The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

Hovering at the edge of sleep and consciousness, I tried to ignore the growing headache pounding at my temples. Sighing, I shoved my head deeper into the soft pillow and pulled the furs higher up on my neck. Swaddled in a cocoon of warmth and heat, I felt my body melt into a dead weight against the mattress. And right as I was about to fall back into a dreamless sleep, I heard the clink of glasses.

Popping an eye open, I immediately squinted against the dim light that caused my head to feel like it was splitting wide open. Laying still, I watched as Dougal, Erick, and Puck scattered around my little living room area with trays in hand. Each of them grabbed something to sit on before dragging it over to the side of my bed. With both eyes open now, I looked over the trays filled with food and drink they placed in front of them. The smell of fried potato patties and veggie pot pie caused my stomach to roll in the most unpleasant of ways.

Swallowing around a dry throat, I groaned loudly, “Get ouuuut.”

“Respectfully, My Queen. No.”

Snorting at Erick’s sassy response, I pulled the furs over my head and tried to block them out enough to fall back asleep.

“Up, up, Fabht Sicura. You’ve been asleep long enough and we have plans to make.”

“Already?” I groaned out from beneath the furs, “We just landed five thousand Banchees last night. I think we can take a couple of hours to sleep in.”

“Um, that was actually two days ago.”

My eyes snapped wide open as my body went taught. “What?”

“That was two days ago,” Puck repeated. “You’ve been asleep for two days.”

Shoving the furs away, I shot up into a seated position to stare at the men calmly eating beside me. Or at least they had been. Puck was now choking, Erick was blushing with his eyes firmly on his plate and Dougal had his head turned away with a grimace.

“I was asleep for two days and nobody woke me? We don’t have time to waste.”

My mind raced at the possible problems that came along with me being out for two days. If I was in a dreamless sleep for two days, did that mean my nightmares were going to be worse when I had to sleep again? Oh, I was so not looking forward to that. However with all the sleep I got, I bet I could go a few days without. I honestly doubt anyone at the camp would notice...Fuck. What did these Fae think of me now? I went out to recruit an ally and came back drunk before knocking out for two days. Not exactly Queenly.

Rubbing at my throbbing temples, I tried to calm my spiraling thoughts. Great fucking going Macha. They probably think you’re a sugarholic now.

“Please cover yourself!”

Confused at Puck’s sudden shout, I looked down and then rolled my eyes at his dramatics. Tucking a fur under my armpits to cover up, I snarked, “Happy, Lord Prude? They’re just tits. Haven’t you seen Bria’s?” That little comment bought me an evil eye from Dougal that had a laugh tumbling from my lips. But at the painful pulse in my head I stopped the laugh almost as soon as it started.

“Of course not. That would be highly improper. We’re just good friends.” Puck replied, keeping those golden eyes on mine to avoid Dougals piercing gaze.

I went to say something to Puck when I noticed the General still hadn’t looked up from his plate. Shifting into a criss cross position, I held the fur tightly against my chest and said, “You can look now, Erick.”

His brown hair swayed lightly as he peeked up at me and then straightened up when he saw that I was telling the truth. The blush coloring his cheeks went down as he got back to eating his meal without making eye contact. Who knew the General was so easily ruffled?

“So, how’d we get back here? Because I don’t remember anything after they brought out the human soda.”

At the mention of said soda, Erick’s face scrunched up and he pressed a hand to his stomach. “I can’t believe I drank that shit. I know you said it was safe for us to drink since they were sealed but I don’t think my liver will ever be the same.”

“Me and a few of the soldiers, who don’t drink, brought you guys back. And before you ask again, you’ve been having trouble sleeping so I thought you could use the rest.”

I bristled slightly at what he was implying, my nightmares are none of your fucking business. Smiling to hide my annoyance, I replied, “You should have woken me up. Now, since we’ve wasted two days. What’s next on the agenda?”

Instead of answering, Dougal pushed his untouched tray to me and stated, “Eat.”

Moving a frizzy chunk of blue hair back over my bare shoulder, I nudged the tray towards him. “Not hungry. I think I have a good idea on who to collect on next. She won’t have as many men as Afric but they’ll be big and strong.”

Slate gray eyes narrowed in on me, “As the Commander of your Elite Guard, it is my job to make sure you stay healthy and capable of ruling. You haven’t eaten in two days. No one is going to take stock in your decisions unless we know your judgement is sound.”

For a long moment, we were locked in an intense staring contest to see who’d flinch first. What he was saying was correct and under different circumstances I’d listen to him. But I really didn’t want to touch that food. I knew at the first bite I was going to spew it all back up in a nasty mess of tan and green. However, Dougal wasn’t going to back down if his lifted chin was anything to go by.

