The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

“Sorry, My Queen!”

Waving off the yelled apology, I twisted out of the way of the speeding cart and continued through the bustling camp. After leaving Lilly’s tent early this morning and earning myself more than a few curious looks, I went straight to Dougal. Not wanting to wake his mate, I gave him whispered instructions to get the necessary soldiers ready to move out on an Ally Tour. Taking a company of twenty including Lilly, Erick, and myself, everyone was rushing around to make our bags and say their goodbyes.

Since we would be gone for a rough estimate of about a week and a half, I needed to speak with Afric before we left. I wanted him and his own people doing an Ally Tour throughout the Banshee Dens as well. I couldn’t speak as to how many of his fellow Banshee Den Heads actually liked his lunatic ass but I knew he wouldn’t disappoint. He was a lot like me in the charm aspect and for all his concerning traits, I was starting to think of him as a kindred spirit.

Carefully stepping around a thick patch of mud, I approached a large white tent. Two pale guards in black cloaks on both sides of the doorway immediately dropped to one knee as I entered their view. With one hand on their knee and the other clutching their staff, they spoke at the same time, “Graced by your presence, we ask to look upon our God Queen.”

“If I am your God then you are my disciples, to look upon is your right too.” I hummed, excited by our exchange.

Long black hair brushed the ground as they lifted their heads to lock their yellow tinged eyes on me, “How may we please the rumored Divine? Is it our King’s time? Our life lines?”

I raised a brow, “Your life lines, I have no need. But your King’s time is important to me.”

“We see. Enter the Den as you please. The King will never deny his God Queen.”

A woman could get used to being called God Queen, I thought. Giving them a sincere grin, I passed them to pull the flimsy entrance aside. The sunlight burning against the tent walls casted a warm glow over everything inside of it, including the moving lumps on the bed. Grossed out, I was about to look away when Afric’s head along with two others popped up from underneath the furs. Three sets of identical yellow tinged eyes stared back at me in silence as I stood there like a statue.

“God Queen.”

“Afric.”

“It’s a pleasure.”

“Looks like you already have two.”

“For Faekind like us, this is nothing new.”

My lips twitched at his unembarrassed expression, “With clothes on? That’s untrue.”

“I found it, My King.” The male on Afric’s right interrupted, his hand moving underneath the furs.

“Uh- I’m not much of a watcher so if you don’t mind…” The rest of my sentence trailed off as the male pulled his hand out from under the furs to reveal the hair clip he held. A hair clip.

“Yesss. Good job, Conner.” Afric responded with a grin, snatching it from the males hand and pulling his long hair back. “I thought I’d lost it for good this time.”

The Banshees immediately stood from the bed, fully dressed, and silently left the room after dropping to one knee in front of me. Turning my head back from watching them leave, I secretly jumped as Afric suddenly passed by. Spinning on my heel, I followed him away from the bed to the dark wooden desk taking up the middle of his tent.

“God Queen, what do you need from your dear devotee?”Afric hummed, his eyes racing across the paper flooded desk.

“I need you to go on a Ally Tour of the Banshee Dens.”

Eyes glowing with insanity flicked up to meet mine, “Dens? Dens? You want me to visit my Den Head brethren?”

“Yes, sway them onto our side. Tell them the truth about who I am.”

“Some will be willing but others will be hard. They’ll want a council position.”

I shook my head, blue hair flying, “No. The council position for the Banshees is your’s. I trust you. We have history.”

“Because our eyes hold the same sparkle, yes?”

“Insanity does shine brighter than gold.” I snorted.

His almond shaped eyes blinked for the first time, “A God can be neither sane nor insane. They hold a higher understanding of the world and cannot be held to the same standards of sanity as low borns.”

“Afric, are you saying I’m sane?” I purred, flattered.

He giggled, “Oh! A true Banshee God, a God for all. At last. Under your reign, I see blood and screams. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“You need to stop before my ego explodes, Afric.” I laughed, pressing a hand to my heating cheeks.

“Not to worry, God Queen. I’ll tell all my brethren that your side is the true side of Tir Na Nog.”

Nodding, I started towards the door, “Good. Dani will be going too, to be the sane in your insanity.”

As he shrieked in laughter, I glanced over my shoulder to say, “Oh, and if you believe that one of the Den Heads is working for Mab? Travel me the evidence, wait for my word and then exterminate the Den.”

………………………………………

“You want me and Bria to go with Afric?”

“That’s what I said.” I confirmed, shrugging into my sheath.

