Page 118 of The Hive Queen

What the amulet holds isn’t enough to take on my firebird form, but these two men could bring me there, and I would gladly destroy everything within the cave as a gift to them.

That same desire shows in their expressions, in their roiling eagerness as they step toward me.

But then a caress against my soul draws me back as Flint reminds me of our purpose here. With regret, I give in to the tug from the amulet, allowing it to pull the flames back inside.

As the heat of the fire fades, O’Hara and Savannah rush forward to secure the cave’s entrance. Johannsson follows, slapping magic-suppressing handcuffs onto the unconscious handmaidens before dragging them out of the cave.

Sharpe glances at Flint. “Are you up for this?”

“I’ll track her as deep as she goes.” Flint grits his teeth. “There’s no way I’m leaving a monster like that running around just because I have a headache.”

It’s more than a headache, but we don’t comment as we stride into the cave, Darius and Marc bringing up the rear.

Melted wax pools on the cave floor, flowing into the cave on a downslope into darkness, while ash and smoke fill the air.

I flick on my shoulder flashlight before I lift the mask that hangs around my neck to cover my nose and mouth. The little vents on the side make noise as they work to filter the air coming inside, and I breathe easier.

The others do the same, all except Darius, who inhales the smoke with relish and licks the ash from his lips, his eyes glowing with inner fire.

For a moment, his beauty stuns me. It feels like the first time I saw him all those centuries ago, wild and intoxicating.

The draw is still there, too, like a magnet in my chest pulling me toward him. Darius trapped inside Marc’s body had been tempting enough. Now that he’s free, it takes everything in me not to throw myself into his flames.

His gaze shifts to meet mine, and a smile curls his full lips, knowing the effect he has on me.

But I’m no longer a young girl, given freedom at the demon court for the first time. Centuries of hurt, betrayal, and thwarted desires exist between us in a line I’m unsure about crossing.

With difficulty, I drag my gaze from his and face forward, following Flint through the maze of caverns that weave through the foot of the mountain.

We walk forward cautiously, the air growing humid. The ground yields beneath my boots with a light crackle of broken wax, and even through the mask, the scent of sweet honey fills my nose.

Our flashlights paint flickering shadows over the hexagonal shapes formed in wax on the walls, and the ceiling steadily drops, forcing us to move in a crouch.

A shift in shadows catches in my periphery as something moves behind the wax.

My hand reaches for my baton as the wax wall bursts, and a woman in a nurse’s outfit slams into my side.

Fire scorches up my body from where her hands land, but she chose the wrong one of us to attack. The flames burn through my clothes and sink into my skin, fueling my magic.

Hand releasing my baton, I grab one of the tranquilizer darts from my belt instead and shove her back far enough to slam it into her chest.

Her blank eyes stare at me from less than a foot away before her lashes flutter down.

Sharpe arrives a second later and yanks her off of me. “Are you all right?”

I rub the back of my head and my fingers come away sticky with wax. “All good, but we need to be cautious of the walls. The wax is hiding other passageways.”

The warning goes down the line, and people shift positions to walk in pairs, keeping an eye on the walls on either side.

Another rush of motion comes from up ahead, and Savannah yelps before a meaty thud sounds, and she calls back, “Punching works just as good for knocking them out.”

“Burning them all would work even better, and it has the added benefit of getting rid of all this buildup.” Darius presses a hand against the waxy ceiling. “Disgusting.”

“You can have the first shower when we get home,” Marc tells him.

Trent chuckles. “If we party the way we should once this is done, you won’t be able to stand up long enough to shower.”

“Shh.” The hush comes from Elizabeth near the front. “There’s something up ahead.”

---