The fused Queen stepped closer. Each movement sank into the ground, leaving pits of ash that smoked long after her claws lifted. Her glow spread wider with every breath, spilling over the Scarabs, the Centipedes, the Glowbeetles, until their shapes seemed swallowed by her shadow.
Buzz pressed his claws into the dirt, forcing himself upright though every muscle screamed. His chest rattled with each breath, his cracked shell leaking slow rivers down his side. Zza's silk bound him tight, her hands trembling as she tied the threads, her own claws bleeding where she pulled too hard.
The fused Queen tilted her head. Her mandibles parted.
Buzz expected a roar. A scream. Something to shatter the air.
Instead came a voice.
"You are mine."
