Chapter Fifty-One
ABBY
MY THIGH IS bleeding, and I grimace as I pace the length of the room Mason locked me inside. I’ve dealt with so much shit these past few days that a little cut on my leg feels like child’s play.
My knees are significantly worse, anyway—all thanks to Mason. I’m so glad I stabbed him, and I hope he’s on the other side of this door bleeding out. I hope he dies and a million rats eat his body.
The only weapon I have now is a condom, but that isn’t going to do me any good. Maybe I can suffocate myself with it. That might not be my worst idea.
I have no concept of time, but I know not much has passed when the door is unlocked and pushed open.
A woman steps inside the room. A woman whose entire presence screams power.
She’s wearing a floor-length black ballgown, and her white hair is pulled out of her face in an elaborate updo. Her dress flares at the bottom, and she smooths her hands down the fabric before clasping them together in front of her waist. She’s wearing black gloves, just as Kie and Mason do.
I step back, on edge as the woman enters the room. She looks around, her violet gaze taking in every inch of the room before settling her gaze on me. Her stare is almost as unnerving as Zaha’s was. Almost .
This is Kie’s mom, Queen Gitta. I know it. She and Kie look identical, except that Kie’s hair is darker and she’s a good twenty-something years older.
“I wasn’t expecting my son to return with a stray.” She looks me up and down with an intensity that makes me shiver. “Your name?”
I open my mouth, but no sound emerges. Why does she want to know?
Queen Gitta raises an eyebrow, and I scrub my hands down my face before finding my words.
“Abby.” I shake my head, quickly correcting myself. “Abigail. Abigail Williams.”
“Your Majesty,” Queen Gitta says. “Abigail Williams, Your Majesty . ”
Your Majesty? She wants me to call her “Your Majesty”? I wait for her to laugh and tell me she’s joking, but her blank expression tells me she’s being deadly serious. Does she expect me to bow and kiss her feet, too? Maybe even suckle her toes?
I see where Kie gets his arrogance from.
“Abigail Williams, Your Majesty ,” I force myself to say.
The queen takes another step into the room. I take another one back.
Has she heard about Lill? Is she here to kill me? Do Kie and Mason know she’s here? I’d guess not, considering Mason stopped that guard from bringing me to her earlier.
“Come with me.”
Queen Gitta spins on her heel and walks out of the room, confident I will follow. I debate not doing so, but then a guard I hadn’t noticed before steps toward me. It’s the one who came for me earlier, the one Mason knocked out.
He doesn’t look too pleased to see me, and he glares as if he’s mentally picturing murdering me. I don’t understand why, considering it was Mason who attacked him. I had nothing to do with that.
I will my thundering heart to settle as I follow Queen Gitta out of Kie’s home. Her pace is quick, and I have to practically jog to keep up as she leads me down a series of walkways and through several courtyards.
Where is she taking me? Mason mentioned earlier that the guard was bringing me to the meeting hall, whatever that is. I assume that’s where we’re heading.
There are dozens of faeries hurrying about. The ones in fine, expensive-looking clothing openly stare, but the ones in plain, gray clothing pay me no mind. I assume they’re the servants, and I much prefer them to the others.
The women in elegant clothing glare daggers at me, and the men stare at me like I’m a piece of gum stuck to the bottoms of their shoes. It’s a humbling experience, and it makes me painfully aware of how tattered and dirty my clothing is. And the fact that I haven’t showered in weeks.
It didn’t bother me when I was around Kie and Mason, mainly because I hate them and didn’t care if they found me gross, but being paraded in front of these strangers is degrading. For once, I wish Mason were here. The faeries hate him, and his presence would take the attention off me. They’d be staring at him instead.
A woman in a red dress approaches Queen Gitta. She looks upset, her eyes scrunched in the corners and her lips pressed tightly together. Her gaze briefly darts toward me before returning to the queen.
Queen Gitta slows to greet her, and I take a moment to catch my breath. I’m starving, dehydrated, and actively bleeding—not exactly at my physical peak. I lean against a trellis, surprised by how sturdy it is. This place is quite beautiful, and I’m trying hard not to admire it.
I refuse to admire anything about this place.
Thousands of butterflies flutter away as I get too close, their bodies and wings just visible through the thick flowering vines.
“Your Majesty,” the woman in red says. “I found the princes heading toward cells, but I’m unsure why. The guards won’t talk, even when I tell them I’m acting on your orders.”
My heart lurches, and I hope nobody can hear how fast my pulse is racing. Does that mean Lill is alive? I assume so. They wouldn’t be there if she were dead. There’d be no need.
“Thank you, Jackie.” The queen’s gaze shifts to me, and I obediently look at the ground. “Your help is much appreciated.”
Jackie curtseys, her red dress billowing around her before she hurries away. Her movements are lithe, but that’s not unusual for a faerie. They’re all exceptionally graceful and beautiful, which admittedly doesn’t make me feel great about myself.
I’ll wait to be insecure when Lill and I are safe, though. There’s no time for it now.
Queen Gitta resumes walking, and my jaw drops when we round the next corner. This must be where she’s taking me. The building ahead is larger than all the others we’ve passed, at least three stories high with a dome top.
