Ignoring Puck, I gave the cup a quick sniff before taking a small sip of the sweet smelling concoction. The carbonation of the fizz twigs exploded over my tongue in a series of sharp little pricks. It tasted like the human’s soda but without the tang of pure sugar. Almost instantly, I felt the headache that once pounded at my temple fade away like a good memory. Savoring it with a little sigh of relief, I took an even bigger gulp and let it sit on my tongue before swallowing. 

With my stomach settling from the carbonation, I took a confident bite of the potato patty and chewed obnoxiously. Dougals eyes rolled at my childish actions while I swallowed loudly and took another delicious bite. Once finished, I swiped another off the plate to appease my suddenly unbearably empty stomach. 

“Did Afric’s whole den really give you their allegiance?” 

Before answering Puck’s question, I took another big bite out of the patty. “Yea. I mean, he’s crazier than a Willow Wisp but he’s a good leader. His people will follow him to the end and beyond. If he pledged his allegiance and then declared me their God then the rest will fall in line. Ifreann, that whole party was them proving their acceptance of me.” 

Erick swallowed before raising his fork to grab my attention, “I still don’t understand that. How can they just make you their God?” 

“I have literally no idea. Nothing he does makes any sense, yet somehow his entire den is still alive and apparently five thousand strong.” 

“But-”

“Don’t. Don’t try to make it make sense. It’ll only hurt your head, let’s just chalk it up to dumb luck.” Digging my fork into the veggie pot pie, I pulled a small steaming chunk out and plopped it into my mouth. Hot. Hot. Hot. Chewing with my mouth open, I huffed out air in the hopes of cooling it down as it bounced on my tongue. 

Dougal shook his head in amusement and possibly a little bit of disgust before blowing a small wind over the pot pie. 

“Thanks, Grimmy.” 

Silence descended over our small group for a few moments as we all dug into our meals. I was pretty sure that this was dinner so I had to have been asleep for around forty eight hours. Which was probably the most I’d slept in the past seven hundred years or so. And although I was annoyed that they had let me sleep for two days, I felt more refreshed than I have in centuries. I had been right, a party and little fighting was definitely what I needed. And apparently sleep, who knew?

“So, what were you saying about the next deal you want to collect on?” 

Taking another sip of the tea, I replied, “Right. Her name’s Caoimhe, she’s part of the Bàs do gach Fae. Daughter to some nobleman or something.”

“Are all the Faekind you do deals with hostile criminals?” 

I curled my lip at Erick, “Okay, judgemental ass. Afric and his den aren’t criminals and neither is the Bàs do gach Fae Troll Clan.” 

Dougal’s sigh brought my attention over to him as he rubbed at his nose, “Their Clan name literally means ‘Death to all Fae’. How did you even make a deal with one of them?”

“Coaimhe was in a bit of pickle when I met her,” I said, waving my fork around. “A woman between two lovers, both from different clans. But she wanted to be sure that the one she chose wouldn’t betray her. So, we made a deal. I figure out which one was playing her and in the future, she’d owe me a favor of my choosing.”

“Did you kill the one that was planning to betray her?” 

I gave Dougal a look, “No. That wasn’t part of the deal. I gave her a name and then left.”

Erick stood up suddenly and collected Pucks empty tray along with his own. He slid out from between their chairs to place the trays on my desk before coming back and reclaiming his seat. Leaning back, he gave me a weary look and asked, “Is this Coaimhe going to be happy to see you like Afric was?” 

“Oh, Divines no,” I laughed. “She along with her whole clan hate the Fae but a deal is a deal. I’m hoping they hate Mab a lot more than they hate us.” 

“Considering she used to hunt them for sport? You don’t need to hope.” 

Nodding at Dougal, I took the last bite of my veggie pot pie and then shoved the empty tray towards him. “We should head out the day after tomorrow in the morning. They’re very serious about their sleep.” 

“Is the goal to only collect on the deal? Or to try and make it permanent?” Erick question.

“Permanent would be better but I can’t offer them anything when the people are still unsure if they want me as their Queen.” 

Puck hummed, “That may not necessarily be true anymore.” 

“What do you mean?” Raw and painful hope bloomed inside my heart and I fought to shove it down into the dark where it belonged. 

