Page 115 of The Cursed Kingdom

The door to the cells may keep out most of the magic, but not all of it. I need to question Lillian before she regains her strength, but I don’t want Abby making a mess of my home while I’m gone. Or stealing my knives. Or trying to escape.

I run a hand through my hair, but I freeze when my fingers meet a hard, scratchy object.You’ve got to be kidding me.

Despite Abby’s visible anger, her eyes sparkle as she watches me yank her cheap, purple tiara off my head and toss it aside.

“Come,” I say, grabbing Abby’s arm. “I don’t know what to do with you, and I don’t have time to figure it out. I’ll be back in a few hours.”

I’m hoping that telling her this will be a comfort, but she fights me every step of the way. I pull her down the hallway and lock her inside one of the spare bedrooms, and I use my magic to ensure she can’t open the door.

I’ll be back soon enough.

Chapter Forty-Eight

ABBY

I’M GOING TO kill Kie.

I’m going to tear through his flesh and yank out his insides until he’s cold and dead. Then I’m going to feed his body to a pack of wild dogs. Then, if I’m feeling extra spicy, I’m going to collect their shit and display it in a glass case in my living room.

I doubt even that will satisfy me.

Sweat collects on my upper lip as I yank on the door to the bedroom Kie trapped me inside, beyond desperate to get out. He’s a complete asshole to lock me up in here, especially without even listening to what I have to say.

Lill didn’t do anything wrong, and I’ll never forgive him for the way he touched her. I’ll never forgive myself for being the one to expose her, either. I just wanted to help, but I brought her worst fear to life instead.

Because of me, she’s locked up in that dark fucking cell Kie brought her to. He tried to keep me from seeing it, but I caught a glimpse. There was no magic in there, no floating specks anywhere to be seen beyond the thick doors.

If either of those guards lays a hand on her, I’ll feed them to the dogs, too. Then I’ll feed the dog shit to their loved ones.

I bang my fists against the door. “Let me out!”

I highly doubt Kie’s still here.

He’s most likely returned to Lill, which terrifies me. She’s too weak to deal with his anger, and I don’t trust him not to hurt her. I always thought Mason was the angry, uncontrollable one, but now I’m not so sure. Kie clearly has some anger issues he was keeping hidden.

Magic fills the air around me, swirling in every direction. I swipe my hand through it, wanting it out of my face, but it has no effect. There’s too much. I hate it.

My fists hurt where they repeatedly smash against the hardwood, but I ignore the pain. I’ll break my fists before I give up.

I give the door a few more hard smashes before trying the knob again. The damn thing won’t turn, not even a tiny bit. The face of the knob is smooth, and there’s no keyhole. This door shouldn’t be able to lock, and I just know Kie is using magic to keep it shut.

My face warms as blood rushes to my cheeks, anger making me hot.

What’s Kie doing out there? Millions of possibilities rush through my mind, and none are good. It was like a flip switched when he saw Lill. He’s always been a dick, but the way he handled Lill was beyond that. It was angry, full of poorly concealed malice. I can’t even begin to fathom what she did to deserve it. She doesn’t.

The way Kie looked at Lill would give Mason’s sneers a run for their money.

Where is the shifter? He didn’t return with us, and I hope Zaha didn’t bring him here. I don’t want Mason anywhere near Lill.

I step back and slam my shoulder against the door, hoping to break it off the hinges. It doesn’t budge, and I let out a painedgasp as I clutch at my arm. That was a bad idea, and I rub at the muscle as I change strategies. The bedroom Kie locked me inside is bare, probably reserved for guests.

I step away from the door and look around, searching for a weapon or something I can use to escape.

A king-sized bed sits in the center of the room, complete with crisp, white sheets and a giant down comforter. It looks admittedly comfortable, but after spending so many nights sleeping on the hard, forest ground, anything not covered in sticks would look comfortable to me right now.

I should pee on the sheets.

On either side of the bed are two wooden end tables, the surface clear of anything but a small, round orb. I’m pretty sure it’s a lamp. Two drawers are built into each table, and I rip them open to see if there’s anything even remotely useful inside.

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