Page 11 of Queen Isabella

The humanoid appeared to be Vorto, but also unlike any of his people. The being’s eyes were closed, but he could still see how small they were. Then again, the person was small, perhaps a youth. The little humanoid had a full mane of long, dark curly hair on their head. Most Vorto only had hair when in their animal forms. His brow furrowed. He couldn’t quite picture what animal they were mimicking that possessed such a long mane. Nor did he understand how they fell from the sky. He wasn’t a fool, the egg was mechanical, and not an actual egg. That still didn’t answer where it came from. He’d never heard of any sky hives.

As Bellator studied the unconscious being the wind shifted, and he smelled the most delicious aroma. Before he could place the compelling perfume, he also scented blood. There was a reason the being was unconscious. Its descent from the firmament had been traumatic. What’s worse, the river was too close. Water was seeping into the rut and steadily rising.

Blight! That is not good.

Bellator surveyed the muddy terrain. He didn’t spot any of the Nemus Hive coming to check on the crash. More of the meteors fell in their neighbor’s territory and lands farther west, so that probably had the Nemus preoccupied. Unfortunately, the injured being needed help now.

“Stay here,” he ordered as he crossed the border.

None of his subordinates questioned him, but they all were grim. There were very strict rules for entering another hive’s territory. Under the circumstances, he felt it would be forgiven.

Bellator hustled to the cracked egg. He froze when he got a better whiff of the scent radiating off the being. He’d never smelled the heady sweet perfume, but the concentration of it made his sex instantly harden, which was shocking and new.

It's a female,his instincts screamed.A queen!

Bellator gaped at the tiny female, struck dumb by the realization. He couldn’t have been any more shocked if he’d been struck by one of the meteors itself. This hardly seemed possible. There hadn’t been a queen among the Vorto in generations. He was the fifth generation after the Blight that killed all the queens. Not a single generation since the awful plague had seen a queen emerge, not even a weak or ailing one. The Tumulus hive was not unique, all of the Vorto hives had suffered this blight. Things were becoming desperate. His hive’s chrysalis chamber held two, maybe three more generations at best, and all the other hives were the same.

His shock and awe instantly turned to panic. The queen, the first queen to appear in a long time, was injured. The red splatters were actually blood, not her natural coloring. It covered her tan face and soaked her pale blue coverings. He had to get the queen help now. Bellator shifted to his humanoid form. Very carefully he used a claw to slice through the straps holding his queen in the mechanical egg. It was a relief to feel her heart beating.

She’s alive!

“Be strong, my little queen,” he pleaded as he gently tucked her bloodied wayward limbs across her chest, then picked her up.

His chest clenched feeling just how light and delicate the queen was. It was a wonder she survived the terrible plummet from the sky at all. As Bellator carried her back into his own territory, he studied her injuries. There was a gash on her forehead. The blood wasn’t coming out fast, yet still, it worried him since she was so small. His gaze went to her arm. It was also covered in blood, but he didn’t see any actively bleeding wounds.

“She’s a queen!” he announced as he reached the border. “Proel, hold her.” Bellator reluctantly passed the injured queento the gamma. “Everyone fuse with me. She is injured and it will be faster if we fly.”

The omegas and deltas surrounded him and fluxed, collapsing into an amorphous mass, then fused with him. Bellator didn’t wait for them to completely merge before he shifted into hisscreoform. The raptors were common to the mountain territory where his hive resided and they were swift fliers. The only difference between him and an actualscreowas that he was larger, massive once merged with his brethren.

As carefully as possible, with Proel’s help, he clasped the queen in his overly large talons. They formed a cage around the queen’s tiny curled up form. It wasn’t ideal, but it was the best and fastest option. Pushing off with his empty foot, he leapt into the air, and streaked toward the mountain hive, flying as fast as he possibly could. As the alpha of the legionnaires, it was his job to maintain concentration so they all stayed fused and didn’t come apart mid-flight. They’d practiced this many times, but this was the ultimate test. Thankfully, everyone understood what was at stake. He could feel just how focused his brethren were as they skimmed over the treetops covering the mountainside. He’d never been so relieved to land safely on the veranda of their hive.

“What did you find?” Phara, the hive’s consort alpha, rushed toward them.

“Our queen!”

Artifex – Servitor Alpha

“Bellator has found our queen!” Phara rushed into the supply room.

“Hmpf.” Artifex dubiously glanced over his shoulder before focusing on the inventory again.

He couldn’t believe Phara and Bellator were attempting this prank again. Did the alphas think after ten orbits he’d forgotten their antics? The pair just wanted him to make another feast. That’s what happened last time. He and his caste of servitors stopped what they were doing and began frantic preparations for the mythical queen. He and his workers toiled all day over a lavish feast, cleaning, and other preparations. In the end he and his fellow workers were left disappointed and tired. The only consolation was that it was an exceptional meal.

“I don’t have time for your pranks. We need to know what supplies we can spare if any of the neighboring hives are damaged by this meteor shower,” Artifex indignantly replied. “That entire shelf can be given away. Put it on the list, Diligen,” he instructed the servitor gamma helping him.

“This is not a prank! You are needed in the infirmary now!” Phara roared.

Artifex spun, shocked by his fellow alpha’s behavior. Phara didn’t even explain himself. The male simply rushed out of the store room. Worriedly, Artifex followed.

There were stories about past generations of consorts becoming imbalanced. The consorts were especially prone to the condition. It had to do with high levels of mating hormones but having no queen. Phara definitely had bouts of sorrow in the past, but they all did as the seasons passed. The time for waking the next generation marched closer. Artifex tried to not think about the fact that the Vorto were nearing extinction. He instead tried to look forward to taking care of and raising his hatchling brethren. That honor, and his everyday tasks kept him preoccupied. Sadly, Phara and the other consorts didn’t have those things to concentrate on.

Hopefully that’s not what was going on here.

As Artifex reached the nearby infirmary, the scent radiating from the room halted him in his tracks. Having been on manyhunts he knew the scent of blood. Except this wasn’t simply the scent of blood. There was something intoxicating and sweet that also drew him into the room.

Queen! Queen!his instincts screamed as he tasted the air.

“Please, Artifex, help her,” Bellator pleaded, pain distorting his face.

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