The Hive Queen

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Revision as of 19:16, 7 February 2019 by 73.185.207.128 (talk) (i put that the main protagonist in the hive queen is cricket)

Template:Infobox BookThe Hive Queen is the twelfth book in the Wings of Fire series, and the second book in the third arc. The book was officially released in the United States on December 26th, 2018, although some people who pre-ordered got the book a day earlier. The front cover was revealed on September 17, 2018. The main protagonist is Cricket.

The first chapter can be found here: https://www.hypable.com/hive-queen-wings-of-fire-cover-chapter-1/

The Hive Queen follows The Lost Continent and precedes The Poison Jungle.

A considerable portion of the book, including the epilogue, was leaked via an Amazon preview, and sites such as the one above.

There is an audiobook, read by Shannon McManus, available on Spotify.

Summary

Growing up in the hives, Cricket has always had a million questions. Why are trees forbidden, even in art? Why do her parents seem to hate her? And the biggest, most dangerous and secret question of all: why is Cricket immune to Queen Wasp's powers? Whenever the queen takes control of all the HiveWings, speaking through their mouths and seeing through their eyes, Cricket has to hide, terrified of being discovered.

Now she's hiding again, wanted for stealing the Book of Clearsight along with her new SilkWing friends, Blue and Swordtail, and the fierce LeafWing, Sundew. The fugitives need answers, and fast, in order to prevent a LeafWing attack. But Cricket has more questions than ever. How can she stay hidden and discover the queen's deadliest secret? And if she does succeed -- can a powerless dragonet really do anything to topple a regime and stop a war?

-Amazon

Dedication 

“For Wendy and Fiona, a pair of kind hearted funny bookworms with dragon hearts — Cricket and the bears I think you are kindred spirits!”

Quote on back of Hardcover

"You think Blue is going to be useful... for the LeafWings?" Swordtail said in a dangerous voice.

"How?" Cricket took an instinctive step closer to the cocoon, as though Blue might sense her protection through the silk. "What do you think he could do?"

Sundew flicked her wings back. "He's going to burn down the Hives for us."

Plot

Prologue

Moon gazes across the ocean with the thought that the sea was the end of the world. She then thinks about Luna and then about Darkstalker and how she thinks it was her fault for trusting him too much and not thinking about the negativity side of him. Moon thinks about Luna the SilkWing. Wanting to help using her visions, she continues to think about Luna and Pantala. Reading the SilkWing's mind about Moon telling her what might happen next and having grand ideas of the NightWing's powers, Moon sighs. Thinking that she's having a vision, Luna approaches the NightWing and asks why she's alone to which Moon responds saying that she likes gazing at the moons in which she says her full name is Moonwatcher. Luna tells her that her name means 'moon' in the old language.

Upon seeing Luna's flamesilk, Moon gets surprised and tells Luna about it to which the SilkWing shrugs. Luna then proceeds to ask about Clearsight's changing in the old language. Later she asks Moon if she's having a vision to which the NightWing declines much to Luna's disappointment. Moon apologizes and Luna answers saying she wants to return back to her sibling, Blue, and Moon states that Qibli would think of something to get her back. Sensing movement behind her, Moon grabs Luna's talons and speaks a prophecy to which silent falls.

Tsunami and Turtle arrive with Moon greeting them. Turtle says that his and Anemone's animus magic is broken. Tsunami later tells them all that all they've got to do to get to the lost continent is by swimming there.

