Hive

CHAPTER TWO

CHAPTER TWO The Wasp LordI woke from a sleep infiltrated by the dead and dying. My dream self walked Sonora’s ruined hive, the finality of its invasion revealed in horrific mirages of broken bodies and last breaths. I woke sweating, my many layers of inadequate clothing stuck to my skin and my head pounding. My guilt at abandoning Lily rose to the fore, desperate to save her from the same fate as my mother’s kin.

A platter of food rested on top of a low cabinet adjacent to the slender mullioned window. The thought of sustenance created a sudden dampening of my tongue. My cracked lips smarted as I parted them in hope, remembering as I sat up that I’d vowed not to eat food produced by strange hands. Groaning, I bent double and pulled my knees up to my chest. My joints ached and I heard reluctant tendons pop and crack in protest.

Keys jangled against the lock and I stiffened. My mind whirred with possibilities and I remembered late to jam my fingers below the soft down pillow to retrieve Limah’s path-delineator. I managed to shove it into the deep side pocket of my breeches before arranging myself under the bed covers in the manner of a princess, though I made a poor and raggedy impression of one. The door opened a crack, denying me sight of the newcomer. A gentle rap on the wooden surface betrayed someone of conscience. I opened my mouth to give them permission to enter, realising again the irritation of my curse as no sound emerged.

“May I enter?” Galveston’s voice sounded calm and unruffled, but my chest clenched in response and I hauled the sheets up to my chin. Hearing no reply, he pushed a foot and then a nose around the door. “Ah,” he said, his face splitting wide in a smile. “You’re awake.”

The change of stance both confused and alarmed me. As he pushed through the gap and closed the door behind him, memories surfaced of the Galveston who visited the island to court me. His boyish features gave him an appearance of coyness, which failed to resonate with the vitriolic, spiteful Wasp Lord who tortured my counselor in the bowels of the castle keep. I drew my legs up closer to my chest to protect myself, Limah’s careful training gone in an instant.

Galveston ventured closer, his eyes narrowed in what might appear as concern. “Darling,” he crooned, “you look dreadful.”

I sighed and slid my eyes towards the door, not wishing to enter into his latest game. Limah’s words returned to me, a distant echo of our shared world. ‘Sometimes we must sacrifice the strength of a cut to hit faster than our opponent. You should concentrate on reading the fight better. A successful follow-up must always lurk behind a pre-emptive defence.’ I forced my gaze back to Galveston’s handsome face and channelled a sense of pathos. My journey brought me back to the start, but also to the centre of the war. Best he think me pathetic and undefended for the moment. I fluttered my eyelashes and looked away, as though my plight was too hopeless to share. Galveston sank onto the mattress, an edginess behind his caring air. “You will not speak to me?” He whispered the words as a finger reached out to stroke my cheek. I forced myself not to shrink from contact, ashamed to acknowledge that somewhere deep inside my heart, he still captivated my interest. I shrugged and pointed to my lips, faking a look of distress. The mask slipped from his face and sympathy replaced suspicion. “My little spy did tell me of your misfortune. Perhaps you’ll understand that I want the best for you, Estefania. Escaping my help seems to strip away even more of your limited resources. Stop resisting, Princessa.”

I forced myself to nod, biting the inside of my cheek until a metallic tang infused my taste buds. I turned on my side and his hand slipped from my cheek to my shoulder. Closing my eyes, I feigned despair and great sadness, wondering if it would prove a convincing enough act to have convinced even Bliss. She provided my benchmark, her intimate knowledge of my every whim and expression making her hardest to fool. I imagined her standing in front of me, hands on hips as she discerned my true motives. Galveston rose and I heard the clank of his sword. It seemed Sorrel had delivered everything, including my fighting ability and the Wasp Lord came prepared. I heaved out a sigh of exasperation, surprised to hear the sound whoosh into the pillow. After weeks of nothing, it seemed deafening and strange. The plate clattered against the cupboard as Galveston retrieved it. “Eat,” he said. “You’ll feel better.”

I turned to face him, eyeing the plate and then his face as I drew my head back and forth in denial. I refused to fall for the same trick again. I would starve to death before I allowed them to subdue me with potions. Galveston’s brow furrowed. “You don’t trust me.” He spoke the words as a statement, not a question. “I don’t blame you.” His smile appeared wan and filled with regret. “The Forlornn king tried to poison you on your last visit. I gave your nurse the cure, but she didn’t believe me.” He c****d his head to the side. “I insisted they put you in the mortuary and furnished the room with ice to reduce your temperature. It’s an old remedy for rhododendron intoxication.” I blinked and his lips quirked up on one side. “She didn’t tell you? I’m not surprised. She refused to allow me access when I might have helped.” I gave a tiny shake of my head in response and he shrugged. Reaching for the jug of liquid one handed, he poured it into the pottery tumbler on the cabinet. Then without taking his gaze from my face, he took a decent slug of the contents. When he held it out to me, I took it, thirst and starvation proving a willing mistress to his charm. I gulped the sweet water, closing my eyes and ignoring the rivulets which ran either side of my mouth.

Galveston sampled the bread and I snatched the remainder from his fingers, pushing it between my lips in case he changed his mind. I didn’t breakfast like a princess and to his credit, he made no comment on my behaviour. When his teeth tore off a strip of the red flesh and held out the rest, my stomach roiled in horror and I turned my face away and shook my head. He dumped the spoiled fragments on the platter and gave a courtly bow. “Ah, I forget, Princess. The flora and fauna is limited, due to the weather. But I will have the kitchen staff hunt out something suitable in future.” Dipping forward without warning, he pressed his lips to my forehead and rose. My fists balled beneath the bedding and I kept my expression impassive.

Galveston’s heels clicked against the floorboards as he walked towards the door and he stopped with his fingers circling the ornate handle shaped into an effigy of a raven. “I’m glad you saw sense and returned home, Estefania,” he said. He paused and his tone became tight and formal. “The Forlornn royalty is either defeated or fled. There is no one to fear within this city’s walls.” He waved a hand towards me. “I’ll send maids to attend you. The Wasp court has long awaited your homecoming. Be ready to greet your subjects.”