Page 62 of The Hive Queen

“Seriously?” Flint storms over to the table. “Can’t he at least pin it on someone bad?”

The muscle in Sharpe’s jaw jumps. “I was told I need to learn to be more flexible with elections coming up.”

“What does that have to do with this?” Flint gestures at the books.

“Actually, I haven’t told you all about my visitor yesterday, Sharpe.” Pen walks over with her phone in one hand and the to-go menu in the other. “Someone told Mr. Berdherst that his daughter, Aediva, is still alive, and he’s demanding her return.”

She sets the menus on the table. “He said if we produce her, he can back some bill to make Clearhelm a safe place for demons, but if we don’t turn her over, he’ll bring back the times when magic first returned to the human plane.”

Sharpe’s lip curls. “That supports what Lynch and Bailey were talking about. The city council has apparently been talking about cleaning up the Bone Yard and turning it into some kind of demonic tourist attraction.”

Flint shakes his head. “That’s suicide.”

“Even if you could root out beings like Nickodemus, the elder god would eat anyone who came within grabbing distance.” I shiver at the memory of those ancient, hungry eyes on me. “Your bosses don’t know what they’re proposing.”

Flint’s brows pinch together. “And what does little Aediva have to do with any of it?”

“Another tourist attraction.” Pen slaps a hand on the table. “I knew he didn’t want her back out of fatherly love. She’s the perfect doll for him to show off how tame demons can be.”

“I chose a new foster house before going to the Library earlier, so Lee and the kids will be moved soon. There’s no way Berdherst is getting his greedy hands on that sweet child.” Flint scowls at the table. “I’d like to know who leaked the information about them, though.”

“It was probably one of the neighbors.” At least, I hope it was. “Aediva wasn’t exactly low profile. Someone probably recognized her when Lin took the kids out for field day.”

All the kids we house with Lee are special needs for their demonic powers. But she still likes to give them experiences similar to what human kids have by doing pizza days and trips to the park for fun and ice cream.

“I have Meredith digging into it.” Pen massages the back of her neck. “We’ll figure it out.”

Sharpe’s brows pinch with worry. “Is the bee sting still bothering you? This monster we’re hunting is based on bees. Should we take you back to the hospital?”

Her hand drops to her side. “No worries now. Marc reminded me I can self-heal, and we burned it out of me.” She turns to show him the back of her neck. “See? All gone.”

He strokes the smooth skin. “Thank God. Why didn’t you do that before?”

“I didn’t think of it.” She frowns as she turns back around. “Something in the sting may have made me not want me to heal it. I only remembered it was there when it was touched.”

I trail a finger down the back of her neck. “Well, we took care of that.”

Flint snorts. “And nearly burned the house down in the process.”

Sharpe’s brow shoots up. “Is that why it smells like smoke in here?”

Flint leans on the table. “What are your thoughts about new flooring?”

Pen clears her throat and picks up the to-go menu once more. “Does everyone want their usual?”

“Get my Mongolian beef extra spicy.” I let my hand drift down her spine. “I want all the heat.”

The back of her neck flushes as she pulls up the app on her phone. “Sure thing.”

“No spice for me. Just some rice and egg drop soup.” Sharpe closes his eyes and rubs his temples. “I know I need food, but the idea is honestly making me nauseous.”

“Aww, does someone have an achy head?” Flint teases.

Sharpe’s eyes slit open. “Someone’s about to.”

Flint gives a dramatic shiver. “Oh, scary.”

I ignore their banter as Pen places our dinner order, and I grab the other book Flint had been playing with earlier. A bookmark sticks out of the top, and I flip it open to the page.

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