They arrived at the Queen's Chamber without a problem. The heavy wooden door was open but there were almost a hundred Honningbie guards swarming over it. Many of them were flying or perched on ledges around the door that was easily twenty feet high and just as wide.
When she saw so many bees already injured, Erlea couldn't help but dread the coming battle. Many of the bees on the ground were there because of injuries, snapped wings and torn surfaces. Others were missing arms with fresh scabs that showed magical healing.
She sniffed as she walked up. Slowly her attention drew to the chamber beyond the door. It was huge chamber, easily hundreds of feet across. She could see hexagonal openings along the walls, each one brimming with vast stores of honey. “I-I've never been in here,” she whispered to Billie.
“Me either. They don't allow non-bees see the queen. The risk is too great because if she goes, then the entire hive dies.”
“Is that why they are attacking? To kill the hive?”
Billie's jaw tensed. Her armor shifted slightly. “I don't know. It doesn't look good.”
She stopped about twenty feet from the entrance. Stepping aside, she slipped her arm away from Erlea. “This is as far as I can go. I'll leave—”
“Love!” screamed Miere.
Erlea gasped and spun toward the chamber entrance as her friend came buzzing out, coasting the ground as she came into a low landing that ended with her running the last few feet. Erlea only had a second to open her arms before Miere's beautiful body slammed into her.
Soft breasts ground against her as Miere peppered her with kisses. The crafter bee's wings beat furiously as she gripped Erlea tightly with her embrace.
Erlea kissed her back, not caring about the others. She had been violated. That meant she could find allow herself to enjoy the pleasures of another bee. She smiled and held her back. “Oh, Love. I missed you.”
Tear rolling down her cheeks, Miere pulled back to say, “I thought I lost you. When the gate fell, I-I thought….”
“It's okay,” Erlea said with a kiss. “I'm here now.”
Erlea heard the buzzing of the other guard's wings slow for a moment. She broke the embrace with Miere to look up as Saroia came walking out of the chamber. With a sad smile, she pulled her limbs free from Miere and approached the war leader.
Saroia pulled her into a tight, one-armed hug. “I'm so glad to see you made it,” she whispered into Erlea's ear.
Erlea started to say something but then choked. Sadness plunged her into ice as she looked into the searching eyes of the older hunter. She knew there was a question, one that Erlea dreaded the answer. “I-I'm sorry—”
For the briefest of moments, there was a heartbroken look on Saroia's face. Then she managed to force a smile on her lips. It only took a fraction of a second but Erlea saw it as clear as day. The older bee pressed a finger against Erlea's lips. “It's okay. We can't change the past and this isn't the time for tears.”
Erlea didn't feel better by the words but she understood. She nodded once.
“Nilli?”
“She didn't make it.”
Saroia's wings dropped.
Billie stepped up and waved her hand. “Erlea is who summoned the tentacle thing.”
Saroia look up with surprise, first at Billie and then at Erlea. “You did?”
Blushing, Erlea nodded.
“You probably saved us, Girl.”
Erlea perked her wings.
“You easily killed hundreds of the Shucks and probably as many of the other monsters taking advantage of the attack. It also gave us enough time to reinforce the chamber. Though—” Her eyes flickered over to Billie. “—none of the bees we sent to the other cities made it. They were ambushed and captured.”
“I know. I'm sorry.”
“Damn,” Billie muttered. She turned away from the chamber. “I'm going to kill something.”
“Beetle,” said Saroia sharply.
The Kever turned and looked at her.
“Come on, we need you in the chamber.”
Billie's mouth opened in surprise.
“We are fighting for the hive. The Task Mistress is dead and I'm all that is left of the leaders. We need to save the queen and if that means she gets sick, it's far better than holding her corpse.”
Saroia sighed and looked around before raising her voice. “Bees!”
All of the guards and hunters looked at her, many of them landing.
“The Shucks are going to make it here, I have no doubt. I want to seal the chamber to protect the queen and the crafters but that means anyone out here is probably going to die. We're all…”
She choked and wiped her eyes.
Erlea felt sick to her stomach. She wanted to cry.
Miere's hand slipped into her and squeezed it tightly.
On the other side, Billie rested her hand on Erlea's shoulder.
Saroia cleared her throat. “We are all probably going to die today. These are four hundreds, it will take dozen of our lives to kill each one but this is for the hive. This is for the queen. All that matters is making sure she survives, don't you understand?”
A hundred bees buzzed their wings, beating against the air. Those without clapped their hands. Erlea sobbed as she buzzed, smacking both Miere and Billie with them.
“I'm sealing the door in a minute. Whoever is outside, please fight with your lives and take out as many as possible. Those inside will do the same. I need the more powerful hunters, those with the high point affinities, outside to guard. The weaker ones—”
Erlea cringed as she realized she would now be classified as one of the weaker ones.
“—will remain inside and fight anything that gets through. As long as they can.”
There was an uncomfortable silence as the bees' fate loomed over them.
“For the hive.”
“For the hive,” came the rising buzz.
Saroia was crying as she turned back to Erlea. “I want all three of you in the chamber. Billie, you are good at hand-to-hand but we need ranged attacks out there. The chamber is smaller, your skills will do better.”
“You got it, Boss.”
“Miere, go back to transforming the walls into something harder. We need to limit the ways they can break it, create choke points. If they get in, we've lost.”
Miere sniffed as she flew ahead, lingering her fingers in Erlea's before breaking them.
Erlea tensed as Saroia turned to her.
“Can you Summon anything?”
“I still need focuses for anything besides Smoldering Rats. It also drains me pretty badly.”
“They are too far…” She frowned and then snapped her wing for one of the crafter bees. When the Honningbie approached, she turned. “I need you to push to Nilli's room. Grab all crystals on the middle shelf, those are the defensive—”
Erlea groaned as her stomach twisted. “I-I trashed the room looking for the book.”
Saroia sighed. “Damn the honey. Never mind, go back to work.”
“Yes, War Master.”
Erlea cringed. “I'm sorry. She was going for the black book but I… I couldn't save her. The Shuck killed her, cut off… her…”
“Oh, Bee,” Saroia said as she pulled Erlea into a hug. “I know. War is terrible. You did the best. If summoning that horror was the only thing you did, you've far and away killed more of these Shucks than any other bee in this hive.”
She leaned into Saroia and sobbed, remembering Nilli as her body fell toward the ground. “I-I tried.”
“Can you still RKA?”
“Y-Yes.”
“You have Reduced Endurance on that. None of the others can fire as long as you. I wanted you inside because we're going to use your Barrier in the choke point while still firing at these monsters.”
Erlea felt a measure of hope.
Saroia pulled back and kissed her on the lips. It was sweet and rough at the same time. A tingle raced along Erlea's spine as she almost melted in the caress.
When Saroia pulled back, she was smiling through the tears. “I was waiting, you know. I wanted…” She smiled sadly. “I wanted to taste your honey so badly.”
Erlea blushed. She looked away to gather her thoughts.
Miere was staring at her, hovering in the door with an unreadable expression on her face.
Blushing, Erlea looked back to avoid staring at her lover.
Saroia sighed and stepped back. “It doesn't matter if you have an affinity. It doesn't matter if you will never gain another point of power. You are still powerful and that is what we're going to need. So go inside and get your wing healed. We have Shucks to kill.”