The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

Glancing over my shoulder, I watched as the zipper rolled to a stop on it’s own in the gold gilded mirror. Straps made of silver chain sparkled in the low light connecting the back of my dress that stopped just below my shoulder blades. Turning with a click of my metal heels, I smoothed down the front with a childish grin. The tight black velvet corset hugged my chest enough to give the illusion of cleavage at the same time it clenched my waist. Connected to an equally as tight skirt that hugged my mid thigh before flaring out around my knees. A thin pattern of lace on each side exposed skin all the way up to my hip and matched the lace gloves that stopped above my elbows. It fit perfectly and was exactly what I was hoping for.

Grabbing one of the silver chains hovering patiently beside me, I broke a link to close it again around my hips. Wrinkling my nose at the look, I shrunk the chain until it was snug around my waist. Taking the other chain, I broke it in half and made a loop on each side of my hips. Pulling my hands away, I twisted my hips side to side to look at it as it swished against the tight fabric of the dress. What was it missing? Hmmmm. Inspiration from earlier struck me hard and I held out a hand towards the bed.

A small length of chain that I had twisted both of my swords into appeared in my hand with a small flash of blue light. Jumping a little, I blinked away the shock and the glare of the light. So that’s just happening now? Okay, then. Breaking the small blue chain in half, I pressed each half to the silver chain on either side of my hips and closed my eyes. Taking a deep breath and then releasing it, I pictured exactly what I wanted the metal to shape into. When it began to twist and wiggle in my grip, I loosened my hold with a grin as it slipped from my grasp.

Opening my eyes, I gazed at the charms now dangling from my newly designed waist chain. Evenly spaced between the chain links, hung quarter sized metal medallions of my recently thought up crest. Silver lilies hung from the chain framed by little blue flames twisted around the petals of the lilies. They were a beautiful addition to my dress of black velvet and lace paired with silver chains. Lifting my hands, I straightened the blue diamond hanging from my neck and trailed my fingers over the scars littering my chest.

Puckered a light pink, the wounds underneath each of my collarbones weren’t quite healed. They broke through my back leaving a pair of identical scars on the other side that cut through the swirling design of my tattoos. Sliding a hand over to my heart, I pressed the lace covered tips of my fingers to the faded wound. The shine of the tattoos almost hid it completely unless you knew exactly what you were looking for. However, the long locks of my blue hair weaved through with braids and silver charms covered the scars on my back from view.

Humming, I slid my gaze to the mirror and stared into the eyes of a God. Royal blue, there was a sharpness that always seemed to linger in her gaze along with the reflective glint. Squinting, I tried to see what they all saw in her but I couldn’t see past the blue of her eyes. It could have been my imagination but they almost seemed to glow in a hypnotic way. Head tilting, I stepped closer to the mirror and curled my lips into my signature grin. Very Malachy-esque. I really was the female version of my father, though I’d argue that I was funnier and better looking.

A knock on the door ripped my gaze from the mirror and away from my thoughts, “Come in!”

Turning, I watched the door slowly swing back to reveal the vision in black standing there. Clad in a black long sleeved coat with a high collar and the matching slacks, he was practically edible. Though, plain looking at first glance the elegance was in the details. Dark blue stitching highlighted the coat’s design and the large C embroidered over his heart. His twin battle axes, no longer hidden by their silver coating, gave an extra pop of color to his all black attire peeking up from over his shoulders.

“You look stunning.”

Meeting his eyes, I was proud that I only got distracted for a second when I noticed his freshly shaved jaw. So brutally sharp. “And you look ediblily handsome.”

“You think so? Enough to be on the arm of a God?” He smirked.

I laughed and walked over to the bed, “Not yet, Lilly. You’re missing a few things.”

“I noticed but this was all that was in the garment bag.”

Hearing the disappointment in his voice, I smiled warmly and grabbed his accessories, “That’s because I have them.”

“Oh.”

