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“Unless they don’t have a choice but to come during a storm. As if it’s a warning spell brought on by an emissary crossing a portal, perhaps.” Devon drank the rest of his water and placed the glass on the table. “I believe the emissary is in the kingdom already. He’s hiding away until he can bring the Zorren without hurting his chances to destroy this place, as he promised you he would.”
Nava stood, her skin prickling as she broke out in sweat, her skin suddenly cold and clammy. “He might hunt for Ari while he’s alone in the forest.” Her body began to shift into air and pollen, the bees taking flight, coalescing into a swarm.
Arkimedes’s eyes widened, and he stumbled forward, trying to catch her. “You can’t go without me!”
But she could, and she wouldn’t wait here and do nothing while Leir killed her Beekeeper. Had she known deep down he was here all along? Was that why the bees had been following her the entire time?
“We have run out of time.”
“Nava!” Arkimedes lunged for her, coiling his arms around her disappearing body. His magic bloomed black and enveloped her like a cocoon, shrouding everything around them. He was shaking. Or was it the ground beneath their feet as the very castle shifted in displeasure? “The only way to defeat him is by working together.”
She breathed, her heart racing, although his muffled words made it through her fuzzy mind. “He doesn’t know I’m coming.”
“Remember when we went to the forest, when we thought Aristaeus was in danger, but then we got there and he was fine?” Arkimedes searched her gaze, and his resolve seeped through their bond. “Close your eyes and focus on your connection to Aristaeus, to the kingdom. To the forest.”
Her eyes watered with the intensity of being contained while she was mid-transformation. The air tasted spicy, but Arkimedes’s magic was relentless. He would not let her go. And would she, if their roles were reversed?
Her body collapsed back into her human form, cool inside Arkimedes’s warm embrace. She closed her eyes and focused on the quick beating of his heart and then, beneath that, the fluttering of wings. Hundreds of thousands of bees were all whispering in small voices. All calling to her.
The headache was a gentle throb that built in her temples as she dug in deeper, following their whispers. It wasn’t a human language; it had no words, only feelings.
Her body trembled, and in the darkness, she tugged on the trail of the gold ribbon that connected her to the castle and the gardens beyond the walls. To Aristaeus, beyond the trees, so far her body levitated from the ground.
“Nava…” Ark’s tone was pure awe.
“Dearest one?” Ari’s voice drifted into her head, and even Arkimedes tensed. Could he hear him? “You’re here, but far, too.”
There wasn’t any panic or pain coming through Ari’s bond. He was fine, likely inside his cavern, awaiting her return. So Nava returned and asked for the forest instead.
“Leir opened a portal last night.” She repeated the strange thoughts of the trees, and her body shook harder as a sudden cold rippled all over her. Ark’s hold tightened around her, and his nose pressed against her neck, his breaths burning fast and hot against her skin.
“Come back to me, Bee.” His voice carried enough panic to pull at her. She retreated down the hills of the forest, over mossy ground, and past fallen branches.
She descended along the golden rope of magic that connected her to the kingdom. Her nose prickled as something wet dripped down to her lips. She blinked her eyes open into the bright, golden room, and although the fireplace was roaring, she shivered inside Arkimedes’s arms.
“W-what happened?” Her teeth clattered together, but her mind was too full, fuzzy around the edges. What was she doing here? What was going on?
“I could hear Aristaeus through our connection. You reached him. How?”
“I don’t know.” She lifted her heavy eyelids and raised her face to meet his worried gaze. He swiped a finger under her nose, and it emerged covered in crimson. Blood.
Nava had bled while she’d been between planes, out there following magical ribbons that wrapped around things. Whatever power she’d tapped into was something new. Except—it wasn’t. She’d always been able to see the strings. She’d just never attempted to follow them anywhere before.
“How do you feel?” Arkimedes whispered and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
Her mouth was dry, her body weak and still shaking with how much she’d drained herself, but she had her answer. “He’s back.”
Arkimedes already knew this. She was sure he’d heard her words through their connection. The sorrow, fear, and anger that filled her belonged to her and him in equal measure.
“Leir doesn’t know we are coming. Let’s set the trap.”
“What trap?” Devon asked from his bed. He was leaning against the headboard, his eyebrows raised high as if he’d observed the entire spectacle in silence. “And who the fuck is Leir?”
39
ARKIMEDES
The armory wasn’t as large as the golden room they’d left Devon in. Nor did it have sufficient ventilation, judging by the pungent smell of oil and the tang of metal that nearly suffocated Arkimedes as he strolled around the place.
