“Your Majesty… please, just return to your senses! And let go of me!”
A chilling, vengeful murmur escaped the Queen’s lips, like the whisper of a grudge-bearing ghost returned from hell for revenge. Her laughter was eerie—kuh-kuh-kuh—and something dark and smoldering seemed to coil up from behind her shoulders. The sight sent a shiver down Blaine’s spine.
“I can’t let everything end this easily.”
The Queen’s voice was laced with cold determination. Blaine’s mind reeled as she continued, her words dripping with something sinister.
“Don’t worry, Blaine. Our drones are already… thoroughly prepared. It wouldn’t be fair if only I had to take it, so I made sure to pierce them all myself.”
“…W-What?”
Blaine’s brain short-circuited. This was a bolt from the blue.
“It’d be a shame not to put this to good use, but oh well. Maybe this way will be even more… enjoyable.”
Of course, he knew exactly how good it could feel to have something thick and hot inside him—but that wasn’t the point. He couldn’t believe what his Queen was saying.
“Oh, but the worker bees still have their stingers, don’t they? I forgot about that. What a shame.”
She could just pull it out, right? It wasn’t like he mattered anymore. He had failed her. The thought flashed through his mind, but his body moved before he could process it. Blaine shoved the Queen’s shoulder with a speed that would have shocked even a sleeping bee and bolted upright from the bed. The room spun from the sudden movement, but his legs carried him toward the exit on their own, driven by some primal instinct to escape.
His fingers were inches from the doorknob.
“I—I have to save Hurel first. Then I’ll come back for you, Your Majesty. By then, you’ll have calmed down…”
“Blaine… Ugh!”
A sudden weight crashed into him from behind—the Queen, collapsing against his back. His instincts screamed at him to keep moving, but his body betrayed him, slowing just enough for doubt to creep in. No, no, this is a trap. I didn’t push her that hard. She can’t be hurt. I wouldn’t—
“You little—!”
A sharp, searing pain lanced through his ankle. He tried to ignore it, to force his leg forward, but his body buckled, sending him crashing to the floor.
Blaine’s cheek pressed against the cold stone, and he saw it—his ankle, impaled by something thick, sturdy, and wrong. It wasn’t a worker bee’s stinger. This was something else, something barbed, designed to stay lodged inside flesh.
“Hah. Who knew this would cause so much trouble? I suppose I should’ve made it look harder.”
Blood welled around the wound, the pain throbbing in time with his pulse. His mind raced. How am I supposed to save Hurel like this?
“Pathetic. I even gave you the dignity of a bed, and here you are, crawling on the floor like some lowly insect. Fine. If that’s what you want…”
Blaine realized, too late, that he was still half-dressed, his pants tangled around his ankles from his frantic escape. Before he could process the humiliation, a small, soft hand groped his bare backside.
“Relax. Unless you want more pain.”
“W-What are you—?! Stop!”
“Oh? Struggle, and the stinger breaks. Stay still.”
The Queen’s fingers traced down his thigh, then paused.
“…What is this?”
Blaine wrenched himself free, scuttling away on hands and knees, his face burning. No. No way. She can’t possibly—
“Your stinger… it’s gone. But that’s not all, is it? There’s something… inside you?”
The Queen’s confusion gave Blaine a split second to react. He clutched at his shirt, his voice cracking.Â
“Let me go! Please!”
“A stinger… but not a stinger… What is this?”
Panic surged through him. He scrambled backward, shaking his head wildly.Â
“Your Majesty, what are you doing?! Snap out of it!”
His legs trembled, refusing to support him. He forced himself up, only to stumble again, half-naked and bleeding, a pitiful sight.
“Hah? So this is why you’ve been gone for months. Rolling around with someone else, huh? A worker bee with no stinger?”
“…What?”
None of this made sense. Had she drunk poison instead of honey? What had the wasps done to her?
“I never knew you were so desperate, Blaine. To lose your stinger just to get filled up. How many times did you take it? How much did you enjoy it?”
“F-Filled…?”
This wasn’t about the royal jelly Panthiana had packed for him. His jaw dropped.
“I was going to be gentle since it’s your first time, but I guess I don’t need to bother. You’re already spread open for me.”
Before he could process her words, his head was slammed into the stone floor. A heavy weight pinned his neck, and rough hands pried his legs apart.
“Enough games. The innocent act doesn’t suit you.”
“N-No… Stop…”
The Queen ignored his pleas, shoving three fingers inside him without warning. Blaine screamed as her nails scraped against something deep within him—something that wasn’t supposed to be there. Pain exploded through his nerves, white-hot and blinding.
“Agh—!”
The Queen’s expression twisted in disbelief.Â
“You—you dare—!”
Blaine, still dazed, felt her fingers close around whatever was inside him, yanking.
“Aaaah!”
Tears streamed down his face as he clawed at the door, his vision blurring.Â
“P-Please, stop! Your Majesty, why are you doing this?! What did I do wrong?!”
He fumbled with the doorknob, his body wracked with sobs. Half-dressed, humiliated, he barely registered the crowd blocking his escape.
“Hani… Hurel, please… save me…”
The Queen’s laughter was bitter.Â
“So this is what you’ve been up to while I thought you were suffering out there. Playing at love?”
Rage coiled in her gut. She’d make him regret every second of it.
“You. Kneel him.”
The guards—compact, muscular creatures with veins like carved stone—slammed Blaine to the ground, twisting his arms behind his back. Their strength was inhuman, their grips unbreakable.
“Ugh… Damn it…”
Blaine’s sobs turned to broken whimpers. He just wanted it to end. Who are these people? How do I get out of here?
The Queen’s voice cut through his despair, cold and final.
“Enough.”
