Page 94 of The Shattered Kingdom
Fuck.“She’s…” I start. “Things are complicated with her right now. She was here for a while, but she left. It’s a lot to explain.”
Dad nods. “And where exactly ishere?”
This might be harder to explain. I tighten my grip on Mason’s shoulder, unsure where to begin. Probably from the beginning.
I start with Lill’s sickness, something they’re already aware of. Her health has been visibly declining for years, and I explain how delysum helped preserve her magic before diving into my grand plans to save her.
Even Kie and Mason are hanging on to my every word, and I realize I’ve never shared the full story with them.
I talk about Samuel, how he bought me dinner and gloves in exchange for a kiss. Mom and Aaron manage weak chuckles. Kie, Mason, and Dad don’t find it nearly as funny. Mason’s shoulders don’t pop out of their sockets, though, which I consider a victory.
I talk about my walk from Callonton to Farbay, leaving out the part where I slept in a stranger’s barn.
Mason trails a hand down my spine, his lips brushing against my ear a second later. “You’ll never be hungry again.”
I momentarily pause. I haven’t said anything about being hungry, but he’s reading between the lines. I was practically starving, but that’s not a piece of information I care to admit to. I want everybody to think I was independent and resourceful as I navigated the faerie world by myself.
I was being heroic. At least, that’s the picture of myself I’m going to paint.
Kie props his elbows on his knees as I begin discussing my time in the Redstall Forest. I give a watered-down version, conveniently leaving out how Kie and Mason threatened to murder me and then decided to gift me to Zaha.
My voice grows hoarse as I get to the part about Lill. I explain that Callie is alive and found a way to fake a bond between Lill, Kie, and Mason, and tears begin leaking down my cheeks as I share the queen’s murder and Lill’s disappearance. I leave out the details of Lill being responsible for the murder. I just can’t bring myself to say it.
Kie takes over when it becomes clear I’m struggling to continue.
He lightly touches on the conflict between the faeries and shifters before finally dropping the bomb that I’m going to be crowned queen consort this evening.
“This evening?” Mom repeats.
I nod.
She falls silent again. It doesn’t sound real. None of this sounds real, and I didn’t realize how absurd everything has been until I said it out loud. It’s no wonder my parents are staring at me as if I’ve grown two heads.
“I think I need to sit down,” Mom eventually mumbles.
She’s already sitting, and Dad wordlessly rubs her back. Even I’m struggling to wrap my head around everything, and I’m the one who lived through it.
Chapter Thirty-Six
ABBY
TIME WITH MY family passes too quickly. One minute I’m pretending to be interested in Aaron’s love life update, and the next they’re being politely ushered away by Kie so I can prepare for my coronation.
Mason has been tasked with keeping my family occupied and safe. The idea of my grunting mate trying to entertain my family would be mildly comical on any other day.
His eyes practically bulged out of his head when I gave him the order, but he’s the top man for the job. Besides, we all know Kie’s the best one to help me prepare. Unlike Mason, Kie cares about faerie traditions. He’ll take this seriously.
Two women flitter around me, one braiding my hair into an intricate faerie hairstyle and another trying to teach me the words I’ll need to repeat to Anox during the ceremony. She’s growing increasingly frustrated. I’m trying my best, but the pronunciation is complicated.
The short-haired, violet-eyed diction coach repeats a word I’ve been struggling with, and I resist the urge to rip out my hair as I attempt to copy her. My tongue doesn’t want to form around the vowels, and the more I try, the worse it gets.
Kie’s standing by the front door, closely monitoring my every interaction with the two faerie women. I’ve gathered that he wasn’t involved in the decision to have them help me prepare, and he argued with them at the door for several minutes before grudgingly letting them inside. This must be Anox’s doing. Or maybe Jackie’s.
I attempt the word again, my fists curling when everything comes out wrong. Why can’t I get this? It shouldn’t be this hard.
“Let’s take a break,” Kie suggests.
“Yes.” The diction coach nods. “That’s a great idea.”
