At the end of the night, we all lined up for our evening ritual. Several new ‘Mites had arrived that day and awaited the Queen’s blessing. She stood up tall at the front of our main chamber, and the new ‘Mites lined up to bond with her. One by one they approached, and she favored them with her oil. The scent of it sent shivers of joy up my back, and Lexis stood back, shaking her head as the newly-anointed ‘Mites collapsed to the ground, shaking with ecstasy.
Lexis tried again, wiping the oil from the Queen’s gland onto her hands. She sniffed it, rubbing it between her fingers. She licked it and made a gagging face.
“Not tonight, evidently.”
Her gaze traveled over the group.
“Everybody needs to try it. I need to understand how this works. Like it or not, we can’t live without a Hive.”
The humans grumbled, and I looked to the Queen to see her reaction. The oil was not Lexis’s to give. But the Queen waved her feelers in the air, and her scent was sky blue, serene and content.
Lexis lined everyone up. I slipped in behind Kinni, always eager to get another dose for myself.
One by one, the people approached the Queen. Most tentatively reached out one finger, dabbing it on her head. They smelled of fear and anxiety. They don’t want it to work. They’re afraid of turning into mindless slaves. But Gil and I weren’t mindless. I wished I could help them understand. I hadn’t lost myself in the Queen. I had found myself in the Queen.
“Smell it. Everybody take a good whiff.” Lexis watched each one in turn.
I worried that the Queen would run out of oil or patience, but her scent never changed. She loved us so much, even those of us who couldn’t sense her happy blue waves. There was no way she could possibly understand the danger she was in. But she knew that humans and ‘Mites had already died for her. She knew we would do it again.
Kinni stood in front of her.
“This is so gross. Do I have to do this?”
A look from Lexis convinced her that she did. “We need to understand this. There’s got to be a reason it’s not working here.”
Kinni took a deep breath and reached out one hand. The Queen leaned into her touch, and Kinni’s hand came away damp with oil.
“Anything?”
Kinni shook her head. “Nope.”
I went next, reveling in the bond.
“Kinni?” Behind me, Lexis’s voice was concerned.
By the time I turned around, Mo was catching Kinni as she fell to the floor of the chamber. Her eyes were rolled back in her head, and she held the oil-soaked hand to her face.
“Kinni, are you okay?” Lexis pushed her way over to Kinni and Mo. “Kinni? Are you sick?”
A tremor shot through Kinni’s arms and legs, and Mo held her close to his chest. He turned an angry eye to me.
“What’s happening to her? Have you ever seen this happen?”
I stared, breathing deep.
Kinni. Welcome.
In a few seconds, Kinni’s face cleared. She looked up at the Queen with wonder in her eyes.
Her dad held her face in both of her hands. “What is it? Are you all right?”
Kinni smiled at the Queen, pulling air in through her mouth and nose. She nodded, not yet capable of making words.
“She’s one of us. It worked.”
I crouched down next to her and Mo let me take Kinni’s limp hand.
“What do you mean, ‘she’s one of us?’”
Her scent was changing with every breath I took. Humans smelled warm and sticky, not an unpleasant odor, but not clean like a ‘Mite. Kinni still smelled human. But every time she exhaled, I got a brighter glow from her breath.
I looked at Mo and grinned. “She’s part of the Hive now. She belongs to the Queen.”
Kinni’s rapt expression was broken by the flaring of her nostrils. “You’re still an idiot,” she whispered. “But you’re my idiot.” She looked back to the Queen. “And I’m hers.”