The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)
Chapter Sixty-Six: Divinity Vs. Tyranny

The mass of earth collapsed back into the ground with a deafening rumble that crushed the enemy soldiers closest to it. Chaos immediately ensued as the two armies crashed into each other, no longer held back by the wall. Tightening my thighs around the Kelpie, I leaned into her neck to increase our speed as she charged into the fray. Screeching metal and soldier’s bellowing war cries drowned out everything else as I struck out at anyone wearing purple. Blood and dirt sprayed through the night turning my skin sticky with grime.

Eyes darting around the messy war-zone, I swung my left arm down to block the axe aimed at my thigh. The weapons hit with clang before I twisted at the waist and brought my other sword down into the center of her chest. My Kelpie’s speed ripped the sword from the soldier’s chest and brought an ache to my shoulder. Using the momentum, I whipped my arm back and released my grip to send the sword spiraling into the crowd. The metal winked as it broke apart mid-air into spikes that began drilling through rows of purple tunic’d soldiers.

Balls of different colored flames catapulted from behind me, slamming against the walls of the Kingdom. Black marks marred the brick as the flames leaped and fizzled out, managing to catch a few archers on the way. Eyes narrowing, I yanked a chain from my waist and snapped it up at the archers. The silver links wrapped tightly around the ridge of the wall instead of the neck I had been aiming for, giving me the perfect idea. Giving it a yank, I loosened my legs around the Kelpie and tightened my grip on my sword. Snapping out a mental order, I formed the end of the chain into a handle seconds before it pulled me from the Kelpies back.

Wind pulled and sliced at my body harshly as the Unseelie below caught sight of me soaring overhead. Flinging my free hand at the ground, I curled it into a fist and laughed when the ground opened up beneath them. Soldiers in purple tunics screamed as they slipped under the earth’s surface while some of the smarter ones traveled out. White hot pain flashed to life across my wrist, drawing a hiss of pain from my lips and weakening my grip. Gritting my teeth, I forced my fingers to curl tighter around the handle as my body slammed up against the wall.

Planting my feet on the brick, I sneered up at the archers notching their iron arrows. I was about to swing myself to the side as they let the arrows fly when I found I didn’t need to. A thick vine surged past me covering me entirely, the tips of the arrows piercing the thick green skin to stop inches from my face. Sliding my will over the vine, I gently nudged the warm presence holding it until it slipped away. The vine curled around my waist as I let go of the chain, bringing me high above the battling armies.

Grinning, I waited until it slithered underneath my feet and shot forward to form a bridge into the city. Jerking my hands out, palms down, royal blue flames bathed the tops of the walls bringing more screams from below. Strolling forward, flames roared from my palms as vibrations rumbled up the vine. A quick glance over my shoulder showed my soldiers clambering up the vine toward me bringing a wicked smile to my lips. Pulling at the vine, a small portion of it flattened into a small disc like shape and lifted me higher into the air.

Faekind in blue tunics raced over the thick bridge of piling vines to flood the inside of the city as I kept them safe from the attacks below. Like a mighty dragon, my flames torched the enemies on the ground while I opened up the earth periodically to swallow the ones I missed. Spikes of ice and metal whistled through the air in an effort to bring me to the ground, well if that’s what they want...Crouching, I gripped the small platform I was on as it sped towards the ground outside the Kingdom walls. Instead of stopping it before it hit the ground, I drove it deeper beneath the ground after I flung myself into the brawling masses.

Boots skittering over the torn up dirt, I ripped my sword from my sheath and called the other back into my hand. Striking out, I dragged them both across the back of a large male before spinning around him and driving them into the next Fae’s gut. Blue metal glinted out in the moonlight as I cut my way across the field towards the Kingdoms gates. Blood splashed across my face spurting out from the headless female’s corpse that quickly slumped to the ground. Charred bodies crunched under my sprinting feet as I raced towards the large gates keeping most of my army outside the city.

“MOVE!” I roared at the Trolls tunneling underneath it and swung both swords to my right side.

