Page 13 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

I take a deep breath as I walk down the cobblestone road. I just finished my afternoon chores, and Mother told me it was a good time to go for a walk. Things have been a little tense since my sister visited a couple of days ago. I got a small tongue lashing about being respectful and loving her.

It seems like every time she visits, I get the same talk.

I don’t know why mother continues to give it when she knows I won’t change.

Avira may be my sister, but she doesn’t act like one.

I would be fine if she decided never to visit or contact us again.

I know it would break my mother’s heart, but Avira doesn’t do anything positive other than the occasional check in.

Pushing those thoughts to the back of my mind, I look around to try to find Kieran’s gaze. It’s been several days since I last saw him, and I long to get lost in his cobalt blues. I long to feel at ease when I’m around him.

But the only eyes I make contact with are Prince Archie’s. I quickly look away and rush away, hoping and praying he doesn’t realize it’s me. I walk over to a group of people, but before I get behind them, he calls my name.

“Adeline!” he yells. “Adeline Duvall!”

The whole town square goes silent, and their eyes land on me. I stop in my tracks, slowly turning around and putting a smile on my face. Prince Archie and some guards are making their way toward me, and dread fills my stomach.

I haven’t seen him since he broke his arm, and I was hoping he would have forgotten about me. I have a feeling Avira may have said something to get me back on his radar, knowing it would make me angry. If she did, she’s right. I feel anger bubbling inside of me as he gets closer.

I bow as he approaches, showing respect I don’t have for him. He’s an egotistical male who gets everything handed to him. I’ve seen the way he walks around our town, his head held high, expecting everyone to move to the side so he isn’t inconvenienced.

If he lost his title and had to live like us common folk, he wouldn’t survive a minute. That’s one of the many reasons I hate him.

“You may rise,” he says.

Standing, I can’t help but scan the area. Everyone is still looking at us, but quickly goes back to what they were doing. I know for a fact they’re still listening in, wanting to know what’s happening so they can spread the rumors to whoever’s not here.

“How’s your arm?” I politely ask.

I scan the arm that he broke, and it appears to be fine. I don’t know how long it takes to heal a bone, but a couple of weeks doesn’t seem long enough.

“Healed like nothing ever happened.” He smiles, moving it. “I would like to have lunch with you again, right now.”

I take a step back, and his eyes narrow on me. Having lunch with him is the last thing I want to do, and I know no matter what excuse I give, I’m going to need to have lunch with him.

“Let me go tell my mother,” I gently say.

He waves his hand in the air, and a guard comes up to him. “No need. He’ll inform your mother you’re having a late lunch with me.”

The guard walks off, and I bite my tongue, holding back my retort. This is one of the times I wish I could punch him in the face and tell him he can’t always get his way. I let the anger simmer inside of me as we look at each other.

He holds his arm out, and I clench my jaw, wrapping my hand around his bicep. Bile rises in the back of my throat, and I swallow, shoving it down. My skin crawls every single time he touches me, but I have to pretend like everything’s all right.

He leads me to the clearing in the forest where he took me last time, where a blanket is already on the ground with a basket right next to it. My anger intensifies as I see those already placed in the forest, like he knew I wouldn’t object. He knew I couldn’t object.

“I hope bread and ham is okay for lunch. I don’t know what you like to eat,” he offers as we get closer.

“It’s fine,” I whisper, trying not to let any anger seep into my tone. No doubt he would have questions, demand answers when I wasn’t honest, and it would land me in trouble. How much trouble? I don’t know. It would depend on his mood and how aggravated he is. I’m not willing to test it out.

Silence fills the air around us as we come to right in front of the blanket. He holds his hand out, and I take it, lowering myself onto the blanket before letting go.

“Has everything been good since I last saw you?” I ask, trying to be polite and start a conversation.

I don’t want to sit in silence the whole time we’re here, it would be so awkward.

“As good as it can be.” He sits next to me and opens the basket. “Some of the Fae in other cities are causing trouble.”

I fake gasp, looking at him with concern. “Oh no. I hope it’s not too much to deal with.”

“They want to get out of the curse,” he informs me.

