Page 46 of Make Me Bee-lieve

“Put me down!” I demand. “Put me down, or else!”

The yellowjacket lets out a dark chuckle as its razor-sharp mandibles click together. “I will put you down once we reach the hive … Caretaker.” He says my title like a wicked oath. “That is what they call you in the colony, is it not? Majordomo Elza will be so pleased to see you again, I’m sure.”

Bile rises up my throat as the yellowjacket slices through the air and takes me back to the hive, the very last place I want to be.

Oh, God.

POLINA

The man called Kyle lifts his hand to hit me again, but this time, I’m ready for him. I push myself up off the ledge just as his hand flies down to smash me, and I grab my stinger blade from my abdomen. I haven’t had to use it since I was very young, but if there ever was a time, it’s now. As I unsheathe it, a metallic ring pierces the air. I thrust forward and stick the blade straight into the human’s flesh.

“Ow! Fuck!” he yells, and lifts his hand to his face to inspect the wound. I stumble backward and hold my blade up in front of myself, just in case I’ll need to use it again. But Kyle merely stares at his hand, dumbfounded, like he’s never been stung by a bee before. Maybe he hasn’t.

That’s when I notice the red rings around his eyes. He’s been crying.

When he looks back down at me, he blinks. I wave at him. “Um, hello? Hello, there! Can you hear me?”

Kyle takes the burning stick out of his mouth and rubs it into the concrete ledge beside me. I let out a hacking cough as the smoke from the stick invades my nostrils, making them burn as though they were lit on fire. My lungs ache from the smell, which is ghastly, and I throw myself into the air.

“Your name is Kyle, is it now?” I yell, but I don’t dare get too close to this human lest he decide to get slap-happy again. I can’t help my hive or my beloved if I’m squashed, of course.

I whirl around, searching for Calvin. But when I can’t find him, my heart leaps into my throat. Where is he? He was just here a moment ago. I left him up on the ledge, out of harm’s way. Kyle stares at me, still blinking as he staggers back, and presses a palm to his forehead.

“N-No way … another one? I must be hallucinating. There was something in my smokes,” he mumbles. I have no idea what he means by “another one,” but I don’t have time to find out. I flit around the human in a tizzy, frantically searching for my Calvin.

“Calvin!” I scream, and let out another hacking cough. That burning stick really did a number on my lungs. I feel awful, like I could lie down and fall asleep for the rest of the day. But this is no time to rest! “Calvin!” I cry out again.

This time, the human peers at me with narrowed eyes. “Did you just say ‘Calvin,’ little fly?” he mutters.

I let out another cough as I bash myself against the human’s nose. “I am not a fly, you disrespectful ingrate! I am Princess Polina of the bee fae, destined for the throne of the Sugardove City Hive!”

Kyle’s blond brow furrows. “Oh, shit. Uh, sorry, Your … Highness?”

I hover in front of his eyes and blink. “I am mildly impressed you managed to get the honorific correct.”

He lifts his shoulders in a lazy shrug. “My sister made me watch period romances on local television. I’m educated. So, little princess, what can I do for you? And why did you ask for Calvin?”

Finally, we’re getting somewhere. Kyle lifts a finger for me to perch on, and I sit down immediately. Whew. Hovering in the air while inhaling that much smoke does wear a girl out quickly.

“I’ll try to make a long story short, but I refuse to repeat myself, so please listen carefully,” I say. “Calvin and I met three days ago…”

CALVIN

I’m taken deep within the hive by two yellowjacket grunts, down a golden stairwell slathered in honey. I don’t recognize this part of the palace. As we descend the lengthy stairwell, my captors don’t seem to mind when I’m thrashed against the wall several times, nearly dislocating my shoulder in the process. I wail in agony as I’m manhandled until we get to the bottom of the stairs, entering what I can only assume is the dungeon.

Rows upon rows of hexagonal chambers line both sides of the hallway, and we walk past dozens until we reach the end. The yellowjackets drag me by my arms, then stop in front of a hexagon. One of them knocks on it, and it slides open. Then they toss me in like yesterday’s garbage. I land with a thud, and I swear I hear a sick crunching sound from my ribs as I smash against the ground.

“O-Ow, hey!” I groan, and try to scramble into a sitting position before they have time to retreat. “You don’t have to be so rough!” But they’re already sealing the door with a ruby-red bolt of light from their claws.

Fae magick. There’s no way I’m going to get out of here once that closes. I have to stop them. I bolt forward, and my ribs howl in pain as I knock into one of the yellowjackets, surprising them both.

The other yellowjacket clicks his black mandibles together as he reaches for me, while the one I knocked into staggers and falls back onto his slender abdomen. I thrust my hand into the yellowjacket’s face, ignoring the pain of having his mandibles in my flesh.

“H-Hey!” he croaks. “You said this one had no fight in him!”

His buddy reaches over to grab me, but I roll out of the way before he has a chance to get near me. “I did,” the other yellowjacket says flatly. “It appears I was mistaken. He is much scrappier than the majordomo implied.”

They unsheathe their stinger blades and lift them into the air, and I suck in a deep breath as I readjust my glasses. Hoo, boy. Okay. I’m fucked. There’s no way I can fight them off with just my fists. I’m pretty sure I got lucky before. They rush toward me, and I throw up my palms.

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