The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)
Chapter Fifty-Two: “Nothing Changes.”

~Cillian’s P.O.V.~

Sliding a callused palm over the map outlining the positions of the Unseelie bases, I committed each location to memory. They would be important for Macha to be aware of after we won the war. We’ll need to do a sweep of each base to make sure that every soldier has either surrendered to her reign or been executed. The higher ranking officers of the army would likely choose death instead of betraying their Queen. Despite the way they knew how Mab ran things behind closed doors, they’re loyalty wouldn’t allow them to surrender. However, the younger ones would be more willing to surrender. Which worked in our favor as young minds would be more accepting of the truth unlike the older Fae.

Along with the locations of the bases were the supply routes that kept Mab’s soldiers stocked with food and water. If Macha laid siege to these routes and intercepted supply caravans, it would increase our chances of winning the war. Starving the soldiers out would make them weak and irritable, which in turn would make them impulsive on the battlefield. Out of all the Fae in the realm, the impulsive ones were by far the easiest to kill. Well, unless that impulsive fae happened to be Macha O’Riordan. With her, it’d always be a flip of a gold piece on whether she’d cut your throat or share a laugh with you.

Or both, I thought with a small smile taking over my face.

Rubbing it away with a rough hand, I folded up the map and placed it atop the books stacked up on the left side of my desk. The urge to reach out to the insufferable female pushed at me but I held myself back. Being able to talk to her whenever I wanted was addicting and if I wasn’t careful I’d spend all day listening to her talk in my head. Though that wasn’t the reason I was trying not to reach out to her at the moment. Having already spoken to her earlier in the night, I wanted to wait until I had it in my hands.

The generals were putting the finishing touches on the war plans tonight. After a month of deliberation and arguments between them, they were finally ready to send them out to Mab. In a few short hours, I’d have what I’ve been waiting for and I’d be free. My role as Mab’s commander will be finished as soon as I grabbed the plans and slipped from the base. Finally after all this time, we’d be able to spend time together without a pending time limit. A warmth unfurled in my chest at the thought of being back at Machas side. There was just something so profoundly right about standing at her side that I couldn’t explain it.

Fuck, I wasn’t even sure she felt the same way but I knew how I felt. It wasn’t love, I was much too old to fall in love in the short amount of time we’d been together. I was sure that Macha would’ve agreed with me on that point as well. It was something...different. It was something pure and secure, that left me without a shadow of a doubt that she was the one for me. Though, I’d known that part for a long time. This thing that I felt weighed on me when we were separated and lifted when we were together. Holding her, touching her… it took away the worries and what if’s of the war. She was...She felt like…

Shaking my head in frustration, I rubbed a hand over the back of my neck and stood up from the desk. Pushing the chair back in, I rounded the cluttered desk and moved towards the cot in the corner. I didn’t bother with my emotions much, I mostly ignored them as having them in close proximity to Mab was a death sentence. But it was when I tried to piece together what I was feeling about Macha or a certain situation involving her that I wished I was more attuned with my emotions.

It wasn’t like I had anyone to bounce my thoughts off of anyways, I thought, tugging my tunic off with a huff.

My father was a dick, Baris wouldn’t understand, Bria would be too encouraging, Mother...Oh, Divines. Had I sunk so deeply into my role as a double agent that I had no one besides my mother to talk to? The answer would be yes. I disliked the people I was surrounded by as Commander of the Unseelie army and I hadn’t met anyone in Macha’s camp. Dani was okay but I’ve hardly talked to her and that would be almost as bad as talking to Macha about my feelings about her. General Erick...my lip curled at the thought of the dog shit haired male. Ifreann, no.

So that left me with who? No one?

Scowling in thought, I sat on the edge of the cot and started to undo the laces of my boots. My mind raced through the mental images of everyone I knew until I paused on one, my hands stilling in their motion. The male. The fair skinned male with black curly hair and brown eyes that held a quarter of bright red in each. He had been wrapped around the brown skinned female with bright red eyes and impressive senses. I didn’t know their names but before I had emerged from the forest to demand Macha’s whereabouts, I watched them interact. He had been quick to smile and laugh with his female along with babbling and blushing.

