The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)
Chapter Fifty-Five: An Enigma

“Oh. My. Divines.” I forced out, completely mortified as I jumped to my feet. “Stop talking, Malachy. I’m begging you.”

“Macha, all I’m saying is that maybe-”

Slapping my hands to my ears, I loudly sang, “LA LA LA LA LA! I’M NOT LISTENING!”

The features of his brown face twisted as he crossed his arms over his chest, “Very mature, Macha. If you had-”

“No.” I stressed, throwing my arms out dramatically to my sides. “No. I’ve sat here and listened to you lecture me on everything from the time I cleaned out an entire chocolatier shop to my choice in clothing in the seventeenth century. But I will not, I absolutely fucking refuse, I’d rather gouge my eyes out with a rusty spoon then sit here and listen to you talk about my first time.” There had to be some type of law against this, Divines I couldn’t even look him in the eye.

“Why not? It was so cute. You were all nervous and clumsy, like a baby fawn. And you completely freaked out afterwards. It was adorable.”

Groaning in sheer embarrassment, I fought the urge to run away, “We are not talking about this Malachy. Not ever. I can’t believe you saw that, I thought no one had seen. Why couldn’t you let me continue living in ignorance!”

He shook his head, dark blue locks shining in the starlight, “Would you relax? Divines, everyone’s first time is more or less like that. Ifreann, mine was similar to-”

“Is it possible to pray to yourself to kill yourself? Because being a god, I’m a little lost on who I should be selling my soul to in order to make this trainwreck end.”

Dark blue eyes rolled, “I don’t understand why you’re so embarrassed, Macha. I’m your father, not a stranger.”

“Is that supposed to make me feel better?” I shrieked. “Because it doesn’t!”

“Is it because you threw up afterwards? Because that’s normal too. I mean, I didn’t but it happens.”

Pressing my palms to my eyes, I shook my head in frantic desperation. I was going to kill him. I was going to kill my already dead father. There was no other way. Really, I have no choice. He won’t stop fucking talking and I don’t think anything will ever erase this conversation from my mind. How does he not get that certain things you just don’t talk to your kid about? The only way to salvage the tiny shred that was my dignity at this point was to kill him. Divines, would the bastard even stay dead though? Could you even kill someone who was already dead?

“Or is it because you slipped in it afterwards? I have to admit that was hilarious. ”

Was it possible to feel homicidal rage and crippling humiliation at the same time because if not, I just created a new emotion. I think I’ll call it homicidal humiliation. With my palms still covering my eyes, I snapped, “You are such an asshole.”

“Macha, honestly. You’ve learned so much since then, so what if your first kill was sloppy? Everyones is.”

Please who ever the fuck is listening, get me the ifreann out of here! Pulling my hands from my eyes, I pressed them together tightly and shook them with each word, “I cannot explain, in enough languages in the multiverse, how much I do not want to talk about this with you.”

“Why?”

I opened my mouth to snap at his oblivious question when a bout of nausea hit me hard. Hands flying to my stomach, I bent at the waist in reflex and ballooned my cheeks when I felt a thick sensation climbing up my throat. Swallowing forcefully, I panted as my body flashed hot and then cold rapidly. A heaviness settled in my bones and without my consent my hands dropped to my sides while I swayed on my feet.

“Oh no, you don’t, Young Lady! We’re not done here!” Malachy shouted, lunging towards me.

Violently forcing my lips to move into a grin, I pushed out, “See ya, Old Man. Maybe next time we can talk about how I vandalized your shine back in the day. Oh? You didn’t see that? One hint: it evolved Kelpie shit and Gnomes blood.”

The amount of rage visible in his eyes was enough to send a tendril of fear racing down my spine, “THAT WAS YOU?”

But in a breath and a blink, my father disappeared from view as my body fell weightlessly through time and space. Though I did manage to hear a roar of rage that brought amusement to my very soul before I hit what felt like a bed of pillows. Grunting at the sensation, I immediately winced when every nerve ending I possessed fired back to life.

My head lifted off the pillow with a gasping inhale before dropping back down without my consent. The loud voices talking somewhere close by cut off abruptly at my interruption as I tried to open my eyes against the bright light. Swallowing to wet my throat, I croaked, “Thank fuck, he was….about to kick my ass.”

