The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

Chapter Fifty-One: Rampage

A few hours later....

Pressing a finger to my lips, I cautioned the others to keep quiet as we approached the Estate. Still about a half mile away hidden between the trees, we could see the soldiers lined along the Estate's clearing. Shifting periodically and leaving little to no openings that we could slip through, the protection along the building was even more intense. With another line of soldiers stationed along the top of the wall, there were easily twenty soldiers that we needed to get around. And that wasn't counting the unknown numbers possibly inside. If these had been guards instead of soldiers, I wouldn't have thought twice about our entry. However soldiers were much more highly trained then guards, so as much as I hated to admit it? The Royal Unseelie shield on their purple tunics gave me pause. This definitely wasn't a regular Estate.

Brows dipping together, I drummed my fingertips against the side of my right thigh as I thought on how to proceed. I could take them all out but that would leave a chance for one or more of them to travel out and warn the nearest army post. We would be overrun in minutes. What to do, what to do... Our best bet while down two soldiers would be to create a distraction-

"My Queen? I heard about your damsel in distress routine, perhaps it would work again?"

Smiling at memory, I replied softly, "While that would be extraordinarily fun, General. That would draw too much attention and runs the risk of us not getting inside. And I want inside, General."

Giving me a sharp nod of understanding, Erick went back to watching the treeline filled with enemy soldiers.

Humming lowly, I scanned over the soldiers with me at the moment. And then a thought hit me, I could do this. I just had to do it alone. "Stay here and stay quiet. If anything goes wrong, travel out."

"My Queen? Where are you going?" Erick question, hand clasped around my shoulder to stop me from walking deeper into the forest.

Shaking out of his hold, I repeated, "If anything goes wrong, leave. We're outnumbered almost five-to-one. That's an order, General."

Brown eyes narrowed, "My Queen, you can't possibly-"

Pushing past Erick, I plucked a ring from my index finger and quickly wound my long hair into a tight bun at the base of my neck. The second my hair was secured, the metal on my fingers slipped over my skin to morph into my trusty twin swords. Rolling the tension from my shoulders, I weaved around tree after tree until I felt that I had gone far enough. Twisting the handles of the swords in my palms, I drew in a deep breath, Here goes nothing.

Spreading my feet, I dug my heels into the dirt and.....How exactly did I do this? The last and only time I had done this, I wasn't actually thinking of anything at all. Did I just think 'fly' or 'launch me' and it'd just- Holy motherfucker! Losing my breath on a gasp, the sense of zero gravity took over my body as the wind pulled at my clothing. When tree's quickly became dot's of green sprinkled through with brown, I snapped my eyes towards the Estate before I lost my window of opportunity. From this altitude, I could see the very top of the building and everything that had been hidden behind the walls.

Soldiers, three rows deep, lined the inside of the courtyard surrounding the tall circular building. Fuck. So landing in the shadows of the courtyard was out, I thought, mind racing as my body halted mid-air. My eyes snagged on the small roof of the Estate itself just as my body was snatched back into gravity's unforgiving grip. Making a split second decision that would give everyone a heart attack when they found out, I traveled.

My ass hit the hard brick of the roof followed by my back seconds before the hard surface parted. I fell through, catching a glimpse of the soldiers shifting to look over their shoulders before the gap disappeared. Falling a few more feet, my body jolted as I hit the ground hard. Head jerking, I winced when the back of my skull cracked against the wooden floor boards. Not allowing myself more than that, I rolled onto my stomach before jumping to my feet. Swords outstretched in a fighting position, my eyes frantically searched the room for soldiers. Coming up empty, I strained my ears for any nose that would signal a multitude of soldiers headed my way.