“So you, Cillian, and Erick will go visit the old Outerland Nobility to collect allies. At the same time me, Bria and Afric tour the Banshee Dens?”

Sighing, I turned to face the crowd loitering around inside my tent, “Is anyone else hard of hearing like my good friend Dani?”

“Best friend, bitch. And I just want to make sure.”

Rolling my eyes at her, I went over everything again, “You, Afric and Bria tour the Den’s for allies. Dani, you’re in charge. Me, Lilly and Erick will harass the nobility for support. I’m, obviously, in charge. Dougal and Puck, you’ll stay here and man the camp. Dougals in charge. The Grymes family knows how to stay in touch with each other so if you need to get a message to me, tell them.”

An array of colored eyes stared back at me before they nodded or verbally announced their understanding. Cracking a smile, I raised my hands and pulled the wet braid out from the back of my blue tunic. Letting it thump against my shoulders, I tugged my long sleeves lower over my wrists and picked up my bag.

Throwing it to Lilly, I announced, “Let’s get going, motherfuckers.”

Filing out of the tent in a small crowd, I followed behind them while snorting at Lilly’s costume. He wore an ankle length royal blue cloak with the hood pulled up and a full face silver mask that in my opinion did little to hide his identity. The mask was a thin silver mold of a generic face shape I’d made myself to match the silver battle axes strapped to his back. The only Fae in history to wear an outfit like the one he was wearing now were the fabled Acolytes. Deeply religious followers of the Divine who served as their assassins throughout the little disputes they had.

Exiting the tent, I led him and Erick over to where our group of soldiers stood. The men and women wearing my color bowed their heads at my approach, making a distant pinch echo in my chest. Dismissing it, I gave them all a grin before getting down to business.

“Does everyone here understand the risks of the trip?”

“They’ve-”

Cillian’s smooth baritone sharply cut Erick off, “They’ve been informed of the trip’s purpose. They understand the risks. They also know to call me Acolyte during the entire trip, in public and in private.”

“Perfect. Then let’s head out and make sure you establish a travel trail. The last location I had for the Dunn’s Estate was in Cathair at the center of the city. During our short stay at the Estate, stay alert and if anything seems abnormal tell me immediately.”

As soon as I finished, the soldiers around me began to blink out of existence in pairs. I opened my mouth to inform the men beside me I’d be traveling out when a heavy arm fell around my shoulders and the world bottomed out beneath me. Panic surged in my chest before I turned into the hold and pressed myself against his chest, the masculine smell of metal and heated skin filling my nose.

“You couldn’t ask?”

“You would’ve said no.”

Smirking, I slid my arms around his hard waist, “Probably.”

“Don’t take unnecessary risks at the estate.” He grumbled, tightening his arm and sliding his hand up to cup the back of my neck.

Divines. Not the hair. Not the hair. I thought, desperately and suppressed the shiver threatening to give my attraction to him away. “That’ll be hard since Lord Dunn already hates me.”

His fingers slid into my hairline as our feet hit the ground before it disappeared again, “What are you talking about?”

“Oops? Did I not mention that?” I replied, trying to roll my head away from his hand.

The tingles at the base of my skull finally stopped as his hand lifted only for him to grab my braid and pull until my face was tipped up to his, “Macha.”

Eyelids fluttering, my eyes rolled back at the sensation of a million little fireworks going off at the base of my skull and neck. Nails digging in his back, I could only thank the Divines that he couldn’t see shit. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I spoke normally but even I knew it lacked my normal bite, “Hair pulling? Again? What are you a hundred?”

“What did you do to the Lord?”

The bounce of the ground hitting my feet for a split second was enough to drag my mind completely out of the gutter, “Drop my braid and I’ll tell you. You’re still ugly to me.”

He let go of my braid to hold the back of my neck instead, “Since when?”

Ugh, so confident.“I gripped the Lord by the balls and crushed them in front of my entire court.” I replied, choosing to ignore his arrogance.

“...Literally?”

Laughing, I dropped my forehead on his chest, “No. He likes to control his wife. Lord Dunn made the mistake of doing that in my presence and I set him straight.”

“He talks down to his mate?” He questioned, disgust dripping off his tone.

“Yea, so don’t be surprised if he’s more than a little reluctant to side with us.”

“Noted.”

On the seventh time our feet hit the ground, a breeze smelling of salt and brine wafted over my warm skin. Pushing out of his hold, I turned towards the breeze and took a deep breath. I’d forgotten that Cathair was a port city on the coast of the Gorm Sea. Grinning at the air that seemed to pump life into my lungs, I threw my arms wide and closed my eyes to feel the breeze ghost over every one of my nerve endings. The winding fingers of the wind slipped between strands of my hair and cut through my tunic to caress the delicate skin of my stomach.

