Hive Queen Sinclair, Grayson (best pdf ebook reader for android txt) 📖

"Right, the spiderlings."

She nudged Adam with her elbow; he jumped and looked up from the book he was reading. "What?"

"Have you seen the guild leader today?"

"D? No, not since yesterday. Why?"

I frowned. This is getting strange. "Surely, someone has seen him today?"

Adam returned to his book and picked up a strawberry from his plate and popped it into his mouth. "I'm sure he's fine," he mumbled, already engrossed with reading.

I was about to ask Makenna and Harper, who were sitting a few seats away, but the maid returned with our food, and my stomach forced me to put Sam out of mind while I focused on quieting my pangs of hunger. She set the plate down along with three mugs of milk. Tegen and Chiera's eyes lit up at the sight of so much food. The dish was piled high with bacon, sausages, and ham along with a half a loaf of bread and some spicy smelling pork in a brown sauce. All were nearly spilling over the plate.

I let the children dig in, but there was more than enough food for all of us. I picked up a piece of bacon and nibbled on it, but it was overcooked—well, overcooked to me. So I let the children devour the rest of it. I tried one of the sausages, and the hot juice and spice flowed into my mouth when I broke it open.

I savored the flavor. It was indeed quite spicy, but I enjoyed the heat as it brushed my tongue. Tegen enjoyed the bacon, but Cheira didn't much care for it. She, like me, stuck to the spicier meats. They didn't touch the bread, so I tore it apart and dipped it into the brown sauce. Which turned out to be spicy gravy. It was delicious, and I mopped up every last drop, and when the spice became too much for my mouth, I washed it away with the milk. It was cold and tasted fresh, which was strange, as I hadn't seen any cows in the castle. Where did the fresh food come from?

I was going to ask, but the children were eating their weight in food, and there wasn't much left, so I picked at whatever they didn't like until I was stuffed. From the looks of content on the children's faces, they'd eaten their fill. They simultaneously took hold of their milk and drained it to the last drop. It was adorable.

With my hunger satisfied, my thoughts immediately turned back to Sam. I knew he wouldn't like it, but I was getting worried, so I trailed a tendril of thought through our bond. It was just enough to crack open the door to his psyche. It was also enough to tell me everything I needed to know.

Sam was gone, far away from me, and he was afraid.

A pit of despair rose up in me, and there was nothing to stem the tide of grief that overtook me.

Sam was far away, so very, very far. It was like a punch to my stomach, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. I choked and nearly spit up my milk, but I fought back the bile and the sadness that rose in me.

My heart was about to crack at the terror radiating from my bonded. My lungs wouldn't work anymore, and I let a few tears escape while I fought to keep from sobbing.

Chapter 3 - The Cracks Deepen

Sampson

"What are you saying?"

I understood Magnus's words, but they refused to make sense. My mind didn't want to comprehend what I’d heard.

A thousand years? That's impossible!

I stood from the chair so fast, it tipped over, clacking heavily against the stone floor. It can’t be true. It can’t be. There was a plan, right? A plan for going back to Earth after the ghouls had been dealt with. They wouldn’t just leave us here!

But my thoughts rang false. We were nothing but lab rats, to be discarded when we’d served our purpose. I’d known that from the moment that man placed the barrel of his pistol against my head. We were completely disposable.

I grabbed the mug of ale in front of me and downed it. The sweetness did nothing to ease the turmoil running through my head. I looked around for Magnolia and motioned her over. She came to me immediately.

"What can I get for you, My Lord?"

"Whiskey," I managed to stammer out.

She left without a word, and I stared down at my hands for a minute or two, trying to process things.

While sweet, the ale had some effect as inebriation kicked in. Rapturous bliss brought heaviness to my thoughts, removing my inhibitions and, by some miracle, it let me think around the world-shattering revelation Magnus dropped on me.

What am I freaking out about? So what if we’re stuck here? There was nothing left for me to return to anyways. Mom, Dad, Micah. They’re gone. Sophia’s gone. I’ve been dead for a very long time. My body is probably dust by now. There is nothing left in that world for me. This is my home now.

By some miracle of the gods, Magnolia returned quickly and set down a rather large bottle of liquor and a glass.

I didn't even bother to read the label, it’d probably cost a fortune. I don't give a fuck what it is at this moment, could be paint thinner for all I care. I poured the whiskey in the glass and chugged it, barely paying attention to the sickening burn and nausea as I filled my throat to the brim with forgetfulness.

All right, so we've all been here a hell of a lot longer than any of us realized, so what? Doesn't change anything. Doesn't change the life I've built.

I poured one more