Page 89 of The Cursed Kingdom

“I didn’t say anything to her,” he says, quick to defend himself.

He then turns to me, and I pretend not to notice how his eyes trail from my head to my toes. Both his and Mason’s gazes have gone from disinterested to worried, and I’m not a fan of it. Concern coming from them feels disingenuous. Itisdisingenuous.

“I’m notin lovewith Mace. He and I aren’t—nor have we ever been—together,” Kie says, answering my question. “At least, not in the way you’re thinking. We share a forked mate bond.”

I nod, pretending to know what that is.

Samuel gave me what I thought was a pretty comprehensive explanation of mates and bonds, but he didn’t say anything about forked bonds. That’s probably what they call same-sex relationships here, or it’s some fancy royal term I have no reason to know or care about.

“She doesn’t know what you’re saying,” Mason says.

That’s rude of him to assume. He’s right, but he doesn’t know that.

Mason’s arm flies before my face, and I instinctively recoil. Despite our temporary truce, I don’t trust him. Not one bit.

He shoves away a branch I was just about to run into. “This explains why her face is all scratched up.”

Kie snorts as I scramble to touch my cheeks. It’s scratched up? I ran head-first into several branches last night, but I didn’t realize they’d leave a mark.

“What do you know about mate bonds?” Kie asks, ignoring Mason’s statement.

After the delysum fiasco, I know better than to answer that loaded question.

Chapter Thirty-Five

ABBY

KIE’S ANNOYING.

It's not the usual annoying I’ve come to associate with him, but the kind of annoying that makes me want to rip out my hair.

“Abby,” he says, nudging my shoulder. “Tell me about the human realm.”

I step to the side, voluntarily placing myself closer to Mason. It’s a decision I never thought I’d make, but I’m left with no choice.

“There’s no wrong answer,” Kie continues, pretending not to notice my desperation for him to shut up. “I’m interested in learning about it.”

It’s like he’s made it his personal mission to be as much of a bother as possible, and he’s doing an excellent job. I don’t want to tell him anything about me, and I don’t appreciate his sudden interest. I’m sad and angry, and I fully intend to remain that way.

Mason doesn’t seem particularly eager to change his temperament, either.

He’s been ignoring Kie just as aggressively as I have, but Kie gave up trying to get him to speak about an hour ago. I wish he would do the same to me.

Kie sighs. “Today is going to be dreadful with you two being so miserable.”

When is he going to realize he’s talking to himself? Or that what he’s saying is absolute bullshit? He may be looking forward to meeting with Zaha, but I don’t share the same excitement.

My fate isn’t as favorable as his, and it’s all his fault. I’m not excited to be given away as some fucking gift, and the remainder of this trip will be dreadful for me, no matter what.

Kie inches closer, and I resist the urge to groan as I step over a rock and pretend not to notice. I’m going to be brushing shoulders with Mason if I move any farther away, and every attempt I make to speed up or slow down is matched by the insufferable pair.

I think they’re doing it on purpose to frustrate me.

“Would you like me to tell you about mates?” Kie asks.

He’s correctly guessed that I don’t know much, or anything, about them. I think asking how long he and Mason have been together gave it away, which is why I’ve decided to stop speaking altogether. I don’t know enough about this world, and everything I say shows that.

My best bet is to remain silent.

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