Page 116 of The Hive Queen

“Oh, that part will be simple with today’s technology.” Darius turns to me. “You have access to satellite thermal imaging, correct?”

I nod. “Yes, I do.”

“Then all we have to look for is the biggest hot spot in Clearhelm.” He eats the pepperoni and wrinkles his nose in disgust. “Once we find that, we find the nest.”

“And then we just have to fight through hundreds of bees?” Savannah shudders.

“More like thousands,” Darius corrects.

Trent drums his fingers on the table. “And then these handmaidens? How tough are they?”

“They’ll all be elemental witchblood.” Darius steals a piece of sausage from Marc’s plate. “If you face them head-on, they’ll kill you in an instant. That isifyou make it past the hives. There are few of you, and Flint is injured, while Gavin is practically human in his current state.”

“Plus drone,” Pen murmurs.

“Actually, no.” Darius looks at her from beneath his lashes. “The Queen keeps unworthy males far away from her nest lest her eggs be contaminated.”

Trent tosses the crust of his pizza back into the box. “Small favors.”

Darius dips his chin. “Indeed.”

“How many did you have with you when you defeated the Hive Queen last time?” Amalia demands.

He shrugs. “I went alone.”

“And?” Amalia presses.

“I set the place on fire, killing everything inside before I went after the queen.” His head turns to me. “But I believe our captain will object to that tactic.”

“Fire can’t be the only option,” I protest. “The handmaidens are innocents.”

“Well, you have four days to come up with an alternative,” Darius says. “And in the meantime, let’s hope none of her bees have found Flint’s location, because if she brings the battle to us, we’ll have no chance of defeating her.”

the nest

- Pen -

Our team comesto a stop at the front of a cave and fans out.

As Darius predicted, locating the nest was easy once Sharpe knew exactly what to look for.

The hot spot in the woods outside of Clearhelm glowed on the satellite map like a beacon, inviting us to come and try again. With Flint’s life—and pelvis—at risk, we took the invitation and loaded up before heading out.

Hopefully, the Hive Queen won’t be expecting an attack so soon after the last one, and in broad daylight.

“The hives are at the entrance.” Darius points to where a papery oval hangs from the ceiling, only the tip visible at the top of the narrow opening to the cave.

It looks much like a yellowjacket nest, but its papery surface holds a golden sheen almost hidden in the shadows.

If Darius hadn’t pointed it out, we would have walked right under it and been attacked.

“They clump together, so if we can see one, there will be a dozen more surrounding it,” Darius says. “Luckily, they’re only at the entrance.”

Sharpe gives a nod to our lead team. “Take them out.”

Marc and Darius step forward, moving in step with each other as if they’d worked like this dozens of times before.

At the cave entrance, fire blooms to life in their hands and drops to the ground, rolling into the stone opening like a ravenous monster.

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