Soaking in the moment for as long as I could, I dropped my arms and opened my eyes at the awareness of others surrounding me. With me in the center, the soldiers of my company formed a wide circle with their backs towards me. Looking over their shoulders I saw that we were in the heart of the city. Wooden stalls filled with various goods for sale lined the road all the way up to the Estate gates. The Fae on the outside of my protective circle stopped to stare at me with a few fearful looks thrown Lilly’s way.

“Let’s move.” I called out, springing my soldiers into action.

Lilly glued himself a step behind my left side as the others formed into crowd blocking lines on either side of me. The citizens we passed looked unsure of our presence, probably because this was their first sign of the coming war. They’d no doubt heard whispers about me and Mab but in Tir Na Nog there were always whispers of a war. Me showing up in their city so boldly was giving them a heavy dose of their new reality.

Our procession moved slowly through the parting crowd of silent Fae. When we got within ten feet of the stone Estate, guards walked down to meet us. They didn’t speak but instead led us up past the main entrance and into the courtyard where the slam of the gate sounded out behind us. My eyes scanned over the area from the orange and brown tunics to the moss covered stone walls. A large D carved into the middle of the house’s double doors caused my brows to rise.

Tilting my head towards Lilly, I muttered, “If I ever become this pretentious, kill me.”

Like the good Acolyte he was pretending to be, he didn’t make a sound but I knew that he was laughing on the inside. He had to be, I was hilarious.

The wooden doors groaned and squealed as two guards pushed them open from inside. They followed the doors to stand on either side of the entrance while a couple flanked by more guards strode out to greet us. Lady Aoife Dunn was clothed in an old fashion ball gown the color of sea foam with a lacy black trim along the edges. Her orange hair streaked through with brown was piled high on her head with a lone curl resting against the left side of her chest. Aoife’s orange eyes took us in from her position slightly behind her husband as they stopped before us.

Lord Sean Dunn held his head high in his three piece suit with a handkerchief the same color of his wife’s dress in his breast pocket. His round brown eyes connected with mine in a way that had his lip curling, “So the rumors are true.”

“All the best ones are.” I winked, making the edge of Lady Dunn’s lips tilt upwards for a second.

The Lord’s brow furrowed, “You’ve been gone a long time, Macha. A lot has changed.”

“It’s Queen...or God if you prefer, Sean.” I replied, stepping out from between my guards to tower over his five ten height.

Eye to..sort of eye now, I could see the hate he held for me in his gaze, “Last I heard you were a wanted fugitive with no one and nothing on your side. The people of Tir Na Nog hate you.”

“Oh, Sean. Poor misinformed, living on the edge of nowhere, Sean.” I winced dramatically, enjoying how red his face was turning. “My full name is Macha O’Riodian, first born bastard of Mab. But more importantly, I’m the only daughter of the Divine Liar Malachy. Now help me out here, If I’m not mistaken that makes me a royal and a Divine. A God Queen if you will...”

“Blasphemy!” Lord Dunn exploded in rage. “I should cut your tongue from your lying mouth.”

Lilly stepped up beside me and pulled an axe from over his shoulder menacingly, but my attention was the Lady. Tilting my head a fraction, I watched her take a small step back from her furious husband and press a hand to the left side of her ribs while her eyes locked on the ground. Could it be? No. He wouldn’t dare. But like he said, I’d been gone a long time. Slowly, my narrowed eyes slid back to her husband as a cold feeling slithered over my mind.

“I’d like to go inside now.” I clipped, interrupting the Lord’s rant. Knocking my shoulder against his as I passed, I held out my elbow to Aoife, “Escort me, Lady Dunn.”

Eyes never leaving the ground, she gave a deep curtsy before placing a hand in the crook of my elbow, “Right this way, God Queen.”

Her heels clicked over the stone flooring of the court yard as we walked until the sound muted slighting on the Estate’s dark wooden flooring. Natural light streaming through the multiple open windows gave the sitting area, she led me into, a lively aura. The gray walls matched the white furniture and dark brown fireplace giving me a heavy ‘We live at the beach’ vibe. I could even hear the waves crashing against the rocky cliffs the city sat on.

The moment our feet stepped over the sitting room threshold, I slammed the sliding doors closed behind us with a half assed flick of my wrist. Aoife jumped at the sudden motion and released me to stand by the doors with her head tilted down. Her fingers twisted and knotted together as I turned to face her. The once lively and proud female, who wore pants and wielded a mace, was nowhere to be found.

