The LEVELER King ✔

BOOK 2: CHAPTER 16

A robe covering his left arm, Idrus kept Nala in front of him as he walked. The roost was abuzz with chatter. It had been for the last three days. Even now walking was a chore but Idrus persevered; the queen wanted to see him.

Worry for Nala forced Idrus to bring her along. His Summoner remained quiet, yet jumpy. All boldness that he'd come to love in Nala faded within the queen's arrival until now.

With each step downward to the birthing chamber, he regretted nothing more than allowing Nala to stay. Her farm was high up; she would have been safe there even in this storm.

Now Nala refused to leave Idrus's nest. She refused to go out even though others had removed the sloths and dressed them for food. At least now they could hold out a bit longer. Other neighboring roosts wouldn't be as fortunate. If the rain didn't let up soon, many children would starve. Adults could go some time without food, especially in their lowest stage. Growing Levelers ate constantly, however.

It was fortunate that Nala killed the sloths as she did. As soon as the rain weakened, they could take them to the other mountain roosts and let the Levelers there feast. Hopefully that story would spread and not the real one of Nala's temporary loss of her senses.

Nala dragged her feet but didn't otherwise put much resistance as they hurried down.

The lower they went, the less Levelers were there asking questions, or talking with each other. Voices haunted them until they entered the chamber, however.

Two weeks had passed since the babes' birth. Not many would be left.

They walked into the sight of one fat larva finishing its sticky meal. Green slime covered the cave far and wide. It was even on the walls.

Since this was Idrus's first time selecting a king, he wasn't sure what to expect. All of his studies told him it would be weeks before this many larva lost the fight.

Idrus hadn't laid eyes on Citel in some time. The large structure of the roost afforded him that luxury.

He saw her now, however, but not as he'd expected. Instead of taking on a lower stage, Citel stood covered in a robe from head to toe—still in the mating stage.

"I wish to make another batch," she said, a deep purple scar on her right cheek. He'd never seen anything like it.

Idrus stared at her, stunned beyond speech. Nala gripped his right hand, bringing Idrus back to himself.

Without answering, he tugged Nala to stand behind him as he surveyed the chaos.

In Nala's current condition, the chances of Idrus mating with the queen again were slim. The displeasure in the Summoner Queen's eyes showed that she had no lust to try either, but she would.

Sessel gestured to the lone larva and said, "She cannot hold him. It took all of us to pry him from her face."

Idrus calmed, pleased with the news. "So it's a male? It's a king," he announced, smiling. "It is a king."

"Its tail is short!" Citel shrieked. "Its tail is short and its apatite unyielding! Something's wrong with it."

All eyes gravitated to the fat babe sniffing along the floor, looking for more to eat. There didn't appear to be more. It stopped, circled a small area, and chewed at the slime there.

Idrus's hearts filled with pride. "He's a king," he boasted, turning to Citel. "Our apatite has no bounds. It is the same for the hunts; it is the same for the wars, and it is the same for the mating. That is our nature. So with that in mind, he is the fittest and he's earned it."