He was obviously in tune with his emotions and I highly doubted he had trouble expressing himself. Maybe I could take a trip down to the human realm and-

I shot to my feet, snatching up one of my axes as I went when the door to my bedroom slash office slammed open. A male came stumbling into the room out of breath, purple tunic slightly singed and dirty with his back to me. My brows drew together at how he looked to be coming right off of a battlefield with the way his limbs shook slightly with leftover adrenaline. The males head swiveled back and forth, apparently looking for me in the clearly empty desk area.

“What.” I barked, startling the male into spinning around to face me.

“C-Commander! Thank Divines, you’re here.”

Again my brows knitted together, “Why are bursting through my door unannounced and without permission at nearly dawn, Private?”

The male tensed, his black eyes sliding down to the axe in my tight grip, “Apologies, Commander. But we can’t find Prince Daithí and protocol dictates we inform the highest ranking soldier on base.”

“Spit it out, Private. What is it.”

Black eyes gleamed in excitement as his back straightened, “We got her, Commander! We got her!”

I froze as fear gripped my heart in it’s cruel fist, “Got who? Who are you talking about?”

“The false Queen and Divine Macha, Commander! She put up a hell of a fight at the O Cathasaigh Estate, took out a hundred or so soldiers all on her own but-”

“Why wasn’t I told about an on-going battle at the O Cathasaigh Estate?” I barked sharply, a chill of dread sweeping through my limbs.

The male wilted slightly at my tone, “Prince Daithí said that you were busy waiting for the war plans so you could deliver them directly to Mab. He said not to bother you.”

“Where.”

“Commander?”

Forcing my frozen muscles to move and my breathing to come evenly, I snatched up my tunic from the cot and snapped, “Where is the prisoner, Private?”

“She’s in interrogation room six with specialist Duncan, Commander. He sent me to find you immediately.”

The Private’s voice trailed after me as I yanked my tunic on and stormed from the room. My boots snapped over the stone flooring in clipped intervals while my heart raced at a dangerous speed. Some of the fear that had held me dissipated when it was made clear that she was still alive. What the hell was she doing here? How the fuck did she get caught? An irrational urge to scream climbed my throat, how did this happen? Was Mab already on her way? I missed a step as a thought crossed my mind, Was I going to watch my mate die?

Snarling at myself, I roughly shoved a Fae out of my way and sped up until I was almost jogging through the halls. No. Fuck the war plans, fuck my smooth exit. I was getting her out and I was getting her out now. I needed to get her out. Not for the war, not for the future of Tir Na Nog, not even for herself. It was pure selfishness that ruled me at the moment, I’d get her out because she was my mate and didn’t deserve what was happening to her at the moment. The mention of specialist Duncan and the interrogation room she was in, hadn’t gone over my head.

Whipping around the last corner, the soldiers lining the hallway nodded in respect as they pressed themselves closer to the walls and out of my way. Through the thick iron door of the room the sounds of muffled words and weak laughter filtered through. Chest tightening until it became painful, I paused with my hand on the handle of the door to collect myself. It took less than a second to steel myself against whatever I’d see on the other side of the door before I yanked it open.

“-nothing to be ashamed about, Babes. A lot of men couldn’t- couldn’t make me scream on the first try either.” A hoarse voice rasped out, amusement dripping from it.

The bright lights of the fluorescent light bulbs built into the ceiling, made possible by the iron lining the room, burned my eyes slightly. My body hummed with a slight numbness as the iron blocked the small amount of magick I held in my body. The Fae in this room were practically human with everything that made us Fae being blocked out by the iron. My eyes trailed over the concrete flooring, skipping over the pair of bloody feet brushing against the red stained drain in the floor.

I couldn’t look at her, I wasn’t strong enough to face the injuries that no doubt littered her body. Not yet, I thought. So, I didn’t. Flicking my eyes up to look directly across from me, I ignored the heat of her piercing gaze to focus on Duncan. The bright orange haired male had his back to me as he ran his hands over the weapons hooked to the wall. My own hand tightened around the axe still in my grip when my eyes caught on the bruised flesh of his toffee colored knuckles. I fought viciously against the need to slam my axe through his chest at the sight and settled on taking a deep shuddering breath.

“Private Thomas, did you alert the Commander to our prize?” The male questioned sternly.

“Specialist Duncan, I should have been made aware before you began your interrogation.” I reprimanded him through a clenched jaw.

