Page 32 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

“ F ather!” I yell as I rush out of the house.

Walking up to us with several dead rabbits and one deer across his back is my father. I wasn’t expecting him to be back so soon. I thought he would be gone for another week or two. Maybe he remembered that Mother could have the baby at any point and wanted to be close.

“Adeline.” A smile spreads across his face. “How are you? How’s your mother?”

“Good! Everyone is good. How was your hunting?” I look again at the dead animals.

Last time he brought several deer with him. Did he not have enough strength to carry them all this time? We really need to come up with a way for him to carry them easier or try to create something so he can carry more.

Prince Archie’s warning rings in my head. It has been a week since he threatened me and my father. I can’t get involved with hunting, but he didn’t say I couldn’t help my father out in any other way. And what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.

“It was good. Halfway through, I sold several of the deer, both the meat and hides to people, so I have money. These are for us, and we can sell the hide of the deer at the next market,” Father replies from next to me as we walk back to the house.

“Oh, good! We had a good market this past one!” I tell him. “Sold everything we made and put a lot of the money away for when mother has the baby.”

With my mother being older, she is at higher risk, and we need a midwife to be here in case anything happens.

“I’m glad. We will have to let the midwife know to be expecting us any day.” Father stops in front of the house.

“I do have a question before we go in,” I rush to say.

“Yes?” He raises an eyebrow.

“Would you be willing to teach me how to use a bow and arrow?” I ask.

Father searches my face for several seconds, and I start to worry that it isn’t a good idea. Does he not want to teach me? Is he going to tell me it’s no place for a woman?

Several women in town know how to shoot a bow and arrow to hunt. They have to hunt if they are a single parent or a young kid.

“Why do you want to learn?” he finally asks.

“I want to help out. Maybe I can go out early in the morning and catch rabbits so you don’t have to go out as much when the baby arrives.

Or I can go before I need to go to bed,” I explain.

“I don’t know if I’ll be any good, but I think I could alleviate some of the pressure on you.

I also want to learn, so if I go out on my own, I know how to take care of myself. ”

Father smiles. “Later, I can teach you.”

I know the prince said there would be consequences, but the likelihood of him finding out is small. I can just say I’m learning how to defend myself. My father didn’t actually say I could go out and hunt rabbits, but said he would teach me.

“I’ll go get the bucket while you talk to Mother.” I walk over to the side where I normally leave it.

“Thank you, Adeline.” He walks into the house.

Taking a deep breath, I head into the forest, enjoying the snow, cold but clean air, and being outside.

If Father hadn’t come today, I wouldn’t have been able to leave to go walking.

I’m super thankful that he did. It felt like the walls were caving in on me, squeezing the life out of me with every passing minute.

“What do you want?” I ask before I even see him.

Kieran emerges from behind a tree, with a smile on his face. “You are getting better at that.”

“It was a guess.” I shrug. “You always seem to be out here whenever I am. I didn’t feel you in the forest. I don’t have magic.”

But it would be cool to be able to sense if someone was there. Then I could use it on the prince. That would make life so much easier. It probably would’ve saved me a lot in the beginning.

“Good guess.” He steps closer to me.

“What do you want this time?” I ask. “What’s with the ring?”

“I want you to listen,” he replies.

My eyebrows pull together. He wants me to listen to him? What is he going to tell me that I won’t listen to?

“Okay?” I hesitantly say, looking at him.

I continue to walk toward the stream, needing ice once more. There has to be a better system than this, but I can’t think of anything better. I’m not sure if I really want to, because it gets me out of the house.

“The prince should never have threatened you like that. If you want to learn how to hunt, then you should be able to. I encourage it. You should know how to survive and take care of yourself,” Kieran says.

Sighing, I stop walking and look up at him. “He’s the prince. I can’t do anything against him.”

“That is not how a prince should act,” Kieran forcefully says. “He should not be telling people what they can and cannot do.”

“I completely agree, but I’ve caught his eye. He wants me to be something to him. I don’t know what yet, but he said something about a princess,” I ramble. “But don’t worry, my father is teaching me when he has time.”

I can’t wait until he starts teaching me. I’ve thought about asking for years now, but I have been so busy helping Mother out around the house.

He nods. “Good. As you should. I wish I could teach you, but I cannot. Maybe I can teach you some knife moves when you come for ice or water.”

A smile blossoms on my face. “I would love that very much.”

“Good. Next time we see each other, I will teach you one thing and we will build on it.” He starts walking again, my bucket in his hand.

How did he get my bucket without me knowing?

“Come along,” he says.

“What is the ring you gave me?” I ask. “Does it have some type of magic on it? Why did you give it to me?”

