Page 33 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

“ I met up with the prince the other day,” Skylar announces.

I hum in response, not really paying attention to her. I’m glad she met up with him. It will take some of the pressure off me and maybe he’ll take an interest in her and Prince Archie will completely forget about me. Then I can focus on my parents, the soon-to-arrive baby, and Kieran.

Kieran.

I sigh. My mind has been on him and nothing else. I want to go back to him and ask so many questions, but I need to stay away and wrap my brain around everything. I haven’t felt nervous or scared since that day, so I can’t put what he said to the test.

But should I believe him?

“I think we really hit it off, but I can’t say for sure. We had such a great conversation, and while we did agree on a lot of things, there were a couple of things we did not agree on. It had to be that way. We couldn’t agree on everything ,” Skylar continues to word vomit.

Prince Archie and I disagree on everything . But Kieran and I… we agree on some things and disagree on some things. Like him being able to make me feel calm, us having a connection that is beyond anything I could think of.

I don’t think it’s true, yet he came to save me when I was in the snowstorm, and I did become calm when the prince was at my house.

How can he explain that? It wasn’t a normal calmness.

It was like it completely washed over my body, like Kieran was right next to me and would do anything to protect me.

I can’t deny there is something between us. It feels like we are meant to be together, but it could be Kieran’s influence on me. He said he has a little magic left. What if he can change my mind on things? No, he wouldn’t do that. I don’t know him well, but I just have a feeling he wouldn’t do it.

“Are you listening to me?” Skylar asks, touching my shoulder.

Flinching, I give her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’ve just been lost in my thoughts for a couple of minutes. I’m listening now.”

I seem to be apologizing to a lot of people lately when they talk to me.

My mind is constantly on Kieran, no matter what I’m doing.

The ring he gave me? I’ve carried it in my pocket since the day he put it in my hand.

Part of me is worried I’ll put it in my room and Mother will find out about it, but the other part of me wants to keep it close because it means something to him and he gave it to me.

He gave me his mother's ring.

“What’s wrong?” Skylar sits beside me. “You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

I nod and shrug my shoulders. While I know it, I can’t talk to her about Kieran. Skylar doesn’t like Fae and will most likely report the person if she sees anyone talking to them.

“Nothing,” I mumble.

“Something is definitely wrong. You can talk to me. I won’t tell anyone, not even the prince when I see him next,” she smiles.

I shake my head. “Nothing is wrong. I’m just thinking about a lot of things. I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now, and I’m trying to make sense of it all.”

That is part of it. Kieran is a big part I’m trying to make sense of. He is so confusing, not only with the words he says, but the way he acts toward me as well.

“I know what you are really thinking about!” She raises her voice.

My eyebrows lift as I wait for her to tell me. When I see her looking around, I know it’s not going to be good.

“Are you thinking about having sex with one of the Fae?” Skylar asks, amusement crossing her face.

My face goes red, and I look up at the Fae, wondering if they heard what Skylar said. Several of them are staring at me, and I quickly dart my head away. Oh my.

They heard Skylar.

They actually heard what she said. How many other people heard what she said as well?

I look around, but no one else is looking at us, and I let out a breath of air.

“I heard they are really well-endowed,” Skylar continues to talk. “I’ve also heard that when their wings were out, they were really sensitive.”

“Skylar!” I gasp.

“Oh, come on. You honestly have to have thought about that already. I’ve seen some of the glances you have given them.

Everyone gets curious at some point. I bet everyone has thought that.

” Skylar chuckles. “I also heard some of them have horns. Still, we won’t see any of them because of the curse.

What a shame. That would have been cool to see their wings and horns if they had any. ”

“Stop.” I laugh. “You cannot be talking about this.”

Skylar turns to me. “Why not? It’s perfectly normal to talk about it. I bet they have talked about us a few times and what we look like. You never know.”

Shaking my head, I look away from her but don’t look at the Fae. Are they staring at us right now, wondering how crazy Skylar must be to be thinking about those things? Or are they just pretending like nothing happened?

“The curse,” I hesitantly say.

“What about it?” Skylar asks.

“Do you think they were really evil back then?” I look at her.

Skylar shrugs. “I don’t know, and we shouldn’t really think about it. The king is right. He wouldn’t lie to us. They had to have been since the king said it. We have to trust the king and prince, they know what they are talking about and won’t lead us astray.”

I clench my jaw and shrug. It’s so hard for me to trust them, knowing that Kieran and his friends aren’t vicious at all.

Sure, they may have their moments, but so does everyone.

I just don’t know if I should be putting all of my faith and trust in the king and prince.

But I also don’t have a reason not to. Kieran and his friends could be lying to me.

“Let’s change the subject.” I force out a chuckle. “Sorry for bringing it up again.”

Skylar waves her hand, dismissing it. “It’s okay. Everyone has a time when they doubt things, but you just have to trust the king. He wouldn’t do anything to harm anyone. He wants what is best for us.”

“Right,” I mumble. “Anyway. Soulmates. Do you believe in them?”

Skylar full-on belly laughs. “No. I definitely don’t believe in soulmates. It’s just something the Fae made up a while ago, but there is no such thing as that. Who would make sure the people got with the right partner? No one can know that.”

I nod, understanding where she is coming from. “I don’t know. I love the idea of having a soulmate out there, but I don’t know.”

If only Skylar knew Kieran keeps calling me his soulmate. That we are woven together somehow and will spend the rest of our lives together. Kieran makes me so curious about the Fae and what it was like before the curse.

“I love the idea of them as well, but you can’t really think they are real, can you?

” Skylar looks at me like I’m crazy. “They are a made-up thing to make girls and boys hopeful, but they aren’t real and they never will be.