“He’s right,” Erick nodded. “There are a lot more Fae in the camp wearing your color. If you started to offer positions or future deals, I don’t think anybody would be too upset. They were all impressed when we told them about how you got an entire Banshee den to ally with us. ” 

Fear, followed closely behind the buried hope, wrapped around my vocal cords like a two headed snake. That was a lot of lives they were placing in my hands, a lot innocent lives too. Could I do it? Could I be the Queen that I wanted to be or would the power cause me to slip back into the Queen I once was? Was that even possible, though? Hadn’t enough time and painful consequences passed to where I could never be the same person again? 

These were all questions I didn’t have the answers to or wanted to have answered. All I could do now was take precautions and be careful of what decisions I made. The people’s needs had to be at the front of my mind at all times. My desire to kill Mab couldn’t cloud my judgement this time. I couldn’t allow myself to become obsessed with revenge. Though if I was honest with myself, my anger with Mab and Lilly had dampened over the long years. 

I mean I still wanted to rip them limb from limb but I didn’t cling to that anger like I had in Slykhelm. There’s only so long you can hold hatred in your heart for someone until it began to erode who you once were. In my case, I felt like a shadow of my former self. The anger and hurt was still there but it was no longer as all consuming as it once was. But it did explode at different times, I wasn’t a saint after all. 

When the brass cup in my hand began to creak in warning, I loosened my grip and smiled. “Well, either way I’d like to receive their official okay.” 

Dougal frowned, “A ruler cannot always ask the people what they want. You’re going to have to make decisions that they might not always like.” 

“And I understand that. But I need to know if I even have the authority to make those decisions. When I run out of deals, I’ll talk to them.” 

The men stared at me for a moment and then suddenly each of them gave me some version of their approval. I shook my head at them and took another sip of my hangover cure. Swallowing, I tapped my fingers against the side of the cup while trying to keep my mind blank of thoughts.

“Where is her clan located?” Puck asked, cheerfully.

“Trolls, like Banshees, aren’t big on moving around so the Tiveal Bridge.” 

Erick sighed, “That’s Unseelie territory now. It’s going to be risky.” 

Unseelie territory? “No. That Outerland territory.” 

“Mab claimed a series of territories around the outskirts of her Kingdom when you fell in battle. It’s Unseelie now.” Dougal informed me.

“Son of a bitch.” That’s just fan-fucking-tastic.

“Pick another deal to collect on,” He continued. “We’re not going there.”

“I wasn’t really asking for your permission, Dougal. You can stay here.” 

His expression went from stern to determined, “It’s too dangerous. Mab’s soldiers will be combing the area for any whisper or glimpse of you.” 

“Maybe but we need the men Coaimhe could give us. One troll is equivalent to ten Fae. It’s a risk we’ll have to take.” 

Puck leaned forward in his seat, “Dougal, if you’re referring to the fact that Mab has recently increased the need to find Macha. Don’t worry. While that is one of the three areas her soldiers will be vigorously searching first, my informant says they haven’t set foot in Tiveal yet.” 

Astonished, I looked at Puck, “You’ve got to be shitting me.”

“Huh?” 

“Puck. Why didn’t you tell me that as soon as you found out? We have a deal.”

“You haven’t been asking so I figured you didn’t need any information from him.”

Gritting my pointed teeth, I spit, “Everytime you receive information from him, you tell me straight away. Understood?” 

“That does make more sense.” He replied happily.

“So glad you feel that way. Now, get out.”

Golden eyes grew wide, “I agreed, though.”

“That’s enough for now Puck thank you.” Dougal said, placing a hand on his shoulder. 

“Okay.” Shooting up from his chair, Puck glided out of the tent with his head held high and of course a smile on his golden face.

“Ugh. Somebody really needs to shit in his porridge.” 

Erick gave me a disgusted look before getting to his feet.

“What?” I called after him as he stepped through the tent opening. “We were all thinking it!” So judgemental that one.

“Macha.” 

Swinging my eyes back to Dougal, I tilted my head in question. 

“Tomorrow another secret of mine will be revealed and I need you to know that I would never make a decision that would knowingly harm you.” 

I furrowed my brows, “I know that.” 

He stood with a sigh and placed a hand on top of my head, “Remember that and keep an open mind please.” 

Definitely concerned now with the way he was talking. I tried to make light of the situation by asking, “Do I get a hint as to what this secret is?” 

“One you’ll despise.” He replied before exiting the tent. 

Oh, joy.

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What do you guys think, lol, is Erick judgmental? Is anyone surprised she flashed them, accidentally or not? Did Dougal have the right to make that call to let her sleep? What do you think about Macha’s deals?

As always, comment if you enjoyed something about the chapter! Love hearing for you guys and my silent readers I love you too!🤎

Smooches, Verbage💋