CHAPTER TWENTY-FOURA Final Expulsion
“Estefania!” The male voice echoed through the chambers of my mind and I sought the comfort of the island palace. Black surrounded me like a suffocating cloak and blindness sheltered me from my dire circumstances. I felt for a buzz in my chest, searching for any sense of life in the hive. Nothing.
“Mama!” My lips felt dry and cracked, splitting as they parted to utter her name. “Sonora.” One and the same. A flutter whispered near my left ear and I thrashed from side to side, straining to hear her wings. “Help me,” I whispered.
Grief flooded my chest as I wished I’d loved her better. In all my sixteen summers I’d recognised no blueprint for family apart from in the hive. Bliss raised me in Mother’s absence and Zinnia and I vied for her love. The palac
