Chapter Forty-Seven
KIERAN
ABBY IS SCREAMING bloody fucking murder.
I grab Lillian and pull her to her feet. The faerie stumbles over herself, the uncoordinated movements showcasing just how weak she’s gotten over the years. Or, at least, that’s what she wants me to think.
She tracks every one of Abby’s movements with fervor, her eyes never leaving the human despite my attempts to place myself between them. It infuriates me, and I barely resist the urge to stick my fingers in Lillian’s sunken eyes to stop her.
Mason wouldn’t have the restraint.
I never thought I’d see Lillian again, not after she and her mother disappeared all those years ago. It was as if they vanished off the face of the planet, and it appears they did. They were smart to hide in the human realm, one of the few places faeries refuse to travel due to the lack of magic. It’s a miracle Lillian survived there this long. How?
Where’s her mother?
I was still just a child when they disappeared, but I distinctly remember how fiercely protective Callie was of Lillian. It was the only honorable thing about my father’s mistress.
Abby continues screaming, her voice high-pitched and screechy. It’s the tone she uses whenever I do something to make her angry, but it’s laced with a panic I’ve never heard from her before.
I think, under different circumstances, it would stop me in my tracks.
Lillian’s surprisingly easy to move, and I ignore Abby’s attempts to stop me as I drag the faerie toward the door at the end of the corridor. I don’t frequent the cells, and the two guards standing outside the thick, stone door startle at my sudden appearance.
They’re in crisp black uniforms, with their shirts neatly tucked in and pants ironed straight. They’re new, and I give it less than a year before they grow comfortable and relax on their uniform.
My mother’s a stickler for regulation, but I don’t mind the small adjustments most of the guards make to be more comfortable.
Abby grunts, grabbing at my waist. “Let her go!”
Tiny, dull teeth sink into my covered forearm a second later. The pain is shocking, but I refuse to release Lillian as I shake Abby off like the feral animal she’s being.
I don’t know what kind of relationship she has with Lillian, but she should be thanking me for protecting her. Abby clearly doesn’t understand what Lillian and her mother have done, and if she did, she’d know to be wary of the woman.
I’ve spent ample time with Abby these past several days, and I know with complete certainty that she has no idea who Lillian is. She’s been played, tricked somehow by Lillian and her mother, and she doesn’t even know it.
The guards beside the entrance to the cells step aside as I near, their gazes shifting nervously between me, Abby, and Lillian. I’m sure they’re wondering why I’m being rough with a faerie visibly on the brink of death and not the angry human trying her damned hardest to hurt me.
Abby lunges for me again, this time aiming for my legs, and I toss Lillian into the arms of the nearest guard so I can give the feisty human my attention. I could order the guards to restrain Abby, but I don’t trust them with her.
Humans are unnervingly delicate, and I know myself well enough to know I’ll be angry if they hurt her.
The guard who catches Lillian smoothly maneuvers her into a restraining hold, not that she’s putting up much of a fight. She looks like shit, like how all faeries look when they’ve been away from magic for too long.
It’s how I’d look had I remained in the forest for much longer. Opening the portal from the human to faerie realm drained my already limited reserve, and I let the loose magic floating through the corridor fill me as I deal with Abby.
It’ll take several days until I’m physically back to where I was before entering the forest.
“Enough,” I say, grabbing Abby’s arms.
She thrashes as I pin them to her sides, preventing her from moving. I wish Mason were here, the shifter usually able to frighten her into submission. It often comes in handy, especially when she’s in one of her moods.
“Stop it!” Abby tries again to kick me. “You ugly bastard.”
There’s a quiet intake of breath from both the guards, but I ignore it. I highly doubt Abby knows of the bastard rumors that spread about me when I was born. People are careful not to use the word around me, but Abby throws it out without hesitation.
Lillian makes a noise as I restrain Abby, and I look over just as she thrashes against the guard’s hold. She comes from a powerful family, and it’s only a matter of time before she’s filled with enough magic that it’ll take several guards to restrain her.
I can’t let that happen.
Abby chomps at my arm again, but I don’t let her mouth get close to me. She’s lucky she didn’t break through the fabric of my shirt the first time. There are rules here, and I can’t let my people go around thinking they won’t be punished if they force skin-to-skin contact with me.
Or skin to teeth.
It wouldn’t take long for word to spread that I let a woman touch me without repercussions. What I’m allowing her to do now will already damage my reputation, and it will take a lot of effort to keep these guards quiet.
I slide my hand up Abby’s neck and cup the back of her head before forcing it downward, making her look at the floor. She tries to fight it, naturally, but she’ll stop when she realizes it makes her neck sore.
I turn toward the guard holding Lillian.
“Bring her inside,” I order.
The guard nods, and the other rushes to unlock and open the heavy cement door I’ve brought us to. It’s coated in delysum oil, preventing and killing any magic that tries to seep through. The door is pulled open to reveal several darkened cells, all without magic.
I keep Abby’s head down, not letting her see. She’ll never let me hear the end of it, and I don’t have the patience to deal with her right now.