Part One: The Glittering Hive

Cricket is in the cave dutifully standing by Blue's cocoon as she promised him. However, she starts to regret her choice to watch Blue's cocoon as she is now suffering from extreme boredom with no one to talk to and nothing to read. As she sits there, her mind wanders, and she has a flashback of her childhood. She recalls hiding in the cupboard with her mother's book titled, "The Architecture of the Hives, Expanded Edition-- now with sections on Hydroponics and Silk Bridges." Cricket was hiding in the cupboard with this book due to the fact that her mother didn't want Cricket touching her things. She is reading the book to find out if there are any shortcuts to get from the Cicada Hive to the Wasp Hive so she can see the Temple of Clearsight again. While she is reading, her mother enters the kitchen along with Katydid. Queen Wasp speaks through their mouths briefly, and Cricket is confused as to why Cadelle "sounds all wrong." Katydid and Cadelle exit the house and Cricket debates whether to follow them or not. Eventually, her curiosity takes control and she runs up to the balcony in her mother's office. The sight she sees beneath her shocks Cricket. All the HiveWings, both young and old, small and large, her friends and neighbors are all marching in unison, moving swiftly across the hive. Cricket notices that the eyes of the HiveWings are pure white. Cricket spots her own sister, Katydid, among the HiveWing mob.  The mind-controlled HiveWings surround an elderly HiveWing who is out of sync with the rest.  He is described to have dull scales and looked very old. His eyes flash white for a brief second, but the Queen cannot seem to grasp his mind. He is begging for mercy, but his pleas are futile. A group HiveWings proceed to escort him to Wasp Hive. Later that day, when her Katydid returns, Cricket asks her sister what happened to her and the other HiveWings. Katydid is worried and perplexed, is shocked when she realizes Cricket cannot be mind controlled. Cricket asks more questions about mind control and Katydid tells her that you just "suddenly want to do" whatever the queen is asking. Cricket objects and reminds Katydid that she was forced to drag away an elderly, crying dragon, and Katydid responds, "She is the queen, Cricket," and tells Cricket that she would never refuse the queen in real life. Cricket thinks otherwise, but she does not voice her opinion. Katydid agrees that they would not tell anyone Cricket's secret. Cricket after her flashback, recalls that the first thing they did together when they were in a new location was scout out a hiding place if the tribe was mind controlled. Cricket then recalls that Katydid was always the one to care for her, not her mother and father. It was Katydid that had noticed that Cricket's vision was poor and took her to the eye doctor to get her glasses. Cricket recalls wondering why her mother didn't like her and why her father didn't seem to care. Cricket snaps back into the present and focuses on how to solve her boredom. She amuses herself by imagining that she could read the 'Reading Monkey's' books. Cricket then laughs at herself and admits that her talons would be too big for the tiny book and the "Reading Monkeys" would have a different language.  She thinks about the four more agonizingly slow days she has to endure with nothing to read. Cricket considers leaving the cave, but she recalls the promise she made to Blue about when he started his Metamorphosis. She had sworn to be there when he came out of his cocoon with his new wings. Her thoughts then swoop to Sundew, Luna, and Swordtail. She hopes they were alright and wishes they would return. Suddenly the sound of talonsteps and the slither of a tail on the floor breaks her flow of thoughts and realizes someone else is in the caves.

The dragon turns out to be Sundew, and Cricket is delighted that she is there, though Sundew does not have the same feeling. Sundew drags an unconscious Swordtail in with her and when he wakes up, he admits that he could not find Luna. Swordtail is covered in seaweed at the moment and is trying to pull it off. Sundew explains she wants Blue to burn down the Hives with his flamesilk when he gets up, but Cricket doesn’t like the idea at all and they bicker for a while. Swordtail then takes Sundew’s side, which makes Cricket miserable. Then Sundew goes off to look for her parents, and Swordtail leaves to search for Luna, and Cricket is left alone.

Then the book time skips a little, and we are in the caves, watching Cricket get excited because she thinks Blue is about to come out. Soon after, Blue comes out of his cocoon and they catch him up. Cricket then shares a flashback of when her mother moved away. The group decides to go to Jewel Hive, where they can search for the Chrysalis and blend in easily, which involves some sparkly outfits (Not to Sundew’s pleasure). As they try to get in, Cricket pretends to be an arrogant, selfish HiveWing and sneaks past some guards by “gossiping” with another HiveWing. They find a note that leads them to the Library at midnight, a step closer to finding the Chrysalis. While waiting for midnight, Cricket takes the squad to one of her childish hiding spots, where she finds her sister, Katydid, sneaking into her mother’s house with Lady Scarab, and when Cricket speaks to her, she says that she has no time and the only thing she really says before she leaves is “Cadelle is not your mother. And Father is not your father, either.” Which sends Cricket’s decent world into a tizzy.