Finally, finally. My eyelids split apart enough for my eyes to dilate and allow the inside of the tent to take shape. The yellowish blob that had been hovering directly over my face slowly took shape and I instantly grimaced.

“Macha! You look fantastic! Well, not great but fantastic for a dying God!” Puck exclaimed, golden eyes bright in excitement.

“Go...Go choke on a rainbow….and die, Sun Ray.”

A third party broke into our conversation gruffly and drew my gaze, “Because he’s gay?”

Skin the color of light caramel and dressed in a grey t-shirt with black sweatpants, stood a man on the left side of Puck. He was tall, probably around my height, with a square jaw and a crooked nose that carried the weight of his thin glasses. The male met my gaze head on with a pair of bored dark brown eyes in conflict with the slight bite in his gruff tone. It was almost like he was perpetually unamused and something about that amused me. It called to me in the way that Kaiya’s vicious nature called to mine.

“Gay? Babes, who...gives a fuck if h-he’s gay? He’s Se-” I paused, momentarily stunned when he walked away in the middle of my sentence. But decided not to kill him when he came back with a cup of water. Taking a grateful sip, I finished with a clearer voice, “He’s Seelie…besides I’m ninety-nine percent sure he’s...asexual.”

A calloused hand slipped into mine and squeezed, “Give her the cure. We don’t know how much time she has.”

“Lilly.” I rasped, flopping my head to the left to find him sitting beside me on the bed.

Silver eyes softened, “Cell Bait. I’m happy to see you haven’t managed to die for the third time.”

Lips twitching, I murmured, “It’s a ta...lent.” Was it just me or was it getting harder to speak?

“Arseniy.” Lilly urged and I turned my head back to the male.

He seemed to accept that with a lick of his lips before raising a brow and looking over my battered body, “What’d you do to yourself? Use a wood chipper as a slide?”

“If only.”

The male’s, no, Arseniy’s lips tugged up at the corner for a brief moment until his eyes caught the wounds on my chest. Black brows pulled together above his glasses as his gaze roamed to my lower stomach, my right wrist and then down to my legs. Arseniy’s head drifted to the side before snapping around to lock cold eyes on Cillian for less than a second. It was such a sudden change in his demeanor that I almost dismissed the fluid grace and speed in which he moved. I don’t know what I subconsciously assumed he was but it definitely wasn’t human.

The air stilled around him as his eyes flashed with something too quick for me to catch and then his bored look returned, “Everyone out.” Voices immediately raised in denial of the finality of his tone but he lifted a hand decorated in pale gold rings to silence them, “I need privacy and complete silence to cure her. Like your artists, yes?”

I cocked a brow at that. The added yes to the end of his sentence would have made him sound harmless and unsure if you overlooked the coiled strength in his stance. And that’s apparently what my friends and mate did.

“We’ll be right outside, Cell Bait.” Lilly reassured me with another squeeze of my hand. And then to Arseniy, “You have fifteen minutes.”

The brown eyed male was completely focused on them until the flap of the tent entrance closed behind Cillian, who was the last to leave. When we were finally alone he moved quickly and efficiently. In three long strides he stood in front of my desk and then cleared everything sitting on top with a swipe of his arm. Grabbing the ends, Arseniy dragged it over to place it by my head and then went back for the chair. Instead of sitting down however, he reached up and over me giving me a whiff of something expensive and delicious.

“What scent is that, Babes?” I asked, although my voice almost dropped out completely on the word scent.

“You know, my friend has a theory.” He murmured, shoving the other pillow beneath my head.

I tried to shift my weight to make it easier for him but couldn’t get my body to cooperate,“What’s….that?”

Pulling back, he dropped down on the chair to dig around in something on the floor before standing again. Lifting a small strip of leather to my lips, he nodded his head with an encouraging look, “Bite down on this. I’d give you a pain killer but it’s been a while since I’ve treated a Fae. I don’t remember what works well with your kind.”

Opening my mouth, I bit down on the leather strap when he slid it between my teeth.

