Page 22 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

“ I ’m going on a walk,” I inform my mother.

She gives me a worried look. “Are you sure you should be doing that? You’ve been sick and I would hate for you to go out and make yourself even more sick. You are allowed to rest.”

“I know and I have been. I need to feel the air on my face. I know there is a lot of snow on the ground, but I think it will be good for me,” I try to reason with her.

I don’t want to leave unannounced and put my mother in a bind. Afterall, I do still live with them.

“I know it might not be the wisest, but I am starting to go a little crazy just being in the house,” I honestly tell her.

I have been. This is the longest I’ve been in the house since last year when I almost died.

You would think I would learn from my mistakes, but I haven’t and I don’t think I will.

Things need to be done and we need the fabric and spices to sell things.

But being in the house for almost two weeks is slowly killing me.

I also have this desire to see Kieran again. I need to ask him questions. Like how he heard me begging him to save me. I thought I was just thinking it in my mind, but he said he saw where I was and knew to come to me. How? Does being mates relate to that?

I have so many questions for him, and every time I see him, I don’t have enough time to ask all of them.

I’ve thought about writing him, but someone would have to deliver it to him and I’m not risking that.

I don’t know who I can trust when it comes to communicating with the Fae.

I also don’t know whether they will read it or not, and I’m not going to risk that.

Nope.

I am just going to have to be patient and ask questions whenever I can. No matter how long it takes.

My mother sighs. “Okay, but just for a couple of minutes. You must wear this jacket along with your other one to keep your body warm. I want you back in the house soon so you don’t make yourself sick again.”

Walking up to her, I kiss her cheek, and take the coat she’s holding out for me. “Thank you.”

The first thing I want to do is find Kieran and ask him questions, but I don’t have a lot of time. I know by the time I find him, I’m going to have to leave to head back to the house so my mother doesn’t get worried.

I sigh as I stand in front of the door.

The one main reason I want to go outside and I can’t even do it. I can’t spend an hour in the forest, waiting for Kieran to appear so I can talk to him. But that’s okay. I am still going to go outside and enjoy being out there for a little bit. Maybe I’ll see Kieran in the distance.

We need to think of a way to meet without anyone noticing. Having eyes on us won’t be good. Not when us humans aren’t supposed to have any form on communication with them. I don’t want to get locked up or have Kieran beaten for meeting with me.

“Thirty minutes or less,” my mother calls out before I leave. “I don’t want you out too long. When you are better, you can take more time out there.”

“I know.” I give her a small smile. “I promise I won’t be long. I just need to get some fresh air. I’ll be back soon.”

I won’t be able to walk for long anyway.

My body is absolutely exhausted, just from standing by the door for so long.

I’m ready to be outside but I’m also ready to sit back down and work on things while I take it easy.

But I’m not going to let my mother know that.

If she knew, she would insist that I stay in the house and not go out.

Can’t do that.

Taking a step outside, I breathe in deeply, letting the cold air fill my lungs.

Oh, that feels so good. The house is the exact opposite, stuffy and hot.

And after a while, it becomes suffocating.

My mother wouldn’t agree with that, but I bet if my father was here, he would agree with me. He is always out in the woods, hunting.

I think that’s where I get it from. My father used to bring me outside all the time when I was little and he was home. It blossomed from there and now I can’t have enough of the outdoors… even in the wintertime, when everyone is desperately trying to stay indoors.

I walk out into the square and look around.

The brick road divides the forest and where the Fae live from where all the shops and houses are for us.

Several people are out, wearing long jackets that my mother probably made, all while gathering supplies they need before heading back into their houses where it’s warm.

A couple of people are in their shops where it’s warm, waiting for customers to come and buy things from them.

All while the Fae, in short sleeve shirts and long pants, are still constructing the building for Prince Archie.I wish I was like them and didn’t get cold as easily.

“Adeline.” The prince’s voice fills my ear.

“Crap,” I whisper.

I have been trying to avoid Prince Archie at all costs. I thought with it being winter, and there being snow on the ground, that he wouldn’t be out. He rarely enters town in the winter, which means he is here on business.

