Page 123 of The Cursed Kingdom

Why is she so skinny? She can barely hold herself up, and her entire ribcage is exposed. It must be painful, and I’m surprised she’s still alive. I’ve seen corpses who look better.

“Mace?” Lilly asks.

Her voice is scratchy, like she’s been screaming, but I don’t let it bother me. I cock my head to the side before speaking.

“Lilly…” Her name feels foreign on my tongue. “How nice to see you again.”

Chapter Fifty-One

ABBY

MY THIGH IS bleeding, and I grimace as I pace the length of the room Mason locked me inside. I’ve dealt with so much shit these past few days that a little cut on my leg feels like child’s play.

My knees are significantly worse, anyway—all thanks to Mason. I’m so glad I stabbed him, and I hope he’s on the other side of this door bleeding out. I hope he dies and a million rats eat his body.

The only weapon I have now is a condom, but that isn’t going to do me any good. Maybe I can suffocatemyselfwith it. That might not be my worst idea.

I have no concept of time, but I know not much has passed when the door is unlocked and pushed open.

A woman steps inside the room. A woman whose entire presence screams power.

She’s wearing a floor-length black ballgown, and her white hair is pulled out of her face in an elaborate updo. Her dress flares at the bottom, and she smooths her hands down the fabric before clasping them together in front of her waist. She’s wearing black gloves, just as Kie and Mason do.

I step back, on edge as the woman enters the room. She looks around, her violet gaze taking in every inch of the room before settling her gaze on me. Her stare is almost as unnerving as Zaha’s was.Almost.

This is Kie’s mom, Queen Gitta. I know it. She and Kie look identical, except that Kie’s hair is darker and she’s a good twenty-something years older.

“I wasn’t expecting my son to return with a stray.” She looks me up and down with an intensity that makes me shiver. “Your name?”

I open my mouth, but no sound emerges. Why does she want to know?

Queen Gitta raises an eyebrow, and I scrub my hands down my face before finding my words.

“Abby.” I shake my head, quickly correcting myself. “Abigail. Abigail Williams.”

“Your Majesty,” Queen Gitta says. “Abigail Williams,Your Majesty.”

Your Majesty? She wants me to call her “Your Majesty”? I wait for her to laugh and tell me she’s joking, but her blank expression tells me she’s being deadly serious. Does she expect me to bow and kiss her feet, too? Maybe even suckle her toes?

I see where Kie gets his arrogance from.

“Abigail Williams,Your Majesty,” I force myself to say.

The queen takes another step into the room. I take another one back.

Has she heard about Lill? Is she here to kill me? Do Kie and Mason know she’s here? I’d guess not, considering Mason stopped that guard from bringing me to her earlier.

“Come with me.”

Queen Gitta spins on her heel and walks out of the room, confident I will follow. I debate not doing so, but then a guard Ihadn’t noticed before steps toward me. It’s the one who came for me earlier, the one Mason knocked out.

He doesn’t look too pleased to see me, and he glares as if he’s mentally picturing murdering me. I don’t understand why, considering it was Mason who attacked him. I had nothing to do with that.

I will my thundering heart to settle as I follow Queen Gitta out of Kie’s home. Her pace is quick, and I have to practically jog to keep up as she leads me down a series of walkways and through several courtyards.

Where is she taking me? Mason mentioned earlier that the guard was bringing me to the meeting hall, whatever that is. I assume that’s where we’re heading.

There are dozens of faeries hurrying about. The ones in fine, expensive-looking clothing openly stare, but the ones in plain, gray clothing pay me no mind. I assume they’re the servants, and I much prefer them to the others.

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