Page 113 of The Cursed Kingdom

Lillian’s surprisingly easy to move, and I ignore Abby’s attempts to stop me as I drag the faerie toward the door at the end of the corridor. I don’t frequent the cells, and the two guards standing outside the thick, stone door startle at my sudden appearance.

They’re in crisp black uniforms, with their shirts neatly tucked in and pants ironed straight. They’re new, and I give it less than a year before they grow comfortable and relax on their uniform.

My mother’s a stickler for regulation, but I don’t mind the small adjustments most of the guards make to be more comfortable.

Abby grunts, grabbing at my waist. “Let her go!”

Tiny, dull teeth sink into my covered forearm a second later. The pain is shocking, but I refuse to release Lillian as I shake Abby off like the feral animal she’s being.

I don’t know what kind of relationship she has with Lillian, but she should be thanking me for protecting her. Abby clearly doesn’t understand what Lillian and her mother have done, and if she did, she’d know to be wary of the woman.

I’ve spent ample time with Abby these past several days, and I know with complete certainty that she has no idea who Lillian is. She’s been played, tricked somehow by Lillian and her mother, and she doesn’t even know it.

The guards beside the entrance to the cells step aside as I near, their gazes shifting nervously between me, Abby, and Lillian. I’m sure they’re wondering why I’m being rough with afaerie visibly on the brink of death and not the angry human trying her damned hardest to hurt me.

Abby lunges for me again, this time aiming for my legs, and I toss Lillian into the arms of the nearest guard so I can give the feisty human my attention. I could order the guards to restrain Abby, but I don’t trust them with her.

Humans are unnervingly delicate, and I know myself well enough to know I’ll be angry if they hurt her.

The guard who catches Lillian smoothly maneuvers her into a restraining hold, not that she’s putting up much of a fight. She looks like shit, like how all faeries look when they’ve been away from magic for too long.

It’s how I’d look had I remained in the forest for much longer. Opening the portal from the human to faerie realm drained my already limited reserve, and I let the loose magic floating through the corridor fill me as I deal with Abby.

It’ll take several days until I’m physically back to where I was before entering the forest.

“Enough,” I say, grabbing Abby’s arms.

She thrashes as I pin them to her sides, preventing her from moving. I wish Mason were here, the shifter usually able to frighten her into submission. It often comes in handy, especially when she’s in one of her moods.

“Stop it!” Abby tries again to kick me. “You ugly bastard.”

There’s a quiet intake of breath from both the guards, but I ignore it. I highly doubt Abby knows of the bastard rumors that spread about me when I was born. People are careful not to use the word around me, but Abby throws it out without hesitation.

Lillian makes a noise as I restrain Abby, and I look over just as she thrashes against the guard’s hold. She comes from a powerful family, and it’s only a matter of time before she’s filled with enough magic that it’ll take several guards to restrain her.

I can’t let that happen.

Abby chomps at my arm again, but I don’t let her mouth get close to me. She’s lucky she didn’t break through the fabric of my shirt the first time. There are rules here, and I can’t let my people go around thinking they won’t be punished if they force skin-to-skin contact with me.

Or skin to teeth.

It wouldn’t take long for word to spread that I let a woman touch me without repercussions. What I’m allowing her to do now will already damage my reputation, and it will take a lot of effort to keep these guards quiet.

I slide my hand up Abby’s neck and cup the back of her head before forcing it downward, making her look at the floor. She tries to fight it, naturally, but she’ll stop when she realizes it makes her neck sore.

I turn toward the guard holding Lillian.

“Bring her inside,” I order.

The guard nods, and the other rushes to unlock and open the heavy cement door I’ve brought us to. It’s coated in delysum oil, preventing and killing any magic that tries to seep through. The door is pulled open to reveal several darkened cells, all without magic.

I keep Abby’s head down, not letting her see. She’ll never let me hear the end of it, and I don’t have the patience to deal with her right now.

“Kie, please,” Abby begs, grabbing at my arm. She tries to pull my hand off the back of her neck, but she doesn’t have any success. I let out a quiet sigh as she shifts gears, reaching for her companion instead. “Lill,” she pleads.

Lillian reaches for Abby, but I pull the human away before any contact is made. Lillian will never have contact with Abby again if I have anything to say about it.

I wait for the guard holding Lillian to disappear into the cells before leading Abby away.

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