Page 109 of The Cursed Kingdom

Zaha directs her following sentence toward Kie. “Give Mason your crown, and I’ll take care of the delysum. I can’t do anything about what’s already been harvested, but I’ll ensure no more is grown.”

Kie grows entirely still. “My people will never accept a shifter as their sole king. They’re barely willing to accept him being at my side.”

Nobody wants Mason. If I didn’t hate him so much, I’d feel bad for him.

Zaha blinks, not looking like she cares. I don’t blame her. She’s a god, and the intricacies of shifter and faerie politics are probably not something she spends too much time thinking about.

Kie makes a quiet noise, like he’s fighting the urge to argue. For somebody who’s so adamant about keeping Mason by his side, he’s sure struggling with the concept of letting Mason be the one in charge.

Kie is useless, but Mason will run the faerie kingdom into the ground one tantrum at a time.

Zaha sips her drink. “That is my offer. Do you accept?”

With a flick of her wrist, another of her slaves hurries to her side. I eye the five women, still in disbelief that Zaha has turned me away. I want to be happy about it, but I’m waiting for the other shoe to drop.

The other shoe is always dropping.

The woman Zaha called forward grabs the half-eaten platter and leaves, heading toward the house. She keeps her head down, but she makes brief eye contact with me as she passes. I search for any sign of pain or secret inner turmoil, but there’s nothing. I don’t believe it.

The portal beside the fountain remains. It’s close, only a few steps away, and I longingly eye it. I’m ready to return home where faeries, shifters, and marbled gods named Zaha are nothing more than figments of the imagination.

I want to see Lill, too. I miss the bitch, and I desperately hope I’m not too late.

“Well?” Zaha asks. “Do you accept, Kieran Ashford?”

Kie takes a long second to respond. “And you will ensure no more delysum grows?”

“That’s what I said.”

Kieran looks about ready to explode, his face red and body taut. “Then I accept.”

“Great.” Zaha brings her hands together with a loud clap. “Then I believe we are done here. Leave.”

Her tone leaves no room for argument.

I don’t need to be told twice.

I step toward the portal, and I’m beyond relieved when the two large men on either side of me don’t try to stop me. Instead, there’s a quiet shuffling as they turn to follow. I bet they’re ready to leave before Zaha throws in another demand.

The portal calls to me, and unlike last time, I don’t hesitate to throw myself through it.

I’m only about halfway through the portal before I come to a screeching halt. This isn’t right. I spin, desperately trying to return to the gods’ realm.

A muscular chest quickly thwarts my attempts to backtrack, and I smash my face into it as I try to force Kie backward. Kie isn’t having it, though, and he places a gloved hand on the back of my head to keep me from falling as he takes another step through the portal.

My heels drag against the ground, and Kie spreads his legs so he doesn’t trip over them. I wrap my arms around his waist and let my entire lower body go limp, trying to slow him, but it doesn’t work.

Kie supports my weight with ease as he steps the remainder of the way through the portal.

The low timbre of Billy Joel rushes through my ears, the once-comforting noise now a poison. I’d recognize the scratchy sound of this vinyl record anywhere. I’ve heard it millions of times. It’s one of Lill’s favorites.

Kie makes a quiet noise of surprise as he takes in his surroundings. I don’t bother looking. I already know what he’s seeing.

The second I caught sight of the fluffy, green comforter and the oversized fake plant sitting on the bedside table beside it, I knew exactly where we were.

Why would Zaha do this? I thought she’d take us back to the Redstall Forest, maybe even to Bellmere where Kie and Mason live. Anywhere buthere.

Chapter Forty-Six

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