---
Sha shook her head. "No, my Queen. Sir Kai has not come back yet. He must be scouting the eastern route— mapping it alone."
Vel cocked her head. "Where's that naughty rabbit then? I haven't seen her since afternoon."
"I saw her an hour ago," Naaro replied thoughtfully. "She was holding leaves. Very large ones. Making strange faces. Like she was…" Naaro made a weird blinking gesture with her fingers. "...practicing something."
Sha's antennae twitched. "Before I entered the meeting chamber, I saw her near the guest quarters. Near Sir Kai's chamber."
The three of them froze. Their compound eyes blinked once. Then twice. A single thought struck them all at the same time: "Oh no."
Akayoroi tilted her head. "You think she's planning something indecent?"
The three ants jolted upright in perfect synchrony. But before they could speak—
The Queen's voice softened.
