Chapter Forty-Six
ABBY
MY LUNGS CONSTRICT, and I tighten my arms around Kie’s torso in a panic, pinning his arms to his sides. He lets me, too busy looking around my bedroom to care about my attempts to subdue him.
“This is new,” he mumbles.
I thought we were returning to the faerie realm. Why didn’t she take us there? Zaha must be playing a cruel joke on me. She saw how desperate I am to keep Lill’s existence a secret, and she’s brought the princes here to punish me.
Does Kie realize this is my home? My bedroom? Probably. After all the personal questions I ignored these past few days, I just know he’s creaming his pants right now.
He doesn’t know about Lill, though, and I need to keep it that way.
The portal behind Kie vanishes, the black doorway disappearing in a flash. Mason never came through, though—only Kie and me. I don’t have time to worry about it.
“You need to leave,” I say. “Go home.”
Kie chuckles, not entertaining the idea.
“Mason’s not here,” I continue.
That grabs Kie’s attention, and he smoothly wiggles out of my tight grip before looking over his shoulder to see for himself. He then does a full spin, his eyes darting around as he searches for the shifter.
“You should get to Bellmere before he does,” I say, stepping toward my bedroom door. “He’s just been given Zaha’s blessing to steal your throne, and I doubt he’ll hesitate to take it.”
My bedroom door is thankfully shut, blocking Kie’s view of the hallway and the faerie potentially lurking about within the apartment. He can’t know Lill’s here.
Something’s up with her and her mom having come to the human realm in the first place, something fishy, and bringing the once-crowned prince inside our apartment is the worst thing I could’ve done. Even if Kie doesn’t recognize her, he’ll wonder what a faerie’s doing in the human realm—especially one so close to death.
It won’t take long for him to draw a connection between Lill and my interest in delysum. Kie’s not stupid, and he’ll put two and two together. I played the I’m a dumb human who doesn’t know anything card until he gave up asking, but Lill’s a faerie. Kie will hold her to different standards, and he’ll expect her to give him answers.
Answers I know she won’t want to give.
Kie’s eyebrows furrow, and he runs a hand through his dark, wavy hair before shifting his attention to me.
“Mace will be fine,” he decides. “He won’t do anything without me.”
I shake my head, denying it. “He could die.”
Kie doesn’t justify my fake concern with a response. We both know Mason’s more than capable of keeping himself alive, which is infuriating. He’s like a cockroach—impossible to kill.
“He could kill your family,” I point out. “If you don’t hurry, you could return to new leadership.”
Instead of worrying about Mason, which he should be doing, Kie takes a slow stroll around my room. It’s untouched, and thankfully, the credit cards and note I left for Lill have been removed from my bed. If Kie got his hands on the note where I explained my plan to Lill, everything would be ruined.
“So, this is where the mysterious Abby is from,” Kie says. “It’s not what I expected.”
He fingers a black, silk nightgown hanging over my closet door, his lips twitching as he glances between me and the fabric. If I weren’t so adamant about blocking the door to the hallway, I’d rip it out of his grubby hands.
At least he’s wearing his gloves.
I’d have to burn the nightgown otherwise.
Kie releases the fabric and moves to my dresser. The surface is scattered with perfumes, random pieces of jewelry, and small trinkets I’ve collected over the years. It serves as a bit of a catch-all, and Kie seems quite pleased with himself as he touches every single fucking thing I own.
He even smells my perfumes, his nose scrunching for almost all of them. It wouldn’t kill him to keep his dislike to himself. Still, I remain silent, letting him have his fun. I’ll let him do whatever he wants as long as he stays quiet. If he feels the urge to examine all my things before heading home, so be it.
“You like things,” Kie eventually says.
He trails his fingers over a pack of stickers before picking up a purple, plastic tiara I bought for a Halloween costume several years ago. A cocky smile spreads over his lips as he sets it on his head, crowning himself.
I don’t think he’s amusing, and I don’t like him touching my stuff.
“Abby and her little treasures,” he says quietly to himself.
Kie pulls open the top drawer of my dresser and peers inside, the purple tiara long forgotten.
I bite the inside of my cheek as he rifles through my underwear, occasionally pulling out a pair to show me. I already know what underwear I own, and I grind my teeth as he silently teases me with his finds.
He only pulls out the colored, lacy pairs, and I have half a mind to direct him to the large, blood-stained cotton ones shoved into the very back of the drawers. I bet he wouldn’t be smirking at those.
Kie doesn’t linger too long on my underwear, and he smoothly makes his way through my remaining drawers before straightening back up and spinning around to face me. I can tell immediately that he’s planning to leave my room and continue his exploration.
It’s written all over his face.
“You can’t go out there,” I say, pressing myself against the door. Shouldn’t he be eager to get home? He was just told he has to hand over his title and birthright to Mason. Most people would be focused on that, not going through my things.
Kie raises a brow.
“Oh?” he asks. “And why not?”
Because there’s most likely a faerie fugitive resting on the living room couch and I don’t want you to find her. Because you just attempted to give me to Zaha, and I never want to see you again. Because I said so. Because I hate you.