Swiveling on my heel, I headed towards him with the long chain in hand. Hips swaying, I listened to the charms clink while smirking at the way Lilly’s gaze seemed riveted there. Stopping in his personal space, I started pulling the blue chain through one of the small black loops sitting on top of his right shoulder.

“Have I ever told you how much I like your waist chains?”

Smothering a laugh, I stepped closer to guide the chain across his back and under his sheath, “No, you haven’t.”

“I especially enjoy how they’re silver. Why is that?” He asked, his deep baritone a rumble.

Pushing the chain through the next loop on his shoulder, I murmured, “I’ve always worn silver. The color has always appealed to me.”

Cillian hummed in response and then I felt his fingers slipping through my hair, tapping the silver charms littered there.

Finished with the chain, I dropped my hands to my waist chain and plucked two charms from the links. Others were already replacing the ones I took as I lifted them to his high collar. One at a time, I pinned them to each side of his throat. Unbuttoning the top button, I pulled the sides apart to settle more comfortably around his neck before smoothing out his coat. Stepping back, I looked him over critically and fixed the blue chains dropping from his right shoulder to his left hip.

With a nodd, I announced, “Now, you look fit to be on the arm of a God. And very Kingly, if I might add.”

His expression sobered into a blank mask that I had gotten used to not being directed at me, “I can’t be King in the event of your death, Macha.”

“You have to be.”

“I’m not like you, Cell Bait. I have no desire to be in power, my strengths lie in following orders.”

I snorted in disagreement, “Lilly, you have rarely followed my orders at any given time. You actually bark more orders than you take.”

He shook his head, “That’s different. That doesn’t make me a King.”

“You are the only one I trust to steer Tir Na Nog on the right path if I die. You can abdicate the throne at a later date if you want, to someone you trust but it needs to be you.”

“I have no idea who I’ll be if you die and neither do you. I could shut down on myself, I could become a tyrant, I could- I don’t know but I’m not fit to be King of the Realm.” Cillian repiled, his large hand coming up to grip my hips and pull me against him.

Placing my hands flat on his chest to give us some distance, I looked him directly in the eye and responded, “Then we have a serious problem.”

Silver eyes scanned my expression as emotion leaked back into his face, “What do you mean?”

“We’re mates, Lilly. I’m a Divine and soon to be Queen of the Realm. Being mated to me is going to put you in a position of power. A position, you apparently are just now telling me you don’t want.”

“That’s not true. I don’t have a problem being your King Consort, I just-”

I shook my head, “You can’t be my King Consort.”

Lilly eyed me cautiously, his grip slipping a little on my hips, “What?”

“I’m going to take Puck as my King Consort.”

This time his hands did fall from away from me as he took a step back, a blankness quickly hiding the emotions in his eyes, “What the fuck are you talking about, Macha?”

“Bad wording, bad wording.” Holding up my hands in placating manor, I pushed away the ache in my chest at his look, “Listen before you freak out. Oberon and Fiadh enlightened me on something earlier. The Seelie will never settle, they will never fully come to terms with my rule if I don’t have a Seelie at my side. Puck is the perfect choice. He’s of the royal family, he’s already in a relationship with Bria and I’m pretty sure he’s the Kingdoms sweetheart. But instead of claiming the title of King Consort, I’m changing it to Divine Confidant.”

Silver brows pulled together, “Explain. Quickly. What a Divine Confidant is.”

“It’s basically King Consort renamed. He’d be a figurehead to the Realm to make the Seelie feel appropriately acknowledged but it wouldn’t be seen as an intimate relationship. Me and Puck’s current dynamic wouldn’t change, he’d just get a fancy title for being a friend.”

He took a deep breath and released it, “And you say my wording is shit.”

“Sorry, I didn’t mean for it to come out that way.”

Reaching out, he hooked his fingers in my chains and tugged me to him. Dropping his forehead against mine, he asked, “If you demolish the title of King Consort, where does that leave me? As your mate?”

“As my King and mate.”

