Page 5 of The Shattered Kingdom (The Cursed Kingdom #2)

My stomach twists, tightening and tightening in a very uncomfortable fashion. How close were Lill and Mason before she came to the human realm? From the sounds of it, too close. She’s remembering a little boy who no longer exists.

Mason doesn’t respond to Lill, and her chest expands as she darts forward again and successfully takes his hand. I hold my breath as she pulls off his gloves, exposing his skin.

“It’s me, Mace,” she says. “I didn’t kill King Malcolm. At least, not intentionally. I was nothing more than a pawn, and I don’t have an explanation for my mother’s decision to flee to the human realm. She had nothing to do with the king’s murder, though. I know that.”

Is she not going to mention her mother working for Alpha Theon?

Lill sets Mason’s gloves on the couch and curls her hands around his now-bare ones. I crank my head to the side, trying to get a better view as she brushes her thumbs over the back of his fingers. Mason lets it happen, his lips pursed as he stares down at where they’re touching.

Several seconds pass before he pulls his hand from hers and steps back, putting what feels like a mountain of space between them. Then he cocks his head toward the front door, and I look over just as Kie welcomes himself inside.

He’s finally showered and cleaned himself up.

The dirty, black clothing he wore in the forest has been replaced with light-beige pants and a white, linen shirt.

It reminds me faintly of what Samuel wore, but Kie’s clothing looks more expensive.

The fabric seems thicker, and it fits him in a way that suggests it was tailored.

Mason’s clothing is similar, but he wears all black.

“Good morning.” Kie shuts the door behind him. “I’m pleased to see everybody is already awake.” His gaze shifts toward Lill. “ Explain.”

I frown. “You sure aren’t wasting any time.”

Kie shoots me a sharp look. “I chose not to wake you two up and demand answers last night, did I not? You’re welcome.”

I’m not thankful.

Lill drags her fingers through her hair. “I was asked to bring tea to King Malcolm. I thought nothing of it, and I had no idea it was poisoned. I ran to my mother once I realized what was happening. She was shocked and urged me to stay in our home while she dealt with things.”

Lill pauses, giving Kie and Mason a chance to speak up before continuing.

“She returned hours later with several canisters of delysum tea, and the next thing I knew, we were traveling through a portal to the human realm. She told me never to speak of my life here, which I haven’t, and I was raised as a human. That’s all I know.”

“Lie.” Mason is the one who throws out the accusation.

Kieran takes a different approach. “Who gave you the tea?”

“A servant,” Lill says. “I didn’t recognize her, and I don’t know her name.”

That’s not the answer she gave me. She told me she didn’t know in a way that signaled she was avoiding the question. The inconsistencies are slight, but they’re enough. She’s hiding something.

“Would you recognize her face?” Kie asks. “If I brought the servant before you, would you remember her?”

Lill shakes her head. “It was twenty years ago, and I was seven. I hardly remember anything from that day, let alone the face of a woman I briefly spoke to.”

Mason paces the length of the room, his bare fingers tapping rhythmically against his thigh. He seems agitated, and he makes three trips around the room before abruptly bending and snatching his gloves off the couch cushion where Lill left them.

He tugs them on with movements significantly rougher than necessary.

“And your mother?” he asks. “Where is she?”

“Dead.”

“Lie.”

Mason has a favorite word this morning.

Kie steps further into the room, his violet eyes narrowing on Lill. “It was discovered in the weeks after your disappearance that Callie was working with Alpha Theon. She was sleeping with my father for information, and she’s responsible for hundreds of faerie deaths.”

“What?” Lill does an excellent job pretending this is new information to her. Her eyes grow wide, and she shakes her head in disbelief. “Why would she do that?”

“Your father was notoriously soft on shifters,” Kie points out. “The death of a mate would be devastating for even the strongest of faeries, but coupled with the financial strain his death caused your family, it’s not surprising your mother turned against us.”

Mason halts his pacing. “Is she still in the human realm?”

“I already told you she died.”

“Lie.”

Mason resumes his pacing.