Whirling around, bright orange eyes met mine, “Commander. I thought under the circumstances surrounding this particular prisoner that the quicker we get started, the quicker Mab could receive results.”

“You thought wrong, Specialist.” I growled, stepping further into the room. “You don’t have the rank to make those decisions.”

“Understood, Commander. I won’t make that mistake again.” He replied, eyes narrowing on my own.

The ragged inhales and exhales coming from the side of us pulled at my attention, calling out for me to look but I refused. “Where is Prince Daithi?” Sᴇaʀch Thᴇ Find ɴøᴠel.nᴇt website on Gøøglᴇ to access chapters of novels early and in the highest quality.

“He traveled to the Castle immediately once we informed him of the traitor’s arrival here. I assume he went to tell his mother the great news.”

Nodding sharply, I asked a question that I really didn’t want to know the answer to, “Has the prisoner given up any information?”

“Nothing.” The Specialist growled, his bright eyes flickering to the side. “I’ve asked her the location of her troops, the names of her supporters, how many soldiers fill her ranks and her plans for the war. Every question was met with sneers or insulting jabs and taunts. I don’t have much faith that she’ll crack underneath my methods with her history at Slykhelm but we have time.”

“Your methods?” I hated myself for asking but I had to know.

His lips parted in a slow smile, “I do have something that I think will make her sing, but it’s not here. So, I started with my fists and then moved on to knives. Take a look for yourself.”

Everything in my body warned me not to turn, that if I ignored it then she wasn’t really here. That this wasn’t actually happening but my feet moved on their own accord. My heart leaped to my throat as air filled my lungs on a harsh inhale of disbelief. In the center of the room, stripped of everything but her chest bindings and a tight pair of cotton shorts, hung my mate. Her wrists were pulled high above her head forcing the delicate joints to hold her weight as her toes brushed the concrete. Normally bright and shiny royal blue hair was stained dark with blood and clumped around her face.

Her face...A dark bruise bloomed over the high bridge of her left cheekbone with a matching mark covering the right side of her jaw. The room closed in around me as my gaze traveled down the rest of her body. Nicks and long deliberate cuts sliced through the silver tattoos that swirled over every inch of her body. Trails of blood marked her skin turning spots dark red and pink that should have been sliver and brown. More bruises were scattered over her abdomen and the tops of her thighs. The worst of her injuries however were on her chest. Two wounds just beneath her collarbones and right above the old scar from the iron spike I had thrusted beside her heart.

The skin was ragged and torn apart, small pieces of skin barely hanging onto the frayed edges of the wounds. Dried blood soaked her chest bindings a deep red while thin rivets continued to run from the mutilated holes in her chest. From the way her hands were bound over her head by a pair of thick iron cuffs, attached to a chain hanging from the ceiling, I knew she was in an endless amount of agony.

“Take a picture, Commander. It might last longer.” She called out, voice strained but still managing to hold a bite.

My eyes flew to hers, brilliant blue eyes sparked with strength and defiance looking completely at odds with the current condition of her body. I would have been confused and hurt at the aggression wielded in her tone if the emphasis of my title didn’t snap me back into reality.

Swallowing my emotions, I smoothed out my expression before turning to look at the Specialist, “The wounds on her chest. What did you use?”

“Beautiful, aren’t they?” He grinned, brushing the orange hair out of his eyes. “Unfortunately, that’s not my work. Iron grappling hooks brought the so-called Divine to her knees. I was told it was a glorious sight, Commander.”

Iron. If they had miscalculated and shot a few inches lower, my mate would’ve been laying on a funeral pyre right now. The cold reality of the situation gripped me violently and cleared out some of the aggression simmering in my gut. Now wasn’t the time to let my emotions rule me, I needed to be clear headed and calculated if I was going to get us both out of here alive.

“You said you have an instrument that would guarantee us answers?” I demanded, forcing my tone to remain cool and detached.

“Not guaranteed, Commander. But I believe-”

I cut him off, “Go get it.”

“Commander?”

“Go. Get. It. Specialist. Unless you want to be the one to explain to Mab that we could have gotten her answers sooner.”

Paling, the male gave me a clipped nod before rushing from the room.

The second the iron door slammed shut behind him, I abandoned my act. Dropping my axe, I rushed towards her with my chest painfully tight. Cupping her bruised cheek softy, I breathed, “Macha. What happened?”