Part 2: A Trail of Silk

Cricket is trying to focus on what "5" meant on the note while she, Blue, Swordtail, and Sundew walked to the library. When they got there, the library doors were locked so they waited a bit to see if the Chrysalis would come. After waiting for some time, Cricket and the others were thinking that the Chrysalis wouldn't come. Cricket began inspecting the Clearsight statue outside of the library. She then noticed that the Clearsight statue had five spikes on the back of her head, and on the fifth spike, there was a key. She tested to see if the key could open the library doors, and it worked. While Cricket, Blue, Swordtail, and Sundew walked into the library. Sundew grumbled on how many trees were killed to make the library and the books. Cricket quickly replied that the book pages were mostly made of silk. Soon enough, they heard shouting coming from the second floor of the library. They quietly walked into a room with one large window and three Silkwings named Morpho, Tau, and Cinnabar arguing about someone named Argus. Swordtail introduced himself awkwardly after listening to them for a few minutes. Then, he talked about finding Luna and said he had other friends with them. When Blue stepped out of the shadows, all three Chrysalis Silkwings got excited and recognized him from the Wanted posters. Blue explained that a nice Hivewing named Cricket helped him escape, and motioned Cricket to come out. However, when the Chrysalis saw her, they screamed and hilariously covered their faces with pillows and blankets. Cricket tried to explain that she couldn't be mind controlled and she was a good Hivewing, but Morpho was still suspicious.

Finally, Sundew came out, with the Chrysalis Silkwings bulge-eyed and wide-mouthed, said that she had an army prepared for them to help their cause. After the Silkwings came over their shock and Sundew explained a few things, Morpho immediately said that he would ally with Sundew and the Leafwings to destroy the Hivewings. This shocked Tau, Cinnabar, Cricket, and Blue who didn't want to burn the Hives. Throughout the conversation, Cricket saw silver flashes coming through the window, but thought it was nothing. She turned to see what it was, and it was a reflection of the armor HiveWing soldiers wore. Suddenly Sundew shushed the dragons, and Cricket could hear a faint jingling as if someone was trying to find the right keys to unlock the library door. Sundew quickly asked Cricket if she had a hiding place in the library since Cricket always tried to find a place to hide while Queen Wasp was controlling the other HiveWings. Cricket led The Chrysalis and her friends to the first floor of the library, and was surprised that the Chrysalis trusted her enough to follow her. She showed the dragons book drops in which dragons put their returned books in. Tau and Cinnabar got into one, Swordtail and Morpho into another one, Blue and Cricket in the next, and Sundew hid alone in the last one. Just as Sundew shut all the doors of the book drops, the key clicked and the door opened. Queen Wasp was talking through the mind of one Hivewing soldier, but she didn't control the other ones. She told them to search every corner of the library. However, the HiveWing soldier couldn't find Cricket's friends and the Chrysalis. This angered Queen Wasp who knew she saw dragons in the library, and threatened to kill the soldiers and burn all the books in the library. Cricket was terrified and was thinking of turning herself in because she thought she wasn't as important as Blue or Sundew. Just when the HiveWing soldiers were about to start the fire, Tau and Cinnabar leaped out of their hiding places. Cinnabar made up a story on how she and Tau were hiding from Lady Jewel because she wanted the SilkWings to do their chores, but Tau and Cinnabar wanted to read books, so they sneaked into the library at night to read some books. Queen Wasp asked if anyone else was with them, and Tau lied by saying, "No one, your Majesty." Queen Wasp said she saw blue wings, and Cinnabar instantly replied that her cousin, Morpho, had come earlier to scold them. Queen Wasp was satisfied by this answer, and Cricket could hear talonsteps walking out of the library. However, Cricket decided to not come out yet. A few minutes later, a HiveWing soldier came back into the library and told Queen Wasp-controlled HiveWing that they think Lady Scarab was hiding a dragon. Queen Wasp said they should, "...pay Lady Scarab a visit," and with that, they left. Cricket immediately got out of her hiding spot, knowing that Queen Wasp was going to find Katydid, but Sundew said it was a really bad idea since Cricket would never make it in time. However, Cricket stubbornly replied that she was going anyway, so Blue volunteered to go with her, which made Sundew want to come, too. Swordtail and Morpho got out of their hiding place, and Morpho said he needed to go back home or his dad would worry. Sundew said that when he goes back home, he needs to tell everyone in the Jewel Hive Chrysalis (four of them didn't come to the meeting) to meet her at the farthest stall at the Glitterbazaar at noon.

