Page 92 of The Cursed Kingdom

Kie laughs. “Breathe, Abby.”

He sounds close, too close, and I yank my face out of the water and turn to see where exactly he is.

He’s returned to his bag, crouching low as he rifles through the center pocket. I hold my breath, waiting to see what he does, and stiffen as he pulls out two of his soap bars. My heart skips a beat, and a cold shiver works up my spine as Kie tosses one in my direction.

“You stink,” he says.

I don’t care.

I let the soap bounce off my shoulder and land in the grass beside me, not bothering to catch it. I’m not bathing, not of my own free will. I’ll meet Zaha sweaty and covered in thick mud. Maybe it’ll be enough to turn her off.

Kie sucks his cheeks into his mouth, watching the soapy cloth fall beside my thigh, before shrugging and pulling off his gloves. I turn away, but I keep him in my peripheral vision as he strips, grabs his soap, and walks into the water.

Up until now, it’s been Mason who strips like the world is his oyster and his dick is God’s gift to the world, but now it seems Kie is joining the club.Lucky me. He walks confidently into the water, continuing forward until it’s up to his waist and his penis has, thankfully, disappeared beneath the water.

I try my best to ignore the fact that he’s bathing in the water I’m drinking as I force down several more deep gulps.

“Is the human not going to clean herself?”

I shift, ensuring Mason and Kie are in my sight. I don’t trust either of them around water, and I hate the sweat that’s already accumulating along the back of my neck and my underarms. I’m scared.

“It doesn’t seem so,” Kie says.

Mason spares me a glance before following Kie’s lead. He digs a soap bar from Kie’s backpack before stripping and walking into the water.

I’m annoyed they’re dirtying my drinking water, but I’m too thirsty to do much about it.

“She smells,” Mason points out.

Kie shrugs. “I’m aware.”

“Zaha won’t like that.”

“Nope.” Kie dunks his head underneath the surface before popping back up. “But she’ll want Abby regardless. If Abby wants to send the impression that she’s a rowdy human in need of taming, that’s on her.”

I pretend I don’t notice them talking about me as I catch my reflection in the water. I’m covered in a thick, cracked layer of mud, and Mason wasn’t kidding about the tree branches having scratched my face.

I look like a mess. Will Zaha genuinely think I needtaming? What does that even mean? I don’t like the sound of it, that’s for sure. I spare a quick glance up, eyeing the two princes bathing several feet away.

They’re probably just saying that to scare me, to manipulate my fear until I do what they want. It’stheywho want to make a good impression on Zaha, not me. Maybe she won't want me if she thinks I’m a rowdy human.

Or she’ll try to tame me. Or her brothers will claim me, and Mason will follow through on his decision to do thehumanething.

I squeeze my eyes shut, hating the tears that fill my waterline. I refuse to cry, to let these men see how fucking scared I am. To let them see how defeated I am.

My hands shake as I scoop up water and wash my face, clearing it of mud. I don’t want to be tamed. I don’t want any of this.

I feel disgusting, particularly between my thighs and all the areas on my body that contain crevices. I’m surprised I don’t already have a yeast infection. Mason would most definitely have smelled it and pointed it out by now if I did.

The princes continue cleaning themselves, the two close enough to talk without me overhearing but far enough away that there’s no risk of bumping into one another. They seem comfortable with one another’s nudity.

I don’t think Kie’s lying when he says they aren’t a couple, but I can tell the question irritates Mason. He doesn’t love it when I insinuate that they could be in a sexual relationship, which only makes me want to do it more.

It’s the small things that bring me joy.

I finish cleaning my face, using the soap Kie threw at me, before tugging off my sweatshirt and scrubbing my arms. Mason and Kie don’t pay me any attention, and I even risk lifting my shirt slightly to clean my torso.

It doesn’t work very well, and after a long, drawn-out internal debate, I pull off my shoes and socks and walk into the river. My clothes grow heavy as the water saturates them, but I’ll be damned if I voluntarily remove my clothing in front of Kie and Mason.

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