“Macha…”

“I know, you don’t want to be King. But would you really be satisfied as being a footnote in Fae history when you’re so much more than that? Would you be satisfied with barely being mentioned? I wouldn’t. You should be mentioned just as much as me.” Seeing him waver, I continued, “You’d have the same responsibilities you have now. Making sure I don’t burn myself out, make the wrong decision or kill everyone. That’s it. Everything else I’ll take care of, unless you want to take on more. Hell, you can just be King in name and eat grapes by the pool all day if you wanted. But I need you to take on the title.”

His hand pressed against my neck, his thumb rubbing over my jaw, “Why?”

I furrowed my brows at the ridiculous question, “Because we’ve always been equals.”

Lilly crushed his lips to mine at the same time his hand slipped back to grip the hair at the base of my neck. The little tinges of pain sent desire racing through my veins and I crossed my wrists lazily behind his head to bring us closer. Angling my head to the side, I opened my mouth in response to his teasing tongue and let him in. A brief fight for dominance began before he ended it by yanking my left leg up around his waist. Fitting us impossibly closer, his tongue plunged deeper into my mouth as he started grinding his hips into me. Gasping into the kiss, I dropped my hand to the buttons of his coat when he abruptly pulled back.

“We can’t.”

“We can, actually.” I replied, trying to pull him back. “It’s called two consenting adults who mutually agree to get each other off. Preferably with a little kink thrown in.”

He laughed, flashing that bright smile of his, “I mean, we literally can’t. We have a ball in your honor to attend, Cell Bait.”

“And?”

“And, we have to go.” He said, snagging my wrist and pulling me toward the door.

Dragging my feet, I whined, “But why, Lilly? All they do is smile, it’s fucking creepy.”

“Because as the future King of the Realm, it’s my duty to get the Queen to her event on time.”

“Really?” I perked up, grinning at him. “You’ll do it? You’ll take on the title?”

Sending me a smile from over his shoulder, he cockily replied, “It took a second but I could get used to ordering an army around.”

“Oh, so you get the army? What do I get?”

Turning completely to face me, he pulled me closer, “Council meetings, diplomatic events, prison sentencing, an entire realm….”

Unimpressed, I arched a brow, “In other words, everything you don’t want to do?”

“You’re almost too smart for words, Cell Bait.” He grinned, bending slightly to pull my dress back down from where it had hiked up during our disappointingly brief makeout.

Laughing, I shoved his shoulder, “Fuck you.”

Straightening up, Lilly leaned in to whisper, “Maybe later.” Dumbfounded, I stared as he gave me his back and opened the door before motioning me forward, “Come on, we can’t be late.”

My head fell back with a loud groan,“Biggest fucking tease ever.”

He laughed in return and started pulling me through the halls.

…………….

By the time we arrived at the large glass doors with the rest of the group, the ball was in full swing. Through the glass, I could see hundreds of blue butterflies flapping freely through the air underneath the large chandeliers. Three in total, twisted from white gold and dripping in summer inspired jewels that sparkled in the candle light. Fae nobility milled about between cream and gold decorated tables below the thrones positioned across the room on a raised dais. Flowy pastel colored dresses swished around smiling ladies as their lords in matching colors spun them across the dance floor. Near the band with their backs to the glass wall behind them, that showcased the Castle’s lavish gardens, that played a light happy tune.

“This ball sucks. Why is everyone fully dressed? Where are the Nymphs? I don’t even see one bottle of sugared alcohol!”

“I second that.”

Grumpy sneered up at me, dressed in a little all black tux, “Don’t agree with me, Grape Head.”

“I will punt your ass through those glass doors, Pixie.”

“I hate you for bringing me here!” He snapped, stomping a tiny booted foot.

Flipping him off, I snapped back, “Your not my kid so I don’t fucking care!”

Bria stepped up beside us, “I might have to second that, Macha. What’s with the music? Where’s the bass?”

I side-eyed her, taking in the tight knee length black leather dress she wore, “That’s what you’re wearing to meet your boyfriend’s parents for the first time?”

