Page 68 of Queen Isabella

Phara grinned at her and whooped loudly, copying her by clapping his hands. Her hive followed suit. The Nemus also copied her, clapping for their hive. Very quickly the cheering and clapping was its own noisy competition between the hives.

Her giant purple hawk must’ve heard their encouragement and flapped harder. Overgrown Artifex was almost to the circular arena when out of nowhere an orange eagle the size of a minibus dove in, its talons aimed for Artifex’s head. While they were distracted cheering, the Nemus eagles had sneakily joined together to make one large bird. It was a sound strategy. It really was the only way to stop the oversized Artifex, but she didn’t like it. Her hive hadn’t attacked the Nemus once.

“Hey!” Isa declared.

Artifex dipped, avoiding attack just in time, but that didn’t make her feel any better. This competition had taken a serious turn. As crazy as it was, no one had been hurt yet, since the Vorto were so malleable, but her guys were capable of being injured.

She held her breath as Artifex swooped toward the arena, the giant eagle on his tail. Artifex dodged left, narrowly avoiding asharp beak. The move sent him into a spin. He rolled, hitting the ground just inside the arena. The giant purple hawk burst, and a dozen balls of plasm scattered across the playing field, kicking up dirt and debris.

“Oh!” Isa gasped as she stood up from her chair.

The dust cleared to reveal Artifex standing along with the dozen other purple servitors from her hive. They were all grinning like they hadn’t just eaten dirt sandwiches. She let out the breath she was holding, grateful they appeared uninjured.

“My queen!” Artifex proudly gestured to thepecuslaying inside the arena.

“You did it!” She excitedly clapped.

“We won that round,” Phara confidently informed Andren.

Bellator

Bellator let out a relieved sigh when Artifex secured the last round. Except, to truly win theConlatus, his hive had to be victorious in this final round, too. He didn’t relish the violence that was about to ensue. The prospect had been bothering him the whole rotation. He had sparred with his brethren and neighboring hives for sport, but they never severed plasm during training, that was crossing a line. During theConlatusthere was no line.

Isa was smiling at Artifex and congratulating the servitors exiting the ring. Her happy twitters, her radiance, and how she affected his hive filled him with indescribable joy. He wasn’t entirely sure he deserved Queen Isa with the way he stretched the rules when he found her, after all it was his duty to uphold the rules. And yet, he wanted her, needed her, desperately. After having a taste of something so wonderful, he wasn’t about to let her slip through his fingers.

So, if I have to shed plasm to prove I am worthy of her, that is what I’ll do.

“Invicta, Militus.” Bellator nodded to his betas and they marched toward the arena.

Isabella

“I was worried when one of you fell. I forgot how resilient you guys are.” Isa smiled at Artifex, Operar, and the other servitors as they crowded under the tent.

“We are.” Operar gently squeezed her arm before going to grab a drink.

She glanced briefly at the Nemus. They looked disappointed by the outcome. She nodded at Lehzen, Artifex’s counterpart, not sure what to say.

“Good hunt,” Artifex provided an answer.

“Yes, good hunt.” She attempted a pleasant smile, though it was hard since she was still ticked off at the way the Nemus attacked her men.

“I must admit that was a clever strategy,” Lehzen conceded.

That was an understatement, since her hive had just a night to learn everything about this competition.

Congratulations were still being passed around when Bellator marched out of the tent, followed by two of his legionnaire betas. Her teddy bear was wearing the same stoic expression he’d had all day. He was ready to be done with this competition. She couldn’t blame him. More adrenaline pumped through her with every round, bringing her closer to having to go live with strangers.

Soleno, the Nemus legionnaire, the same one that ambushed them, squared off with Bellator. Two of Soleno’s betas joined him, and stood toe to toe with Invicta and Militus. They werefifty feet away and still the tension was palpable as the trios glared at each other. She wasn’t the only one to notice, because both hives grew uncomfortably quiet, focusing on the arena. As frazzled as she was about this competition, she understood the Nemus placed all the blame on Bellator, since he was the one who’d taken her. Bellator did, too, which broke her heart.

“What’s this round?” Isa nervously asked.

“Combat,” Phara replied.

“Oh.” She sank back into her seat, her stomach plummeting.

Bellator reached out and clasped Soleno’s forearm. The two pairs of betas did the same. It was a goodwill gesture, but she wasn’t feeling the goodwill. In unison, both sides parted. Invicta and Militus stepped into Bellator. Their bodies fused with his as he shifted, turning into a bear-cat, thefero. He was three times as large as the one she rode through the forest, and infinitely more ferocious as he roared and charged. Bellator slammed into the gorilla the Nemus trio had become. The powerful thud echoed across the prairie.

“Uuh,” Isa gasped in shock, recoiling in her seat. The fight had definitely begun. Her breath and heart sped up.

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