Still running, I slashed the tips across the ash covered dirt in a violent motion that had my entire body spinning horizontally through the air. Instead of flames, the large vine from earlier broke through the ground and rammed through the gates as if they were made of glass. My feet hit the back of the vine and I rode into the city on it like a large worm with a maniacal laugh spilling from my lips. The sounds of war ravaged my ears at an increased volume as my soldiers collided with Mab’s true army.

From my vantage point, my eyes soaked in the thousands of purple tunic’d soldiers blocking our path from the midpoint of the city to the castle. Narrowing in on the thin line where the two armies met, I tipped my head back and gave a scream of bloodlust that seemed to echo through the air. Shrill howling screams answered back and a wave of darkness raced towards the front of the conflict at a supernatural speed. Laughing, I stepped off the vine and dropped down into the racing hoard of Banshees.

The flapping of their black cloaks caught the walls of the buildings as did their giggling laughter and bellowing screams that promised death. Grinning, I pushed my will over the ground and willed it to propel me forward to match their speed. Our soldiers parted to make way for us, giving the other side a view of us that had them screaming for a retreat. When we were close enough to see the whites of their eyes, I slid my tongue over my sharpened teeth with a sneer. Planting a foot on the soldiers shield, I launched myself into their ranks as the Banshee’s began picking them off one at a time.

The city was a mess of warring abilities, that tore the Kingdom apart, and the bodies of the fallen. Stumbling over a lifeless Troll, I shortened my swords into long daggers and slammed my spiked forearm guard into the face of the male trying to cut the back of my thigh. Panting, I opened up the ground around me and watched the enemies slip into its depths. Spiked vines whipped past me to make a hole in Mab’s surging army for me to dive through. A recently arrived Bria twirled in beside me, cutting down any Fae stupid enough to get close to her.

Ducking underneath the swing of a sword, I rammed my dagger underneath the female’s collarbone and ripped it across. Turning, I swung wide with my left arm and- My teeth snapped together at the agony that ripped into my left shoulder thrusting me back a few steps. The iron spear began to sting and numb the surrounding area as the bitch welding it drove it deeper. Fuck. Flinging my right hand out, I managed to slash her across the eyes before a blue axe cleaved her head from her neck. Cillian’s dirt and blood splattered body appear before me with a dark look clouding his features.

Watch my back.

Always. He replied, flicking his gaze to the spear sticking out of my shoulder before Bria appeared beside us.

The Grymes siblings circled me, dropping every purple tunic’d soldier that caught sight of me. Dropping my weapons, I panted out a pained grunt as I gripped the numbing metal. Royal blue flooded the sides of my vision caused by the passing soldiers stopping to cover me as well. Bracing my feet with gritted teeth, I ripped the spear from my shoulder on an enraged scream. Agony gripped me but I pushed it away and dropped the spear. I was done fucking around. Turning, I went to hiss that I was heading for Mab when I was roughly shoved to the right.

“Son of a bitch!” I snarled, whipping around to kill someone for slamming my injured shoulder and immediately froze.

Brown eyes stared up at the starry sky as his body jerked with each painful gurgle that left his throat. Deep red blood pumped out around the cylinder shape of the arrow’s body that stuck out from the front of his neck. Before I could move, I heard a scream of pain and watched Aolfie come sliding to her knees beside Erick. A sob tore from her throat as her shaking hands hovered over his bloodied face and around the iron arrow in his throat. Ignoring the war around her, she whispered to him and clutched his weakening hand.

Red rimmed eyes swung up to mine and sobbed, “He gave his life for yours. Make-make it count.”

Giving her a hard nod, I called my weapons back into my hands as the earth rolled to cover them in a protective dome. I hadn’t known Erick as well as the others but that didn’t make his death any less painful. He had lived a long life but he deserved a longer one and that was something Mab had stolen from him. Erick had died a death that wasn’t his, that iron had been meant for me.