“What’s wrong with it? I should have gone with the semi-sheer one, huh?” She questioned nervously, running a hand over her straight dark green hair. “This one matches my hair better though.”

“No, it’s perfect. Your tits look great but isn’t that a little too long for a ‘meet the parents’? They’re going to think you’re a prude. I’d have gone with a hem right below the ass.”

Cillian made a nose in the back of his throat causing me to look over at the grimace on his face, “Do. Not. Tell my baby sister her tits look great, Cell Bait. And the length of her dress is fine.”

“What? I can’t compliment her?”

“Yea.” Bria smirked. “She can’t tell me my tits look great if they look great?”

His bewildered look as his silver eyes shot between us had me suppressing a laugh but Afric saved him from answering. The bare chested Banshee came swirling to a stop in front of us, “A ball is not a ball without the bell, Death God. And this ball needs a splash of Unseelie spirit.”

For a moment, I could only stare, “Afric, is this your Ball attire?”

His long black hair hung freely down his bare back as leather straps cross-crossed over his pale chest. Black leather pants hugged his skinny legs and disappeared into thick leather boots with silver metal over the toes. The long staff in his left hand dipped as he leaned over to look at himself before his yellow tinged eyes lined in blue kohl looked up at me, “Yes. I’m glad my second told me to bring it. Could you imagine the embarrassment if I had to wear my robes?”

“I could. Thank Divines, I would have been embarrassed for you.”

Are you being sarcastic?

I shot Lilly a curious look, Not at all. Why? Did I sound like I was?

No, you didn’t. That’s why I asked.

“No more chatter, Critters. Let’s get this shitty party over with.” Coaimhe announced, brushing past us in her dark blue tunic and leather trousers.

Eye twitching, I gripped Cillian’s arm to steady myself and raised a heeled foot before slamming it against her lower back. Taken by surprise, she lurched forward gracelessly and crashed through the glass doors. The shattering glass caught the entire ball’s attention and a hundred or so Fae watched her Troll ass roll down the staircase. As she landed in a heap at the bottom, their eyes flicked up to us drawn by the sound of Afric’s laughter and the Kelpie’s amused naying.

Dropping my leg, I fixed my dress with a smile and sent them a wave I saw on the human’s princess shows. With a nudge, Lilly began leading me down the short flight of stairs while the Seelie recovered. A rainbow of colored eyes were pinned on our descent and I caught a few wandering eyes on my legs. And what a pair my legs were. But I had a feeling it had more to do with how everyone was covered up like prudes except for my group. Ifreann, even Cillian was showing more skin than these men and his collarbones were just barely peeking out of his coat.

Reaching the bottom, I plucked a long stemmed flute from a red haired male and sent him a wink, “Thanks, Babes. All this starring is making me parched.”

My metal heels clicking over glass flooring sounded ominous as the Fae parted, creating a path to the Seelie Royalty. Puck waved wildly as we approached, sitting at a long table below his parents’ thrones. His older brother with wheat colored hair sat in the middle of the table directly below Oberon with a large grin aimed in our direction. Taking a sip from the glass, I grimaced and tossed it over my shoulder to hear it land with a crash. Gross, sugared champagne.

“Not to the Unbreakable Divines liking?” Oberon’s booming voice echoed through the grand hall with a chuckle.

The charms around my hips clinked together as we stalked closer. With a teasing grin, I called out, “I prefer-”

“Sugared Whiskey!” A feminine voice squeaked out.

I blinked as the ballroom erupted into soft laughter that turned the young girls’ tanned cheeks a muted red. Light auburn hair was braided back against her scalp tightly in long shiny looking braids that disappeared behind her covered shoulders. She wore a long sleeved forest green dress decorated in gold embroidery that brought out the color of her eyes surrounded by her rounded features. But the wink of silver paint swirled over her fingers and palms had amusement thrumming through me.

