Page 13 of The Cursed Kingdom

“Don’t you want to see it?” I ask. “What if it’s changed?”

Lill lets out a pained groan. “I do. You have no idea.”

She sits up, and I quickly wipe a cold tear off my cheek as she runs a hand through her hair. Poor Lill looks beyond stressed, and she plants her palms on her knees before pushing up to her feet and pacing the length of the living room.

I wish she’d sit back down. The movement must hurt her ankle, but she’s probably too drunk to notice the pain. She’s undoubtedly going to be feeling it tomorrow, though.

It will be swollen and tender, and I won’t be around to help.

I shut my eyes and suck in a calming breath. As much as I want to sit around worrying about Lill’s health, the portal needs to be my number-one priority. A hurt ankle isn’t going to kill Lill, but running out of delysum tea will.

“I’m sure it’s notthatdangerous to peek,” I continue. “And if any faeries see you, I’ll fight them off.”

Lill looks me over from head to toe, her lips pursed, before she grimaces and waves me away.

“You’d never win in a fight against a faerie,” she says. “They’d kill you with a snap of their fingers.”

Well, that’s rude. I’ve never been in a fight, but I like to think I could hold my own. I know how to make a proper fist, and the rest seems fairly intuitive.

“Do you think I should do it?” Lill asks.

She sounds desperate, like the temptation of opening the portal is eating her up inside.

I give a curt nod. “You deserve to see your home again, even if it’s just through a portal.”

Lill chews at her lips, clearly in deep concentration, before stumbling to her bedroom. It takes everything in me to remain seated and patient, and an agonizingly long few seconds pass before she returns. She’s got something clenched in her fist, and I crane my neck to see what it is.

“I’m not strong enough to open a portal on my own. Not anymore,” she says, stopping in the middle of the room. “Mymom said if I ever needed to return to the faerie realm, this would help.”

Lill sways on her feet, and I realize it’s a necklace she’s holding. I’ve never seen it before, which is unusual. I can list every article of clothing and piece of jewelry Lill owns—mainly since most of them belonged to me first.

The gold chain shimmers as Lill clasps it around her neck, and dangling from the center is a small, black stone. I want to get a better look, but I don’t want to interrupt Lill. She’s about to open a portal, and I’ll be damned if I do anything to make her come to her senses.

“I’m going to do it,” she says.

My lips twitch upward, and I force them back into a neutral position. “Are you sure?”

She nods. “Just for a second. I’m going to die here, and I want to see my home one last time. I deserve to see my home.”

Lill shuts her eyes, which I assume is her way of getting ready to open the portal.

She doesn’t chant or say a magic spell, which I admit is mildly disappointing. A long few seconds pass where nothing happens, and I tap my toe against the ground as Lill’s eyebrows furrow and her face turns red.

She shifts her weight from foot to foot, her chest heaving.

It looks like she’s struggling.

The seconds continue to tick by, each one feeling like a lifetime. I’m beyond anxious to get this over with, and as I watch Lill struggle, I begin to fear she won’t be able to do it.

This is my only chance to help her, and dread consumes my entire being at the thought that I may be too late.

My heart pounds, and I snap my jaw shut with a loud click when the air in front of Lill begins to ripple. Her back is to me, and I press my fingers to my lips as the space before her splits open. I’ve never seen anything like it. The world moves like twocurtains being pulled aside, the human realm opening just wide enough for a person to fit through.

In the center of my living room is a window to the faerie realm, and I think I’m going to shit my pants.

Lill grunts.

I stare at the giant expanse of green, lush land she’s revealed.

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