Page 114 of The Shattered Kingdom
I can’t help but laugh. I don’t mean to, but it bursts out of me, anyway.
“Make sure Kie doesn’t do anything irrational while I’m gone,” Mason interrupts. Kie’s not the one who does irrational things, but I keep that thought to myself. “I need to finish up with the council, but I shouldn’t be too long. Twenty minutes at most.”
Mason kisses my forehead, his lips lingering, before hurrying back toward the chamber room.
Kie is smirking, clearly proud of himself.
“Do you—” I start, gesturing towardhis hips. “Should we stop by the house so you can shower?”
“There’s no time.” Kie shakes his head. “We’re already late to meet your parents. We told them we’d be there ten minutes ago.”
I bite back a smirk. “They’re not going to mind, Kie.”
Kie takes my hand, his bare fingers slipping between mine, and begins tugging me through the property. He does make a quick detour at our place, but only for me to use the restroom and for him to wash his hands.
“Let’s go,” he says, placing a hand on the small of my back. “I’m going to tell your mom it’s your fault we’re late.”
Chapter Forty-Four
ABBY
KIE GUIDES ME forward, his pace so fast, I’m left with no choice but to jog to keep up. He’s convinced my parents will be upset we’re late, but they aren’t like Queen Gitta. They won’t care.
Mom opens the door with a smile. Her eyes dart between Kie and me as she steps aside and gestures for us to enter. My family has taken one trip back to the human realm to tie up loose ends and make sure nobody thinks they’ve gone missing, but they plan to make a permanent move soon. I’m ecstatic.
“Come on in!” Mom says. “You don’t need to knock, Kie.”
Kie grunts and steps past her, but not before I spot his smile. It’s soft, maybe even a bit shy, and he does his best to hide it. He’s unsuccessful.
Dad’s on the couch in the living room, fully engrossed in a book on trolls. His guard brought him to the Bellmere library the other day, and he’s taken full advantage. Beside the couch, stacked from the ground to his knee, is a pile of books he must have brought back with him.
“Morning,” Dad says, not bothering to look up.
I sit in the oversized chair opposite him, and Kie lingers in the center of the room. He won’t appreciate myguidance, so I remain silent as he looks around, trying to figure out his next move. Eventually, much to my relief, he decides to sit with me. He plucks me off the chair before taking the seat and placing me on his lap.
The front door opens again, and I perk up as Mason strolls inside. That didn’t take long at all.
“Sorry I’m late,” he says.
He awkwardly shuffles up to my mother, stiffly accepting the quick hug she offers. He claims to hate it, but the flush that spreads up his cheeks and neck says otherwise. He likes the affection.
A door in the hallway slams shut, and Aaron comes bounding into the living room a second later. His smile falls when he sees Mason.
“Where’s Kie?”
“Kieran,” Mason corrects him. He points toward Kie and me, alerting Aaron of our presence in the corner of the room. “His name is Kieran. You may call himYour Highness.”
I shoot Mason a glare. “Be. Nice.”
Aaron and I have always been mean to one another—it’s how we choose to express our love—but Mason has difficulty understanding it. He met my brother with a grudge, one Aaron immediately clocked and decided to aggravate further.
He goes out of his way to make Mason angry, and he’s not subtle about it. He’s yet to realize how easy it would be for Mason to kill him.
“Yeah,Mace,” Aaron says, walking into the kitchen. “Be nice to me. You don’t want to get on Abby’s bad side.”
Mason stiffens, and I sigh. “Donotcall me that.”
Aaron turns, giving Mason his full attention. “Mace. Mace. Mace. Ma—”