“Kie, please,” Abby begs, grabbing at my arm. She tries to pull my hand off the back of her neck, but she doesn’t have any success. I let out a quiet sigh as she shifts gears, reaching for her companion instead. “Lill,” she pleads.
Lillian reaches for Abby, but I pull the human away before any contact is made. Lillian will never have contact with Abby again if I have anything to say about it.
I wait for the guard holding Lillian to disappear into the cells before leading Abby away.
Never in a million years did I intend to return from my meeting with Zaha with an angry human in my possession, an agreement to hand my title over to Mason, and the woman who murdered my father.
Abby is smart enough to remain quiet as I lead her out of the holding cells. This small building is located on the outskirts of the royal compound, which isn’t ideal. Abby and I will be seen, and people will have questions. My mother will have questions. I’m not ready to answer them.
I shove open the front door, grimacing as light shines into my eyes. I need to get Abby out of here.
Covered pathways connect all the buildings in the royal compound, and I frown as I step outside. The flowering vines covering the tall, arched trellis above me need to be trimmed back. The thick foliage pushes through the slats, and the butterflies the flowers attract are swarming.
I listen to their fluttering wings as I lead Abby forward. The trellis covering offers some privacy, but not nearly enough. These outdoor corridors are frequented by many, and it’s only a matter of time before Abby and I are spotted.
There’s a wide turn up ahead, and in the center is a decorative podium with a bust of some long-dead aristocrat. I carefully maneuver Abby around it, my pace quickening. The royal housing division is on the opposite side of the compound, a several-minute walk away.
I force my expression flat as I round a corner to one of the larger courtyards. Several ladies are standing around a fountain, laughing loudly as they linger underneath one of the few areas without an overhead trellis.
Their laughter quiets as they notice me and Abby, and I offer a curt nod as I pass them and continue down another walkway.
I need to get Abby away from prying eyes and ears before she says or does something stupid. I should’ve put her in a cell with Lillian, but I can’t bring myself to do it. Mason will likely demand we put her in one once he learns of her connection with Lillian, but that’s a bridge I’ll cross when I get to it. Mason’s always been suspicious of Abby, and this will only cement those beliefs.
I avoid my mother’s most commonly used walkways as I hurry Abby to my living quarters. It’s only a matter of minutes before my mother hears I’ve returned with a human and a faerie prisoner, and she’s going to have several questions.
I don’t have answers. I don’t know what to say to her.
We reach another courtyard, this one separating the royal homes from the remainder of the compound. Only guards are allowed past this point, and I’m sure they won’t hesitate to tell my mother of my whereabouts.
They’ll remain loyal to her until I’m crowned. Well, until Mason’s crowned.
I clench my jaw and shake my head, not wanting to think about that. We need to stop the growth of delysum, and this is the only solution. My people will understand. They have to.
Fuck .
The faeries hate Mason.
My home is just up ahead, the modest, single story building practically beckoning me to come inside. I shove the front door open and force Abby inside before releasing her. She immediately scurries away, and I shut my door before funneling what little magic I have left into the lock so we won’t be disturbed.
Abby spins toward me, her eyes frantic. “What did you do to Lill?”
I shut my eyes and take a moment to breathe, needing to calm down before I do or say something I regret. Judging by the childhood image I saw of Abby and Lillian, it’s safe to assume she feels deep ties toward the faerie.
I don’t know what Lillian’s been telling her about us and herself, but I’m sure it paints her in a significantly better light than she deserves.
“Abby…” I start, struggling to find the right words.
Abby doesn’t care for me, nor does she trust me, and I doubt she’ll believe me when I tell her that Lillian murdered my father.
She’ll insist that Lillian is innocent and had nothing to do with it.
“Don’t Abby me,” Abby says, taking a threatening step forward.
She shoves a pointy finger against the center of my chest. She’s trying to be threatening, but it doesn’t come across when she has to crane her head back to look me in the eye.
“Tell me what the fuck you’ve done with Lill,” she continues. “She’s done nothing wrong, and I demand to see her right now .”
Abby was standing silently before Zaha just twenty minutes ago, her every limb shaking as she waited to see if the goddess would take her as a slave. Zaha may not want her, but that doesn’t put Abby in a position of power.
She’s in no position to demand anything of me.
“Kie!” Abby shouts. “Take me to Lill.”
I look around the room. The front door opens to a large living area and kitchen, and down the hallway on the left is my bedroom, Mason’s bedroom, and two spare ones.
The door to the cells may keep out most of the magic, but not all of it. I need to question Lillian before she regains her strength, but I don’t want Abby making a mess of my home while I’m gone. Or stealing my knives. Or trying to escape.
I run a hand through my hair, but I freeze when my fingers meet a hard, scratchy object. You’ve got to be kidding me.
Despite Abby’s visible anger, her eyes sparkle as she watches me yank her cheap, purple tiara off my head and toss it aside.
“Come,” I say, grabbing Abby’s arm. “I don’t know what to do with you, and I don’t have time to figure it out. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
I’m hoping that telling her this will be a comfort, but she fights me every step of the way. I pull her down the hallway and lock her inside one of the spare bedrooms, and I use my magic to ensure she can’t open the door.
I’ll be back soon enough.