Summary

In Chapter 30, the hive quickly adjusts to the absence of the drones. When word comes that the Queen has ceased laying her male eggs, the bees are certain that winter is coming. Many bees die from the cold, and Flora is forced to forage. The Sage are absent for a day, and then appear en masse, polished and beautiful, chanting as they walk the halls of the hive. That evening, they serve dinner to the other bees, an unprecedented event. They give each bee a large portion of honey, and then they warn the hive that the Cluster is coming. The bees enter the Treasury, where the Queen awaits, and form concentric circles around her and her ladies. The Hive Mind commands the bees to open their antennae and sleep. Flora is still, but keeps her mind closed. The air cools, but the...