Leaning down, he slid his arms underneath mine pressing our chests together as he counted down, “In one...two...two...four…”

I made the mistake of relaxing in confusion at his shitty counting and that’s when he made his move. I didn’t even feel the tensing of his muscles before he yanked me into a sitting position. A scream of agony tore through me muffled by the strip of leather that my sharpened teeth cut straight through. He yanked his arms back quickly and watched me carefully as I panted through the misery of feeling my wounds tear back open.

Spitting out the leather, I shot him a dirty look feeling slightly more awake from the pain than before, “Asshole.”

“Believe it or not, I’ve been called that a time or two dozen.” He replied, lip curving into a small smirk. Dropping into the chair beside me, Arseniy yanked a large black bag up onto the desk. Pushing his glasses up higher on his nose, he began pulling a bunch of glass jars from his bag, “So, anyways. My friend, she has this theory that anyone who uses a nickname for strangers is a big flirt.”

I gave him a weak grin, “Tell her, her theory is correct.”

“I will. How’s your mate feel about that?”

Watching him pull a large syringe and a bowl from the bag, I waited until he started opening the jars to say, “He knows who I am and-and I know who he is.”

“Must be tough for him to handle. Species with mates tend to have issues with jealousy and possessiveness.” Arseniy replied calmly, his gruff voice giving it a rough edge.

Fishing because the man just moved too fluidly, I tiredly asked, “And... your kind?”

Instead of answering, he took a small scoop of dark red powder from one jar and sprinkled it into an empty one. Next, Arseniy poured a generous amount of clear liquid into the jar and mixed it with the spoon. Tapping it against the rim, he placed the spoon on the desk and then held the small jar to my lips, “Drink. It’ll give your body’s natural healing system the energy boost it needs to handle the cure.”

After swallowing the contents in a large gulp, I lifted a brow at the burning sensation it caused on the way down. A burning that pushed the invisible weight off my lungs and allowed me to draw in deeper, more satisfying breaths, “Is it supposed to work this fast?”

Leaning back, he dug into his left pocket, “You’ll feel perfectly fine for about five minutes before it wears off. Just long enough to take the cure. And no.”

“No, what?”

“My kind doesn’t do mates. We’re morrrrre....” As he drew out the word in thought, he pulled a slim gold case and matching lighter from his pocket. “Seasonal.”

Interesting. Not that they couldn’t choose mates but that they didn’t do mates.

The word seemed to amuse him in some way because he gave me another small smirk before licking his lips and sliding a cigarette between them. I watched as he flicked back the top of the lighter and brought the flame to the end of the white tip. Stubble free cheeks hollowed out gently as he took a deep inhale and I couldn’t resist taunting him, “Your bedside manner is shit.”

A gray cloud rushed out on his exhale, “Good thing, I’m not an actual doctor then.” Holding the cigarette between two ringed fingers, he dug into his bag with his free hand once again. “Under normal circumstances, I’d slowly establish trust in a judgement free way that would allow you to open up to me. Once you confirmed my suspicions, I’d introduce you to a friend that’d take on the more emotional aspects of the situation. But, you living in an entirely different realm complicates things. So, I’m going to do something that my friends would rip my balls off for.”

“And that’d be?”

Placing the smoking cigarette in the corner of his mouth, he reached his newly freed hand behind his back. From the T.V. shows I used to watch in prison, I recognized the object he grabbed and wielded so casually as a gun. Puffing out another cloud of smoke from the corner of his lips, Arseniy fiddled with the weapon while speaking, “I know your mate hits you. I know he caused that old scar on your chest and I know that he’s hurt you again recently. At least three of, what I’m guessing are whip marks on your body, came from him. So, you have two options.”

He took a moment to slide back the top of his gun with metallic snick before locking brown eyes on my blue ones, “Option one, I go out there and fired an iron bullet into your mates brain quicker than the eye can see and you pardon me for it because I hear your going to be Queen. Or Option two, where I leave you my card and when you’re ready, you give me a call and we set up an extraction plan. Personally, I like option one.”

Stunned, I gave him a closer look, “Did Cillian or Dani tell you all that?”

“No.”

“Then how the fuck did you know that? Are you a Seer?” It was a good guess on my part but I wasn’t sure Seers cared for material things like jewelry.

He gave a slow smile pulling the cigarette from his lips and pointing it at me, “Nice try. Call it a sixth sense, yes?”

