The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

My mouth snapped closed with a click as soon as the words left my lips. That. Did not. Just leave my mouth. Silence hovered thickly over the entire area, the only thing that could be heard was my screamed words echoing off the rock walls. Raw embarrassment smothered my anger and caused my cheeks to turn icy for a second. I could only stare right back into his slowly widening eyes as my entire body turned to stone. Blanking my expression, I felt one of my eyes twitch at the ever growing look of understanding coming over his usually inexpressive face.

“Macha-”

“I don’t care.”

He took a small step forward, “Macha, I didn’t-”

“I said, I don’t care.” I replied, feeling my embarrassment turn into anger from being embarrassed. Everyone heard that.

The bridge shook underneath us again and that deep female voice interrupted again, “Did you come here just to have your little domestic dispute or did you come for some other reason, Crit-”

Twisting the battle axes in my hands, I spun around and buried the sharp blades directly into the side of her thick thigh. The fragile bridge jerked harshly as she fell to one knee and released a roar of pain. Flipping the hovering metal to point at the Troll, I stared down into her furious brown eyes. Keeping my expression neutral, I yanked the axes from her flesh and didn’t blink when a few droplets of blood hit my clothing.

Smiling politely as she released another agonized roar, I began whipping the bloody blades on her tan tunic. Holding eye contact, I gave her a fake smile and pitched my voice to sound cheery, “I swear to all the Divines above. If you call me a critter one more time, I’m going to hack into that tree trunk you call a neck and rip your vocal cords right out with my bare hands.”

The woman glared but otherwise kept her mouth shut. Perfect.

Tossing the axes over my shoulders, I dusted my hands on my thighs and offered her one. “Now that we understand each other, let me help you up. That looks like it hurts. You really should be more careful these days, some Fae are just lunatics.”

“Yea,” She growled, while slipping her meaty paw into my hand. “I’m starting to see that.”

Bracing my feet and tensing my arm, I helped the thickly muscled woman to her feet. My lips twitched in humor as she took a few steps back to look at me without hurting her neck. The female’s head barely reached my chest but she looked like she could snap me in half with her pinky finger. Short and muscle bound the Trolls were but they made up for it with their architectural intelligence. Proven by the mere fact that this bridge was still holding up underneath the weight of three of them.

With the sun now high in the sky, I squinted to see them better beneath it’s bright glare. The woman in front of me wasn’t Caoimhe but the female behind her was. Brown hair piled high up on the top of her head, she crossed her tan arms and mumbled something incoherent to the male at her side. There really was no polite way to describe male Trolls, they all looked like short walking walls. At least underneath all those muscles the women had some shape. But the males...yeahhhh.

“Caoimhe! Long time no see!” I called out to her with a friendly grin.

Brown eyes rolled as she took heavy steps towards the rest of us, “I told you not to interfere, Sadhbh. The blue one is strange, not like the rest of her kind.”

Pressing a hand to my heart, I gave her a pout, “Aww, thanks. I thought everyone would be pissed when I show’d up.”

“Oh, we were. Very pissed. But then I caught a glimpse of your face during your domestic fight and changed my orders. Besides, it’s a very aggressive time in Tir Na Nog. We’ve had to resort to asking questions before attacking Fae now.” She responded, coming to a stop behind Sadhbh.

Before I could tell her what all her compliments were doing to my ego. Sadhbh interrupted, “I’m confused. Weren’t you just in a full on rage a few seconds ago?”

“Correct.” I nodded.

She blinked rapidly, “So, you guys made up?”

“No yet.” A smooth voice interjected into the conversation just as I spat, “Don’t be disgusting.”

The female furrowed her brows but Coaimhe placed a hand on her shoulder, “What kind of favor are you calling in, Macha? And could you put your weapons away?”

Opps. Immediately, the blue metal reformed into my twin swords and slid into the sheath on my back. “I want a meeting with your Clan King.”

Stray hairs sprung free from her bun as she vigorously shook her head, “The Trolls will not get involved in Fae wars. We want no part in your power struggle with Mab.”

