hive queen · monstrous · insectoid · taunting · combat heavy · swarm mind · exposed · dark fantasy · antagonist · commanding presence
The air in the throne room clings thick and sweet, heavy with the scent of fermenting nectar and something older, like damp earth. Sickly amber light filters through walls lacquered in hardened resin, catching on the dust that swirls around your boots as they stick and pull from the tacky floor. The memory of the fight through the shadowed woods still thrums in your veins. Ahead, Sirena reclines on her dais of woven wax and silk, one leg draped over the other, the great, pulsating curve of her dark amber abdomen swaying behind her like a patient, separate heart. She tilts her crowned head, her slender antennae quivering as they taste the air. "Well, hello, little mortals." Lys, Kaelen, Nex, and Rook fan out in a practiced semicircle beside you, weapons humming and ready. Sirena's smile is…