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.”

“But his...his tail.” She hove a heavy breath. “Its tail. It was the shortest!”

After studying her for some time, Idrus said to Sessel, “It is easy to see why he rejects her. She’s rejected him first. It’s attracted to fear and as it cannot yet see....”

Sessel considered the words and nodded. “He’s mistaking her for one of the other larva.”

Despite her understanding, Sessel hesitated.

“You do not agree?” Idrus asked.

When Sessel met his gaze, she sighed. “Daga, I agree, he is one of the strongest kings I’ve ever seen and I was there when your brother was made king and then you after his passing. But, Daga...this babe is from a first batch. He’s supposed to give that power to the coming king. It’s too raw.” She glanced at Nala but didn’t rest her gaze there for long. “He’d be better served nurturing the next batch. Please try again.”

Thoughts of his new hand hidden under the robe made Idrus sigh. He did not want to try again. He did not want to lay with Citel again. And he did not want to keep her here any longer.

“Forgive me, Sessel,” Idrus said. “I cannot.”

Citel stepped forward. “And what will everyone say when they see him? When they see that I cannot hold him.”

“Then hold him, lady! Hold your new king. Pick him up with the courage of the seffer wolves and inos combined. He is your king!” Idrus’s shriek echoed until it faded.

“I won’t,” she said at length. “I won’t allow you to shame me. It is the first batch; we will try again. You will put out that disgusting Summoner from your nest and choose another if that’s what suits you and we shall do this again until we’ve done it right!”

No longer geared for a fight, Idrus shook his head and muttered, “We shall not.”

Citel, composed as ever, warned, “You will do as I bid. You will do what is proper. Or I will have no choice but to mate elsewhere and have my select take your ‘king’s’ head. So you will agree or I will find a different Leveler to give me a king.”

Raising his chin, Idrus stared her down and said, “That is your right.”

Her glare was icy but it didn’t come with a cry or even a demand. She calmed and said, “And I will make it known far and wide what it is your Summoner does by herself. Every Leveler and Summoner alive will know what base company you keep.”

Her threats toward him were justified. They were her right. He should have honored her and given her more chances for a better batch. For denying her all that, he blamed himself, but for this...he had no sympathy to give.

“Yes. You do this, and I will let it be known that the Summoner Queen lay with Earthers. Lay on her back.” When her body stiffened, Idrus cocked his head to the right. “And she did it for fun. I think you even enjoyed it. You let them take your Summoners’ tails one by one. Chop off the one area which you yourself could enjoy with the Earthers you let abuse your people. So tell it far and wide whatever it is you think you know about my Summoner and I will make sure your own people chase you down, render you limb from limb and eat you in celebration.”

Stillness fell over them. All faded except the munching of the larva.

Something shrieked, albeit weakly, and the larva wiggled its way there. A second larva, weak and sluggish, lay under slime and excrement.

“There’s yet another,” Sessel said. “He will lose. The other one’s far too strong.”

The second one turned over, a long tail flopping around as it tried to balance.

Citel gasped. “That is a nice one. We can select this one!”

Sessel raised her hand. “Be still, my queen. That is forbidden. They must fight.”

“But he’s so much gentler. He cannot win against that monster,” Citel complained.

The larva collided and turned over, tangled together.

A small smile peeked through Idrus’s anger. They appeared to be playing.

Nala peered around him. “He won’t eat him?” she asked.

“For now, perhaps. No matter. He will eventually feed,” Idrus said.

“No.” Nala gasped. She raced past Idrus before he had time to protest. The stronger Larva darted for Nala but missed. In one swoop, Nala scooped the calm, slender larva up. She carried it to Citel, her head bowed as she handed it over. “Here is your king, my queen.”

From Nala’s posture perhaps she couldn’t see Citel’s revulsion but Idrus could and it was hard to bear.

A hissing sound came from the larva Nala carried and it set Idrus in motion. He caught the slimmer larva before it could jump toward Nala’s face.

Sighing, Idrus put the larva on his shoulder. He reached down for the second fatter one and did the same, on his left shoulder, and waited. Neither of them seemed interested in attacking the other.

Idrus and Sessel traded a glance and Sessel said, “They will not feed. We must wait to see how many cycles each has earned in battle.”

“I fear this small one might not have many. But this plump devil....” Idrus chuckled, stroking the larva on his shoulder. “He is a king to be sure.”

“You haven’t decided that yet, have you? They are still gray yet,” Nala whispered.

Deep down Idrus knew the answer Nala wanted, so he gave it to her, though it was a lie. “No. Not yet.”

Idrus’s body warmed, a deep heat in both shoulders.

“Put them both down, Daga,” Sessel said. “The chrysalis is starting.”

“I will have no part in this,” Citel said. “I will have no part. It is the first batch. The chrysalis makes them poison. We shall break the chrysalis and begin again.”

Both larva safely on the ground, Idrus pulled his robe back to reveal his arm.

“How about now, my queen? Would you mate with me even now?”

Her eyes dimmed. She turned her back on him and walked away.