The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Renaissance Vibes

The smell of smoking vegetables seasoned the air as Fae children ran screaming in delight between the tents. Their parents mingled with one another while keeping an eye on their children as they discussed tonight’s event. Cillian and I had agreed that waiting a week to do the Cluiche Grudge was excessive in our situation. But when I had announced the match between him and I...my soldiers didn’t quite react how I thought they would. A woman with long bright red hair apologized when her long skirt caught on my boot.

Every single Fae was dressed as if it was the Renaissance Era. The women wore rib breakingly tight bodiences over peasant blouses that shoved their breasts towards their chins. Not that I was complaining….I thought, eyeing another passing woman and the generous amount of flesh jiggling above a light blue corset. Raising my gaze, I shot the short black haired beauty a wink that she laughed at as her cheeks turned red.

“Are you even listening?” A voice snipped.

Ripping my attention away from her, I glance down to my left side, “Huh?”

Pink eyes rolled into the back of her head, “You are the worst around pretty women.”

“Pretty men too. And I didn’t ask to be this good looking, Babes.” I preened, gesturing down my torso.

“Fabht Sicura, where is your tunic?”

Turning around, I raised a brow at the father and son duo, “Where’s your son’s?”

The hard muscles of Cillian’s chest and abdomen flexed with every step he took as the sun caused his dark skin to shine seductively. Tipping my head a little, my eyes narrowed in on the way the waistband of his leather beeches hung low. The air turned heavy as my throat suddenly went dry enough to choke me. Lifting my gaze back up to his chest towards his face I couldn’t help but think that while Cillian wasn’t pretty in the typical sense...I’d still ride the hell out of his face.

“Men don’t wear tunics in a Cluiche Grudge, Macha. Women do. It’s tradition. It’s inappropriate for your subjects to see you, their soon to be Queen, half naked.”

Keeping my eyes on his son, I replied, “Dougal, you know I thrive off of impropriety. Besides, my breasts are bound, don’t be a prude.”

Cillian’s silver eyes traced over the tattoos that swirled around my stomach and chest despite how they were cut off by my chest bindings. My skin heated underneath his sharp gaze.

Dougal heaved a sigh, “That’s not the point. You and Cillian will be fighting without the use of magick. It isn’t not proper for him as your Commander to be touching so much of your bare skin.”

“That’s if he even lands a hit.” Dani sneered at the oblivious Cillian.

I huffed a laugh at her words that had Cillian’s metallic eyes springing to mine, “Something funny, Cell Bait?”

“Yeah. The fact that we’re even talking about this. I’m going to decimate you.”

Eyes narrowing, he rolled his shoulders back to broaden his chest, “Don’t get cocky. Just because you need this doesn’t mean I won’t put up a fight.”

“Aw, Lilly.” I purred, taking a step forward to scrape my nail over his heart. “ I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s not fun if it’s not rough.”

He tipped his head down to pin those heated pools of silver on me, “Careful, Cell Bait. You’ve never handled me without a weapon before.”

I laughed before flashing him a grin filled with sharpened teeth, “I’ve never needed a weapon to bring a man to his knees. In fact, they usually go willingly.”

Cillian huffed, the corner of his lips twitching, “Is that right?”

“Oh, you poor thing. I’m going to ruin you.” I smirked. sᴇaʀᴄh thᴇ FindNøvᴇl.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“Don’t you remember what I told you last time?” He murmured, stepping forward until our chests collided. “Nobody likes a tease, Cell Bait.”

And just like that, the heat running through my veins turned to ice.

Voice dripping frost, I sneered, “How could I forget? It was after you permanently scarred my body with that iron stake.”

His expression turned rock hard, “You know why I did that and I thought you said you understood.”

“Accepting what you did doesn’t mean I’ve forgiven you. And you still haven’t told me why you sent me to Slykhelm.”

“I won’t.” Cillian clipped, taking a step back. “Not now and I won’t apologize either.”

Frustration ripped through me like a jolt of electricity, “Right. Because the great Cillian Grymes can never be wrong.”

The Fae milling about came to a slow stop around us as his deep voice cut sharply through the noise, “It’s not about being wrong. It’s about how my decision saved your fucking life.”

“Fuck you!” I snapped, my hands curling into fists.

Dougal placed a hand on his son’s shoulder to push him further back, “Cillian, Macha. Not here.”

Shoving off his fathers hold, Cillian lurched forward to roar in my face, “What the hell is your problem?”