When Sundew, Cricket, and Blue reached the street where Lady Scarab's mansion was, they could hear Queen Wasp ordering Lady Scarab to open the door. The trio tried to blend into a party near Lady Scarab's mansion while listening to what Queen Wasp was saying. Lady Scarab finally opened the door, but she looked angry. A few of the dragons in the party were thinking Lady Scarab would use her smelly HiveWing power, and edged away. Lady Scarab said that she didn't have the dragon Queen Wasp was looking for (Cricket). Cricket figured out that Lady Scarab couldn't be mind-controlled since she was putting up a fight. Lady Scarab still denied Wasp access to her house and the dragon she was keeping there. This angered Queen Wasp, and she now started controlling all the Hivewing's minds. Lady Scarab used her odor power, which was even more powerful and unbearable then the other times she used it. Katydid finally woke up and told Lady Scarab she didn't want to get her in trouble. Since Queen Wasp found out the identity of the dragon, she controlled Katydid's mind and marched her and her soldiers away. Cricket approached Scarab's mansion, and begged Lady Scarab to let her in. Scarab grumbled about Cricket, but let her in. Cricket told her that she had a few questions. First, Cricket asked if Scarab knew why she couldn't be mind-controlled. Surprisingly, Lady Scarab didn't know either, so Cricket said that she might be half Silkwing. However, Lady Scarab said that Cricket was wrong and told her that her real mother was Katydid. Her real father was actually Lady Scarab's secretary, Malachite, and told Cricket that Malachite gave her hope for the future with his brilliant ideas and talent. Unfortunately, Queen Wasp saw how Malachite made Lady Scarab happy, but the queen wanted to hurt Scarab in any way possible, so she forbid Malachite's marriage with the dragon he loved, Katydid. Soon enough, Queen Wasp mind-controlled Malachite, and Lady Scarab never saw him again. When Katydid was with egg, Lady Scarab helped her devise a plan. It took a lot of persuasion with Cadelle, but she finally gave in. Lady Scarab wrote on the birth certificate and other legal papers that Cadelle was Cricket's mother. Cricket feared that she would never see Katydid again, and Queen Wasp would do the same thing to Katydid as with Malachite. This angered Cricket, and she devised a plan. All she needed was to borrow one of Lady Scarab's paintbrushes...

