Page 36 of The Shattered Kingdom
Kie silently shuts the door behind him, then lights the fireplace. It provides some background noise, but not enough to drown out the awkwardness. I haven’t seen much of Kie these past few days. He’s been busy preparing for Mason’s coronation, and my few interactions with him have been brief.
“I’m not going to touch you,” I say. “If that’s what you’re concerned about. I’ve learned my lesson.”
Kie paces the length of the room, his long legs carrying him from wall to wall in fourteen easy strides. I’ve always found Mason to be the more frightening of the two, but as I take in the dead, empty look in Kie’s eye, I can’t help but wonder if my assumption was off.
Five minutes pass. My anxiety grows.
I clear my throat. “Are you okay?”
Kie doesn’t answer.
Of course he’s not all right. He’s been forced to give away the title many would argue was his birthright, and the woman he believed to be his mate just murdered his mother. He’s been cast aside, forced to hide away in his home as humans do with women and children.
Kie continues to pace, his strides quickening and quickening. I’m not sure what to do other than stare, my hands tucked under my thighs and my feet tapping against the ground. Should I continue trying to speak with him?
Another ten minutes pass, and every one is spent in complete silence.
Kie turns his back to me, retreating into the open dining area. My toes curl in my shoes as he abruptly stops at the table. He leans forward and plants his palms onto the dark wood, his head dropping between his shoulders. The rapid expansion and contraction of his ribcage suggests he’s panting, maybe even hyperventilating.
I can’t hear his breathing from the couch, nor can I see his face to confirm. Still, I know what I’m looking at. Is he having a panic attack? Do faeries get them?
“Did you know?” Kie’s question is full of accusation. “Did you know she was planning on murdering my mother?”
I physically recoil. “Of course not.”
Kie turns, his violet eyes narrowed in on me. “Lillian was your best friend, was she not? You claim she told you everything. Did you know? Is that why you wanted to leave this morning? Were you hoping to escape before she followed through?”
He’s hurting, and I’d wonder the same thing if I were in his position. I remind myself of this fact to keep my anger in check. It works, and I manage to keep a level head as I answer his question.
“I didnotknow,” I repeat. “And had I suspected, I would have told you. I’m willing to overlook and excuse several things in the name of friendship, but murder is crossing the line. I had no idea what Lill was planning. I’m just as shocked as you are.”
Kie cocks his head to the side. “But you suspected she wasn’t my true mate? Is that why you touched Mason? To confirm your hypothesis?”
“Mason was the one who suspected, and he put the idea in my mind approximately twenty minutes before I touched him.” I have no problem placing blame on the shifter. “He was the one keeping secrets from you, not me.”
Kie stares at me for a long minute, then resumes his pacing.Another five minutes pass. Where is Mason? How long is he going to be gone? I want to know what’s happening. Have they found Lill? Does Mason have it under control? It’s hard to imagine him in a leadership position. He seems too brutish, too ruled by emotion.
“Do you know where she would go?” Kie asks.
“No,” I admit. “I could suggest a few locations in the human realm, but I’m not sure they’ll help much.”
The front door flies open, smacking against the wall with a loud bang. Mason comes storming inside a moment later. Two guards stand in the doorway behind him but make no moves to enter.
Mason immediately finds me, and his shoulders relax as we make eye contact.
“Can you make a list?” he asks. He must’ve heard me through the door.
I hesitate, then nod. Lill’s killed somebody, and I can’t continue playing the middle. She had more than enough opportunity to tell me what was going on, and she chose to keep her secrets. She looked me in the eye and lied to me, purposefully keeping details of her story hidden. Maybe she had a good reason, but from where I stand, I struggle to understand what it might be.
Mason turns, gesturing for one of the guards to enter. Well, I thought he was gesturing for the guards. They part instead, revealing three poised faeries. The one wearing robes is in front, and trailing behind him is a woman with white, shoulder-length curly hair and a man staring at me with an uneasy amount of interest.
They file inside the house and into the dining room. Kieran takes a seat, and the others follow. They leave the spot at the head of the table empty, I assume for Mason. The shifter doesn’t take it.
He chooses to stand beside me in the living room.
“These are the council members,” he says, his voice low. “The council leader is Anox.” He’s the one in the robes. “Beside him is Lady Cassandra, and the other is Lord Bishop. Would you like to sit with us?”
Anox looks over, his violet eyes unblinking. It’s like he’s looking through me, and it’s painfully unnerving. Everything about him is unnerving.