Her eyelids pressed tightly together as she leaned into my touch with a heavy sigh, “I’m sorry, Lilly. I’m so sorry. I fucked everything up.”

“No, no. No, you didn’t, Cell Bait.” I choked out, stepping closer to feel the heat of her body. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

“I did, Lilly.” She replied, blue lashes sliding apart so our eyes could meet. “If I had held it together-”

“I don’t care what you did or didn’t do, Cell Bait.” I told her firmly, resisting the urge to wrap my arms around her tightly. It would only cause her more pain. “Listen, we don’t have a lot of time until he comes back. We need to get you out of here. Now.”

“It’ll blow your cover if you help me escape, Lilly.”

Lifting my hands to yank on the cuffs binding her wrists, I frowned up at the solid iron and muttered, “It doesn’t matter.”

“You got the war plans?” She asked, her voice perking up slightly higher than the low tones we were using.

I shook my head and dropped my hands, “No, those are coming in later but we can’t wait. Did you see where he put the key? Fae metal won’t break iron.”

“It’s in his pocket but we can’t leave.”

Dread coiled in my chest, “What are you talking about?”

Her eyes searched mine frantically as she panted, “Just hear me out okay? We need those war plans. We can’t leave without them. I had a back up plan but I don’t know if Puck’s informant got the information to Mab. We-”

“No. No, Macha. Duncan’s coming back to torture you for information that I know you won’t give up. Yo-your asking me to stand back and watch that happen?” My voice broke as I spoke. I couldn’t do that. I wouldn’t do that.

With a wince, she dropped her forehead to touch mine. Royal blue encompassed my vision, “Cillian, we need those plans. You know that. We can’t afford not to take every advantage we have in this war.”

“We can find another-”

“There isn’t enough time, Cillian. Listen to me. When he comes through that door, I need you to take over. Tell him you’re taking over the interrogation until the war plans come in. If he continues, I won’t be conscious when- ”

Jerking away from her, I tripped over my own boots in horror, “Your asking me to torture you?”

Her eyelids slowly closed as she swallowed thickly, “If there was any other way I would never ask-”

“I’m not fucking torturing you, Macha.” I snapped, my heart beat picking up speed. “And I can’t believe I even have to fucking say that.”

“We won’t make it out of here if I’m unconscious, Cillian. I know you don’t want to do this and I’m sorry but you have to. There’s no other way.”

My hands began to shake as I shook my head violently, “Yes, there is. We could leave. I could snap Duncan’s neck as soon as he walks through that door. Fuck the plans, Macha. Don’t ask me to do this.”

“We cannot leave without the plans. I’ll be fine, Cillian. You won’t be doing anything that hasn’t been done to me before. I can take it.”

“But I can’t. I can’t do what you’re asking me to do, Macha. I can’t...I can’t have you hating me again.” My voice coming out a broken whisper at the reveal.

Bloody hair flew around her face as she shook her head viciously, “No. No, I could never hate you for this. This is my fault, we’re here because of my mistake. I’m the one who brought us to this point.”

“I can’t-”

“You can, Lilly. You can do it, just like I can take it. What happens in this room will have no effect on how I see you, I promise. We were born warriors, Lilly. This is what we do.” A sheen of moisture caused her eyes to glitter but the determination was clear as day. “And if it wasn’t me asking you to do this, you wouldn’t think twice. I need you to think as my Commander right now and not my mate, Lilly.”

With a burning in my eyes because I knew she was right, I stalked forward to cup her face once more. I needed her to reassure me. I needed to know that while this might kill me, it wouldn’t kill us. “If I do this, nothing changes.”

“If you do this, nothing changes.” She repeated, her gaze softening slightly as she shot me a weak grin. “Now give me a smile, Lilly. We’re about to pull off the heist of the fucking millennium.”

Despite the gut wrenching dread and self-disgust flooding through me, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of relief at her humor. Instead of a smile, I closed the distance between us and placed a soft kiss on her blood spotted lips. An apology in advance for what I would have to do in a few short moments. Macha pressed back firmly turning something bittersweet into a blaze of passion before I pulled away.

“We don’t ever do weak kisses, Lilly. That’s just not us.” She whispered in amusement.

And fuck it all, if this woman didn’t pull a smile out of me in the middle of our horrible situation.

