Page 99 of The Cursed Kingdom

Shifters don’t need magic to survive, and delysum only hurts the faeries. With the exclusion of Kie, it wouldn’t affect me one way or the other if they all died. They’ve never been welcoming to my kind, so I don’t see why I should go out of my way to save them.

I could refuse to let Kie offer Abby to Zaha. He’s weakened, and he wouldn’t be able to take her from me. I could make him travel through the portal alone while I wait here with Abby.

She continues to beg. I turn away.

I promised Kie I’d help however I could, and despite how I feel about the situation, I’m not going back on my word.

“Let’s get on with it,” I say, breaking the silence.

Kie doesn’t react. He’s busy staring at his shoes, his shoulders visibly tense. He was once so excited about this meeting, but now he’s stalling.

I frown. “Kie…”

He presses his lips into a thin line before clearing his throat and shaking his head. Abby’s breath hitches, and I step back while Kie gets to work opening the portal.

Chapter Forty-Two

ABBY

MASON IS STARING at me, his green eyes narrowed in a way I don’t completely trust. Still, I meet his gaze head-on, beyond desperate to wake up and learn all of this has been nothing more than some horrid dream. This can’t be real.

Mason turns back around.

He and Kie are standing in front of a burnt patch of grass, and I shift my weight from foot to foot as they lean forward to investigate. They’ve never shown any interest in the landscape before, not even when we walked through an area that was very clearly once a tiny village. If there was any time to pause, it was then.

Ruins are cool.

I swallow past the lump in my throat. This dead patch must be the portal. It has to be. I can’t imagine why else they’d be simultaneously stopping and silently staring at it.

This is truly happening. My breath hitches, and I absentmindedly wipe at my cheeks.

The portal is unsuspecting and, honestly, a bit underwhelming. The gods can ruin entire kingdoms at the snapof their fingers, and this is how they choose to display their portal? I expected more flair.

The landscape leaves much to be desired, too. The trees surrounding us are small and sad, a drastic change from the towering, thick ones at the forest entrance. If I had an axe, I bet I could chop these trees down with ease.

The ground is dry, too. The rainstorm we found ourselves trapped in must not have reached this far, and we’ve been kicking up reddish dust for the last few miles. It feels like we’re in a human desert—minus the cacti.

I peer around, debating trying to run away one final time. This is my last chance, but if I wasn’t successful in the dense forest, I definitely won’t be here. It would be impossible to hide, and Mason could shift and catch me in a heartbeat.

He probably wouldn’t even need to shift. His legs are long and muscular in his current form, and I’m sure he’s fast.

I suck in a slow, quivering breath. This is truly happening. We’re here.

I could cry—doing so has historically made me feel better—but I doubt it’ll do so in this situation. There’s no Lill to bring me hot chocolate and turn on my favorite show, which is precisely what she does every time I cry. She’s reliable.

She’s probably dead.

Mason looks at me again. I hold his gaze. Is he truly going to go through with this?

I try to think of something to say to change his mind, but my thoughts are racing a million miles a minute. Stringing together a coherent sentence seems like an impossible task at the moment.

Mason works his jaw from side to side, and I silently plead for him not to do this.

It seems like he’s contemplating it, his eyebrows furrowed and lips pursed, but then he clenches his fists and turns backaround. I barely resist the urge to drop to the floor and beg. I’d do it if I thought it would help.

Mason clears his throat. “Let’s get on with it.”

His voice is firm, directly contradicting the conflicted emotions he showed me a moment ago. It makes me hate him. It makes me hate every bit of him.

---