“You’re not going to tell me what you are, are you Babes?”

“Ah, smart and beautiful.” He replied, turning back to his glass jars and laying his gun on the wooden desk. “Now, which option is it?”

I shook my head, “I’m not being abused. Lilly did what he had to do.”

His hands froze mid pour and shot me a bland side-eye, “Do you know how many times I’ve heard that?”

“Long story short, the scar was the result of him saving my life and these recent ones were a necessary evil. He needed to play a part until we finally got what we needed. I’m kind of in the middle of a war with my bitch mother. Trust me, Cillian is the last person that would take his frustrations out on me. Plus, it helps that I can kick his ass with nothing more than a stray thought if I wanted.”

Pinching the small black top of a square jar, I watched a yellow tinged liquid race into the dropper as he released pressure. Carefully raising it up and to the side, he dropped four droplets into a bowl with more red powder, white shavings and another liquid. Curious, I watched as he mixed it up into a thick sludge before taking a deep drag from his cigarette.

Sandwiching the half finished stick between his long fingers, Arseniy blew the smoke into the air on his left, “That sounds just crazy enough to be believable. I’ll leave you my card just in case but if I find out you lied….I’ll come back and blow this place to kingdom come, yes?”

“I like you, Babes. You don’t really care for consequences, do you?” I mused.

He shrugged, taking one last pull off the dwindling cigarette before stubbing it out on the desk, “Life’s too short to give a fuck about other peoples rules. Or care what they think.”

Grinning weakly, I nodded to his hands, “If your rings weren’t enough to convince me, you just did. You’re my newest new best friend.”

“I don’t know…” Arseniy drawled, reaching for the syringe and bowl. “Do you wear rings?”

I gave a false gasp, “How dare you, I’m pretty sure I evented rings. The motherfuckers who captured me took them all, I’m actually sad ab-”

A wet cough rattled my chest, choking off the rest of my words caused him to lean forward in his seat, “It’s time. You have to drink all of this and heads up, it’s an acquired taste. So...you want me to shoot it down the back of your throat or do you want to gulp it down?”

Lifting a brow, I laughed, “Are you always this gentlemanly in the bedroom?”

“Only if they’re boring.”

“I’ve never been a spitter, Babes. I’ll gulp it down.” I purred, laughing internally at his matter-a-fact tone.

Smirking, he raised the bowl to my lips, “Good. Now tilt your head back for me, yes?”

Pushing my amusement down at the double entendre of our situation, I leaned my head back as he tipped the bowl further. The thick red sludge hit my bottom lip before slowly rolling over my tongue. Almost gravelly in it’s consistency, I instantly began to swallow when a metallic and bitter taste assaulted my tastebuds. I felt Arseniy’s hand cup the back of my head as I slowed and he forced the bowl higher to upend more sludge into my mouth. Wrinkling my nose at the favor, I took larger gulps of the cure and pushed the bowl back when there was nothing left.

“Ugh. That really does taste like shit, Babes.” I grimaced, wiping my mouth with the back of my hand. “So, how will I know it’s working?”

“It’s fast acting so as soon as-”

Lurching forward, I snatched the bowl from his hands and brought it to my mouth in time to catch the first spray. Shoulders hunched inwards, I gagged harshly as another spew of gray liquid coated the inside of the white bowl and the sides of my hands.

A large hand patted my shoulder, “Get it all out or you’re fucked.”

Ignoring him, I felt my stomach muscles clench in warning as my throat tightened. Helping it along, I gave a groaning dry heave that caused a rush of liquid to fly past my lips and into the bowl. When I finally seemed to be out of all bodily fluids, I dropped back against the pillows and drew in deep breaths. The bowl filled to the brim with a grey liquid was gently pried from my hands and placed on the desk with a soft thunk.

There wasn’t a flicker of disgust on Arseniy’s face as his hands became dirtied by my vomit. With a calm expression, he withdrew a white cloth from his bag and wiped his hands clean before turning and doing the same to mine. The male was an enigma. He looked perpetually uncaring and bored at his situation but took the time to wipe my hands clean. There was also that flash of coldness I’d caught when he first drew the assumption that Cillian was hitting me. Arseniy seemed to care a lot more than he showed and I found it absolutely adorable. He was like a little bear.