Tendrils of rage curled around my mind prompting a stomp of my boot that had the earth rocketing me into the air. Objects of ice and metal speared through the sky around me narrowly missing me and adding fuel to my rage. Brow furrowing, I snapped the wills connected to them and sent them back to their creators. Fae dropped like dominos across the streets the soldiers fought on while I hurled myself at the closest rooftop. Pulling my right arm into my chest, I took the impact on my un-injured shoulder as I hit the gravel strewn roof.

Rolling, I planted a foot out and forward using the momentum of my roll to propel me to my feet. Striking out with both daggers, I cut through the archers lining the sides with barely a breath between kills. Sneering with sharpened teeth, I slammed my boot into the last female’s back and sent her toppling from the roof to the fight below. Ignoring her scream, I put two fingers to my mouth and gave a sharp whistle that cut through the sounds of war. Arrows pierced the roof around me, knocked off course by a sharp wind from a helpful soldier.

Blue flames followed my line of sight as I looked to the left and then to the right causing the archers to travel out or jump down to avoid being burned. Dark shadows swelled along the bottom of the buildings where the Banshees waited for their meals to come barreling down. Turning, I charged across the roof and took a leap of faith into the fray on the next street. Panting in adrenaline, I flipped my long daggers and drove them into the shoulders of the Fae I landed on. Feet slamming into the ground, I ripped them from his body and slashed them across the chest of his comrade in a twirling arc.

A sudden kick to my ankle knocked me off balance and sent me to the ground hard. The weapons flew from my grip as my chin smacked against the hard packed dirt and dragged a gasp from my lungs. With an imaged thought, the ground pulled me under its surface, rotated me face up and forcefully spit my body back out. Blinking the grit from my eyes rapidly, I latched my arms and legs around the male who attacked me. Laughing maniacally at the surprised amour covered idiot, I buried my head into his uncovered throat and sunk my sharp teeth into his jugular.

The odd flesh and chewy sensation threatened to distract me but I sunk my teeth deeper at his gurgled screams and locked my jaw. Shaking my head like I’d seen Kaiya do in her shifted form, I viciously yanked my head back and released my hold on him. His body slumped to the ground in a loud clang of armor that sounded too loud for a war as I turned to face the side of the street leading to the castle. The Fae fighting on the street in purple and royal blue tunics alike had paused mid-warring to stare at me with different emotions in their eyes.

Opening my mouth, I let the flesh fall to the dirt with a thump and a high pitched laugh that sounded crazed to my own ears. Soldiers snapped out their shock as belly laughing Trolls crashed through the buildings to attack. Grinning, I waited until my daggers slapped back into my palms and nudged the earth. Before I could move, however. I heard it. A sharp crack split the sky and deep purple strikes of lighting rained down on the Kingdom. My eyes narrowed when a strike on the street further down, sent soldiers from each side flying into the buildings.

Looks like Mab finally came out to play.

Taking out the archers allowed us to push closer to the castle. It’s time, Macha. Are you ready?

I cracked my neck and quickly stretched my limbs, I am.

Where are you? We’re three blocks from the Castle.

I am too, must be somewhere to the side of you. But stay there, keep our army back.

Macha-

I don’t need any distractions while fighting Mab, Cillian. We talked about this, everyone stays back.

Fine.

I knew he wasn’t happy but it was for the best. This all started with me and Mab, it was going to end with me and Mab.

Spotting a clearish area further up the street, a blue haze took over as I traveled to that spot. Pain flooded through my veins as something slashed across my back causing me to spin and shove my dagger underneath their chin. Pulling it free of their head, their body dropped and I traveled again. I continued like this until I reached the Castle gates, with every stop I made becoming more and more hostile. Lightning strikes became more frequent until the Kingdom was a show of purple flashes and blue flames for as far as the eye could see. Cuts and bruises littered my body but thankfully the only major injury was the one to my left shoulder.

In front of the deep purple and steel colored gate, I took a deep breath and forced my will over the gates. Flinging open at my command, I cautiously strolled into Mab’s inner domain. Flexing my fingers around the handles of the forming swords, my eyes shot around the silent courtyard for any sign of Mab. Pale skin and long purple hair flashed in the corner of my right eye before a bright flash of deep purple sent my body tumbling back out of the gates and onto the street.

