Drone

XIII

XIII

The car ride back to the hiking trail was completely quiet. Every time Phoebe thought that maybe she should say something she would glance over to Wasp and see that he still had that dangerous, infuriated look on his face. It was enough to silence her.

She knew that Wasp didn't like his brother, but she didn't realize just how much until she saw the way he looked at this moment. His eyes were still burning brightly, his hands tight on the wheel as he weaved in and out of traffic with seemingly no concern for safety.

Wasp drove his car very fast, recklessly so, and stopped far too quickly in the hiking trail parking lot.

“Get out.” he snapped at her before doing so himself.

Phoebe had barely opened her door and unbuckled her seat belt before he was there. He took her by her arm and began marching her swiftly down the path.

That was when Phoebe realized that he wasn't mad at Ratel. He was mad at her.

“Wasp?” she called gently.

“What?” The response was short, crisp and, well, waspish.

And Phoebe fell silent at hearing it. He was mad at her. His hand on her upper arm as he guided her down the hike path wasn't painful, but it was firm and commanding.

She didn't speak again all through the hike. He marched them both through the forest easily. The only times he let go of her was to let her navigate an obstacle. As soon as she had he was back taking her by the arm again.

Part of Phoebe said that she should be offended at the macho act. He was practically dragging her by her hair back to his cave. The other part of her, the bigger part, told her that she kind of deserved it. She had broken her promise, she had mistrusted him.

In the process, she had almost lost her life.

She climbed down the steep hill just outside of Second Point and stepped back to wait for Wasp to descend as well. He didn't bother climbing carefully like she always did, he just jumped down. His feet hit the ground with a little pop of blue-green energy.

Had he not been so furious with her, she would have remarked on how cool it was.

But he was mad at her. His hand was back on her arm like a vice and he was pulling her through Second Point. She knew that Wasp didn't get angry often just from knowing him. She also knew that when he was angry he was to be avoided and left alone.

She knew that because as they marched through Second Point, everyone who was hanging around the clearing took one look at him and just left. She didn't see where they went, where they were hiding, but she knew they were. She could almost feel their pitying stares as he took her through the building and down into the tunnels.

He led her down to the ceremony room and activated the gate with one swipe of his hand, calling out the password in an angry voice. She could tell he exerted more energy than he needed to because the opening happened faster than usual and there were sparks of energy coming from his hands when he did so.

He tossed her at the opened gate. “Get back to the palace.”

“Wasp, I'm-”

“Now.”

His voice was curt, the order undeniable and all the more powerful because he hadn't shouted it. Phoebe lowered her head and turned to walk through. Wasp didn't follow her and, after a moment, the gate closed again. She was left standing in the cave of Nest, looking out over the town.

She sighed and began the walk back to the palace.

She couldn't begrudge him his anger. She was feeling too guilty at the moment to get mad in turn.