I waited a moment more before lifting my upper lip to flash pointed teeth. I wasn’t stupid. Dougal would definitely hand me my ass. The silver tattoos on my arm glinted in the dim light as I reached out to grasp a fried potato patty. Bringing the food to my lips, I opened my mouth and sunk my teeth-

“Stop! Drink this first!”

Son of aaaaa...“Lower your fucking voice, Petal Head.” I hissed, pulling the patty away from my mouth and pressing a hand to the side of my throbbing temple.

“You’re kind of rude but that’ll serve you well in the courts. Only goes to show that father was right in his choice.” A bright smile stretched Pucks golden face as he held the cup out for me to take. Not once did a single negative emotion flicker over his features at the insult I had hurled his way.

Disgusted by his lack of anger and annoyance, I snatched the cup from his hand with a little snarl. Always so Divines damned chipper.

“Orlaith said it was her hungover cure from back in the day. Fizz twig tea with a splash of burst berry root.”

Ignoring Puck, I gave the cup a quick sniff before taking a small sip of the sweet smelling concoction. The carbonation of the fizz twigs exploded over my tongue in a series of sharp little pricks. It tasted like the human’s soda but without the tang of pure sugar. Almost instantly, I felt the headache that once pounded at my temple fade away like a good memory. Savoring it with a little sigh of relief, I took an even bigger gulp and let it sit on my tongue before swallowing.

With my stomach settling from the carbonation, I took a confident bite of the potato patty and chewed obnoxiously. Dougals eyes rolled at my childish actions while I swallowed loudly and took another delicious bite. Once finished, I swiped another off the plate to appease my suddenly unbearably empty stomach.

“Did Afric’s whole den really give you their allegiance?”

Before answering Puck’s question, I took another big bite out of the patty. “Yea. I mean, he’s crazier than a Willow Wisp but he’s a good leader. His people will follow him to the end and beyond. If he pledged his allegiance and then declared me their God then the rest will fall in line. Ifreann, that whole party was them proving their acceptance of me.”

Erick swallowed before raising his fork to grab my attention, “I still don’t understand that. How can they just make you their God?”

“I have literally no idea. Nothing he does makes any sense, yet somehow his entire den is still alive and apparently five thousand strong.”

“But-”

“Don’t. Don’t try to make it make sense. It’ll only hurt your head, let’s just chalk it up to dumb luck.” Digging my fork into the veggie pot pie, I pulled a small steaming chunk out and plopped it into my mouth. Hot. Hot. Hot. Chewing with my mouth open, I huffed out air in the hopes of cooling it down as it bounced on my tongue.

Dougal shook his head in amusement and possibly a little bit of disgust before blowing a small wind over the pot pie.

“Thanks, Grimmy.”

Silence descended over our small group for a few moments as we all dug into our meals. I was pretty sure that this was dinner so I had to have been asleep for around forty eight hours. Which was probably the most I’d slept in the past seven hundred years or so. And although I was annoyed that they had let me sleep for two days, I felt more refreshed than I have in centuries. I had been right, a party and little fighting was definitely what I needed. And apparently sleep, who knew?

“So, what were you saying about the next deal you want to collect on?”

Taking another sip of the tea, I replied, “Right. Her name’s Caoimhe, she’s part of the Bàs do gach Fae. Daughter to some nobleman or something.”

“Are all the Faekind you do deals with hostile criminals?”

I curled my lip at Erick, “Okay, judgemental ass. Afric and his den aren’t criminals and neither is the Bàs do gach Fae Troll Clan.”

Dougal’s sigh brought my attention over to him as he rubbed at his nose, “Their Clan name literally means ‘Death to all Fae’. How did you even make a deal with one of them?”

“Coaimhe was in a bit of pickle when I met her,” I said, waving my fork around. “A woman between two lovers, both from different clans. But she wanted to be sure that the one she chose wouldn’t betray her. So, we made a deal. I figure out which one was playing her and in the future, she’d owe me a favor of my choosing.”

“Did you kill the one that was planning to betray her?”

I gave Dougal a look, “No. That wasn’t part of the deal. I gave her a name and then left.”

Erick stood up suddenly and collected Pucks empty tray along with his own. He slid out from between their chairs to place the trays on my desk before coming back and reclaiming his seat. Leaning back, he gave me a weary look and asked, “Is this Coaimhe going to be happy to see you like Afric was?”

“Oh, Divines no,” I laughed. “She along with her whole clan hate the Fae but a deal is a deal. I’m hoping they hate Mab a lot more than they hate us.”

“Considering she used to hunt them for sport? You don’t need to hope.”

Nodding at Dougal, I took the last bite of my veggie pot pie and then shoved the empty tray towards him. “We should head out the day after tomorrow in the morning. They’re very serious about their sleep.”

“Is the goal to only collect on the deal? Or to try and make it permanent?” Erick question.

“Permanent would be better but I can’t offer them anything when the people are still unsure if they want me as their Queen.”