The fabric of my tunic tore exposing my skin to the rough dirt as my swords slipped from my grip and excruciating pain rattled my bones. My body bounced harshly across the street and reopened wounds burned at the touch of dirt until my back slammed into the brick of a building. Gasping in pain, I slammed my hand to the ground and pushed up slightly to peer through the cloud of dirt. Sharp purple eyes peered back at me as she crossed over the threshold of her castle and into the street on velvet slippered feet. Her long deep purple robe lined with gold swept the ground with every slow step while sharp features curled in disdain at the area around her.

Mab’s cold voice slithered through the air to my ears, “You never learn do you? Bastards have only one destiny and that’s to hobble in the shadows unnoticed.”

“Fuck you.” I spat through gritted teeth, shoving myself to my feet. “I’m a hell of a lot more than a Bastard.”

“No, you’re not.” Mab replied with finality in her voice that would have cut me deeply centuries ago. “But I’m not surprised you’d think that. You never could settle in your place.”

I gave a bitter laugh, watching her closely as she began to casually move further away from the castle, “What place was that? Chained up in your dungeon? I was a child.”

“You were a nuisance I should’ve killed in the crib. And you’re nothing more than an irritable pest now.”

I tilted my head with a grin as my swords flew back into my hands, “Awww, you’re too kind.”

Instead of answering, she nodded to the bottom of the small hill the castle sat on, “You brought your people to die again for a throne you don’t belong on.”

“Yeah. Well neither do you, Bitch.”

Deep purple eyes swung to meet my gaze, “That throne will always belong to me. And so will the Realm. It’s my destiny.”

“You’re just an unfun basket of bat shit insane, aren’t you?” I replied, stepping forward. “You’re a tyrant, not a Divine.”

A pale hand lazily dragged through the air as malice flashed across her sharp features, “I took the power, it’s mine. All of it is mine and I’m going to show the realm what it means to cross a Divine, tonight.”

Electricity crackled in the air causing the hair on my arms to rise in awareness as a dome of dark purple lightning caged us in. The flickering dome casted a purple light over us, turning the buildings within the makeshift cage to ash. Coughing as particles filled my lungs, I began moving closer to her with squinted eyes. The war below us winked in and out of the bottom of my vision as Mab’s hard voice rang out again.

“I have more pictures, you know. You didn’t burn them all in that Estate, perhaps I’ll make a gallery of your pain for the masses to enjoy after you die. I have videos as well. Looks like you were good for something after all.”

Fury consumed me at her words and vines sprung from the earth as a result. The thorn laden tips ripped through the air, surging towards Mab’s still form violently. Frost quickly crawled over the vines stopping them inches for her unphased form, shattering them into millions of pieces. Eyes narrowed, Mab and I stared at each other over the expanse of ice and ash covered ground. A dark purple brow arched and my rage increased but I refused to strike first again so I did what I did best. I toyed with the weak.

“I thought you were the Divine, Mab. What’s wrong? You don’t have the power you claim to have? Not surprising. You always did have others winning your battles for you.”

The dome above us cracked harshly and Mab’s lips twisted into a deadly scowl seconds before she flung a hand at me. Diving out of the way of the large ball of ice speeding towards my chest, I rolled as it crashed into the ground with a devastating blow. Jumping to my feet, I sprinted towards her while slashing the ground with the tips of my swords. Blue lines of fire shot out ahead of me, melting the ice around her and burning the ground close to her slippered feet.

A sudden downpour of rain doused my flames enough for Mab to freeze the ground and my feet in place. Shorting my swords into daggers, I pulled my arms back and launched them in her direction. Focusing on the ice, I pushed my will over it and fought back against the presence that clung to it. A shriek of rage rang out and the will I was fighting against disappeared. Melting the ice, I created a muddy wave that rolled me towards Mab like a roaring freight train through the thick rain.

