Page 19 of Make Me Bee-lieve

“You spotted snakes with double tongue,” he reads. “Thorny hedgehogs, be not seen.”

I lean against the armrest on two of my arms and rest my chin on the backs of my knuckles. “I wish I was Titania.”

He lifts a brow at me and pauses his reading. “Oh? And why is that?”

“So I could beat that Oberon to a bloody pulp, of course!” I make a hand-wringing movement with all four of my hands and bare my teeth. Suddenly, I’m not tired anymore. I’m incensed by how the play is going. “Fae don’t tend to be faithful to one another, but the gall of Oberon, to cheat on his queen!”

Calvin arches a brow at me as he takes in my outburst. “She’s not faithful to him, either, though. That’s the whole point of the play. They’re fighting because they’re in a toxic relationship.”

I roll my eyes. “Sounds about right, for fae.” A sigh escapes my lips. “We are literally the worst.”

I’ve dreamt of a love, true love, since I was a larva in my brood cell. What it would feel like to be treated fondly by a lover. One who wouldn’t look at other women and stray. Not very fae of me, I realize, but perhaps the blame lies with my mother, for she used to tell me bedtime stories every night even though she was busy with running the hive. She told me stories about the humans. About the other fae. About war, and famine. About knights clad in silver, defending their princesses on the backs of white steeds. She filled my head with dreamy visions of love and what it could be like to experience such a thing.

But love is not for me. It’s not for any of the honeybee fae, in fact. We do not do things out of love. We do them out of duty.

Calvin stares at me for a long moment, then snaps the book shut. The fatigue must show on my face, because he says, “Princess, perhaps it’s getting a little too late to be reading? Maybe you should go back to your own?—”

I buzz loudly with agitation. “N-No! We can’t stop there! We’re right in the thick of things.” I stand up and tap the book on his lap. “No. We are going to finish it. Tonight.”

Calvin rubs his eyes, and it’s then I notice the thick bags underneath his eyes. He’s exhausted. Normally, I wouldn’t care and would make him read anyway. But humans are fragile, and pushing him too hard might make him reticent in the future. And I don’t want that. I want him to talk to me and tell me about the human world and read more stories. And, of course, I have to know if Titania bites Oberon’s head off. That would be a very happy ending, indeed.

“I’m sorry,” I murmur as my shoulders slump forward. “We can finish this tomorrow, perhaps?”

Calvin looks up at me, his deep brown eyes softening. My heart catches in my throat again, but I swallow it back down. Silly hearts, always wandering off where they shouldn’t.

“I’d be happy to read the rest for you tomorrow, Princess,” he says, and hands the book back to me. I take it and set the book back on the shelf. I don’t want to go, and I wish I could find some sort of excuse to stay, but … another yawn claws its way up my throat.

“Do you need someone to escort you back to your quarters?” he asks. “Is … Ser Beatrix waiting for you?”

I nod. “She’s right outside the door.”

Disappointment flashes across Calvin’s face. Or perhaps I’m simply imagining it. Seeing what I want to see. “Thank you for reading me the story. I think I’ll be able to sleep well now.”

Calvin swoops into a bow. “You’re most welcome. And thank you for the beautiful room.”

I nod, dip into another curtsey, and make my way for the door before pausing. “May your dreams be filled with sunlight,” I murmur, then take my leave.

CALVIN

Ball preparations are well under way, and I’m right smack dab in the middle of them.

Standing in the middle of the ballroom is probably a bad idea, but my executive functioning decided not to come into work today and I’m left stranded as bees buzz around me.

“Excuse me, excuse me, pardon me, Caretaker,” one of the honeybees calls out in a sing-songy voice as she brushes past me. Her wings graze my arm, and some pixie dust blows into my face, making me sneeze. Banquet tables are being set up, and a trio of musicians stroll into the room, carrying their instruments.

The instruments in question look like nothing I’ve ever seen before. Their oblong bodies appear to be made of acorn and walnut shells and … wait, are those spider webs for strings? Huh. I wipe my glasses clean and put them back on my face to look again. Yeah, they’re definitely spider web strings.

“Caretaker!” Polina descends on me before I even see her, and she pulls me off to the side, out of the way of incoming honeybee traffic. “What are you doing up so early? Did Ser Beatrix come and get you?”

I look her up and down quickly, and heat flushes across my cheeks. She’s wearing a golden corset today, with transparent cap sleeves that shimmer with her movements. Her prominent breasts practically spill over the top of her corset, commanding attention. It takes every ounce of willpower I have to not stare at them, and I almost step on the hem of her glittery white skirt as she moves closer.

Meanwhile, I’m still in the same outfit from yesterday, because I don’t have a change of clothes. My body is clean thanks to the bath, but my shirt and pants could use a wash. I wonder if they have laundry service here?

I shake my head of pixie dust and sneeze again. “Yeah, she did. And then she offered me some breakfast and brought me down here to wait for your aunt,” I say.

Polina’s face scrunches up adorably. “No, no. You’re not spending any time with her today. You’ll be with me.”

I run a hand through my hair and sigh. Since there was no comb in the washroom, I’ve still got a bad case of bed head and probably look like a mess. “I hate to keep bothering you like this when you’re all going to so much trouble, but I really need to know if anyone has seen my Shrinkatron?”

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