Page 181 of Iris
“I love you.” I reach out and stoke her cheek with my thumb. She leans into my touch. “I’ll say it out loud for the both of us. Actually, I’ll say it so much you’ll get tired of hearing it.”
“Oh?” Iris locks eyes with me, her brow arched in a mock challenge. “Try me.”
The Season is over, Hivemind.
SO SAD.
We had some mating successes. Some failures.
But there’s always next year!
And you know that I’ll be here to report on every little thing.
Things are a-changing, my little bees.
An Omega on the Council?
No one would’ve predicted that!
And there are talks about mating restrictions being lifted.
Pinch me!
Am I dreaming?
Even I can admit when the Monarch makes a good decision.
And that’s what this is?—
A GOOD THING.
Do you think she’s still obsessed with me?
I am the bee in her bonnet, after all,
And I won’t be flying away anytime soon.
Eyes to the skies, my brood.
Until next Season.
- Queen Bee
EPILOGUE
Iris
Six Months Later
Things are different, but different isn’t always a bad thing.
It’s not the cracked pavement or the graffiti splashed across the brick walls outside. It’s not the closed down shops and abandoned cars. Those things have always been here.
What’s different is the way people walk the streets now. Upright. Smiling. Breathing easier. The air doesn’t feel like it’s pressing down anymore. It feels open.
And in the middle of it all standsourplace.
I lean against the polished walnut bar, watching as the room fills with friends and family. Mom’s here and Penrith. Mari, Dahlia, Rue, and even Heath. Quinn came, too, as did some of the guys’ friends from the Black Briar.