The rest of the Fae in attendance had gone back to their conversations and laughter by the time we reached the table. Coming to a stop in front of the embarrassed child, I offered her my hand, “I don’t believe we’ve met, Babes. My name is-”

She shot to her feet knocking the table with her knees and gripped my hand, “Macha O’Riordan. Your Macha O’Riordan, the Bastard Queen, the Blue Devil of the Unseelie, the Banished Queen of the Outerlands, the Unbreakable Divine, the-”

“Babes, if you repeat all my names we’re going to be here for a while.” I laughed as she continued to shake my hand zealously.

Wide auburn eyes blinked up at me, “Right, right. You must get that a lot, sorry.”

“Actually, I get a lot of Fae trying to drive a sword through my chest. Not too many want to shake my hand.” When she continued to stare, I gently prodded, “And your name, Babes?”

“Oh! My name is Aine and this is my twin Eire.” She replied, finally releasing my hand to gesture to the girl beside her. An exact replica of one another, I raised a brow in growing amusement at the way the girl sat there gawking up at me.

This place is bad for your ego.

Funny, I had the complete opposite thought a few hours ago.

Cillian snorted softly when the girl finally snapped out of it to stand, hitting the table with her knees like her twin had. Eire grabbed my gloved hand in both of hers when offered and shook it frantically, “I’m Eire. It’s an absolute honor to meet you, Your Divinity.”

“Thank you, Eire. It’s nice to meet you both as well. I love the silver paint.” I grinned, pulling my hand way to motion towards Cillian, who still had my other hand resting in his elbow. “This is my Commander, Cillian Grymes.”

Two pairs of auburn eyes shifted to him and they grinned while Eire said, “We know who you are too.”

“You do?” He asked, raising a silver brow.

Aine bounced on her toes, “Are you kidding? You’re legendary among the soldiers, you’re the Commander of a Divine’s army. You spend every minute with her, everyone wants to be you! Plus they say you’re otherworldly with a battle axe.”

Someone has a fannnnn….

His lips twitched, “You must be the one that wants to be a soldier. What’s your weapon of choice?”

Her eyes flicked to me quickly and then away before murmuring with tinted cheeks, “Twin swords.”

“Excellent choice, Babes. A little tip, flexibility goes a long way when wielding two weapons at once.”

She nodded rapidly, soaking in my words like a sponge and then her eyes widened, “Where are my manners! Please sit, sit!”

We rounded the table as they pushed the chairs around to make room for us. My gaze ran the length of the table finding the rest of our group already sitting and looking bored. Well except for Afric, who was blathering something that was causing the Crowned Prince to blush deeply and Bria, who was up on the dais talking to Pucks parents. Sliding into the seat Cillian pulled out for me, we sat side by side sandwiched between the twins. It took only seconds for us to be pulled into conversation, me with Eire as Cillian and Aine spoke about soldier things.

“You shouldn’t want to be me, Babes.” I replied in response to Eire shy admission.

Her head tilted, “Why not? You’re a God and you’re going to the Queen of the Realm. Why wouldn’t I want to be you?”

“I’m a villain to half the realm, my past is tainted in blood and pain. That paint might be pretty but don’t forget what it is. It’s a prison sentence that spans my entire body, not a God thing.”

Eire’s face fell slightly, “You’re right, I don’t want to be you. I don’t think I could go through all that. But I do want to be like you.”

“In what way?”

Her lips parted in reply but something caught her eye bringing a shadow to the unique shade. Following her gaze, I saw a smiling black haired male dancing with a light gray haired female. They spun past the table with a laugh in their light colored attire and didn’t spare the younger female beside me a glance. Shaking it off, Eire looked at me, “You’re so free. I mean, you shoved a Troll down a flight of stairs and then princess waved at us like nothing happened. I can’t imagine what it’d be like to do something so…spontaneous.”

Humming in thought, I asked, “Babes, you can do anything you want. Your royalty. What’s holding you back?”

“I don’t know. It wouldn’t be proper.”

I snorted, “Screw that. There’s two lessons I learned at an age younger than you are now. If you want something, you fight and kill for it. If you want to do something, you do it. What the fuck are they going to do about it? Not a Divine’s damned thing if they’re dead.” When she blinked in reply, I asked, “Was it the girl or the boy you were looking at?”