Turning, I bow before standing straight and looking at him. “Prince Archie.”

He searches my face before looking down at my body, his face contorting with disgust. “What happened to you? You look like death.”

I want to retort, but I quickly bite my tongue. I can’t do that with Prince Archie. He will not tolerate such behavior.

“I am sick,” I tell him. “I got caught in the snowstorm and almost didn’t make it out alive. My health has suffered in the past couple of weeks, but I am getting better.”

“Get it together.” He takes a step forward, his face still full of disgust.

I bite the inside of my cheek. I want to back-talk and ask him who he thinks he is, but I don’t. I don’t want people to know me as the girl who talked back to the prince and got sent to the dungeon or had their family banished.

No.

I won’t let my life end up like that.

“You still need to give me a day when you can come to the palace for the lessons.” The prince scowls at me, disapproval written all over his face.

“I’m sorry?—”

“Do not speak. We are heading to your house, where I will talk to your parents about it,” he sneers.

Prince Archie starts toward my house, and I follow. Worry blossoms inside of me with every step. What is my mother going to think? Is she going to get too stressed, and will it be bad for the baby?

The hairs on my arms stick up, making my whole body lock up.

Kieran .

He’s looking at me, and it takes everything in me not to scan my surroundings to try and find him. Prince Archie cannot find out about him. Not ever, but especially not when he is annoyed.

Clenching my hands into fists, I take a deep breath as we stand in front of my parents’ house. What is my mother going to say? Is she going to be okay? Are they going to do anything to her?

With so much happening, I really did forget to bring it up with her. There are more important things in my life than going to the palace and taking lessons for who knows what reasons.

But Prince Archie doesn’t see it that way.

“Prince Archie,” I start to talk, my voice shaking with nerves.

He raises his open hand, and I clamp my mouth shut. I suck in a deep breath, trying to calm myself down but failing miserably. I can still feel Kieran’s eyes on me. I just hope no one notices that he is looking over at us and reports it to anyone because his eyes aren’t going anywhere.

All of a sudden, calmness washes over me, and I feel the familiar pull in my stomach that I’ve felt so many times. My steps falter. What is that? How does it always happen when I need it to?

I brush it off as I open the door to my parents’ house.

“Back so soon, Adeline?” my mother calls out.

“Mother, we have a visitor.” I raise my voice, hating that this is so unexpected. I take a step into the house, knowing Prince Archie is following closely behind me. I don’t feel Kieran’s eyes on me anymore, and I crave to feel it again.

It’s the closest I’m going to get to him for a while, and I don’t like that.

I want to be close to him at all times, which confuses me.

I shouldn’t want to be so close to a Fae.

I know Kieran said we are mates, but I have no idea what a mate is.

I don’t know what he is to me exactly. All I know is I have an attraction toward him and I want to be close.

But I wasn’t prepared for seeing the prince out on the streets. I don’t think anyone was. The winter in Bellhollow is different. The king and the prince stay inside most of the time, emerging only when absolutely necessary.

What has changed?

The only thing I can think of is me, but that can’t be possible. He can’t be that attracted to me to be walking around the streets trying to find me. But he just proved that I could very easily be the reason.

It makes me sick to my stomach just thinking about it. Why did I have to catch the attention of the prince? Why couldn’t it have been Skylar? Why couldn’t it have been someone who actually wanted it?

I take a deep breath as my mother steps closer to the door, and a nervous look flits across her face.

“Mother, meet Prince Archie,” I gesture to him.

My mother bows to the best of her ability with her pregnant belly before standing.

“I don’t wish to take a lot of your time, but your daughter has failed me several times, and I must come to you now,” Prince Archie says.

I didn’t exactly fail him. The first time I did it on purpose, but the second time?

The second time, we got so busy, and then I almost died.

What does he expect me to do? Go and meet one of the guards to tell him what days I am available when I’m about to fall over and die?

Being out in the cold would have made it even worse.

But he just sees it as failing.

“How did Adeline fail you?” my mother asks, taking a quick glance at me.