“If you honestly believe Mab won’t pull you into the war at some point, you’re all dumber than a pile of Kelpie shit.”

The Trolls instantly took offense at the insult. Broadening their shoulders and fisting their hands as they bared their flat teeth at me with low growls.

Taken by surprise, I stumbled forward as something slammed into my back only to be yanked backwards by my elbow. Jerking again when my back hit a solid chest and then already knowing who it was, I drove my free elbow into his gut. A soft grunt above my ear was the only reward I received for my efforts.

Yanking my elbow from his grip, I snarled lowly, “Stop. Touching. Me.”

“You didn’t seem to mind earlier.” He murmured back.

“Congratulations,” I snapped. “I’d rather have you touch me than get lost for an indeterminable amount of time in the abyss of travel. Must be a huge ego boost for you.”

Cillian huffed, his chest brushing up against my back, “Coming from you? Definitely.”

“Um, excuse me?”

Focusing back on the women in front of us, I took in their bewildered expressions.

“Would you two like to come back after you’ve sorted out whatever messed up situation you’ve got going on?” Coaimhe snapped. “Our time is not to be wasted, Critters.”

Ooooooo, I thought while feeling my eye twitch again. I’ll let her have it because I didn’t directly threaten her.

“No. She told you what she wanted, now fulfill your portion of the deal.” Cillian replied.

Coaimhe glared up over my shoulder and seemed to bite her tongue at the last minute when the male behind her murmured something in her ear.

I don’t think I ever realized how much they whispered to each other.

When it continued for longer than was polite, I huffed, “Yeah but we’re the rude ones.”

“Call us Critters but they’re the ones doing all the chittering.”

An unexpected snort of laughter escaped my nose at his bone dry tone which I quickly smothered underneath my hand. Midway through my muffled laughter my eyes caught Sadhbh’s brown orbs shooting between me and Cillian before she placed a hand to her forehead. Yea, you and me both.

My rage at Cillian was considerably less then it was in the moments before I...said what I said. I think I was still in shock by what I revealed to him and myself. It was strange to think that I had smashed everything he’d ever done to me underneath one big banner of betrayal. Now that I was finally being honest with myself, I guess I could admit a few more things. My anger at him almost killing me wasn’t actually anger so much as pettiness. But thinking that I could get over it after stabbing him with iron was too childish to allow myself to think. Until now.

“Macha.”

The whole prison stint was a very tricky situation because if looked at it from an outsiders point of view, he was innocent of one important thing. The torture was completely on Fearghas and Mab if what he said about not knowing was true. But him putting me in Slykhelm was the damning reason why I had those experiences at all. My nightmares and other issues might not be entirely his fault but they are a direct result of his decision. He made the choice to betray me. He made the decision to send me to Slykhelm.

“Macha.”

Ahhh, anger. I almost missed you old friend.

“Macha.”

Shaking my head, I watched the blue strands fly around my vision before focusing on the expectant Trolls. “You said something, babes?”

“I can get you a meeting with the Clan King but there’s a trial you’ll have to pass before he’ll speak to you.” Caoimhe stated smugly.

I shrugged, “There always is with Trolls.”

Her brown eyes narrowed at me but instead of rising to the bait, she turned around and began lumbering back the way she came. Sabhbh gave us a nod to follow and then trekked after Coaimhe making me eye the roped railings as they went.

Turning to the side slightly, I met Cillians gaze, “Tell the others to follow.”

Without a word, he leaned over to the left and revealed the rest of our group standing right behind him with various expressions.

Despite the obvious questions on their faces, I just said,“Stay silent.”

Without waiting for their replies, I began to carefully pick my way across the fragile bridge behind the Trolls. Creaking wood sounded out behind me as the rest of my group followed my lead. Hands skimming over the moss covered ropes, I momentarily lost myself in the sensation it created brushing against my calloused palms.

