Music is "Sorry" by Halsey.

Picture is Claudia Doumit as Sarai.

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Andrenidae Oxaeinae

An exclusively American subfamily, Andrenidae Oxaeinae are large, fast-flying bees with large eyes. They are best recognized by extremely low ocelli on their faces, a feature not shared by any other large bee. A. Ozaeinae also keeps a soupy mixture of pollen and nectar in their underground nests.

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Chapter Sixteen: Oxaeinae

I find Wanda exactly where I thought she'd be: in our dorm room. She looks up at me as I push through the door, a worried and confused expression on her face. I told her I'd be here, resting, not out and about wandering the earth.

"Where have you been?" she asks, rising from her bed. "I got out of class fifteen minutes ago, came back here, and you were gone."

I let the door shut behind me, leaning my back against it as my mind swirls with what's happened. I have to tell her; I know that. The how of it is getting to me. Do I really want to be the person who breaks her heart? She loves her uncle; I can tell that much. Rurik Maximoff is just about the only family Wanda has left. And now I have to be the one to tell her he's a liar, a witch, and a bad guy.

This isn't going to be fun.

I take a deep breath in and step forward, bringing my hands up to start signing. "Don't be mad at me--"

"--What did you do?"

My hands hesitate, but I eventually find the signals. "After the ritual, I didn't come here to rest like I said. I kinda...went to your uncle's building downtown..."

Wanda glances from my face to my hands, urging me on. "And...?"

"...And I broke in to his lab, the special projects lab." Wanda stares at me with a look of shock. I continue to sign an explanation before she can recover herself and start shouting at me. "I went there looking for answers. The thing that he showed us before I passed out, before I summoned the bees, that triggered everything. I felt this horror in my chest when I saw it, and I knew it was evil."

Wanda rolls her eyes and scoffs. "Sarai, my uncle isn't building something evil. You're just overreacting."

I shake my head fervently. "I'm not, I swear! I couldn't tell you why I knew it then, but now I can. Wanda, that thing is made with magic. My grandmother warned me about a male witch who has sketchy motives. At first, I didn't know who that was, but now I know it's your Uncle Max."

She gives a dry laugh and crosses her arms over her chest. There's pain and disappointment in her eyes, but she tries to hide it. "Uncle Max isn't a witch, and he sure isn't evil. He's helped me and Pietro more times than I can count. He's family, damn it."

An exasperated sigh pushes from my lungs, and I shake my head with brows furrowing. "He's lying to you, Wanda. He's been lying to everyone. When I got into that lab, I saw what he was building. What he's really building. It's a metal hive and metal bees fueled by magic, not solar or electric like he promised. He's using dark magic to create a new type of bee. I saw sigils and spells on his blueprints. He doesn't want to save the bees; he wants to replace them, and make a shit-ton of money while he's at it. He's an evil capitalist, pure and simple. I know you love him, but he's not a good person."

Wanda shakes her head, her hands trembling. Her eyes are turning red and angry, and her palms exude scarlet wisps. "You must be mistaken."

"You know I'm not. Melizza can back me up. She saw it, too."

Wanda turns to the little bee on my scarf and narrows her eyes. "Is this true?"

"The very truth," Melizza replies. "I would not lie, and neither would Sarai."

Wanda stares at Melizza for a little longer, then turns back to me. "Maybe you saw magic, but I don't believe for a second that Max is evil. Maybe he's a witch, but I'd know evil when I sense it. Max is anything but. Whatever magic he's using, I'm sure it's for good."

"Then why didn't he tell you?" I object. "His only family, his only niece: why would he lie to you, of all people?"

Wanda turns her back to me and throws her hands into the air out of frustration. "The hell if I know! If he's truly a witch, then he's probably scared out of his mind. We don't exactly have a good history of coming out of the broom-closet, you know. I never told him about me, so I can't expect him to tell me about him."

"Then how can you say you really know him?"

Wanda turns sharply back towards me, raising a finger in my direction. Her eyes are red once again, her anger flowing out in scarlet waves. "You don't know him like I do. Uncle Max would never do anything to hurt bees, or anyone. He wants to help people."

"Maybe he thinks he is," I reply, moving my hands like lightning. "Wanda, think about it. How many inventors have totally gone off their rockers trying to save the world? Sometimes the most dangerous people are those intent on doing good."

My roommate lets out a dry, sour laugh and glares tearful eyes at me. "You have a lot of nerve, Sarai Rizkallah. First, you break into my uncle's lab, then you accuse him of using dark magic to kill off the bees, then you actually have the audacity to tell me I don't know him. My only family, the man who's like a second father to me, and you want me to...what, exactly? Help you destroy his project?" She shakes her head. "I won't do it. How could you even ask?"

"I thought you could see reason--"

"--You're the one not seeing reason!" she shouts, raising her voice to a volume I've never heard from her before. "What proof do you actually have? You saw blueprints with sigils on them. Did you actually recognize them as dark magic? You don't know magic as I do; you don't know what's evil and what's good."

I reach forward, grasping her shoulders to get her attention. Then I move my hands back to signing. "This isn't just about you and me and Max, Wanda. This is about the future of the world. If he kills off bees, then humanity will not survive. I know that, you know that. Everyone does. Even if there's the slightest chance that Max has gone bad, don't we owe it to Melizza and the other bees to check it out?"

I reach for her hand with one of mine, using the other to plead with her. "Come with me. Come with me to the lab. I can show you what I saw. If I'm right, then we can save the world. You and me, Wanda. We can save the world."

"And if you're wrong?" she asks, keeping here eyes away from mine. Her voice is softer now, sorrowful.

I swallow dryly, knowing what I have to say. "If I'm wrong, then all I can do is hope you're an easy forgiver." I twist my fingers through Wanda's, but she pulls her hand away. I know I'm losing her, but I can't go back now. "I won't apologize for telling you the truth, Wanda. This is about more than just me now. I can't just turn away from the problem. I'm a part of Melizza's world now. I owe them protection. No one else is doing anything."

"It's too high a price," she mutters, a tear falling down her cheek. "Sarai, I...can't lose Max. I can't. I won't survive it. Pietro is just about gone; he's all I have left in the world. I thought I was going to have you, too, but now..." She trails off, and the pit in my stomach just keeps growing. "Do what you have to, but I don't believe he's evil. He couldn't be, and I won't play a part in tearing him down." She finally looks up at me, more sad than angry now. "You're wrong about him. He's a good man. He might be lying, he might be eccentric, but he's no killer. You'll see, sooner or later, but I won't be here for that."

As she turns for the door, grabbing her bag on the way out, tears prick my eyes. I reach out for her, barely touching her hand with mine. "Don't go," I sign, forcing the tears away in order to appear strong.

Wanda pulls away, seeming to use all the strength she has to do so. She wipes her eyes with her cardigan's sleeve. "I need time. I don't know when I'll be back."

As she leaves, I allow my heart to break. What she said about having me was true, just as I thought I had her. I think we were meant to be more than friends. We've felt that over the past month together. Beyond the flirting and the school work and the project we poured ourselves into, we truly wanted to spend every waking moment together. I feel as if Wanda is more than a friend; she's part of me.

Did I just screw all of that up?

I think I did, and now I want to break in half without her.

END CHAPTER SIXTEEN.