“Boy.” She sighed. “His name’s Padraig, he’s from a Noble family.”

“You like him.” It wasn’t a question, I had seen the look in her eye. It reminded me of how I used to look at Cillian when I was her age. She adored him.

“It isn’t proper. He’s from a less prominent family, I’d be marrying down and that isn’t allowed.”

“By who?”

“The Court, my father.”

I laughed, “Babes, who cares about them? Fuck them! If he’s who you want, then give it a shot.”

She sputtered, “But- No, I couldn’t possibly.”

“You said you wanted to be like me, right?” Twisting to face her in my chair, “Tell me what you want.”

“Huh?”

Grabbing her shoulders, I shook her with a grin, “Don’t think, don’t second guess. What. Do. You. Want?”

“Too loosen this insufferable dress.” She blurted and then immediately clapped a hand over her mouth.

Laughing, I raised a gloved hand and the blue rings taking the shape of a knife, “Allow me.” Leaning forward, I gripped the hem of her long sleeved white gold dress and created a slit up to her mid thigh.

She gasped and touched the fabric with a giggle, “Oh my Divines! I can’t believe we just did that!”

“Did what?” Cillian noisily questioned. “Macha, what are you two doing?”

Smirking at her, I replied, “Bringing a Seelie to life, Lilly. What’s next, Babes?”

“I-I don’t know.”

“Wellll, you did say you wanted to be like me right?” I hummed with a wicked grin as the knife slipped back over my lace covered knuckles and back into their ringed shapes. “So, let’s dance. And that’s an order, you can’t deny a God.”

Standing, I held out a hand for her to take and hooked my heel in the chair. Eyes began to wander to us as she stood up and took my hand while I spun the chair with a screech. Hiking up my gown, I placed a silver heel on the seat of the chair and climbed up onto the table. With my grip on her hand, Eire was forced to climb up after me as everyone looked at us. Laughing, I let go of her to twirl across the table kicking vases and plates as I went. With a hesitant grin and glance around the silent room Eire copied my movements, sending decorative pieces crashing to the floor.

Humming an old tune, I reached the end of the table and pointed down at Afric, “Deep and slow, it’ll pump through your veins!”

Unseelie began to slam their fists into the table in a beat as Afric leaped up beside me, “Intoxicating and seductive, it’ll take control!”

“Wild and unpredictable, it’ll bleed into your soul!” Bria screamed with a laugh, grabbing Puck and pulling him to the dance floor.

Flinging a hand towards the band, the metal of their instruments started to move on their own. A deep pulsing beat with a rhythmic crash of the drums started to echo through the ballroom, vibrating the glass flooring. Raising my arms in a twisting movement, I nodded to Eire and laughed as she copied me again. Swaying my hips to the beat, I grabbed her hand and twirled Eire before dropping her in a low dip that had her giggling.

“The power of the Fae, it can’t be contained!” Grumpy chanted, riding past us to the dance floor atop the Kelpie.

Flinging Eire into Afric arms, I crooked a finger down at an reluctantly amused Cillian, “So, come with us! To Tir Na Nog! Where we dance all night and play all day!”

Taking me by surprise, Lilly jumped up beside me before grabbing my hand and moving us to the fast beat, “We promise not to bite! So just come for the night!”

Laughing as our feet stomped and twisted on the white table cloth, I called out, “Forget what you heard! We’re the sweetest of our kind! Let’s make a deal smoother than sugar wine!”

“Who are we, you ask!” Bria yelled from the center of the dance floor, helping Puck quickly learn the steps.

Seelie slowly began to trickle onto the dance floor with small chuckles as they started up their own version of the dance. Fae twirled and twisted on their feet quickly matching the pace of the beat as it continuously got faster. My blue hair jumped and whipped around me as Lilly and I danced across the table from end to end. Grinning, I slipped my hands into his as our feet kicked and stomped in an intricate dance long forgotten and forbidden. The one used to lure humans dancing to their graves.