You just have to find the right person for you, and they won’t be perfect. There will be flaws.”

There are flaws with everyone, I know that firsthand.

“Yeah, I just wish they were true so it would be easier to find the right person for you and not have to search everywhere.” I chuckle at the end. “It would be cool if they were actually a thing.”

My mind goes back to Kieran and whether he was telling me the truth or not.

He has magic and wings. He keeps telling me I’m his mate and he’s the High Lord of the Fae, but is he really telling the truth?

No human knows what the Fae High Lord looks like and I’m curious if Kieran is actually the High Lord or not.

I need to ask for some concrete proof, but what could that be?

“Enough of soulmates. Did you hear the news?” Skylar asks.

My nose scrunches up. “What news?”

“Apparently, there is a town up north where the Fae were retaliating. So they are bringing them here so they can be dealt with.” she explains. “They’ll probably do something like the other time and put them in the middle of the town and whip them publicly.”

I swallow hard and flinch at the mention of whipping.

Whenever they do that, they make everyone watch, Fae and humans, so they know what happens when you go against the king.

It normally keeps everyone in line, but there are those few who don’t seem to care and continue to retaliate.

I feel bad for them, even if they are going against the king.

“I’m just giving you a warning. You know they make everyone in Bellhollow watch, no matter if you are human or Fae.” Skylar gives me a sympathetic smile.

Thankfully, when the Fae have gotten whipped, they don’t make a sound.

I hate hearing the whip hit their skin, listening to the flesh get torn off with each strike, but they don’t react.

A shiver works its way through my body as I think about the last public whipping.

If anyone is caught leaving, they are held in place in the front to watch it closely by one of the guards.

Before I can say anything, a guard approaches me.

“A letter to you from the prince.” He hands it to me and walks away.

I look at Skylar, confused. Why would the prince be giving me a letter and not talking to me himself?

“Do you think it could be him telling me he isn’t interested in me anymore and is interested in you?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

She chuckles. “Open it and read it!”

I carefully open the note and slowly start to read, my shoulders slumping when I realize it isn’t that.

“Oh,” I whisper, looking up at Skylar.

“Well? What is it?” she asks.

“He’s just letting me know he’ll be gone and that I won’t have lessons for at least the next two weeks. It could be longer,” I tell her.

I was really hoping he would be confessing that he loves Skylar and wants to be with her. It was foolish of me to think that before reading it.

“Something wrong with that?” Skylar asks.

I shrug. “No but yes. I just got my hopes up that he would want you instead of me. I shouldn’t have, but I am excited I don’t have to go to those lessons.”

Looking down at my hands, I take in the dark pink marks across them. Even several weeks after my hand were struck, there are still several scars. I don’t think they are going anywhere.

“You should’ve paid better attention to them and what they were saying.” Skylar laughs. “Then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”

I open and close my mouth as I look at her, not knowing what to say. “I… What… Skylar?”

“I’m just telling the truth. Were you distracted when you were there?” she asks.

I was. My thoughts were on Kieran after I saw the wings pinned to the wall. While I didn’t want to get struck, I couldn’t help but wonder whether he was one of them or if the people who lost their wings are dead. Are his father’s up there?

“No, I wasn’t,” I lie. “I was trying my best, but if I even twitched, they would hit my hand. With no warning, and sometimes they wouldn’t tell me what I did wrong.”

That last part was the truth. Hilga had it out for me from the very beginning. Thankfully, I haven’t had to go back yet; but I never want to go back. Sighing, I look out at the Fae and watch them carry things back and forth from the construction site.

“I wonder what it would be like if we both could live in peace.” I speak my thoughts.

I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. Everything about them intrigues me. I want to know what it was like before the curse. I want to know what they looked like and how they acted, if there were poor people or not.

I want to know everything.

Skylar nods. “Sure, but that is never going to happen and you know that.”

“I know,” I sadly say.

“They are dying creatures if you really think about it. They don’t have many women anymore, so they can’t possibly have any kids,” Skylar points out.

“What happened to all the women? I haven’t heard any stories about them.” I turn toward her.

The hairs on my arms stand up as I feel his eyes on me. Kieran. Clenching my jaw, I keep my focus on Skylar. I don’t want to give Skylar any idea what’s going on.

“There aren’t any stories that I know. People have speculated, but I don’t think anyone really knows apart from the people who were alive when the cursed was placed.

Those are all Fae and won’t be telling us anything, so don’t think too hard about it.

” Skylar shakes her head. “And even if someone could talk to the Fae about it, there is no way to tell if they are telling you the truth. They can’t be trusted, not a single one of them. ”

My heart breaks at her words. She is right, though.

We have no way of knowing whether they are telling us the truth or not, so I shouldn’t listen to Kieran and trust him.

But why would he give me his mother’s ring?

She’s dead, and he wouldn’t want to part from that unless I really were important to him.

Tugging in my stomach catches me off guard, and I wrap my arm around myself, trying to conceal my flinch.

“Are you okay?” Skylar asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to hide my hand so people don’t keep looking at it,” I lie.

Another tugging sensation courses through me, and I know it’s Kieran. Looking up, I scan the Fae and find him, a smirk across his face.

I look at Skylar briefly before turning back to Kieran, but he’s gone. Disappointment fills me but I know he did it on purpose.

“I think I’m going to go back home. My parents still need some help.” I stand up.

“If you need any help, let me know. I’ve got some free time.” Skylar hugs me.

“I will. We’ll definitely need to meet up again, and soon. I’ve got at least two weeks where I don’t have to meet for lessons so I can take that time to hang out with you.” I smile before turning to walk away.