What felt like only seconds later, I was stepping onto the solid ground of the other side of the crevice. Moving to stand on the edge, I watched as the rest of my people left the bridge to come stand beside me. Cillian, unfortunately, stopped on my left while Erick took a position on my right. They were practically sandwiching me between them and it wasn’t the tiniest bit enjoyable.

A voice that resembled an avalanche informed us, “Because none of you are Seelie, we will carry you down one at a time.”

Down? As in underground? Surround by miles and miles of hard packed rock? With Trolls crawling all over the place making escape impossible?

The second my breathing picked up speed, I pressed my fingertips into the sides of my thighs to distract myself. However when I started to hum, Cillian shifted until his shoulder partially blocked me from their view. Calm down, Macha. You’ve been doing so good, you can do this. Earth bends to your will. There is absolutely no way you can be trapped down there. And the Trolls? Pah! You’ve taken on five of them at a time before, a Clans nothing to you. Don’t be a little a bitch about it. Don’t do this in front of your soldiers, Macha. Pull yourself together now!

“Why can’t we have the meeting above ground?” Cillian asked, the tone of his voice could’ve frosted the lava pits of Boru.

The same avalanche-like voice responded, “The Clan King doesn’t come above ground anymore.”

“Is there a problem?” Sadhbh questioned.

Pushing my fear deep down somewhere dark, I plastered a smile on my face and followed my inner bully’s instructions. Nudging Cillian’s arm until he moved back to my side so I could step forward, I replied, “No. And we won’t be needing your help getting down either.”

With a soft whisper and little urging, the ground surrounding my group began to crack. Bracing my feet, I ignored the Fae panicking behind me and urged the chunk of earth to move. One moment we were standing on the edge of the crevice and the next we were hovering on a good sized chunk of rock over nothing but air.

Smiling at the shocked Trolls, I shot them a cheeky wink, “Last one to the bottom is a Gnome.”

Giving my fingers a little twist, the ground holding us up began to descend causing a few of my seasoned soldiers to squeak. Wanting to get this over with as soon as possible, I dropped us into the darkness below as fast as I was willing to risk it. The sun rays that abandoned us to the darkness were replaced by the torches lining the rough walls. Torches that gave us a view of the architectural wonder that was the rock city below us. Trolls on the spiraling roads that led from one part of the city to another looked up at us as we came down.

I stopped us around fifty feet above the city as some of the Trolls wore expressions that made it clear what they thought of us being in their city. Like the ones that greeted us, the Trolls outfits were one solid tan color that matched everything else around them. I did spot some glass in a few windows but otherwise everything here was tan and made of rock. Even their hair, eyes, and skin were various shades of brown.

When someone cleared their throat obnoxiously loud from behind, I twisted at the waist to glare. However, I started to laugh at the colorful wind ruffled hair of my group. Especially Dani’s since it was almost completely straight up in the air. Pink eyes grew tiny from the squinted look of rage she shot at me.

“What?”

Her head tilted at the question and when the pink curls didn’t even fall over another round of laughter left me. “Dismissing the fact that you’ve ruined my hair, since when in the ever loving fuck can you bend the earth to your will?”

“Oh, that. Yea, I don’t really remember so let’s just say since forever.” I shrugged.

“But how? That’s an ability that only the Seelie can do.” Erick pitched in sounding appropriately shocked.

Patting my hair, because if they looked like that then what did I look like?, I replied, “I don’t know. It’s just something that I can do.”

“I thought you could only bend metal to your will.” Cillian rumbled.

“Uh, no. Metal, Earth, Fire and Water are all mine to command. Although, I don’t count water because that fickle bitch will not work with or for me.”

A wide range of colored eyes looked at me in a shock with jaws loosened enough to hit their chests. Well all of them but Cillian as the only indication he gave that he was shocked was the slight widening of his silver eyes. Feeling a strain starting up in one of my back muscles, I twisted back around and stared out over the torch lit city. And just when the silence was beginning to get uncomfortable, the sounds of rock bouncing off rock scraped against my ears.