Caoimhe thumped onto the dance floor with an ecstatic looking Aine on her shoulders, “Why, sweet human! We’re the Unseelie! Pure of heart and honest words!”

“You’re unsure, you say! Look at us! Would we lie to you?” I laughingly screamed out the line and like always malicious snickers filled the air as our sharpened teeth slipped free.

This time every Fae in the ballroom called out, making the room swell with more than twirling skirts and fanning hair, “Oops, your feet moved to the beat! Now, you’ll dance until you die! Little Human, don’t cry! Didn’t they teach you that the Fae alway lie?”

Cackling in glee, I saw the glow of my eyes reflect off Cillian’s own grinning face. From the corner of my eye, I could see my small group of Unseelie meshing with the Seelie seamlessly. They learned each other’s movements until a mix of the two dances emerged and everyone danced to the quick beat in the same way. Even the royal couple got to their feet and danced in front of their thrones. The dance floor was practically a blur of movement and my heart swelled to see everyone having fun for once.

“Only you could sing an outlawed song and not have it blow up in our faces, Cell Bait.” Cillian grinned, sharpened teeth gleaming in the candlelight.

Did I ever tell you how proud I am of you?

Huh?

You’ve really come out of your shell, Cillian. That couldn’t have been easy. I’m proud of you.

Pausing in his movements, we stared deeply into one another’s eyes and I watched his’ actually soften as he looked at me. The moment must have been too much for him because the next thing I knew, I was in a very deep dip with one leg wrapped around his hip.

I raised a brow, “If you needed a break old man, you could’ve just said so.”

“We’re practically the same age.” He scoffed.

“No, we are not. One of us is much closer to four thousand than the other.”

He rolled his eyes, “Three thousand six hundred and seventy is not that close.”

I barked a laugh, “It’s a fuck ton closer than two thousand nine hundred and sixty-six.”

“You guys are seven hundred years apart? Me and Bria are only sixty!”

Turning my head, I squinted at a stunned looking Puck before looking back at Cillian, “Now, do you see why I get so annoyed? It’s up there but it’s definitely not the biggest age gap in Fae history.”

“It’s not?” Puck exclaimed, bug-eyed. “How is that legal? Shouldn’t there be laws against this? Because I feel like there should be laws against this.”

“Bria!” Cillian roared. “Come get your Seelie! Now!”

Spinning to a stop beside him, Bria pulled Puck back into the dancing fray with her.

I laughed as Cillian shook his head but missed what he said when a bright flash of light caught my eye. It was the color that yanked my attention and caused my heart to skip a beat. Arching my back further, I stared out the glass wall behind the memberless band in grim silence. Lilly slowly pulled me back to my feet, my hands clutching his biceps as his wound around my waist. Our eyes never left the floor to ceiling window and I barely noticed when the music came to a fading end. A heavy silence fell over the room sucking the joy from the ballroom as everyone gazed out the window.

Above the colorful blooming garden, off in the far distance, the very tip of the Unseelie Kingdom was visible. But it was the storm raging above the center of the kingdom that stole everyone’s breath. Dark swollen clouds rolled over the sky flickering with electricity, casting the Kingdom into darkness. With the music no longer playing, a faint sound like crashing waves could be heard along with the ear shattering cracks of lighting. Deep purple flashes of lightning spider webbed across the sky before they flashed and struck the ground at random intervals.

Mab’s rage ravaged across her Kingdom in a powerful show of cruelty. Her paranoia had finally won out at the news of a double betrayal, which meant those weren’t crashing waves we heard.

They were her citizen’s screams of terror.

Swallowing, I broke the silence of the ballroom, “The war has officially begun.”

——

Okay, I don’t know how Macha’s time at the Seelie Kingdom turned into a musical but...I’m not mad at it. And that last scene...y’all I gave myself chills, lol.

As always, feel free to comment if you enjoyed the chapter!

Smooches, Verbage💋