Page 37 of Make Me Bee-lieve

“That’s okay. It’ll go back eventually,” I say.

Calvin helps me sit up and runs a hand across my back. “That was so stupid of you, Po. You could have died.”

I look up at him and frown. “Yes. But had I done nothing, then you would have died.”

His gaze softens, and he leans down to peck a kiss on my head between my antennae. “You stupid girl. My Sunshine. Thank you.”

I beam at the nickname, then look away once I realize I’m blushing. “It—it was nothing. Really. We bee fae are masters of flight, after all.”

A few minutes later, I’m finally standing and brushing dirt off my dress. Doing daring acrobatics in the air demands a different outfit than fleeing a hostile takeover, I believe. An outfit I do not even own. Perhaps once I’m back at the hive and set things to rights, I will have the royal tailors create new garments for me. Pants, perhaps?

“Now what?” Calvin asks as he looks around. He rubs the back of his neck, which I now understand means he is nervous and uncertain. An adorable tick of his, but I wish he were a little more confident in his own abilities. “Do we … fly back up? Are your wings okay?”

I look over my shoulder as I beat my wings. They still work, but they’re quite sore from the tumble. “I think I need to rest a little while longer. Don’t worry. It won’t be long now until my knights find us, anyway. And then we can figure out a plan for taking back the colony.”

Calvin gives me a sidelong look as he hooks his thumbs in his pants pockets. “Po … about that.”

“Hm?” I brush a few pebbles off my silken fur and sigh. What I wouldn’t give for a bath right now.

“What if they … aren’t coming?” Calvin winces, but I plant two of my arms on my sides and laugh.

“They’re coming, Cal! Give them time. I have the utmost faith in Ser Beatrix. I’m not quite sure about Sylvie, yet, but if Ser Beatrix believes in her, then I will, too.”

He continues to stare at me. Now I’m just annoyed that he would question my knights this way. They won’t fail. They can’t. It isn’t an option.

“Oh, Cal. I understand,” I say as I close the distance between us and pat him on the arm. “You’re still our Caretaker, after all. And not being able to make the problem vanish on your own must have your nerves frayed.” I brush a strand of hair from his eyes, then caress his cheek. The stubble along his jaw is coming in nicely. I like him better with a little fur. “But let us take care of our own troubles this time. You’ll see that we are more than capable of handling our own affairs.”

“It’s not that, Po, but?—”

I shake my head. “Cal, please. You worry needlessly for them. They’re fine! They were winning when we left.”

He gives me that look again. The one I’ve come to seriously dislike, when his eyes soften and his lips tremble. Pity. It makes the fur on my arms stand on end and my stomach clench. It makes me want to … it makes me want to run away and hide. I can’t stand that look. Not from him.

“Listen,” I say, sighing. “If it makes you feel any better … if they don’t come by midnight, I will fly back to the hive and check on it myself.”

“That’s too dangerous,” he murmurs.

“Yes. Yes, it is. But so is being a lone bee in the wilderness, wouldn’t you say? Now, let us find somewhere to rest, shall we?”

“What about the other hive? The one your … your friend came from,” he says.

Evie. The memory of her dead body strewn across the floor makes my teeth hurt. We’d been friends since I crawled out of my brood cell. I will need to tell her hive what happened, of course. But right now, I have to think about my own people. All those drones and foragers. They couldn’t have been in on the coup. They were tireless workers who only sought to serve the hive. And they definitely did not deserve to die the way they did.

“It’s too far,” I say as my hands, all four of them, tremble. “I can’t make the flight in my current condition.”

“But after you’ve rested, we could—” He takes a few steps toward me.

I whirl around. “No. Cal. We will go back to the hive, and I will find my majordomo, and I will set everything right with her. Perhaps this has all just been a grave misunderstanding. Maybe she didn’t intend for the yellowjackets to attack, after all. But we’ll never know unless I talk to her.”

He opens his mouth to argue, but I shoot him a look that says I’m not in the mood to hear it.

Cal doesn’t say anything as he follows me. He remains a couple of steps behind me as he constantly scans the area for any potential threats. I love how seriously he takes his Caretaker role. That is something the two of us have in common. We both care about our roles in society so much that we can’t shut it off. Not entirely.

But down here in the flower field, it’s all dirt, rocks, and a thick forest of verdant stems as far as the eye can see. Occasionally, a common black garden ant trudges past us. These ones aren’t fae, so they’re content to ignore us as they continue their journey.

“Seems like this entire area is fine,” I say as I look around. “And there aren’t any clouds in the sky, so we won’t have to worry about rain. It won’t be long until it’s dark, with the sun almost gone?—”

My ears prick as the ground shakes with tremors. Something is coming. Something big. Calvin notices the look on my face and frowns.

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