The metallic clicks of the door opening had me taking fast steps backwards and burying the softer parts of my personality. Macha was right. She needed me to act as her Commander and not her mate. I told myself I needed to be clear and level headed to get us out of here and I had completely dismissed that when I saw her. Shit like that got people killed and I’d be damned before I caused her death. So I hardened myself against what was to come and faced the Specialist entering the room with a blank expression.

“Sorry I took so long, Commander. I thought I’d lost it.” He announced holding up the instrument.

My heart plummeted as I took in the coiled leather, Macha’s distracted voice floating through my mind, ’A woman was being whipped for pleasure….I don’t know why but out of everything they used on me. The spiked whip was the one I dreaded the most.’

Swallowing I held out my hand, tensing the muscles of my arm so it wouldn’t shake, “I’ll be taking it from here, Specialist. Go inform the Generals that I want the war plans the second they’re done and then wait there until they are.”

Orange eyes flickered with hesitation, “I was ordered not to leave this room by Prince Daithí, Commander. But I can send one of the guards outside to do it.”

Fucking Daithí. Gritting my teeth, I snarled, “Then give me the whip and do that, Specialist.”

Handing it over reluctantly, he turned and stepped partially out into the hall to relay the orders.

Turning, I looked over at Macha to find her gaze locked on the whip in my hand. Her fingers flexed and strained against the cuffs binding her wrists, the intake of her breaths picking up speed. Her reaction was enough to feel like I was drowning in a sea of misery without a lifeline until her eyes lifted. Slowly, Macha’s fingers relaxed and her breathing evened out as she looked into my eyes and gave me a miniscule nod. Her gaze seemed to pierce my soul and I could almost hear her saying, ‘Nothing changes. I can take it.’

“Ready when you are, Commander. The war plans will be delivered here as soon as they’re finished. I was told that they were still deliberating on the placement of the last troop.”

Feeling sick to my stomach, I let the whip unravel until the metal spikes scraped against the concrete, “Where is your camp?”

Eyes roaming the room, she hummed, “I seem to have forgotten, Commander.”

“Where is the location of your camp?” I repeated, silently pleading with her to stop me before I had to use the whip.

Blue eyes focused on me and she laughed, “Edge of nowhere, right near the Fuck You tavern.”

Bile rose in my throat as I adjusted my sweaty grip on the whip, “If you cooperate things would go a lot easier for you. Where is your camp?”

“What camp?” She taunted but it was the look in her eyes that haunted me. She was readying herself for the lash.

Between one blink and the next, Macha hid her emotions behind an empty look of amusement. She was doing the same thing I was doing now. Tucking the softer parts of herself safely behind her harder edges. Without allowing myself time to think, I snapped my arm out and watched the edges of the whip tear into the skin of her calf. Self hatred hit me like a boulder when her jaw flexed and her hands gripped the chain she was hanging from tightly.

Blowing out a breath, she met my eyes and smiled, “I’m disappointed, Commander. That didn’t hurt at all.”

“How many soldiers do you command?” I gritted out, fighting the urge to drop the whip.

“Sixty five trillion.”

Stepping closer so my back was solidly in front of the Specialist, I let my blank expression disappear, “How many soldiers fill your ranks?”

“Twenty gazillion.”

Brows coming together, I clenched my jaw and lashed out with the whip once more. A growing sense of self loathing and hatred crashed over me as I watched the spikes rip the skin of her lower stomach. Her body jerked at the hit causing the chain to rattle as she shook her head and blinked hard. My hand fell to my side, I can’t do this. I can’t live with myself-

What looked like understanding flashed across her eyes quickly before she looked me up and down, “You knowwww, I would consider letting you fill my ranks, Commander.”

Dumbstruck, it took me several seconds to process the suggestive tone that clung to her words. Momentarily distracted from the internal wallowing in self hatred that I had been immersed in, I blurted, “Excuse me?”

“I mean, you are pretty easy on the eyes. And I bet you’d look fucking great tangled in the furs of my bed.” She shrugged, real amusement now sparking to life in her eyes.

Blinking, my grip on the whip went slack, “I-what are you doing?”

“It’s called flirting, Commander. It happens when a woman likes a man or woman and decides that she has to let them know.” Macha laughed.

Forgetting where we were, I snapped, “I know what flirting is, Macha.”

