Page 69 of The Shattered Kingdom
I’VE SPENT ALL this time thinking Mason is the dangerous one. It makes sense. He’s mean and turns into a giant, terrifying animal. I realize now that I was wrong. Kie ripped a shifter’s head in half. Then he smashed in the head of another—all with his bare hands. He didn’t need sharp teeth or long claws.
I continue replaying the scene in my head, over and over and over again.
Whine. Rip. Crunch.
Whine. Rip. Crunch.
My hands shake as Kie cleans his arms and face, washing off the blood. I must have a few specks on my face, and I wince as he runs his thumbs over my forehead and eyebrow. Then he cleans my upper lip.
Mason drags bodies into the river. I see him out of the corner of my eye.
There’s so much blood.
This isn’t the first time Mason’s fought shifters, but this is the first time I’ve seen the aftermath. I prefernotseeing it.
“Where is the mouth of the river?” I ask. That’s where Alpha Theon said he wanted to meet.
“We’re about an hour away,” Kie says. “We should get there early enough to stake out the area.”
I’m ready to return home. Well, to Kie and Mason’s home. I’m slowly giving up hope of ever returning to the human realm.
“Anox is going to be upset.” I’m talking to myself, mainly to fill the silence. “He’s going to do that thing where he gets red and slams doors.”
“He absolutely will.” Kie chuckles. “He practically raised Mason and me, but his disrespect shouldn’t be tolerated. I’m sure not going to say anything about it, and I highly doubt Mason will, either. I suspect we’re both secretly afraid of the old man.”
I bite back a smile.
“I’ve been meaning to thank you for last night. I know you’re not interested in sleeping with us, but having you close was… It was comfortable. I enjoyed it.” Kie snorts, then continues. “Mason went through four mattresses before settling on one he liked, and he’s incredibly possessive over it. It was fun stealing it for a night.”
My gaze drifts behind Kie. Mason’s finally finished dumping the bodies into the river and wiggling around on the blood trails, and now he’s in the water shaking out his fur.
“You should warn Mason if you ever plan to share a bed with him,” Kie says. “So he can ready himself for you.”
I pause. “Ready himself?”
Kie tosses the soap into the river and rises. I do the same.
“What does he have to ready?” I repeat.
Kie shoots me a sideways glance. “His asshole, obviously.”
He throws our bags over his shoulder and walks away, heading toward Mason. I stare at his retreating form, pretty sure he’s joking but not one hundred percent sure. Mason doesn’t have to ready his asshole.
I have no interest in Mason’s asshole.
Why would Kie joke about that, though? Kie doesn’t make jokes.
I hurry behind the faerie, eager to keep close. Mason steps out of the river and shakes out his fur one last time. Water splatters everywhere, thankfully not on me. The bodies he dumped just a few minutes ago have already been swept away, conveniently in the direction opposite of where we’re heading.
We continue walking, but there’s no more conversation. Not that there was much before.
Kie and Mason slow as we near the meeting point, and we adjust to walk in the woods instead of along the riverbank. I’m placed between the two men, a familiar position. I used to hate when they’d trap me between them, but I don’t mind it as much now. It’s actually comforting, and I don’t pull away when my arm brushes against Kie’s.
“So, what’s the plan?” I ask.
Kie and Mason never agreed on how they wanted to handle this meeting. Mason wants Kie and me to remain quiet and let him lead the discussion. Kie wants Mason and me to remain quiet while he leads. Both men want to hide me in a cave with an open portal for the duration of the meeting.
It’d be a good idea if holding open a portal for an extended length of time wouldn’t drain Kie, leaving him and Mason vulnerable.