A thousand reasons rush through my mind, but none that will work.
“I live with my parents,” I lie. “Purity is huge here, and they’ll kick me out if they see a man coming out of my bedroom.”
I’m proud of my quick thinking. Kie’s an asshole, but he’s not malicious. After everything he’s already put me through, I don’t think he’s cruel enough to knowingly get me kicked out of my home.
Kie sucks his cheeks into his mouth and glances between me and the silk nightgown still hanging over my bedroom door, clearly debating whether or not to believe me. I pray to the gods, every single one of them, that he does.
After an excruciatingly long pause, Kie dips his chin, conceding. “Very well.” I let out a breath, my shoulders sagging, but it only lasts for half a second. “How did you get into the faerie realm?”
I suppose I shouldn’t be too surprised he’s asking.
I shrug. “I met a man. He said he loved me and brought me to Farbay. Then he left, and I went exploring.”
Kie hums. He doesn’t believe me.
“That’s not—” His eyes dart toward my bedside table, to the several framed photos covering it, as his voice trails off.
I stiffen, my palms sweaty as he stares at one particular frame. I made it in third grade, and it’s covered in vibrant buttons and small puff balls. It’s an attention grabber if I’ve ever seen one, and inside is a childhood photo of Lill and me.
I’ve got my arms wrapped around her neck, practically putting her in a headlock, and she’s giving the camera a toothy smile. She’d be passable as an ordinary human girl if it weren’t for her vibrant, violet eyes and stark-white hair.
It takes less than a millisecond for Kie’s entire demeanor to change, his relaxed smile falling and body stiffening. Before I can follow what’s happening, he practically shoves me out of the doorway and storms out of my bedroom. My shoulder slams against the wall with a painful thud , and I let out a low grunt before hurrying after him.
“Kie!” I shout, reaching for his arm.
He yanks it out of my reach and barrels down my short hallway toward Lill’s bedroom. None of my attempts to stop him are successful as he pushes open her door and looks inside. She’s not there, and he inspects our shared bathroom before making his way to the living area and kitchen.
“Please,” I beg, desperate for him to stop. “Let me explain!”
I feel like a woman begging her boyfriend to hear her out after he walks in on her fucking his best friend, and Kie’s sure acting the part. He refuses to slow, his movements fast and rough despite my best attempts to physically hold him back.
He steps into the living room, and I manage to shoulder him to the side just enough that I can squeeze between him and the wall, placing myself in front of him.
“Abby?”
Lill’s voice is crackly and quiet—and immediately followed up with a hollow cough. It sends a terrible ache down my chest, but there’s no time to focus on her as I plant my feet on the ground and press my hands against the center of Kie’s torso.
His muscles flex underneath my fingers, and his nostrils flare as he stares at Lill over the top of my head.
“She hasn’t done anything wrong,” I plead, needing him to hear me. “Please. She’s been here for twenty years . She was just a child when she came here.”
Something grabs me from behind. A pair of thin, cold fingers wrap around my shoulders and yank me away from Kie with surprising strength. I stumble against Lill’s chest, but before she can do anything else, Kie lunges forward.
I feel like a yo-yo as I’m yoinked out of Lill’s grasp and shoved behind Kie.
“Don’t fucking touch her,” he spits at Lill.
Lill’s not in a condition to hurt me even if she wanted to, and I fight to break out from behind Kie as Lill wavers on her feet. I thought she was gaunt before, but it’s nothing to how she is now. Her hair is thin, and she’s drowning in my fitted sweatshirt.
Despite it, there’s a fire in her eyes I haven’t seen in years.
She stares Kie down, confidently meeting him toe to toe, while I continue trying to fight my way between them. Does she know who he is?
“Kieran,” she says, answering my question. She definitely knows who he is. “What—”
Kie, while still holding me behind himself, grabs Lill by the neck. His gloved fingers curl around her thin throat, choking her with unnerving ease. She’s too fragile to fight back, too weak, and I let out a pained cry as I fight my way between them.
It’s impossible to get past Kie, though. He’s too fucking big.
“Where is she?” he spits at Lill. Where’s who?
Kie’s voice is cold, void of the annoying personality I’ve grown accustomed to the past few days. It reminds me of how he spoke the first time we met—when he called me a persistent bug and spoke so casually with Mason about killing me.
Even the purple plastic tiara still on his head isn’t enough to lessen his intimidation.
Lill opens her mouth, but all that comes out is a pained squeak.
Kie’s gloved fingers flex around her throat before he turns his head sharply to the left. I recognize the way the air begins to ripple, and it feels like the oxygen is sucked out of the room as the air is violently ripped to the side to reveal a dark, stone corridor.
Magic swirls everywhere I look, the thin specks standing out against the empty passageway.
Lill is shoved through the portal first, and I cry out as she lands painfully on her hands and knees.
Everything is happening too fast, and I find myself tripping over my feet as Kie forces me through next. He’s not hurting me, but he’s not being gentle as he steps into the corridor and the portal shuts behind him, trapping me in the faerie realm once more.