Part 3: The Queen's Secrets

Cricket discussed her plan to Blue, Swordtail, and Sundew. She wanted them to write multiple copies of the last page of The Book of Clearsight. Even Sundew discouraged her, Cricket wanted to hang up the copies in the hive and tell the truth the HiveWings deserve to know. Cricket also decided that doing some graffiti art would be a great idea. She was almost done putting up all the posters and painting all over the place when she bumped into Cadelle. Cadelle was angry to see Cricket, and dragged Cricket into her house. Cricket tried to explain what she was doing in the Jewel Hive and explained the last page of The Book of Clearsight, but this made Cadelle want the book. Cricket tried to get past Cadelle, but out of nowhere, Cadelle's eyes turned white, and Queen Wasp spotted Cricket. Cricket tried to run from the mind-controlled HiveWings chasing after her, but there were too many. She was brought down by Cadelle and stung multiple times by another HiveWing. They drag Cricket into Lady Jewel's dungeon and lock her in a cell. Queen Wasp tells Cricket that she will be on her way to "fix her". Cricket woke up to see Lady Jewel and Lady Scarab arguing in front of her cell. Both Lady Jewel and Lady Scarab hate Queen Wasp because of what Cricket told them. Cricket asks Lady Jewel if she could be freed, but Lady Jewel said that Queen Wasp would punish her and her guards severely. Lady Scarab comes up with a plan about putting Lady Jewel's worst guards on duty and giving Cricket flamesilk to burn a hole on the top of her cell. The hole would be in the bottom of the kitchen, and she knew some dragons who would help Cricket. When Queen Wasp finds out, it would seem like Blue burned the hole, and if she punishes the guards, Lady Jewel wouldn't care because she hates those guards anyway. While Cricket was burning a hole in the roof, a SilkWing in a nearby cell ask if he could help Cricket escape somehow, and Cricket told him to say to Queen Wasp that he saw a dragon named Blue burn the hole. When Cricket finally made the hole, she was surprised to see that Cinnabar and Tau were there along with other SilkWings. Cinnabar and Tau led Cricket to a door that opened to the savannah. Tau walked up to a guard named Treehopper, and Cricket could see and he and Tau were in love. Tau led Treehopper out of his post, so Cricket could fly away. However, Cricket promised to find answers for Lady Jewel, and flew to the hatchery. Cricket tiptoed past the guards, and waited inside the hatchery for Queen Wasp. Cricket flew up to the rafters to hide and brought an orphaned egg with her. When Queen Wasp came, Cricket found out that Queen Wasp injected the eggs with her stinger. After she injected them, she put a marking on the egg. When Katydid put Cricket’s egg in the hatchery, not knowing that Queen Wasp traced marks to show that she injected each egg, she traced the marks herself making Queen Wasp think that Cricket was injected. Cricket flies through the storm outside, and bumps into Blue who shows her where their other friends were hiding: a stall in the Glitterbazaar. The next day, they went back to the cave to meet Sundew's parents, but they weren't there. The egg Cricket saved began to hatch at the worst time, and Cricket named the dragonet Bumblebee. Cricket found a green substance on the inside of the shell, and Sundew recognized the smell and said it came from a plant in Queen Wasp's greenhouse. Suddenly, Blue spots a column of smoke coming from the distance. The LeafWings were burning down BloodWorm Hive. This angered Sundew because her parents said that they would wait for her report. Cricket, Blue, Swordtail and Sundew journeyed to Wasp Hive. They managed to blend in even though they are wanted fugitives. Since Queen Wasp was more focused on Bloodworm Hive, they managed to burn down Queen Wasp's greenhouse. After that, the group decided to go to the Poison Jungle to meet the LeafWings.

Epilogue

Tsunami and Turtle go through a tiresome journey to reach Pantala. They land in the Poison Jungle and get saved from a large snake by a LeafWing. The LeafWing tells the SeaWings that her name is Willow, but afterward immediately tells Turtle and Tsunami to go back or they will get killed. Back on Pyrrhia, Luna asks Moon if she found a way to get to Pantala themselves. Moon says not to worry because the Pantalan dragons are coming to them.

Trivia

  • This is the first book to have a HiveWing PoV.
  • This book confirms the whereabouts of the LeafWings: The Poison Jungle.
  • This book also reveals Lady Jewel is Queen Wasp's cousin, and Lady Scarab is Queen Wasp's aunt.
  • This book is the shortest book in the series so far, having only 286 pages. (The line spacing in the book is also wider than other books.)
  • This book reveals that at least HiveWings are able to fold their wings, as Cricket does so when she takes Bumblebee's egg and dives down from the Nest
  • There is a Barnes & Noble exclusive edition with a foldout map of Pantala in the same style as the map of Pyrrhia that came with the Barnes & Noble exclusive edition of Darkstalker.
  • There was a Barnes & Noble promotion where a set of trading cards, one for each tribe and three with ads for the series, was free with the purchase of the book.[1]
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References

  1. ↑ In-Store Advertisement of Promotion
Wings of Fire books
First Arc The Dragonet Prophecy • The Lost Heir • The Hidden Kingdom • The Dark Secret • The Brightest Night
Second Arc Moon Rising • Winter Turning • Escaping Peril • Talons of Power • Darkness of Dragons
Third Arc The Lost Continent • The Hive Queen • The Poison Jungle • The Dangerous Gift • The Flames of Hope
Fourth Arc The Hybrid Prince
Legends Darkstalker • Dragonslayer
Winglets Prisoners • Assassin • Deserter • Runaway
Graphic Novels The Dragonet Prophecy • The Lost Heir • The Hidden Kingdom • The Dark Secret • The Brightest Night • Moon Rising • Winter Turning • Escaping Peril • Talons of Power • Darkstalker
Other A Winglets Collection • Winglets Flip Book • The Winglets Quartet • Forge Your Dragon World • Official Coloring Book • A Guide to the Dragon World • How to Draw • Official Stained Glass Art Book

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