I can’t help but ask all the questions. It has been on my mind since he gave it to me, and I wanted to ask earlier.

“It was my mother’s,” he replies.

I cock my head to the side. “Your mother’s? Doesn’t she still want it?”

Sadness fills his face, making me falter. Did I say something wrong?

“She’s no longer alive, and my father soon followed after her.” Kieran looks away from me. “My mother was human, and before my dad could turn her, his powers were gone. So he watched her get old and die. Soon after, he died from a broken heart.”

My heart aches, and I blink several times, trying to get myself not to cry in front of him. So cruel. She should still be living, watching her son grow up.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

“Why?” he asks. “Why are you sorry when you had nothing to do with it?”

“I feel bad that it happened to you. It wasn’t fair, but it happened. Your parents should have been able to live a long life together,” I tell him. “I’m sorry it got cut short. I wish there were something I could have done.”

Kieran smiles and cups my cheek with his right hand. “It’s okay. It’s been hundreds of years.”

“Doesn’t make it any easier,” I mumble.

I don’t know what it’s like to lose someone important in my life, but I know I would be devastated, no matter how many years went by.

There wouldn’t be a day that I wouldn’t think about my parents if they died.

Maybe the memories of them have started to fade, but that couldn’t be possible, right?

Not when he showed me memories from back then by touching my temples.

“I don’t deserve you.” he whispers. “You are too good for me. You are too good for anyone, yet you are mine.”

“Why did you give me the ring then if it belonged to your mother?” I ask. “Wouldn’t you want to keep it to remember her?”

Kieran gives me another small smile as he looks into my eyes. “No.” He takes a shallow breath. “No, I want you to have it. You are my soulmate, the love of my life.”

I shake my head and take a step back. “That isn’t possible.”

There is no way I’m the love of his life. I’m a commoner and a human. He’s Fae. There is no way we could be together.

“It is.” He takes a step closer to me. “We are meant to spend the rest of our lives together. Do you feel the bond between us?” he asks.

“No. I don’t think so,” I whisper.

What bond? I’ve felt a connection with him if that’s what he is talking about. But I could feel a connection with anyone if I truly wanted to.

“Let me ask you this question,” he gently says, captivating my attention. “When you feel scared, anxious, worried, or really any emotion and then this calmness comes over you, do you know what that is?”

I shake my head. “No, I don’t. I figure it’s my body telling me to calm down.”

It’s an odd sensation. I never felt it before until I met Kieran. My eyes widen as I stare at him.

“That’s me.” He leans so his face is inches from mine. “It’s me trying to calm you down, comfort you when you need it. I can feel your emotions, and sometimes I don’t like what you are feeling, so I try to calm you down.”

My mouth falls open as he explains. That was him the whole time? He was the one who randomly calmed me down when I was scared or really nervous?

“No matter how far away you are, I will always be able to feel your emotions. I will always try to help you calm down so you can think clearly,” he tells me matter-of-factly. “There is no reason for you to be feeling anything but happiness. I want you to be happy.”

He wants me to be happy.

Kieran is so different from Prince Archie in so many amazing ways. With everything he has said to me, it makes me want to fall in love with him. It makes me want to set everything aside and spend as much time as possible with him, getting to know him and falling in love.

“I don’t believe it,” I whisper, taking another step back.

It pains me to move away from him, but he can’t be telling the truth. Kieran said he had little magic left, and there is no way he can calm me down. There is no way we have a bond that allows him to feel my emotions.

And yet he found me during the snowstorm. He said he heard me calling out, begging for someone to save me, and he came.

“We are meant to be together,” Kieran tells me. “It’s fate. Our destinies are intertwined, joined in this moment, and they aren’t separating. Nothing can separate us now. Not now and not ever.”

I open and close my mouth several times.

“The sparks, that is proof that we are mates. That we are meant to be together forever,” Kieran gently explains.

“You’ve never felt the sparks with anyone else because we have a special connection, a bond.

I feel when you are scared and nervous. You were scared when the prince came to your front door and talked to your mother.

I helped you calm down. You were scared and begging someone to save you when you were walking in the snow, and I found you. ”

“Those are just coincidences.” I shake my head and take a step back. “I was trying to calm myself in those instances. How do I really know it was you?”

“Faith,” is all he says. “It is true. When you feel that way again, don’t try to calm yourself down, and I will. The tug you feel, that’s me. That’s me getting your attention and telling you I’m thinking about you.”

I grab my empty bucket and jump back. “No, I don’t believe you.”

“Adeline.” Kieran takes a step forward, but before he can, I turn around and walk away.