Turning my head to the right, I looked at the Trolls coming to a stop on the side of the cavern wall beside us. Caoimhe gripped the wall with one hand and leg while leaning back to look at us. Brown eyes zeroed in on mine and she pointed off it to the distance, “Follow us to that building for your trial.”

Nodding, I waited as they shifted to grip the wall horizontally before urging the rock underneath our feet to trail slowly after them. On our slow hovering journey around the outskirts of the city to the rock building she pointed to, more and more Trolls ventured out onto the roads. Grinning, I waved at a group of males hanging onto the bottom of a bridge by their feet. And I only smiled wider when they responded with their raised middle fingers.

“Don’t antagonize the Trolls, My Queen.”

Rolling my eyes at Erick’s comment, I continued to smile and wave at all the Trolls doing something interesting as we passed them. What seemed to be a daycare held my attention the most since it wasn’t everyday that you saw beefy babies roll boulders back and forth. Even when they left our view the thoughts of what else the little buff babies could do filled my head. Were they strong enough to lift a tree? Could they crush those boulders yet? Climb? Did Troll babies climb before they walked? Or did they walk before they climbed? Why have I never asked anyone that before?

Seeing the Trolls drop down into the roof of a wide rectangular stone palace. I slowed us down until I saw that there was a section of the roof missing where they dropped into. Coaimhe and Sadhbh motioned for us to come down from their standing positions on the stone floor. Flicking my fingers, I lowered us cautiously into the hole of the building. The minute our heads were officially inside, my skin began to tighten at the feeling of being closed in. My heart battered harshly against my chest as I took in the tan interior and felt the walls start to close in.

The fear of being trapped increased at the brush of bodies against my back and sides. Orange light splashed against the tan walls from the torches lining the inside of the large room. With every blink the room flashed between reality and a small concrete cell with a blue haired woman huddled in the corner. Forcing myself to take even breaths, I held completely still as we hit the ground.

Closing my eyes, I opened them on a deep breath. The rattling of the chains grew closer to me as they were dragged over the concrete. Fisting my hands, I closed my eyes in a slow blink before opening them once more. Blood splattered silver tattooed skin, raw wrists, flashing bright red lights. Another deep shuddering breath and this time I hoped I would see reality when my eyelids slid apart. A bloody grin reflected in bulging brown eyes, a scalpel running down a squirming pale chest, laughter, screaming alarms.

A rough hand jerked my arm and pulled me forward, “Let’s go, My Queen.”

Stumbling off the slab of rock we rode here on, I blinked rapidly as reality began to set in around me. Catching sight of the group of Trolls watching our every move, I got my feet underneath me and shoved Cillians grip off me for the millionth time today. Tilting my head up, I gave him a glare out of the corner of my eye that he steadily ignored. The rest of my group filled in the spaces behind me as I led the way up to the waiting Clan King.

Gnarled hands clutched the sides of his stone throne while his cane rested against the side for whenever he gathered the effort to stand. His face was a shocking display of creases and folds that somehow worked with the rest of his sagging body. I knew I was old but to be Faekind and actually have wrinkles? The male had to be older than the human world for him to look this severely aged.

Beady little light brown eyes peeked out underneath bushy brows that threaten to blind the old man. Despite the aging that he’s obviously undergone, he was still thickly built like the rest of his kind. Although, the muscles he once had have long since become a loose layer of skin draped over his hunched form. The Clan King’s head swiveled down a little to look at us more clearly from his high seated position.

The moment we came to a stop at the bottom of the stairs leading to his throne, Caoimhe bent over to whisper in his ear. Barely resisting the urge to scoff, I stood with my shoulders back and my head held high in the standard smug monarch-y way.

The faint sound of sandpaper rubbing against itself filled the room as the old King whispered back to her. A slit in his face that I was fifty percent sure was his mouth seemed to barely move but Caoimhe’s eyes lit up just the same. A evil little grin made its way across her face as her eyes slid over to me and stayed there. Without replying to the old man, she stood to her full five five height and took a few steps to stand in view of everyone.