There are rumors that there was a spell placed on them years ago, but it has been hundreds of years since then, and things get lost in translation. I don’t know what to believe, but having Prince Archie confirm there is a curse placed over them makes me feel some type of way.

Saddened they have this hanging over them? Curious as to the real reason it was cast? Angry it happened to them? Happy it happened to them?

I have been taught to loathe them since they are beneath us, but knowing Kieran has changed me a little. I was already having feelings about them being slaves.

“Oh, I didn’t know Fae having a curse over them was real. I thought it was just a made-up rumor.” I take the bread and ham from him. “Thank you.”

“It’s very real. A powerful witch placed a spell on the Fae High Lord at the time and took all their power away,” Prince Archie explains. “Foolish High Lord died several years later with the High Lady, leaving their son a slave with his people.”

Not all their power, I want to say. Kieran used power when I was with him.

Do they know about it? Obviously not, if Prince Archie thinks the witch has taken all their power.

I feel bad for the High Lord of the Fae.

Losing both of his parents and being left to look after his people while they are slaves.

“Do they know how to break the spell?” I ask.

Prince Archie shakes his head. “No, they don’t. They think killing some of us will break the curse, but that’s not how it works. They kill us, and they’ll never break the curse placed on them.”

My interest is piqued as he talks. Does he know how to break the spell? I want to ask, but I refrain. I’ve already asked if the Fae know, and I don’t want to raise any suspicion.

“But you don’t have to worry about anything. They aren’t dangerous. They aren’t going to do anything,” Prince Archie tries to reassure me. “Be careful around them, though, Adeline. Stay away from them if possible. They are cruel creatures, willing to torture others to get back at the witch.”

If only he knew one of them had already talked to me and was kind.

Maybe I’ve gotten to meet one of the rare ones, but even as I watch them on my walks, they never seem cruel to me.

Are the ones in the other towns different from the ones in Bellhollow?

Whenever I head to Hellhollow, I never see any Fae there.

Maybe they keep them hidden, or maybe they don’t have any.

“In my opinion, they all should be dead, but we can’t have that.

They are building things for us and forging swords and daggers as well.

” His voice is full of hatred. “But one day, we will get rid of all of them. They will no longer be here. We just have to be strategic in how we do it. We can’t let them know it’s going to happen or they will retaliate, no matter if they get their magic back or not. ”

I look away and take a deep breath. My heart breaks as he talks about killing them off. Even if he hates them so much, no group of people should be exterminated like that.

“Why don’t you send them to another realm?” I ask, looking back at him and taking a bite of my food. “Wouldn’t it be easier to get the witch to send them to another realm or even have your father banish them to Tarravega?”

We know there are other realms like ours.

The king has banished several people to Tarravega when they do something unthinkable.

Most of the time, they get banished because they murdered someone.

But every once in a while, it’s something petty, like stealing a piece of bread or slapping a friend in anger and they get banished.

Prince Archie opens his mouth, and my back straightens as I feel his eyes on me. Carefully, I look around, not wanting to bring attention to myself, but I don’t find Kieran anywhere.

“We could, but that would require a treaty with the other realm we send them to. To send anyone to Tarravega, you have to have a reason, and sending them just because they are slaves wouldn’t work,” the prince explains.

“So, we are stuck with them for now, but when I become king, I plan to get rid of them.”

I listen, but I can’t help but continue to scan the area, trying to find Kieran. What is he doing here? Does he know there are guards around us? That the prince is sitting right next to me and could have him killed for being too close to us?

“Adeline, are you okay?” Prince Archie asks, pulling me from my thoughts.

Smiling, I look over at him. “Yes, I am. I am happy to be outside in the forest.”

Even as I’m sitting here with the prince, I can’t help but feel a little happy at being outside because I know my time will be severely limited soon. The snow we get here is normally several feet deep, and the only time I go out is to fetch ice from the stream I frequently visit.

Archie growls and glares at me. “You should not get used to being out in the forest so much. Once you are mine, you won’t be allowed to go that often.”

I open and close my mouth, trying to think of what to say that won’t get me in trouble. But I can’t help but let the anger boil inside of me. Allow?