A sharp pulsing started at my temples as she tried to forcefully take the mud from me. Freezing the liquid dirt around my feet, I squatted down and increased the speed of the wave I rode. Lightning crackled overhead and before I could react, a blast of raw electricity hit me directly in the gut. My hold over the mud faltered enough for her to rip it from my will as I flew several feet back. Winded, I scrambled to my feet and created an arch of earth above my head that shielded me from the sharp icicles raining down.

Panting, I looked down and lifted the hem of my tunic to see the damage. Gritting my teeth at the way the fabric pulled away from the raw skin, I gently probed the charred skin above my belly button. Livable. Dropping the hem, I ignored the pain that sparked with every breath and ran out from underneath my covering. My boots pounded into the muddy ground that was quickly hardening as I approached Mab. Blood slid down the left side of her face from the small cut on her defined cheekbone, dramatizing her murderous look.

The dome above cracked again but this time I was ready. Snapping her control from the water, blood trickled down my nose as I dropped to my back and used the water to propel me forward. Lightning struck the ground centimeters from my scalp several times before my legs crashed into Mab’s. Toppling over me, I gripped her shoulder and slammed my elbow into her jaw repeatedly as we continued to slide across the muddy ground. Nails digging into my arm, Mab shot spears of electricity into my veins that had me gritting my teeth.

Pressing my thumb into her eye, I relished her scream of agony as blood dripped onto my face. Body shaking from the electricity frying my nerves, I slammed my free fist into her rib cage and flipped us. Straddling her waist, I sneered as my swords pierced her shoulders and pinned her to the ground. A purple eye glared up at me in irrivacobable rage while her chest heaved in pained breaths. Forming a sharp icicle in my left hand, I shifted back and rammed it into her hip causing her back to bow as another scream ripped from her throat.

“Look at that. Now, we have matching wounds.”

Mab’s pale face twisted darkly in her rage, “You little bitch.”

Raising a flaming hand, I went to end this once in for all when a blast of purple light stole my vision. Agony flooded my system so intensely that I couldn’t stop my back from arching or the scream that ripped from my throat. What felt like a vibrating white heat surged through my body burning everything it’s path as my limbs locked painfully in place. Air refused to enter my lungs while I screamed my throat raw until the pain finally stopped. Sagging I fell into the mud at her side, breathlessly gasping as my mind refused to form a coherent thought.

Grunting sounded out beside me and then a bleeding Mab kicked my head to the side, “Did you honestly think you could win? You’re nothing, not even worth the dirt you died on. Bastards hold no claims to a throne, Daughter. Especially not a bastard like you.” The dark purple dome fell, allowing a crowd to surge forward. “Which should I kill first? I think I’ll start with my wayward Commander. Betraying the Divine for the False Queen, no. I can’t let that go unpunished.”

Eyes widening, I searched the crowd charging forward and realized I knew everyone heading towards us. Silver shined in the dim light of the night as a stoic Cillian led the charge and my sluggish heart started to race in fear. Flicking my gaze between them and Mab, I tried to reach out mentally to stop him but the connection was lost. Rolling painfully to my stomach, I dug my nails into the dirt and tried to shout for them to stop but no sound came from my raw throat. Dark purple light flooded the corner of my eye and I realized she was going to smite them.

Smite them like she was the God. Smite them light she had the right. Take everything from me all over again. Fuck that. Pushing my hands into the dirt, I gritted my teeth in a silent scream as my vision wavered and my legs trembled in my effort to stand. I was Macha fucking O’Riordan and I refused to let this bitch kill everyone I cared about again. A soothing sense of energy rolled over my body as a blue light flooded over the ground in front of me. I was the last living Divine. I was the rightful God of Tir Na Nog and it was my fucking time to rule.

Energy hummed through my body as I got to my feet, “I’m not dead yet, bitch.”

Blue light tinted her muddy clothing and face as she turned to face me, “How?”

“Because I’m the last living Divine.” Forcing my lips to part in a sharp grin, I steadied my feet as the earth rolled under us and a deafening crack filled the air, “And your on my fucking throne.”