“Open the pit.” Her words weren’t shouted or spoken menacingly but the atmosphere in the room changed just the same.

Trolls on either side of the throne, traveled down off the raised platform to calmly walk past us. Keeping my eyes on the old man in the chair, I felt the others turn slowly to watch what the Trolls were doing. It wasn’t long before the grating of rock over rock echoed out over the room. The Clan King’s light brown eyes never left mine while his minions worked behind me.

When the grating stopped, Caoimhe spoke again, “The Clan King has decided your trial. You must face those you have wronged in the pit. Defeat them non-leathly and he will speak with you after.”

“How big is that pit?” I asked dryly. “Because you’re looking aaaaattt give or take... a thousand or so.”

The smile on Caoimhe’s face dimmed, “Just those of the Clan that you’ve wronged.”

It took me a moment but when I finally understood, I groaned loudly, “You said you weren’t mad about that.”

“I never said I wasn’t mad!”

“You said you changed your mind when we were above ground.”

Her brows drew together as she roared, “Not about this!”

“Again, you told me to find out if they were telling you the truth about their love. So, I did.” I said, pointing a finger at her.

This time her shout shook the walls, “I never said to torture them!”

“Well, you didn’t say not to.” I snapped back. And then because I could feel his annoyance, I spun on Cillian and hissed, “Stop.”

He raised a silver brow, “I didn’t say anything.”

“You didn’t have too. I could feel it.” I bit at him.

Not appreciating the odd look he tossed my way, I whirled back around to face Caoimhe, “Fine. Knock out dumb and dumber in the pit. Got it.”

“But there’s a catch,” She said after a few deep breaths. “Our Clan King wants to see how far you’ll go to protect your people….even the ones you hate.”

And just like that...my gut dropped to my ass. Son of a bitch!

Faster that anyone would have thought possible, a meaty fist slammed into the top of Cillian’s fathead. To everyone’s surprise though, the silver eyed male just shook his head before stumbling towards the Troll. Having the advantage, the Troll stepped to the side and then jumped a little to give the top of Cillians head another love tap. This time the male dropped to the floor like a six foot six sack of bricks. Grabbing an arm and a leg, the same Troll spun around three times before flinging the dumbass into the pit head first.

Chucking at a sharp cracking sound, I half turned to Coaimhe, “Let me guess, I have to knock out both Trolls before they kill him.”

The smug bitch just nodded.

“How very original.” I sneered.

Grumbling underneath my breath, I gave her my back and made way to the huge hole in the ground. Pulling my swords over my shoulders, I held them vertically one over the other and melded them into one large training staff. The pole was thick with rounded tips that wouldn’t do anything more than break a few bones. Trolls lined the edges of the pit, blocking my view of anything or anyone already inside of it. But when they began to roar in excitement and stomp around, I knew I’d better haul ass.

I was a few strides away from the pit when I watched two large lumps launch over the crowd and downwards into the pit. Fuck. Sprinting across the last few feet, I hunched my shoulders and shoved the others out of my way. Coming to the edge, I sped up before slamming the staff into the ground and propelling myself into the pit. Keeping my legs straight, it was by sheer luck that my booted feet slammed into the face of the Troll closest to Cillian.

The Troll went tumbling back as I dropped straight down onto Cillian’s prone body. Laughing a little, I popped back up onto my feet and twirled the staff while keeping my eyes trained on the Trolls in front of me. This was going to be one intense game of keep away. Adrenaline was already starting to pump its way through my veins followed closely by excitement. Bouncing my eyes between the two, I licked my lips with a smirk as the male to the left started to become impatient.

“So, who’s who again? I don’t actually remember.” I purred to the males.

Like I thought, the one on the left charged me like a bull. Bracing my feet, I flung the staff directly at the right ones head before urging the rock to surge up. A two foot wall sprung up in the left one’s way which he immediately tripped over. And soon as the staff slapped back into my hand, I drove it into the side of his head in a swing that would’ve made Babe Ruth proud. The Troll gave a painful grunt before his head slammed into the ground.

