Page 54 of The Cursed Kingdom

“How many hours?” I ask.

Mason makes a quiet, grunting noise in the back of his throat. He wants me to stop speaking, but that’s too damn bad. He can be an angry, brooding grump all he wants, but I’m under no obligation to do the same.

“Quiet,” Kie orders. “We don’t want to draw any unnecessary attention to ourselves.”

That’s rich, considering he was just asking me questions. Maybe I should scream. There’s no guarantee that I’ll meet a better fate with the shifters, but I’m not sure it can get much worse than what I’m already dealing with.

“I’m sure the shifters already know we’re here,” I say.

“They don’t,” Kie says, peering left and right. “They’d be attacking us if they did.” He turns, meeting my gaze over his shoulder. “And being a human won’t make a difference to them. They’ll try to rip your throat out just the same.”

I blink, trying not to imagine that. “Why?” I jerk a thumb behind me, pointing toward the shifter prince in the back of our line. “Ishenot their prince?”

Kie turns back forward, hurrying the pace. My knees are already hurting, and I wince as I struggle to keep up. Looks like that question isn’t getting an answer. Is it a sensitive subject? Why?

I open my mouth, ready to launch into more questions, but nothing comes to mind. There are a million and one things I want to know, but I don’t want to give away just how little I knowabout this world. I don’t want to tell them anything about me and why I’m here.

I dig into my bag, pulling out my flashlight. It’s solar-powered, and I should get it charged before nightfall. I was carried through the darkest part of the night last night, but I refuse to be carried again. Over my dead body.

“What is that?” It’s Mason who asks.

“It’s a flashlight,” I say. “It shines light so I can see in the dark.”

A brief pause, then, “Don’t even fucking think about it.”

Mason’s voice is quiet, deadly. It sends shivers down my spine, and I hesitantly shove my flashlight back into my bag.

“I won’t be able to see once the sun goes down,” I say.

“Your eyes will adjust,” is Kie’s only reply.

Asshole.When Mason inevitably returns to his animal form, I should shine my flashlight into his eyes. It’s bright, and I bet it’ll hurt.

“I need to use the bathroom.” I’ve put this off for as long as possible, but my bladder is about to explode.

Kie pauses, the quiet crunching of his footsteps stopping. “Mason will take you.”

Wonderful.

I stumble away, putting distance between us. I already know Mason will insist on watching me, and I don’t need Kie doing so, too. One pair of perverted eyes is more than enough. The next time one of them needs to use the bathroom, I should insist on them doing it within my eyesight. I doubt they would appreciate it.

There’s a fallen tree up ahead, and I crouch behind it to do my business.

Mason averts his gaze this time, staring into the distance slightly to my left. I’m sure he can see me out of his peripheral vision, but I’ll take what I can get.

It takes a moment for me to begin peeing, but the second I do, Mason’s nostrils flare. My entire body breaks into a cold sweat as I notice the action, and I grab on to the bark of the fallen tree so hard, it hurts.

He’s smelling my pee again.

“Stop that,” I hiss.

Mason’s gaze shifts directly onto me, and the corners of his lips curl into a cruel smile as he continues his sniffing. He’s getting enjoyment out of making me uncomfortable.

Unwanted tears fill my eyes, and I blink them away before yanking up my pants. Mason remains where he is, his cold gaze following my every movement.

“You’re a real asshole,” I spit as I pass him.

It’s a dumb thing to say, and I flinch as gloved hands curl around my bicep. They wrap almost entirely around it. Mason’s fingers dig into the muscle, squeezing painfully tight, and I instinctively lower my gaze to his chest.

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