“Oh, good.” She purred. “Because I want to peel you out of your clothes like a chocolate bar….Respectfully though, you’re not a piece of meat. ”

With my mind short circuiting, I looked to the Specialist.

Looking equally confused, he shrugged, “Don’t look at me, Commander. I’ve never had a prisoner flirt with me in the middle of an interrogation before.”

“That’s because you look like something that crawled out of a Gnome’s ass, while the Commander looks like a wet dream. Or at least, he looks like my wet dream.”

Choking back a laugh at the deep scowl taking over the males features, I turned back to Macha.

The blue eye vixen shot me a wink before dramatically checking me out again, “Definitely, my wet dream. Tell me, Commander. Are you a boob guy? Cause while I might be a little flat on top, I more than make up for it in personality.”

I rose a brow in response because we both knew that she made up for it in a completely different way.

“Commander, maybe we should get back to the interrogation?”

Shaking free of the lightness Macha made of the situation, I fell back into reality, “What are your plans for the war?”

“I’m more concerned with your plans after the war, Commander. Cause if they’re not with me, I might start another one.”

Biting my lip to hide my amusement as her words washed away my negative feelings, I asked, “What are the positions of your troops?”

Blue eyes hooded, “My favorite position, you ask? Well, I’m partial to doggy but I love to ride. Especially, if my saddle looks like you. ”

“Commander,” The orange haired male at my back stressed. “I understand you’re new at using this whip but perhaps if you used it properly it would get some answers. Strike her so it wraps around her flesh.”

Before the feeling of dread and self disgust could consume me, Macha flicked her eyes upwards before rolling them in a smooth motion. I would have dismissed it as an eyeroll except she did it again and lingered on her right wrist. Was she-was she telling me where to lash her? Taking a chance, I ignored the rolling in my gut and cracked the whip towards her forearms. The whip wrapped from her right elbow to her wrist, the spikes of the whip drilling into her flesh. Her fingers spasmed from the pain as her eyes squeezed shut and her body tensed. Feeling like the realms shittiest mate, I yanked back on the whip and watched the spikes tear free of her arm.

Blood rained down from her forearm to her shoulder, the sight of the damage I caused forming a lump in my throat. Reluctantly I pulled my gaze from her bleeding wrist, expecting to see hatred in her eyes. However, what I found wasn’t hatred at all. Excitement and pride peeked through her eyes and I was certain that I would never truly understand Macha. No matter how long we lived, I had no doubt that her thought process would cause my heart to speed and my mind to ache.

Trying to hide my bewilderment, I barked, “Give us the names of the Unseelie that have sided with you.”

Her blue eyes narrowed skeptically, “Names of the Unseelie that have laid with me? I don’t know, Commander. You seem like the jealous type. Wouldn’t want you going on a killing spree and getting in trouble with Queen Bitch.”

“How dare you insult-” The Specialist’s rant was cut off by a loud banging on the door.

Tightening my grip on the whip, I turned to the door and nodded at the male.

Taking my cue, he shut his mouth and walked over to open the door. Pushing a tan arm into the small opening he created, he muttered something to the person on the other side before pulling back and closing the door. Relief surged through me at the sight of a map sized paper rolled up and held in his left hand.

“Commander, here are the war plans you’ve been waiting for.”

Snatching it from his grip, I gave him half my attention as I unrolled it to double check. Hanging the whip off my left forearm, I devoured the map with my eyes.

“If you want to get those to Mab, I can take over the interrogation for yo-”

The end of his sentence disappeared into a gurgle as the end of the whip curled around his throat, the spikes piercing his neck. With a hard snap of my arm, I yanked the whip backwards and watched his body spin from the force before dropping. A low whistle filled the room causing me to look back over at the confusing God hanging from the ceiling.

“Thank Divines, you’re on my side. Because the force that you just used, behind the hits you gave me would’ve hurt.”

Dropping the whip like it was on fire, I rushed to her side, “Are you okay, Cell Bait? How badly did I hurt you?”

“Like scratches from a kitty, Lilly.” She snorted. “You could’ve hit me a bit harder to really sell it.”

Blanching at the thought, I snapped, “Don’t joke about me hurting you. It’s not funny and I’m never doing that shit again. No matter the situation.”