Feeling the rock tremble, I spun around to face the last Troll with the long end of the staff pressed up against my back. Recognition sparked when I stared at him, it was the same male who had been with us the whole time. Mr. Avalanche voice. A deep hatred sparkled in his brown eyes as he shifted foot to foot.

“Careful now, you’ll make a girl blush looking at her like that.” I giggled pressing a hand to my cheek.

He grunted deeply before stomping one foot into the ground and causing the rock beneath my feet to crack.

Sighing, I tilted my head in question, “You’re not going to go down easy like your friend, are you?”

The Troll squatted low and dug his bare hands into the ground to pull away with a good sized chunk of earth.

“Good,” I grinned widely. “One minute guys are always a bummer.”

With a roar, he broke the rock in half and then slung a piece of it at my head. Using the staff, I batted the chunk away and sprinted to the nearest wall. Planting a foot against the rock like a spring board, I threw myself in the path of his next throw. Dropping my staff and catching it between my hands, I tucked it into my chest and rolled across the pit. The male roared in anger again and ran towards Cillian’s unprotected body.

Whispering to the rock, I smiled as it slid over my fists and then nudged the ground beneath me to move. Gliding over the distance like a figure skater, I reached them just as Cillian’s eyes started to move. Squatting a little, I twisted my torso underneath the Trolls outstretched arm and slammed my rock cover fist into his gut. As soon as his body started to curl inwards, I straightened up and sent a right hook to his chin. His meaty body flew back before slamming into the ground hard enough to shake the pit.

Frowning when he didn’t get back up, I glided over to him and kicked at his side, “Hey.”

The male didn’t so much as groan.

“Seriously? Come on, get up.” I called my staff back to me and poked at his head, “I should not be able to take you guys down this fast. I mean this is just embarrassing. For you though, not me.”

“What the hell happened?” Cillian moaned.

Looking over at him, I watched as he pushed himself up onto his elbows, “About time, Sleeping Ugly.”

Rubbing at his head, he squinted, “It’s Sleeping Beauty.”

“So you remember that, but not how you got your head bashed in like a little bitch?”

He looked about ready to snarl at me when his eyes suddenly shot wide open, “Watch out!”

I snapped my eyes back to the Troll just in time to watch him slam a rock into my left hip. FUCK. A muffled pop coming from my hip sounded in the air moments before the pain and fury hit me. Pure agony spread in a burning heat around my hip and the upper of my leg. Slamming the staff into the ground, I leaned against it while gritting my teeth to keep from crying out. With an ungodly amount of pain filled rage, I waited until the Troll got back up onto his feet.

Distantly, I could hear Cillian calling out to me as he scrambled to his feet. Without having to ask, the ground around the Trolls feet wrapped itself all the way up to his calves. Roaring, the Troll struggled to break the rock covering his feet but for every piece he broke off more rock replaced it. Eye twitching, I gripped my staff tightly and used it to drag myself over to him. When I came to a stop in front of him, he glared and swung his arms in my direction.

“That,” I grinned around gritted teeth, “Was a very very dirty trick.” Shifting so most of my weight was on my right leg, I gripped the staff with both hands. “Now, let me show you how I play dirty tricks.” Twisting a little on my back foot, I swung the staff right up between his legs. “I’m really really tired-” Swing. “Of people trying me like-” Swing. “I’m not that bitch, that’ll kill your entire family line for pissing me off.” Swing.

With a skull rattling shake, the Troll gave a small squeak before his eyes rolled to the back of his head and then toppled over. Huffing out a breath, I pushed a wayward strand of blue hair behind my ear and looked around the pit. The Trolls lining the edges of the pit look down upon their recently fallen brethren with pale faces and empathic gazes. Sneering up at them, I hopped around slightly to find Cillian and another Troll staring at the other male with their hands over their crotch.

“Cillian, lets go.” I barked, holding onto the staff tightly to stay standing.

