Chapter Thirty: The Pull
By morning, the forest had almost convinced me nothing had happened.
Almost.
The mist curled low around the trees, pale in the early light, carrying the damp, earthy scent of moss and soil. Birds had returned — a good sign, Vire said. But their song felt too delicate, too far away, like it belonged to another world entirely.
We walked in silence. I told myself the weight in my chest was just exhaustion, but the truth pressed heavier: the tether was still there. I could feel it, faint as a second heartbeat, deep beneath my skin.
Vire kept glancing at me like she wanted to ask something. She didn't.
We stopped by a small stream to drink. The water was icy, shocking against my lips. My reflection wavered in the ripples — same face, same eyes. But the longer I looked, the less human it seemed. Not wrong… just sharpened. A little more focused. A little more aware.
That's when I felt it.
Not the Queen. Not exactly.
Movement.
Three small shapes, crawling over the moss-covered rocks on the far side of the stream. Ants — large, but nothing unusual for this part of the forest. I might've ignored them.
Except they stopped. All three.
At the same time.
They turned toward me.
I didn't move, didn't breathe, but my hand lifted instinctively, fingers curling in that same slow, pulling motion I'd made in the Hive.
The ants obeyed.
Not like insects drawn to food. Not random.
They climbed over the stones in perfect unison, tiny bodies glinting in the morning light, straight toward me.
My stomach dropped.
I let my hand fall, and they stopped — frozen mid-step. One twitched its antennae, as if waiting for my next move.
The realization hit, cold and certain.
I wasn't just marked anymore.
I was connected.
And connection meant control.
Vire's voice broke through the silence. "They're… listening to you."
I shook my head. "No. They're listening through me."
Her brows drew together. "What's the difference?"
I looked at the still ants, my skin prickling.
"The Queen doesn't need to come back to control her Hive," I said quietly. "She can do it through me."
Vire's eyes hardened. "Then we break the tether before she decides to use it."
But as I watched the ants waiting for me to speak — or command — a darker thought crept in.
What if I didn't want to break it?
20 minutes later...