Her purple eye pinned itself over my shoulder as her castle crumpled in on itself with a ground shaking rumble. Dust exploded outwards when the last tower fell inwards and the screams stopped coming. Releasing a crazed scream of rage, Mab shot the lightning bolt that had been gathered into her hands directly at me. The bright dark purple energy cracked and sizzled as it cut through the air towards me but never met my skin.

Lifting a hand, the bolt of lightning pooled together in my palm, creating a dark purple orb of crackling energy. Flicking my gaze to Mab, I sneered, “You think you have power?” Closing my fist around the energy, it fizzled out with a loud pop that caused Mab to cry out in agony. Tsking, I purred in a voice that sounded completely different then my own, “This is power.”

Raising my arms to the sky, the rain halted as dark clouds rolled in smothering the stars from view. Brows furrowing at the strain, I pulled on something deep inside of me that felt right and watched as royal blue light flickered through the clouds. Blue flashes brought light to the realm before plunging us all back into darkness, allowing me to take a flickering glimpse of the glorious fear crawling over Mab’s face.

The ground bucked underneath us, causing buildings to crumple as deep crevices of water sprung up from the cracks. With one thought, royal blue lightning began to rain down from the sky in a spiderweb of electricity around the entire Kingdom. Water whipped through the air to curl in on itself, pummeling the soldiers in purple as several typhoons started spinning through the streets. Metal twisted and impaled it’s owners in purple with a sharp mental command that brought a hysterical laugh to my lips. Spreading my fingers, royal blue flames jumped from Faekind to Faekind burning them alive as explosions rocked the ground further.

Ripping my eyes from the city, I lurched forward taking Mab by surprise. Digging my nails into her shoulders, I ignored the tickle of blood sliding over my lips and reached deeper into myself. Bright shocks of blue and purple lighting rained down from the sky in thunderous bolts that seemed to shake the very realm. A blue light began to radiate from underneath my hands causing Mab’s body to bow backwards in a shrill scream that brought pleasure to my soul. The light flooding her body almost drowned out her features entirely as her bones began to break.

The loud crack of her spine had a grin curving my lips and the feel of her shoulders crumbling in my grip caused a warmth to fill my chest. Bringing her closer to my face until the light from my eyes caused her to close her one good one, I whispered, “You should’ve just loved me, you cruel cold-hearted cunt.”

Pulling back, I gripped her head in my hands and gave it a hard twist that caused the frail skin of her neck to rip. Blue light shone out from her neck for several seconds before her body crumpled to ash. Panting, I stared down at the pile that was once Mab and felt….empty, hollow. Lifting my head, I looked over the terrifying show of my power and willed it to stop.

Like it had all been a hallucination, the lightning ceased as the clouds parted to allow the moon and stars to shine down on us again. The giant cyclones of water fell gently to the ground, slipping back to where they came from as the earth sealed shut behind it. Metal fell to the ground with a clang and then I was staring down at thousands of slack jawed Faekind.

A small amount of Fae in purple tunics dotted the sea of blue as the rest of Mab’s army littered the floor. The night was completely silent as I gazed down at them all and they stared up at me. Stumbling a few steps forward, I watched a good amount of them flinch and felt my heart pinch a little. They were afraid of me.

A commotion caused the crowd at the very front to split and then Cillian was there. Shooting me a proud grin, the blood and dirt covered giant maneuvered his Kelpie so he was facing the crowd. Lifting a blue axe, his whiskey voice roared out, “ALL HAIL THE UNBREAKABLE DIVINE AND THE TRUE QUEEN OF THE REALM!”

The crowd broke into cheers and calls of victory as they screamed back, “LONG LIVE THE GOD QUEEN!”

“-THE DEATH GOD!”

“-THE UNBREAKABLE DIVINE!”

Yeahhhh, they really needed to settle on a name, I thought with a gasping laugh as I raised Mab’s head into the air making them roar back their satisfaction. And then promptly crumpled to the ground as the pain finally caught up with me.

——-

Woah.

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