“You are!” I screamed back. “You and the fucking audacity of you to talk about it like the aftermath didn’t cause any harm!”

Silver eyes narrowed further, “This is about how you think I betrayed you for Mab, isn’t it? This is what the Cluiche Grudge is really for. Because I hurt your feelings.”

A sharp blast of wind set me stumbling back into someone’s hold causing my knuckles to graze Cillian’s nose instead of slamming into his sharp cheekbone. Hands tightened around my forearms as they drew me back harshly against their chest and whispered, “If you hit him before the Cluiche Grudge begins you forfeit, My Queen.”

Seething, I digested what Erick said before glaring at Cillian threw a curtain of blue hair, “Don’t you dare try to simplify my feelings into something so trivial.”

“I wasn’t and you get off-”

Ripping out of Ericks hold, I flashed sharpened teeth Cillian’s way, “I’ll see you in the arena, Bitch.”

With fury ripping through my veins, I gave them all my back as I quickly strode to the open field surrounded by Fae-made bleachers. Nails digging into my palms, I forced my teeth apart and sucked in a slow even breath. It was easy to speak with Cillian when the act of what he had done was far from my mind. I could pretend like it had never happened until he opened his uncaring mouth. The way he spoke about what had happened caused all that rage from the past to come speeding to the forefront. He was so arrogant and stubborn when he spoke that I just wanted to rip his head from his neck.

“Well, that conversation gave me whiplash.”

“I’m not in the mood, Dani.”

Holding up her hands, she stepped out in front of me as we reached the side of the field, “I know. I know. And I’m glad.”

“You’re glad?” I squinted down at her.

Black and pink curls bobbed around her face as she nodded, “I was wrong to try and rationalize what happened between you two. While you’re a Queen, you’re still a person. And you’re entitled to feel angry and resentful. So, do it. Let it all out on that field, Macha. Kick his arrogant ass until you feel that rage fade away. Because this is for you, not the people. Today you can be the you that’s hiding away inside yourself. Today you’re allowed to be selfish.”

Speechless, I could only blink back at her.

The skin around her pink eyes crinkled as she smiled, giving me a nudge, “Come on, did you really think I wouldn’t notice? We’ve been friends forever, Macha. It’s okay to not be okay.”

Swallowing around the emotions clogging my throat, I asked, “What gave me away?”

“Despite your wandering eyes, you haven’t actually flirted with any of the pretty men and women we’ve seen since your release,” She grinned. “Which is a huge red flag.”

Laughing to ease the heaviness of the moment, I raised a brow, “Are you calling me a whore?”

“No, I’m calling you a flirt. Buttt,” She stressed, glancing behind me with a smirk. “If you want to prove me wrong, don’t react.”

“Don’t react to what?” I questioned, just as a wave of desire curled itself around my bare skin.

“My Queen.”

The soft voice had me turning around to look at the leaf clad Nymph, “Sy, what are you doing here?”

“I wanted to see you before the match.” Heat climbed the young woman’s pale cheeks as her eyes wandered over my exposed skin, “And I’m the ceremonial Nymph.”

I grinned, putting all my weight on one leg and pushing the other forward to emphasize my curves, “So, you’ll be marking our bodies then?”

From the corner of my eye I caught Dani rolling her eyes as Sy replied, “Yes. It’s a great honor, My Queen.”

“You said you wanted to see me before the match?” I prompted as her gaze froze on something to my left.

“That’s right.” She nodded, looking a bit pale suddenly. Light green eyes snapped back to mine as she shifted more to the right,“Because the Fae decided to go all out, I wanted to give you this.” Dropping a hand to her hip, she pulled a small square of pale yellow fabric out of the hem of her leaf skirt. Holding it out for me to take, Sy’s pale heart shaped face beamed up at me, “I wasn’t born yet but I heard that Lady’s would give these to Knights for good luck.”

Chucking at her pure expression, I raised a brow, “Am I a Knight for good or evil?”

“Is anything ever that simple, My Queen?”

“Good answer. I will accept your favor, My Lady.” I mused, eyeing the pretty little Nymph.

She grinned as I started to reach for it but a quick look to the left had her straightening her shoulders and moving forward. Surprised, I stared down at her as she pressed herself up against me and tucked the cloth into the waistband of my leather beeches. Fingers skimming the skin of my left hip, she purred, “See you on the field, My Queen.”

And with that, she flounced her way to the field leaving me confused. Turning to Dani, I gave her a look, “What was that? I was only conversationally flirting.”

