A Different Kind of Prey Ch 8

Queen, why are we fighting?
It froze me in my place and I had to look at what he was doing. Grid, if we don't fight it'd kill us.
It's a she.
Fine then, she'd kill us. I said. It was when his head drooped slightly that I realized that he would see my will to survive as harshness to him that I hadn't exhibited before.
She's a queen, too.
This only confirmed my earlier assumption that this one was different. Still I had to make Grid understand that this is something that needed to be done; something that help us get on with our own lives.
Choosing my words carefully, I turned to face him. If that's the case, then I have to fight her. In this case, you can't have split loyalties, and we'd be bound to clash.
He seemed to get the message, enough to let me go anyway, but I doubted that he'd be willing to help me in this battle. Ignoring the thought of being alone, I snuck up behind the queen. Unexpectedly, she whipped around and struck my shoulder, nearly severing it in the process. The cut was deep, but with enough glamour, I could stop the bleeding, and I could certainly keep fighting. As she pulled back, I lashed out with burning tendrils of the whip. It hit her arm which was raised to protect herself, but it also wrapped around it to hit the face and crest.
This time her flesh continued burning after I withdrew my weapon.
The smell filled the air; rotted and ancient.
While I had distracted the queen, Lex had used the chains, which attached to its neck and arms, as a pulley to throw the beast into the water. She pulled attempting to draw it into the icy depth, but she couldn't do it. It was then that Celtic and the other Yautja started to pull and the Queen eventually started to be drawn back. My stance relaxed for a moment as the ice under her broke and she tumbled down into the dark ocean. Her mental shrieks got quieter and quieter, until they eventually vanished.
She was dead.
It was over.
We were alive, but what would that mean for the others?
I rushed over to them and found that Lex was panting, but still smiling. Grid was off to the side, emitting a small smile, just for me. Celtic was clicking to the other Yautja. Despite how the gestures he used were small, I was almost positive that they were talking about the two of us. In unison they turned to face us, and traced the small marks that they made on our cheeks. Behind them, something shimmered into existence.
At first, I thought that it was the scenery that was swimming out of focus, but after a moment hundreds of Yautja were congregated on the frozen ground. I was surprised, to say the least, that I hadn't noticed any fluctuation in the levels of emotion.
One stepped forward and presented the five of us with an old spear. It was ornamented in was looked like skull fragments and feathers. Celtic and the other Yautja had taken a hold of the spear, and it wasn't until I was nudged that I did the same. Lex was the last to grip it, but when she did, present Yautja burst into roars. It was confusing, but sounded like they were enjoying themselves, and in that atmosphere it's hard to stay to objective. We were pushed into one of the ships by the buzzing crowd, and I took one final look back at a world I had considered my playground.
It was cold, barren, and now lifeless.
It seemed like quiet the contrast to the strange group I've come to think of as my own. The one I've come to love more than my family.