“You’re more than welcome to go to the human realm and check for yourself,” Lill snaps. “You’ll find that she died nearly ten years ago, and I spent the remainder of my teenage years with Abby’s family.”

I don’t particularly love the idea of Kie and Mason digging around the human realm, around my family, but I keep my mouth shut.

I trust Lill knows what she’s doing, but I’m tired of the lies.

She hasn’t been honest with me, and I don’t appreciate it.

Have I not proven to her already that I’m on her side?

I would never betray her and share information she prefers to remain hidden, even if I disagreed with doing so.

“I already sent out a search party,” Kie says, “and I expect them to return shortly with their findings.”

Mason stops pacing. I’m getting the impression that he didn’t know about Kie’s decision. Poor Mason didn’t get to sign off. What a shame.

“Don’t touch my family,” I say. I can’t hold back any longer, not when I have confirmation that an undisclosed number of faeries are searching around my hometown.

“We won’t.” Kie’s voice softens just slightly. It feels a lot like pity. “We have no interest in—”

Mason interrupts. “Don’t tell her that. We will interrogate your family if we find the need, and should they be found guilty of any crime against the faeries, they will be punished.”

Kie’s silence is confirmation enough. I grind my teeth so hard my jaw hurts, but I don’t further argue. My family is innocent, and I’m not trying to draw more attention to them than Lill seemingly already has.

“How did she die?” Mason asks.

Lill shrugs. “There’s no magic in the human realm. We mixed crushed delysum leaves into tea to sustain us. It amplified the little magic we had, but there wasn’t enough for us both. She decided to go without so I would have a better chance of survival.”

Kie and Mason exchange glances, but neither voice their thoughts out loud.

Lill doesn’t let that deter her. “Again, I was a child when all this occurred. If you want to punish me for unknowingly bringing our king a poisoned tea, very well, but I have no knowledge of the supposed relationship between my mother and the shifters.”

There’s a long beat of silence before Kie speaks. “I’m not in the interest of punishing children for the actions of adults. ”

Thank god. My entire body relaxes, relief sweeping through me. Lill isn’t going to be punished.

“And the mate bond?” Lill asks.

Mason blinks. “What about it?”

“We intend to honor the bond, but we wish to remain quiet about it for the time being,” Kie says, ignoring Mason. “We can discuss your position in court once we’ve had the opportunity to corroborate your story.”

I was under the assumption that mate bonds were romantic, but the way Kie and Mason speak about theirs is anything but.

I understand they’re in a challenging position, considering Lill’s role in the king’s murder and Mason’s new future title, but it wouldn’t kill them to show the tiniest bit of compassion.

Lill nods, her gaze cast toward the floor. She’s disappointed. “I understand.”

“I’m pleased to hear it.” Kie licks his lips.

“I’ve requested that food and clothing be brought over.

The delivery should be here shortly, and we’ll give you a tour of the grounds once you’re ready.

It would look odd if we didn’t treat you as we would any other guest.” Kie’s attention shifts toward Mason. “I need to speak with you. Now.”

Lill takes that as her cue to leave, spinning away from the pair and storming toward me with her chin held high and lips pursed. She’s upset, and she works her jaw side to side as she brushes past me and returns to the bedroom we shared last night.

I follow, my movements stiff. I’m trying to remain quiet and absorb as much information as possible, but it’s hard.

I want to go home, but I’m hesitant to ask on the odd chance that my request is approved.

Lill hasn’t asked me to stay, nor have we spoken about the possibility of me returning to the human realm, but I don’t want to leave until I know she’s safe.

I walk into the bedroom after her and shut the door behind us, then promptly sit on the ground. Lill does the same, sliding down the side of the bed and dropping her face between her knees.

“Did that go how you wanted?” I ask.

She shakes her head, then nods, then finally ends up shrugging. “I’m not sure. I didn’t exactly plan for this to happen.”

“I can tell by your changing story…” I mumble.

Lill lowers her head further between her knees, hiding her face entirely from my view. The way her shoulders roll forward practically screams guilt . I’m not going to pry, at least not when Kie and Mason are just down the hall, but I want Lill to know that I’m onto her.

Her lies haven’t gone unnoticed.