“You were, that wasn’t for you.” She laughed, shaking her head. “But I will say that Nymph is brave, now go. They’re waiting for you on the field.”

Shrugging, I turned and immediately glared back at the pair of silver eyes staring me down from across the field. Lip curling, I refused to look away as we closed the distance between us to the cheering of the crowd. The anger from earlier surfaced at the look he was giving me, probably still pissed I called him a bitch. Amusement mixed with my anger causing my lips to tilt into an angry smile that seemed to piss him off further.

Dougal moved in front of us to face the crowd and raised a hand to signal the crowd to quiet down. After a moment they quieted enough to allow his voice, enhanced by his ability, to boom over the field, “The rules of the Cluiche Grudge are simple! No weapons or abilities allowed! The pair is not allowed to leave the arena until the grudge is no longer held! And the most important! The violence stays in the arena! Once the pair leaves the grudge is dealt with!”

Nodding to Sy, she walked past him with a sway in her hips towards us. Crouching beside us, she pressed her palms against the ground and stood with clumps of dirt in each hand. She paused in her approach at Cillian’s brutal scowl but quickly overcame it with the straightening of her spine. Pressing her hand against the middle of his chest, I cocked a brow at the way his lip curled in distaste the entire time she rubbed the dirt into his skin.

Eyeing him as Sy finished and moved towards me, I watched the way his body tightened up like a bow. Ignoring her, I stared back at him over her head as she began rubbing the dirt into my upper chest. Hard eyes glared back at me in a way that felt accusatory, causing my blood to boil in frustration. Narrowing my eyes back at the asshole, I reached up and pulled Sy’s hand away when her fingertips edged into my bindings.

“Not really the time, Babes.”

Stepping off to the side, she bowed her head, “May your grudge be left on the dirt you fight on.”

“Let the Cluiche Grudge begin!”

Silver eyes left mine to sneer at the Sy, who paused to wish me luck before walking off to join the others on the bleachers.

Keeping my attention on the rigged male, I began to slowly circle him, “What’s your problem?”

“I don’t have a problem.” He snapped, turning with me to keep us face to face. “You have a problem, that’s why we’re here.”

Brow furrowing at his harsh tone, I snapped back, “And I thought you didn’t have a problem doing this.”

“And I don’t.”

“Then why are you suddenly in a bitchy mood?”

Cillian stopped, bare chest flexing as he heaved in a breath, “That is the second time you’ve called me a bitch.”

“Oh, I’m sorry. Did I hurt your fragile masculinity? I wasn’t aware you had any since you stab women in the chest.”

Silver eyes narrowed before his entire demeanor relaxed, “I know what you’re doing, Cell Bait. You’re baiting me.”

“Am I?” I taunted, tilting my head with a smile. “How interesting...I only bait prey and weak Fae. I wonder which one you are?”

“Neither. We’re equals.”

Laughing cruely, I gave a dramatic grimace, “Babes, we wouldn’t be equals even if you suddenly shrunk three inches. I’m sooo far out of your power league, it’s almost embarrassing.”

Lip curling, Cillian flashed sharpened teeth before jolting forward and kicking up a thick cloud of dust. Grinning, I spun to the side and dropped into a crouch as something cut through the air over my head. Fingertips nestled in the ground, I stared at Cillian’s shadow as the dust cleared enough to make out his tight expression. Eyeing me, he spread his feet into a warrior’s stance and raised loose fists to hover below his chin.

Cocking my head, I ran my tongue over sharpened teeth, “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

Springing into action, I pushed off the ground and charged straight for him. Ducking underneath the heavy swing of his fist, I rammed into him driving my knee into his gut and slamming my elbow into his bare back repeatedly. Quick to react, he kicked my leg out from underneath me, sending me sprawling into the dirt beside him. Flipping over, I sneered at his smug look and snapped a leg out to connect my heel with his knee.

Cursing, he dropped to his knee and caught hold of the foot I had planned to drive into the side of his head. Jaw tightening, he yanked me towards him by pulling my leg over his bent knee until I was directly underneath him. Raising a brow at our position, I wrapped my other leg around his waist and bucked harshly to the left. His big body jolted but instead of flipping our positions, Lilly locked his hands around my wrists to keep them pinned beside my head.

“Are you done, Cell Bait? This is ridiculous.”