“I know, Lilly. I’m sorry. But honestly don’t give it another thought, alright? If it makes you feel better, that iron spike to the chest you gave me all those years ago hurt ten times more than the hits you just landed.” She replied, blue eyes shining with sincerity.

As odd and unusual as it sounded, that really did help to dissolve some of the thick layers of self disgust that covered my mind. Tucking the war plans underneath my right arm, I raised my hands to hover over her bruised and bloody body, “That actually does help, Cell Bait. It shouldn’t but it does.”

“What are you doing?” She asked, a tired mirth lilting her tone.

Brows furrowing, I distractedly answered, “I’m trying to figure out how to get you down without hurting you further.”

Macha scoffed, “Go guard the door.”

“But how are-”

“Guard the door, please.”

Muttering under my breath, I stomped over to the door and leaned my back against it to see how the hell she thought she was going to get down. “Let me know when you want my help.”

She shot me a grin, “Aw, Lilly. You should know by now that I don’t need rescuing.”

Arching a brow, I watched as she pushed up on her toes and gripped the chain above her with both hands. Taking a deep breath, Macha flexed her flat stomach and drew her legs up to her chest with a wince. The muscles in her shoulders and legs tensed as she continued to lift them. When they were side by side with the chain, Macha released a muffled sob of pain that had me pushing off the door in concern.

“I’m fine, Lilly.” She gritted out, wrapping her right leg tightly around the chain and taking the pressure off the wounds underneath her collar bones. Wounds that I could now see, went completely through her chest to her back. “I’m really glad you caught onto my look otherwise this would have been a bitch.”

Flicking my eyes back down to her hands, I immediately snarled, “I knew you had something in your wrist. Divines dammit, Macha.”

“No, you didn’t.” She said, fiddling with the thin blue needle and the cuffs.

Narrowing my eyes, I snapped, “I asked you when I bit you, if you had something in your wrist. You lied.”

“Woah, woah, woah. I didn’t lie. You asked if I had something in my wrist. You never asked if I had a piece of metal in my wrist.”

“Macha.”

The cuffs fell from her wrists as she replied, “It’s not my fault you forgot to be specific, Lilly. I answered your question honestly. You can’t get mad that I out-Faed you.”

“You did not out-Fae me.” I spat, defensively.

Hands white knuckling the chain, she slowly began to lower her legs back towards the floor, “Someone’s getting defffensssive.”

I jolted forward as her feet suddenly hit the ground with a slap and her legs trembled. Sliding an arm carefully around her waist, I took on the majority of her weight as she slumped against me. Taking it slow, I began hauling her over to the door with the war plans still tucked securely underneath my other arm.

“Wait-wait, where are my swords? My metal?” She panted, head swiveling to look around.

“I don’t know and we don’t have time to look.”

Giving a bone deep sigh, she ordered, “Fine but don’t you dare forget your axe.”

Grumbling, I stopped us so I could grab it and handed it to her to carry before moving us closer to the door. A few inches from the handle, I looked down at her and whispered, “Hold on tight alright? As soon as we’re over the threshold, I’m going to travel us.”

After receiving a slow nod, I tightened my hold on her as my worry started to increase. She looked like she was seconds from passing out and I knew she was clinging onto consciousness by sheer will alone. Anybody else in her position would have succumbed to the relief that being unconscious offered. Hell, even I don’t think I could’ve held out this long. Not with two iron inflicted injuries and everything else she endured.

Gripping the handle of the iron door, I flung it open and quickly stepped out into the hall.

“Commander? Commander, what’s going on?”

“Commander, what are you doing with the prisoner?”

“Commander!”

Yanking Macha over the doorway, I closed my eyes a second after the ground fell out from under us and the shouted questions faded away.

——

I’ve been planning to write this scene since I wrote the prologue. It felt so good finally putting it down on paper! The original plan for this scene was for it to be dark, emotionally damaging, and painful. I was planning to make y’all BAWL, lmao. And I started off that way but then I realized that, serious isn’t Macha’s style. This felt more in tune with who my characters were. But if I wrote this correctly, hopefully this was humorous while still being intense.

Btw, who would be down to see Ryan and Cillian have a convo about their feelings? Cause I, for one, would love to see how that’s going to work. Lmao.

Please feel free to share you thoughts about this chapter!

Smooches, Verbage💋

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