The Bastard Queen (Viciously Yours #2)

Chapter Sixty-Seven: Aftermath

A week later...

"So, I heard a rumor." Daithí drawled, flinging back the tent flap to come inside.

Shuffling the papers that littered my desk with a furrowed brow, I muttered distractedly, "What's that?"

"Did you rip some soldier's throat out? With your teeth?"

Finding the map of the Tir Na Nog, I pushed everything aside as I laid it out, "Vaguely remember doing something like that."

He laughed dryly, sliding his body into the chair across from me, "The war was just last week, Sister. How do you vaguely remember? Have you slept at all?"

"Bloodlust is a hell of a thing and I was unconscious for three of those days. I haven't slept since." I replied, trailing my finger over the mountains and hills with a furrowed brow.

Daithí leaned forward to look at the map, "You haven't slept for four days? What are you doing?"

"Just because Mab's dead doesn't mean the war is over." Sliding my hand from the map, I slumped in my chair to rub at my eyes.

Immediately after I'd woken up, we began the process of dealing with Mab's soldiers. Most of the Unseelie Nobility had been killed when I crushed the castle along with a good portion of the soldiers during my show of power. But there were some that had taken advantage of the distraction and fled into the forests. Cillian and a good chunk of the troops were out hunting them down while I somehow got stuck fleshing out territories.

Almost as soon as I recovered, the Pixies and Dwarves attacked. Representatives on both sides began pestering me about the hills directly between the Unseelie and Seelie territory. Apparently there were myths and legends on both sides that told them the hills belonged to their species. But it was fucking ironic that it wasn't Unseelie against Seelie claims, no. It was the Unseelie and Seelie Pixies against the Unseelie and Seelie Dwarves. And it was a fucking headache. Not to mention that once other species found out about it, I was suddenly swimming in claims on the land between the two dismantled Kingdoms.

"How was it?"

"How was what?" I sighed, wishing I could've stayed in my bath from a few hours ago a bit longer.

The wood of his chair creaked, "Killing Mab."

I stilled, dropping my hand from my eyes to stare at him, "I don't know."

"You...you did kill her, right?" He asked, pale hands tightening around the arm rests.

"Of course, I did."

It was odd, speaking the words aloud. Everything had happened so fast. I spent centuries salivating over Mab's death and how glorious it would feel to have her die at my hands. But now after finally killing the woman responsible for everything that had happened to me...I felt hollow. It didn't feel like a Fae of Mab's stature could be here one moment and then be gone the next. I was elated that she was dead but at the same time, I couldn't completely wrap my head around it. Had I built her up to be some kind of god-like figure in my head despite everything or had she been weaker than me all along? And more importantly, how did I continue on when I spent my entire life breathing just to spite Mab?

Daithí fingers played with the edges of the map, "It feels weird, doesn't it? The absence of constant tension and paranoia?"

"I never realized how much Mab weighed on me. It's strange to feel so...so..."

"Free, Sister. That's the word you're looking for." Lavender eyes held mine, "You didn't just free the realm of Mab, you freed us as well."