Page 106 of The Cursed Kingdom

I press my lips together, fighting back a smile.

This isn’t going well. I’m so pleased. Kie deserves to have this meeting blow up in his face, and I hope Zaha decides Kie and Mason should be left to rot and die in that white box she calls a sitting room.

Kie blows out a slow breath. “Mason is to rule beside me, and he had no part in Alpha Caspian’s choices. He deserves to be here.”

“Is that so?” Zaha cocks her head to the side. “You truly intend to share your title with him?”

Her lips twitch, and she lets out a curt laugh before shifting her attention behind us. The long-haired woman she sent away earlier returns with a drinking glass, and she sets it in front of Zaha before hurrying back to her spot along the wall. The glass is short and stout, and it’s filled with some sort of thick, dark-red liquid. It looks like wine.

I hope it’s wine.

Kie nods. “I do.”

He says nothing else, and Zaha sips her drink before preparing another piece of oiled bread. She takes her sweet time chewing it, and only once she’s finished does she speak again.

“Interesting decision.” She shifts her gaze toward Mason. “And you plan to accept?”

Mason nods. “I do.”

Zaha shakes her head and lets out another short laugh. I’m interested to know what she finds so funny. Maybe she sees through Mason’s lies. He’s clearly proud of his heritage, and I honestly doubt he’ll put the faeries first.

Kie’s dumb to give Mason access to so much power. I wouldn’t if I were in his position.

I bet he’s only doing this because of their forked bond. I couldn’t imagine giving a man who hates my people the title of King, and Kie’s only doing it because of some mysterious bond he shares with a woman he’s never even met.

I’m sad I won’t be around to witness it blow up in their faces. I’m sure it’ll be beautiful.

I adjust my stance, wanting this conversation to move along. I don’t really care what happens to Kie and Mason, and I wantthem to get to the topic of me. I want to know what my future holds, and after days of anticipation and unknown, I’m getting antsy.

Zaha gestures toward me.

“And the human?” she asks. “Why is she here?”

Chapter Forty-Five

ABBY

KIE TAKES TOO long to answer, and he won’t stop tapping his gloved fingers against my back.

“We brought her for you,” he eventually says. “A gift. We’ve heard how much you enjoy humans.”

I hate Kie. I’ve never in my life felt more disposable than I do now, and it makes me want to scratch off my skin and throw myself into a pool of hungry sharks.

Zaha raises a brow, glancing between me and Kie. I know the look of surprise is fake. She already let it slip that she was watching us in the forest, that she knew they took me captive, so she knows of their plans for me.

“You’re truly offering her to me?” Zaha asks.

Kie nods. “Yes.”

I curl my hands into tight fists by my sides, struggling to remain calm. I’m so scared, I could piss myself, but I don’t want Zaha to sense it. There’s something about her that I can’t quite put my finger on, and I don’t trust it.

Kie and Mason have ensured that I’ll never trust a non-human again. Samuel was kind, but that’s only because he wanted to touch me. He wanted something from me. If he hadknown I wasn’t his mate from the beginning, I doubt he would’ve bought me dinner and gloves or answered any of my questions.

Zaha gestures for me to step forward.

What will she do if I refuse? I’m not sure I want to find out.

Kie drops his hand from my back, and I hate to admit how alone it makes me feel. A small, minuscule part of me hoped he’d change his mind at the last minute and wouldn’t follow through with this.

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