Puck hummed, “That may not necessarily be true anymore.”

“What do you mean?” Raw and painful hope bloomed inside my heart and I fought to shove it down into the dark where it belonged.

“He’s right,” Erick nodded. “There are a lot more Fae in the camp wearing your color. If you started to offer positions or future deals, I don’t think anybody would be too upset. They were all impressed when we told them about how you got an entire Banshee den to ally with us. ”

Fear, followed closely behind the buried hope, wrapped around my vocal cords like a two headed snake. That was a lot of lives they were placing in my hands, a lot innocent lives too. Could I do it? Could I be the Queen that I wanted to be or would the power cause me to slip back into the Queen I once was? Was that even possible, though? Hadn’t enough time and painful consequences passed to where I could never be the same person again?

These were all questions I didn’t have the answers to or wanted to have answered. All I could do now was take precautions and be careful of what decisions I made. The people’s needs had to be at the front of my mind at all times. My desire to kill Mab couldn’t cloud my judgement this time. I couldn’t allow myself to become obsessed with revenge. Though if I was honest with myself, my anger with Mab and Lilly had dampened over the long years.

I mean I still wanted to rip them limb from limb but I didn’t cling to that anger like I had in Slykhelm. There’s only so long you can hold hatred in your heart for someone until it began to erode who you once were. In my case, I felt like a shadow of my former self. The anger and hurt was still there but it was no longer as all consuming as it once was. But it did explode at different times, I wasn’t a saint after all.

When the brass cup in my hand began to creak in warning, I loosened my grip and smiled. “Well, either way I’d like to receive their official okay.”

Dougal frowned, “A ruler cannot always ask the people what they want. You’re going to have to make decisions that they might not always like.”

“And I understand that. But I need to know if I even have the authority to make those decisions. When I run out of deals, I’ll talk to them.”

The men stared at me for a moment and then suddenly each of them gave me some version of their approval. I shook my head at them and took another sip of my hangover cure. Swallowing, I tapped my fingers against the side of the cup while trying to keep my mind blank of thoughts.

“Where is her clan located?” Puck asked, cheerfully.

“Trolls, like Banshees, aren’t big on moving around so the Tiveal Bridge.”

Erick sighed, “That’s Unseelie territory now. It’s going to be risky.”

Unseelie territory? “No. That Outerland territory.”

“Mab claimed a series of territories around the outskirts of her Kingdom when you fell in battle. It’s Unseelie now.” Dougal informed me.

“Son of a bitch.” That’s just fan-fucking-tastic.

“Pick another deal to collect on,” He continued. “We’re not going there.”

“I wasn’t really asking for your permission, Dougal. You can stay here.”

His expression went from stern to determined, “It’s too dangerous. Mab’s soldiers will be combing the area for any whisper or glimpse of you.”

“Maybe but we need the men Coaimhe could give us. One troll is equivalent to ten Fae. It’s a risk we’ll have to take.”

Puck leaned forward in his seat, “Dougal, if you’re referring to the fact that Mab has recently increased the need to find Macha. Don’t worry. While that is one of the three areas her soldiers will be vigorously searching first, my informant says they haven’t set foot in Tiveal yet.”

Astonished, I looked at Puck, “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“Huh?”

“Puck. Why didn’t you tell me that as soon as you found out? We have a deal.”

“You haven’t been asking so I figured you didn’t need any information from him.”

Gritting my pointed teeth, I spit, “Everytime you receive information from him, you tell me straight away. Understood?”

“That does make more sense.” He replied happily.

“So glad you feel that way. Now, get out.”

Golden eyes grew wide, “I agreed, though.”

“That’s enough for now Puck thank you.” Dougal said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Okay.” Shooting up from his chair, Puck glided out of the tent with his head held high and of course a smile on his golden face.

“Ugh. Somebody really needs to shit in his porridge.”

Erick gave me a disgusted look before getting to his feet.

“What?” I called after him as he stepped through the tent opening. “We were all thinking it!” So judgemental that one.

“Macha.”

Swinging my eyes back to Dougal, I tilted my head in question.

“Tomorrow another secret of mine will be revealed and I need you to know that I would never make a decision that would knowingly harm you.”

I furrowed my brows, “I know that.”

He stood with a sigh and placed a hand on top of my head, “Remember that and keep an open mind please.”

Definitely concerned now with the way he was talking. I tried to make light of the situation by asking, “Do I get a hint as to what this secret is?”

“One you’ll despise.” He replied before exiting the tent.

Oh, joy.

——

What do you guys think, lol, is Erick judgmental? Is anyone surprised she flashed them, accidentally or not? Did Dougal have the right to make that call to let her sleep? What do you think about Macha’s deals?

As always, comment if you enjoyed something about the chapter! Love hearing for you guys and my silent readers I love you too!🤎

Smooches, Verbage💋