Page 96 of The Cursed Kingdom

For once, Kie doesn’t try to make conversation as we resume walking. It’s refreshing. His incessant questions are exhausting, and I’m always on edge waiting for the topic of delysum to come back up. I’m surprised it hasn’t yet.

I enjoy the quiet.

Will Zaha have a bed for me? For all I know, I’ll never have the pleasure of sleeping on a mattress again. Had I known this was how this trip would turn out, I wouldn’t have taken such advantage of my bed.

I would’ve turned down the thermostat in Lill’s and my apartment and cuddled underneath my warm covers all night long. Nothing sounds more comforting than curling into a small ball with soft sheets pulled up to my chin and my phone in my hand.

In only a few hours, I’ll be brought before Zaha and traded away. My family will never know what happened to me.

They’ll spend the rest of their lives looking for me, probably fearing I’ve been kidnapped and murdered. I should’ve written them a letter before coming here. I could’ve made up a story about running away to find myself or something. It wouldn’t have brought much peace, but it would provide some semblance of answers.

Chapter Thirty-Nine

MASON

THE TROLLS ARE loud as they weave through the woods, some dangerously close. They scatter when they notice our approach, though. They’ve never been a fan of shifters, and I’m a large one.

The human makes a noise, and my lips twitch when it’s followed up with a quiet grunt. She’s always making noises, from popping her lips to drumming her fingers against her thighs to constantly twisting her hands around her backpack straps.

It annoyed me at first, but I’ve grown used to them. It’s almost a comfort now, to hear them and know she’s alive.Almost.

There’s movement on my left as a few trolls come dangerously close to where we’re walking. They whisper to themselves, but once they see Kie and me, they take off in the opposite direction. It’s amusing, and I cross my arms over my chest when I hear one trip.

I enjoy listening to them scamper, and if I weren’t so worried about the trouble the human would get into if I left her alone, I’d chase them down.

Trolls are such nasty creatures.

Abby—I’m officially giving up on calling herthe human—should be thankful I’m keeping the trolls away from her.

Well, maybe not.

Despite what Kie wants her to believe, we aren’t the good guys here.

We’re making the conscious decision to trade Abby to better the odds we get what we want from Zaha, a decision I’m not entirely proud of. I’m the bad guy here, and I know that. Abby does, too.

Chapter Forty

ABBY

I HATED PUBLIC speaking growing up, and my current anxiety feels similar to how it did in middle school when the teacher decided we’d take turns reading aloud. I’d put my head down and frantically skim the paragraph ahead of the one we were on, mentally preparing in case I was the unfortunate student chosen to read next.

Looking back, it was such a trivial thing to be afraid of. I’d give anything to be back in the human realm reading to a group of snickering middle schoolers.

Blood rushes through my ears, so violent and so loud, I’m shocked Kie and Mason can’t hear it. They’re quiet, communicating with one another through sideways glances and hushed whispers. Their whispers never mean anything good, but I’m coming to accept that they’re going to happen whether or not I like them.

These two were clearly never taught that whispering in front of people is rude. Or maybe they were and they just don’t care. It’s probably the latter.

Traveling during the day is nice, and I let the sun warm my cheeks as I walk between the pair. They’ve decided to resume their new method of walking, one on either side of me. I don’t see the benefit or reason for this new strategy, but whenever I tryto speed up or slow down, they almost immediately match my pace.

My clothes are just beginning to dry from the stream when Kie begins his incessant questions about the human realm. I ignore him just as I did earlier, but my patience is wearing thin. You’d think having water and clean clothes would improve my mood, but I feel just as irritable today as I have the past several days.

At least before I was too tired to dwell on my situation. I was too worried about surviving the day, but now I can’t stop wondering what will happen when Kie and Mason give me to Zaha.

“Do you have any siblings?” Kie asks. I stare straight ahead, pretending not to hear him. It doesn’t work. “How old are you?”

I let out a long sigh, already knowing he’s not going to stop. Plus, I told him my age the first time I met him. It was a sad attempt to humanize myself and keep him from killing me. I told him I was twenty-six and worked in accounting, and he told me he was twenty-seven and worked in politics.

I remember that conversation very well.

---