“What happened while I was gone, Aoife?”

Her eyes flicked up to meet mine before she sped over to the couch and began fluffing pillows, “I don’t know what you mean.”

“What did he do to you?” I asked, the soft tone of her voice grating on my nerves. That wasn’t her natural voice.

“You shouldn’t say that. Lord Dunn might hear you.”

Walking up to the back of the couch, I ripped the pillow out of her hands, “I could give a fuck what Lord Dunn might hear. Is he hitting you?”

Her eyes snapped to the sealed sliding doors when a pounding shook the wood on its hinges. “No.” She whispered. “He wouldn’t do that.”

“My will is holding those doors shut, Aoife. There isn’t a soul alive that can force those doors open. It’s okay, you can tell me.”

“Lord Dunn is my mate. What you’re suggesting is disgusting and untrue.”

Softening my expression, I glanced at her shaking hands before meeting her orange eyes, “Aoife...I know he used to degrade you. Is it more than that now?”

“Lord Dunn loves me. He only wants what’s best for me.” She replied, taking a step further away from the pounding doors.

“You can trust me, Aoife.”

“Trust you?” She hissed quietly, her spine straightening and showing me a glimmer of her old self. “You? Why? Everything was fine, we were fine. Sure, he could be a little demeaning at times but nothing I couldn’t handle. You kept him in line, the hovering threat of punishment by your hand stopped him. Until you left.”

Tendrils of guilt and shame wrapped around my throat and tightened until I could barely breathe.

Bright orange eyes shimmered with fury behind a glassy film of tears, “You were my Queen, you promised to always protect us and then you left me alone with a monster.”

“I’m so sorry.” I choked out as my mind warred between fury and regret.

She took another step away from the door when yells joined the vibrating wood, “Are the rumors true? Are you going to war against Mab?”

“Yes.”

“And you really are a royal and a divine?” Aoife rushed out.

“Yes.”

Her eyes stayed pinned to the doors as she asked,“You want my soldiers? My loyalty again?”

“You don’t owe me anything-”

“You’re right but I could’ve left. I could have told you at any point before the battle that I wanted a separation but I didn’t. So, I’m telling you now. As my Queen and Divine, I want a separation in the eyes of your Court.” She announced frantically, pressing her back up against the back wall as the pounding at the door turned more aggressive.

“Done.”

Spinning on my heel, the sliding doors crashed back on their hinges with a swipe of my arm. Lord Dunn’s brown eyes widened as he stumbled through the entrance before his gaze caught on his wife. Cillian and Erick stepped around the frozen Lord to make their way over to my side. Guards from the hall poured into the room like a sea of blue, orange and brown to line the edges of our group.

“Acolyte, stand beside Lady Dunn. Her mate isn’t allowed near her.”

Eyes locked on the Lord, I felt Cillians presence shift through the room until he stood where I knew Lady Dunn was.

“What do you think you’re doing? You have no power in my Estate.” Sean snapped, eyes bouncing between me and Aoife.

Taking a step forward, I purred, “That’s where you’re wrong, Sean. Lady Dunn just named me her Queen and Divine. Which means the Estate is now under my domain and protection.”

“She doesn’t have the authority to do so.” He sputtered.

Reaching him, I started to wind around him in a tight circle, “The Dunn Estate belongs to Lady Dunn, passed down to her by her father. You have no rights here.”

Spine straightening, he tracked me from the corner of his eyes, “I don’t know what she’s said but it’s all lies.”

“Lies?” I whispered, letting my fingers trail across his chest. “You would call your mate a liar?”

“No, of course not. I just meant-“

Stopping behind him, I leaned in until our faces were side by side, “You just meant any accusations of abuse are false?”

“Yes! Exactly!”

“And how did you know she’d accuse you of abuse?”

“Wha-what?”

“Ooh, Sean.” I sighed, sliding a hand into his orange streaked hair. “You really are a fool, aren’t you?”

“I-”

Tightening my grip on his hair, I twisted and bent his head until we were eye to eye. “Do you remember the punishment for mates who take advantage of their partners in my court?” I murmured, softly.

His throat contracted thickly as his eyes did everything not to meet mine, “I didn’t do anything!”

“You didn’t do anything?” A voice interrupted harshly. “Then what’s this?”

Sliding my eyes to the side, I watched Aoife fist the material on the left side of her rib cage and tear the fabric. The skin peeking out from the tear in her dress was a greenish yellow bruise that was in the middle of healing. Soldiers in the room shifted uncomfortably at the sight and shifted hard eyes to the Lord.