A wide, shallow staircase leads to a set of glass double doors, both of which are pulled open as Queen Gitta approaches. I avoid making eye contact with anybody as I step inside the large hall. It’s stunning, with marble flooring, wide stone pillars, arched ceilings, and a row of chandeliers spanning the length of the room.
We walk forward, and I notice open doorways between the pillars. They lead to rooms and corridors I don’t have a good opportunity to peek into as I trail behind Queen Gitta. In the very back of the room is another set of wide, shallow steps, but on top of the large podium is a chair.
A throne.
The doors shut behind us, and guards take position on either side of them as Queen Gitta sits on her throne. It’s large, with intricately detailed wooden armrests and backing. The seat itself is covered with a dark-red cushion. Surprisingly, it almost looks comfortable.
I linger at the bottom of the steps.
“Abigail,” Queen Gitta says.
Her voice echoes down the length of the hall, which I’m sure is very much intentional.
I gulp. “Your Majesty.”
My back is sweating, and my shirt is sticking uncomfortably to my skin. I want to readjust, but Queen Gitta’s piercing gaze keeps me still. Like Zaha, she looks at me like she’s looking through me.
“Why were you locked inside my son’s home?”
I chew at the inside of my cheek, unsure what to say. The queen blinks, and I clear my throat before shrugging. I’m not going to volunteer any information she doesn’t already know.
“I’m not sure,” I lie. “I’m new to this realm, and I made the mistake of entering the Redstall Forest. Kie and Mason found me and—”
“Their Highnesses,” Queen Gitta corrects me.
I grind my teeth. “ Their Highnesses found me and decided to bring me to Zaha. They thought offering her a human would please her. She didn’t want me, and I don’t know why His Highness Kie”—I’m guessing that’s how I’m supposed to address him—“brought me here.”
Queen Gitta frowns. “What’s your relationship with my son, His Highness Kieran Ashford?”
I’m not going to call him that. It’s too much.
“Well?” Queen Gitta pushes. “What’s your relationship?”
She taps her fingers against the armrest of her throne. She seems impatient, and her eyes briefly flicker to the large double doors before settling back on me.
I shake my head. “There is no relationship. He kidnapped me and attempted to give me to Zaha. That’s about as far as it goes.”
The corners of the queen’s lips twitch upward before settling back into their usual position. She’s happy Kie tried to sell me. Bitch.
“So you’ve not touched my son?” Queen Gitta asks. I physically recoil, which seems to be enough of an answer for her. “I’m relieved to hear that.” She gestures haphazardly toward her guards. “Take her to the cells and report to me what you find there.”
Her guards don’t move. I’m not entirely surprised. A shifter with anger issues attacked the last guard in charge of transporting me. Tense silence stretches, and I greatly enjoy the flush that rises up Queen Gitta’s neck.
I don’t understand why she brought me all the way here to ask only three questions. This conversation could have easily happened back in Kie’s quarters, but I’m sure she has her reasons. Maybe she wanted everybody to see me paraded through the compound like a prisoner. With my torn, dirty clothes and several visible wounds, I sure fit the part.
Queen Gitta stands, and a guard rushes forward. He’s tall, with white hair and violet eyes, and I flinch as he grabs my arm in a painfully tight grip. I’m tired of all the grabbing, and I stumble over my feet as he begins pulling me from the building.
My thigh is stinging again.
I’ve been so distracted I completely forgot I cut it, but now that I’ve noticed the sting, I realize how bad it’s grown. Hiding that knife in my leggings was a risky move, I knew that, and it didn’t pay off. Mason hardly reacted when I stabbed him, and now I have blood trailing down my leg.
At least I’m being brought to the cells, I guess. I’ll get to see Lill, and she can tell me what the fuck is going on. She better. Otherwise, I’m going to bludgeon her to death.
We can work together to find a way out of here. Once she’s had a chance to fill up on magic and regain her health, I’m going to whore her out to a guard. These faeries aren’t interested in me, and even in Lill’s weakened state, she’s more beautiful than all the women here.
She can sleep with a guard and convince him to help us escape.
I trekked through a forest filled with shifters and trolls for her, so she can spread her legs for us. Besides, faerie men are attractive and I’ve seen some of the guys she’s hooked up with in the past. This is a considerable upgrade.
The guard drags me down several pathways, his grip on my arm tightening with every step. By the time we make it to the building I recognize leads to the cells, I’m sure my bicep is littered with tiny, finger-shaped bruises.
There’s a guard already posted up outside the front door, and he steps in front of it as we approach. I eye his muscular torso and long white hair, mentally debating my chances of winning in a fight against him.
They’re low.
“The princes have asked for privacy,” he says. “Come back later.”
Are they inside with Lill right now?
This is good. Lill and I can work together to convince them she’s innocent of whatever they’re accusing her of. Lill’s in no position to defend herself, so I’ll do it for her. She could barely hold a conversation when I left, and I can only imagine how much worse she’s gotten in the time I’ve been gone.
The guard holding me grunts. “I’m acting on the queen’s orders.”
There’s a long moment of silence as the guards stare at one another, and I wince when the one holding me pinches my arm.
“Hey,” I hiss, flinching. “That hurts!”
The guard blinks, and the door to the building flies open.