Lurching up, I slammed my forehead against his nose and laughed when I felt the bone snap under the force. Rolling my hips up and drawing my legs to my chest, I slammed my boots into his hips and sent him soaring over my head. Scrambling to my feet, I approached Cillian as he got to his own feet and forced his nose back into position. Grinning, I slammed my fist faster than he could react into his freshly broken nose and followed it up with an uppercut to his sharp jaw. He stumbled back with an angered flash of his teeth and wiped the blood from his upper lip.

Raising my right fist to my mouth, I kept my eyes locked on his as I flicked my tongue over the bloodied knuckles, “Huh. Revenge really does taste sweet.”

Cillians muscles flexed, giving him away seconds before he lunged forward and drove a fist into my gut. Curling into the hit, I angled my body into his and then rammed my elbow into the side of his neck. Not willing to let up, I followed as he stumbled to the side and twisted to send a powerful roundhouse into the side of his head. A dust cloud erupted around his body as he crashed to the ground with a pained groan. Panting, I stared down at him while emotions warred within my body causing a wave of despair to swallow my mind. Why wasn’t this making me feel better?

Lost in my thoughts, I failed to react in time when Lilly swept my legs out from under me. Slamming into the ground beside him, I spit out a curse when my head snapped against the ground. A throbbing pain pounded against the back of my skull causing irritation and frustration to overshadow my other feelings. Throwing myself to the side, I gripped Cillians bicep in both hands and sunk my sharp teeth into the muscle.

“Fucking-” Diggging a hand into my hair, Lilly roughly yanked my head back.

Unlocking my jaw, my hands flew to where his hand gripped my precious locks, “Not the hair, Asshole! Who the fuck pulls hair?”

“Who the fuck bites people?” He snapped back, releasing my hair to shove my face back.

Rubbing the back of my head, I sat up and punched him directly on the bleeding teeth marks he was eyeing bewilderedly, “Don’t shove my face, Lilly.”

“Son of a-”

Batting his hand away from trying to push my face again, I pointed a finger at him, “I’m warning you, don’t shove my face.”

“What are you going to do? Bite me? Again?” He snarled, pressing a hand to his bleeding wound.

I made a show of running my tongue over my bloody teeth, “I will and with very little provocation if I want to.”

He made a face before looking down at his still bleeding wound, “I swear your teeth are sharper than normal.”

“Oh, yeah.” I laughed. “That’s because I file them.”

Silver eyes flicked up to my blue ones, “You what?”

“I file them.”

“Why?”

I shrugged, “I like to have the sharpest teeth in any room.”

“Why?” He repeated, looking completely dumbfounded. “We don’t even use our teeth anymore.”

Huffing, I threw my hands into the air, “For the aesthetic, Lilly. The aesthetic. Having the sharpest fangs is like having the biggest dick in any supernatural dominance display. And I will have the biggest dick.”

He stared at me before sucking in a deep breath, “Are we done here?”

“Why?”

“Because I can’t have this conversation with you like it makes sense.”

I jerked my head back with a look, “What do you mean ‘like it makes sense’? It makes perfect sense.”

“No, it doesn’t. You don’t need to have the biggest dick to be the most dominant. Like you, some women are the most dominant in the room and they don’t have dicks.”

“Divinessss, Lilly.” I groaned with a roll of my eyes. “How old are you? It’s not literal.”

He narrowed his eyes at me, “I know it’s not because it makes no sense.”

“You’re giving me a headache.”

“I’m giving you a headache?”

“Yes.” I clipped, flopping back onto the ground. “The Cluiche Grudge is over. Go away.”

“No.”

Throwing an arm over my eyes, I kicked my legs in the air, “Whhhhhhyyyyyy?”

“Because-”

“Hey, how big is your dick?” I asked, pulling my arm away to look at him.

Silver eyes grew a fraction wider, “Excuse me?”

“You heard me.” I replied, rolling over to prop my chin on my palm. “You said dick size has nothing to do with dominance but you’re pretty dominant compared to others. So what are you packing? Length, girth, width. Or is girth and width the same thing?”

Expression blanking, Lilly got to his feet, “Stop talking to me. The Cluiche Grudge is over.”

I pouted at his retreating back, “Oh, come on! I’d tell you! I mean if I had a dick it’d be at least eight inches! In fact, we didn’t have a name for it back then but I used to have this strap-”

He blinked out of existence before I could finish my sentence.

Cackling maniacally, I rolled onto my back and flung an arm back over my eyes, “Too easy.”

—————

Lemme know what y’all think, I actually really like how I added this chapter. I feel like it makes the next chapter more context if yall read the first version of this book.

As always comment or like if you feel like it!

Smooches, Verbage💋

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