Page 132 of The Cursed Kingdom

Mason hasn’t spoken a word since Kie’s confession, but neither have I. I’m still wrapping my head around what Kie said. Lill is their mate? It doesn’t seem real, but Kie sounded certain.

I trip over the pant legs of Mason’s sweatpants as I hurry behind them, struggling to match their pace. They walk too fast, but I’ll be damned if I don’t take this opportunity to see Lill.

The soup I ate jostles around in my stomach, threatening to come back up if I don’t slow down and let it digest properly. It probably wasn’t a good idea to wolf it down in the first place, but I wasn’t expecting to have to run a damn marathon afterward.

My wet hair slaps against my back with every step, and a painful stitch is developing on my right side. Neither is ideal,and I let out a relieved groan when I spot the building Lill’s being kept in. It’s just up ahead, and I pray Mason and Kie don’t do anything to stop me from seeing Lill as they push open the front door and barrel inside.

There’s only one guard present, and he hurries aside as Kie and Mason approach. It takes less than half a second for Mason to rip open those heavy doors to the cells, and I rush in behind them.

It’s dark inside, but I squint as my eyes adjust.

Lill’s in the cell on the left, and I choke out a sob when I finally lay eyes on her.

She’s alive. She looks like shit, her hair a knotty mess and her face gaunt, but she’s alive. Her shirt practically hangs off her frame, and I press my lips together as I realize it’s not hers.

I turn toward Kie, noting his bare chest.

He gave Lill his shirt. Where did hers go? Did the guard who whipped her take it? My blood boils at the mere thought. That’s disgusting.

“Lill,” I cry, pressing myself against the bars separating us.

Her violet eyes shine in the dark, and she meets my gaze before turning to Mason. The shifter pulls open her cell door and steps inside, his movements unnaturally silent.

“How?” is all he says.

Lill runs her fingers through her hair, but Kie is the one who answers. “She touched me right after you two left. She’s our mate. I feel the bond.”

Lill sighs. “Mace. Let me touch you.”

Lilly. Mace. So many nicknames.

A tight knot forms in my gut. It twists painfully, but I ignore it as Mason approaches Lill. He pulls off his gloves, and I stare at his bare hands. I thought he and Kie agreed not to find their mate. That’s the whole point of their dark-colored gloves and refusal to touch women.

Samual explained that the mate bond is triggered by touch. If Lill has already touched Kie, does that mean the bond has begun? This is so confusing, and I wish I had asked Kie more about it when we were in the forest.

I avoided any conversation that could potentially lead him back to Lill, but it turns out doing so was useless. He found her anyway.

Lill steps toward Mason, and I suck my lips into my mouth as she cups his cheeks. Her bare hands touch either side of his face, and she visibly relaxes as she runs her thumbs over his cheekbones. It’s intimate.

I almost want to look away.

The knot in my gut tightens, continuing until I can’t breathe. Seeing them together makes me angry, so fucking angry. These men just tried to trade me away to a god, and now they’re mated to my best fucking friend.

They don’t deserve Lill.

Mason’s been cruel to me, and Lill should be with a faerie who will love and cherish her. I doubt Mason even knows what those words mean.

“Mace,” Lill repeats. “Mace, I’m so sorry, but I swear it’s not what you think.”

What’s she apologizing for? What does he think?

She steps closer to Mason, and I stop breathing. Mason does, too, if his sudden stillness is anything to read into.

Kie stands beside me, but he’s staring at the ground. He doesn’t look pleased to have found his mate. It’s probably because he knows deep down inside that he doesn’t deserve Lill. Neither of them do.

Lill shifts, sliding her hand from Mason’s cheek to the back of his head. Her fingers sift through his damp hair, and I bite the inside of my cheek so hard it bleeds. She’s going to kiss him.

I can see it in her eyes.

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