Page 48 of Make Me Bee-lieve

Oh. Okay.

I swallow the lump in my throat and slump to the ground on my knees. “Holy shit. That worked? That … that worked! I’m alive. I’m alive!” Letting out a loud, maniacal laugh that startles even me, I thrust my fists into the air like I just won the Super Bowl. “I’m not dead! I’m not dead!”

A muffled voice yells from behind me, “Can you keep it down? Or else you’re going to be dead the second I’m out of here.”

My entire body tenses, and I scramble to my feet. I know that voice. “Ser Beatrix?”

“Yes,” the terse voice says. That’s definitely Ser Beatrix, and she sounds annoyed as ever.

“It’s me!” I yell. “Calvin! Er … the Caretaker. Where are you? I’ll get you out!” Immediately, I’m running up and down the hallway in search of the right cell when another voice cries out.

“Down here!” Sylvie says. “The last two on the left! Or was it right? Oh, by the sun … I can’t remember.”

I stop in front of one of the last two cells on the left and look the hexagonal door up and down. There’s no handle. No way to get inside. Panic rises in my gut, and my vision blurs. Deadlines at work I could white-knuckle no problem. But an actual life or death situation? I’m hopeless.

“W-What do I do? How do I get you out?” I sputter as I pace the hallway, looking for anything I can use to break open the door. But there’s nothing. This stupid hallway is completely empty save for the sticky honey lining the walls.

“Caretaker, relax,” Ser Beatrix’s voice calls out, firm and steady. “I can hear you pacing. Panicking is not going to make the situation better.”

I grip the ends of my hair and pull. “I know that! But I have to get you two out before the yellowjackets take out Majordomo Elza and the rest of you!”

“The Caretaker is able to open every door in this hive,” Ser Beatrix says calmly. “Go up to the cell walls and place your palm against them.”

Sounds untrue, but fine. I’ll give it a shot. I stride up to Ser Beatrix’s door and place my palm against it. After several seconds of nothing happening, my heart sinks. Of course this wouldn’t work. It was too outlandish to think that my hand would be the key to open anything around here, and?—

There’s a soft snick, and then the cell door slides open, revealing an exhausted Ser Beatrix on the other side. She stands there without her armor on, gaunt yet elegant with her high cheekbones and large black eyes. Most of her facial features are hidden behind her mask, the only stitch of clothing she’s wearing.

Immediately, she steps out of the cell and rushes to Sylvie’s door. “Open it, please. Hurry.”

Nodding, I go to Sylvie’s door and repeat the process of opening the door. It slides open three seconds slower than Ser Beatrix’s. When it does, Ser Beatrix rushes inside and lifts Sylvie into her arms. The smaller bee fae lets out a giggle as the two kiss and nuzzle one another.

I look away to give them a shred of privacy. “Ah … I’m glad you’re okay, Sylvie,” I say.

Ser Beatrix finally sets Sylvie down, then makes her way toward the stairwell. “Come. Our armor is being held up these stairs, inside a trunk. We will don it and hopefully find the majordomo before the yellowjackets do.”

“Okay, and then?” I ask as I rush after her. My lungs are already screaming in pain as my pulse thunders in my neck. Yeah. Definitely signing up for the gym when I get back home. More cardio is needed.

Ser Beatrix mounts the stairwell and glances back at me and Sylvie. “And then we will end her and take back the colony once and for all.”

Despite the adrenaline urging me forward, I can’t stop thinking about Polina. Is she safe? Did she manage to talk to Kyle? Or did he … did he smash her against the concrete like a bug? My mouth goes dry at the thought of her lifeless body out there, shriveling in the sun.

No. No, I can’t think like that. Polina would tell me to get my head back on straight and save the hive.

But my steps falter behind Sylvie as we reach the last step. She turns around, frowning. “Caretaker? Are you all right?”

I shake my head and look down at my feet. “N-No. I’m worried about Po—Her Highness. I’m worried about Her Highness. There’s a human outside, and I’m afraid for her safety.”

Ser Beatrix whirls around, fury etched on her face. “Why did you not mention this before?” she hisses.

I flinch and try to look anywhere but her face. “Yeah, that’s fair. Um, because I was a little busy busting you out of your dungeon cells?”

Ser Beatrix growls and spins back around, nearly hitting me in the head with her abdomen. “Then our first priority is finding Her Highness and securing her. Then we will kill the majordomo.”

Sylvie clears her throat. “Ahem … Bea? If I may, Petal?”

Petal? I blush at the display of the intimacy these two obviously share. It’s cute, but also … strangely voyeuristic. Like I shouldn’t be a part of this. Ser Beatrix doesn’t seem bothered by Sylvie’s term of endearment, however. No, instead she looks like she’s about to melt into a puddle of goo as she turns around and takes Sylvie’s hands into her own.

“Yes, my sweet?” she murmurs. Wow. It’s like when I shake a bag of treats for Bonnet. Suddenly, the tiger queen turns into a fluffy kitten. “If you have an idea, I wish to hear it. Your ideas are usually much better than mine.”

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