long moment before he nodded. Adam stood, sand sticking to him and falling as he got to his feet. He looked at me and held his hand up before dropping it. “I’ll