“I have to introduce you to my other best friend. I think you’d both get along great, Little Bear.”

A black brow arched, “I’m not a bear shifter.”

“Oh, I know. They’re a lot more barrel chested and grumbly. You remind me of a little bear, though.” I finished with a smile at his incredulous look as the others came rushing in.

“Is she healed?” Were the first words out of Cillian’s mouth.

Arseniy nodded, pushing his glasses up higher on the bridge of his crooked nose, “Yes. She’s going to need at least twenty four hours of uninterrupted bed rest. There is no longer any silver in her body but she’s still suffering from the wounds and the cure drained a lot of her energy. You Fae heal fast, yes? She’ll be fine but will need double the normal amount to completely heal.”

Boots thumping over the carpet, I smiled as Cillian reached down to grip my weak hand, “Just this time, right? This won’t have any lasting effects on her?”

“No. I’m leaving her my card so feel free to call if anything changes or appears worrying.” He replied, tapping two fingers on the small piece of black paper laying flat on the desk.

Cillian reached his free hand out to the male, “I know you only did this to fulfill your deal with Nimue but thank you for saving my mates life.”

“I’m glad I did, although I doubt my Chem grade will feel the same.” Arseniy muttered, clasping Cillian’s forearm and giving it a firm shake.

“Dani will travel you home, I’m sure there’s still time.”

Smirking at his gloomy expression at the remembrance of his grade, I called out as he grabbed his bag, “You were going to let me die for a grade, Little Bear? I’m impressed, I thought you healers were all about saving lives.”

Lips twitching, he shook his head, “I do kill on occasion.”

“That’s funny because I kill on every occasion.”

Cillian snorted and moved to sit beside me as Arseniy smiled and headed towards Dani.

He paused halfway across the tent before coming back over to me and pulling a ring from his left index finger. “A ring lover should never have bare fingers.” Arseniy said, before picking up my hand and sliding the pale gold ring onto my slender thumb where it fit perfectly.

I waited until he was in front of Dani to question the diamond I spotted in the ring on his left hand, “Are you married, Little Bear? I thought you said your mysterious species didn’t mate?”

He turned to face me, looking down at the ring blankly before flicking amused brown eyes up to my blue ones, “More or less engaged and my kind doesn’t. He isn’t my mate and I’m definitely not his.”

“Arranged, then?”

Arseniy grinned, changing his looks from classically handsome to stunning, “I hope I see you again, Macha. Maybe grab a beer or two, I’m sure you have a lot of stories.”

“Ah redirection, my old friend. Fine, have it your way and you can count on that drink. I’ll be bringing my other friend.”

He clasped Dani’s arm and nodded, “Looking forward to it but maybe when my semester is over, yes? Something tells me trouble has a tendency to follow you.”

Arseniy disappeared leaving me with more questions than answers and now I realize how annoying I must be to people. I have the vague feeling I just got a taste of my own medicine and I’m reluctant to admit it.

Arranged marriage? I wasn’t aware supernatural’s were still doing those, I thought the practice died out.

“You know, he kind of reminds me of someone else who’s a master at redirection. Though, a much, much saner version-”

Squeezing his hand, I grinned at Lilly, “I come back from the dead three times now and that’s what you have to say to me? Where’s my grand declaration of love, huh? Or a speech of your undying loyalty?”

Giving me a flat look, he replied, “You’d sprint for the hills if I told you I loved you this early. And you already know you have my undying loyalty. What I can do is get you food and chocolate before I yell at you for almost dying for the third time. How does that sound?”

“Like you really know how to treat a woman.” I sighed, dreamily.

He laughed in response, flashing white teeth and a gorgeous smile. And in that moment, I knew that I’d never tire of this man.

——

I’m really loving Malachy and Macha’s interactions, lmao. And now that we get a bigger taste of Arseniy’s personality, what do we think? Any guesses as to what type of creature he is?? I think I gave a few good hints, some obvious and some not so obvious. I already have a rough idea for his book and it’s going to be intense in a completely different way than Macha’s or Kaiya’s book.

As always, drop a comment or a like if you feel like it!

Smooches, Verbage💋

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