Aoife pointed a finger at the darkest park of her bruised skin, “Anyone care to guess what this is? It’s the imprint of his ring.”

“Does anyone in this room oppose the Lord’s punishment?” I announced, scanning the room.

When no one opposed, Aoife stepped out from behind Cillian and demanded, “I want an Old World separation.”

The metal around my waist slithered up my body to melt into five clawed caps on the fingers of my right hand. Holding the wiggling Lord’s body tight with my left entangled in his hair, I raised my right hand to show him. Flexing my hand, I laughed loudly when he doubled his efforts to get free. Loosening my grip enough for him to turn his head forward, my right hand slid over his left pec.

“The punishment is always the same. Do you want to know why?” I purred, pressing the sharp tips over his heart. “Because with the first strike of their fist they shatter their mate’s heart. And in my opinion, I don’t think that entitles them to one of their own.”

Sinking the clawed tips of my fingers into his chest, I tightened my hold and hissed, “In the eyes of my Court, I, God Queen Macha, sanction this separation on the grounds of heinous acts committed by Sean Dunn to his mate Aoife Dunn.”

His struggling ramped up as I pushed my fingers up to the first knuckle into his chest. Slipping my arm around his neck in a chokehold, I ignored his screamed promises that he’d never do it again. Hooking my fingers, I squeezed the cloth and warm flesh in my hand before yanking it outwards. The mini-vibrations of muscle shredding apart spread over my palm while his blood dripped down my wrist.

Throwing the chunk of muscle at Aoife’s feet with a splat, I grinned at the look on her face. With more force, I spread my fingers and pushed the sharpened metal claws deep underneath the muscle. Tilting my head, I watched blood spill out and over my hand to stain the white dress shirt beneath his jacket. Fascination overcame me after ripping the third chunk of flesh from his chest.

“Shhhhhh.” I snapped, “You’re screaming right in my ear. I think I can hear your heartbeat.”

Chuckling a little, I tapped the spiked nail tips in the now gaping hole in his chest. The moment I tapped against something hard, I hummed and forcefully wrapped my hand around it. Pulling it forward with a wet crack, I held the white bone glistening with blood up for all to see. I casted a look over the sick looking crowd with a small smirk and tossed it Aoife.

Her pale hand snapped out and caught it as I joked, “Here. A souvenir.”

Burying my hand back in his chest, I wedged my hand between his ribs, “You have very soft insides, Sean. Is that weird to say?”

“P-please...stop.” He panted out before going slack.

“Good idea!” Releasing him to fall on the bloody floor, I kicked him over onto his back and straddled him. Pushing up my red stained sleeve, I gave him a slap that had his eyes blinking back open. “You’re going to want to see this.”

Shoving my hand into the hole in his chest and past his ribs, I squinted as I felt around for his heart. Mmmmm...no, that’s too long. Nope, that’s a rib…..I don’t know what the hell this is…...AH HA. Carefully curling my fingers around the plump organ, I sliced through the arteries keeping it in his chest. The muscular organ contracted and pulsed in my palm like a fluttering bird as I pulled it free of his body.

Aoife clattered to her knees beside me to gaze at the organ with tears in her eyes, “This is it.”

“You know what to do.” I encouraged her with a smile.

Bright orange eyes shot to mine as she frantically nodded with a shaky grin. Slowly, I slipped the still beating heart into her cupped hands. After I was sure she had it, I yanked a barely conscious Sean up and held his head to face her. Locking eyes with him, she bared her sharpened teeth and bit into his heart. Blood smeared the sides of her mouth as she pulled a piece of the organ free and chewed.

The air around us vibrated with old magick and when she swallowed the old ritual did what it was meant to do. Before my very eyes, the brown streaks in her hair lightened and blended into her original color. She was officially separated. Frantically she pulled her hair free of the pins to search it for the streaks she once had, smearing it with blood.

Finding none, she lunged at me and knocked me clean off of her dead ex-mate. It took a moment for me to realize that she wasn’t attacking me but holding me tightly as her body shook with sobs.

“Thank Divines. Your back. You’re really back.”

Guilt clogged my throat as I ran a comforting hand over the back of her head and whispered, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

——

Sorry! I feel like I kind of disappeared on y’all for minute there. Hopefully this extra long chapter make up for it! Rest assured, that you will get two more chapters this weekend. Those updates might spill over into early next week but you will get them! And finally, finally, we get some fucking gore! Am I right people??

As always, comment or like if you enjoyed the update!

Smooches, Verbage💋