His feet were moving before his eyes even met mine, “Coming.”

The moment his feet hit the ground beside mine, I had us in the air and soaring over the crowd towards the old man’s throne. My white knuckle grip on the staff didn’t lessen up the entire time and probably wouldn’t for a good while. A Divines damned hip injury. A Divines damned HIP INJURY! This shit was going to take a whole SIX HOURS until it healed. I was practically foaming at the mouth when we landed and I caught Cillian leaning away from me.

“If I didn’t kill you earlier and I didn’t let you get killed a while ago, then I’m not going to kill you now.” I snapped.

Not giving him a chance to respond, I grinded my teeth together and urged the ground to slide me towards the old man. The Trolls around him gave me a wide berth but still stuck as close as possible to the Clan King’s side. Glaring up at his sagging face, I slid up the stairs until I was two steps below him. My mouth had barely opened up to hand him his old scraggly ass when he beat me to it.

“You’re young, abrasive, overconfident, risky, foul-mouthed, short-tempered, a woman, undiplomatic-”

“Okay, Father Time. You can shove your outdated ideals right up your-”

“But,” He lifted a crinkly finger an inch off his arm rest. “You also didn’t hesitate to protect the young male you were threatening to kill over an hour ago. You poked and prodded at your enemy but you didn’t attack first. You have an impressive amount of control over your more intense emotions. From everything I’ve been told about you, I truly believe you can win the war against Mab. You really are the one they foretold. Unfortunately-”

“Just tell me what you want in return for siding with us in the war. I don’t have the patience for the whole song and dance routine. It’s been a very long day.” I spat, waving a stiff hand around.

The torch light gave his wrinkly small grin a creepy effect, “It’ll be tough convincing my Clan to take part in your Fae war but it can be done with...certain assurances.”

“I’m sure. And those would be?”

“In return for our help, we demand in the new Tir Na Nog that Troll hunting be abolished and punishable by death. We will abide by your reign but demand a seat on your council to ensure that the Troll’s voice will always be heard.”

I scrunched my face up slightly, “I can only promise to abolish Troll hunting in my kingdom not the entire realm. And I will only declare it, if the Trolls stop the Fae killings. I will also promise the Trolls a seat on my council but you have to speak with the other Clans. Get as many as you can on our side and then pick between yourselves who will become my councilman or woman.”

“You want me to tell the other Clan’s to join your war and not to kill anymore Fae?” He asked, incredulous.

Shrugging, I remarked, “Except for enemy Fae, of course.”

“Do you know who I am, young female?”

“It’s young Queen,” I corrected. “And no, Father Time. You haven’t gotten around to telling me your name.”

His bushy brows furrowed, blinding him momentarily, “I am Clan King Fionn, an elder amongst all Clans and the Fae Eater of the East.”

“Uh, Okay.”

“Okay?”

“Look, my hip is killing me and I’m trying to be patient but I really don’t give two shits about who you used to be. I only care about who you’re going to be, a possible ally that will further your kinds relations with the Fae or an enemy that I’m going to have to destroy. And,” I gave a painful laugh. “I got to tell you with the way my hip is throbbing…I’m really hoping you’ll say no. So, I can come back here and listen to your Clan scream in terror as I cave the roof in on all of you.”

Like everything this man did, a slow smile spread over his features, “I never did like the Fae and I’ll miss eating your kind but there’s something refreshing about your candor attitude. You have yourself a deal, Queen Macha.”

A wicked grin spit my face as I purred despite the pain, “Marvelous, Fionn. Marvelous.”

——

So again, a lot went down in this chapter! Poor Macha just keeps getting emotionally body slammed every other chapter, lol. I am very curious to know your thoughts on Cillian this far though. I feel like many of you are on the fence about liking him or not.

Like always, feel free to comment on something you enjoyed about the chapter or how you feel about Macha’s journey so far! You guys never fail to motivate me to continue with the book even when I feel like absolutely nothing about it makes sense, lol.

Smooches, Verbage💋