Page 34 of The Shattered Kingdom
Lill is Mason’s mate. Or, at least, she believes she is.
I spend another several seconds adjusting my already-fixed dress. What am I going to say to her? This isn’t me. I don’t fuck men in bathrooms, especially men who are tied to my best friend.I wasn’t thinking.
I stare at the ground as I step out of the bathroom, mentally preparing for what awaits me. I made a mistake, and I’m adult enough to own up to it. I won’t make excuses for myself.
I’m going to tell Lill what happened. I’m going to tell her everything I know.
My movements halt as I step into the living room. Mason’s at the door, facing two visibly panicked guards. Lill is nowhere to be seen, probably still getting food, and Mason’s entire body is quivering as he turns toward me.
“Lillian’s gone.” He shakes his head, like he doesn’t believe what he’s about to say next. “And she murdered Her Majesty on her way out.”
Chapter Thirteen
ABBY
OF ALL THE times for Mason to abandon me, I didn’t expect it to be in the face of actual danger. I stare at the five guards I’ve been left with, then shift my gaze toward the front door Mason practically broke on his way out of here.
“The queen is dead?” I ask. I already know the answer.
The guard closest to me nods.
My heart lurches. “Is Kie okay?” I clear my throat. “His Highness, I mean. The prince. Kieran. Whatever the fuck you call him.”
The guards exchange glances. What does that mean? Is that a no? Did Lill hurt Kie? Was that part of her plan? And she killed the queen? Are they sure? Did anybody actually see it happen?
“Well?” My voice cracks. “Is Kie okay?”
The door bursts open, and Mason comes barreling inside. “Fuck!” He storms through the guards, grabs my arm, and pulls me into his side. “Lillian can open fucking portals, so you need to stay with me. Can’t have her hurting you.”
It seems he’s changed his mind on abandoning me with the stone-faced guards, but I don’t think Lill would ever hurt me. She’s been lying about some things, I’m willing to admit that, butI believe our friendship is genuine. We’ve been through too much together for it not to be.
“Is Kie okay?” I ask Mason.
He nods. “Yes. Come on.”
Mason drags me out of the house, his pace nearly impossible to keep up with. Long gone is the man who was on his knees begging me to take control. He’s been replaced by the angry Mason I’m most familiar with—the one who was raised as a prince and is prepared to be king.
The coronation is tomorrow.The coronation is tomorrow.Mason’s going to be a king. I’m his mate. What the fuck does that mean for me? Where the fuck is Kie? Where the fuck is Lill?
We pass by several faeries, but none appear alert. They look at Mason and me with their usual level of caution and general disapproval, but nothing more. They don’t yet know about the attack. The news hasn’t spread, but I doubt that will be the case for much longer. Things like this are hard to hide.
“Stay close,” Mason orders. “Now isn’t the time to be rebellious.”
I wasn’t planning on it. The faeries and shifters may think little about humans, but we aren’t idiots. The queen was just murdered, and it’s in my best interest to remain close to Mason. He’s the scariest motherfucker here, and he has an vested interest in keeping me alive. I’m going to be this man’s shadow until told otherwise.
Do I need to be a shadow if the threat is Lill? I don’t know, and that isn’t a position I ever thought I’d be in. Just a few weeks ago, I was fully prepared to die in the faerie realm in the name of securing her delysum and saving her life, and now people are afraid of her hurting me.
Does she know what Mason and I did? That I touched him? That I exposed the bond between her, Mason, and Kie as false? Ishould’ve been careful. I should’ve been patient. I should’ve been a lot of things I wasn’t.
“Are you sure she killed the queen?” I ask Mason.
“Yes. She asked a guard to bring her to the queen, slit her throat, and vanished through a portal.”
Why would she do that? Lill’s always had a violent side to her, and it’s been used to my benefit several times, but it’s never gotten out of hand. I didn’t think she had that in her. This is the woman who cooks me elaborate dinners and yells at me for placing a glass on the coffee table without a coaster. She listens to Billy Joel, cries during movies, and has an unhealthy obsession with mint ice cream. She doesn’t murder.
Mason leads us to the building where Kie works. The faerie stands outside with two guards and an older man wearing elegant robes. I’m not prepared for the relief I feel at seeing Kie. He appears uninjured and significantly more composed than I would be if my mother had just been murdered.
“Lock down the grounds.” Kie’s rough order has even me standing up straight. “I don’t want anybody coming in or out.”
