Page 43 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

“ W hat are you going to do?” Skylar asks.

I shrug. There is nothing I can do. The prince made it clear I am not to go hunting or else there will be other consequences. I didn’t think Prince Archie was serious, but I should have known better. I should have paid attention and not done anything foolish.

Maybe then my father would still be alive.

“It isn’t your fault,” Skylar whispers, placing a hand on my shoulder.

We’re sitting at the same picnic table where the prince told me not to learn anything. I didn’t think he was going to kill my father.Maybe make it to where no one would buy from him or us.

“But isn’t it?” I ask. “I knew and yet I was still learning. How could he have found out? I was so careful when I left to go to the forest to practice. I made sure no one was following me.”

Skylar shrugs and looks away. It doesn’t make any sense. The only people who knew were Kieran, my father, Skylar, and Mother. Those were the only people who knew and I know none of them told the prince what was happening. They wouldn’t have done that.

“It wasn’t your fault. I probably would have done the same thing,” Skylar says. “We aren’t going to let men tell us what to do.”

“Right.” I scoff. “If the men were ordinary, but Prince Archie isn’t ordinary. He’s the prince, and I can’t do anything against him. You know that, and I know that. Everyone does.”

“But maybe you should put him in his place. The prince has to know he can’t get his way every single time,” Skylar points out.

I look at Skylar like she’s grown two heads. “You can’t be serious?”

She looks at me, confused. “What do you mean? Of course I am. I think it would be good for Prince Archie to know that he can’t get everything he wants in life. You should show him that.”

Shaking my head, I lean back into the bench. “No way. I don’t want to die and leave my pregnant mother alone. I don’t want her to die and for me to be alone in this world.”

If that happened, I might have to fake my own death and live with Kieran in the woods. No one would know. Right now, it sounds really nice, but I can’t leave my mother behind and she would never come with me.

“Then maybe the sons you have with the prince will learn that.” She chuckles.

My nose scrunches up at the thought. “I’m never having children with him. I’m never getting married to him.”

“Married to who?” Prince Archie asks.

My eyes go wide as I quickly stand and bow.

“Never going to marry who?” Prince Archie asks once again.

“Someone I had a crush on when we were toddlers,” I quickly reply. “Someone I haven’t seen in years, and someone who I have no interest in.”

Skylar has her hand over her mouth as she looks away, and it takes everything in me not to walk over to her and slap the smile off her face. It’s no time to laugh in front of the prince.

“Well, that’s good to hear since I will be asking you for your hand soon.” Prince Archie smiles.

With my mouth hanging open as I stare at Prince Archie, I don’t know what to say. I knew he was going to ask me to marry him, but I was hoping it wouldn’t be for a while.

“Your highness, if I may freely talk?” Skylar interjects, hitting me on the shoulder.

I close my mouth and take several deep breaths, trying to calm myself down. How am I going to get out of this? I need to talk to Kieran and find out if he knows anything new about the curse.

“Yes, Skylar?” Prince Archie turns to her.

“I don’t think it’s appropriate for you to talk about marriage so soon after her father died.

She needs time to process, but she also has a lot going on.

I would wait at least four months until you bring it up again,” Skylar suggests.

“Of course, that is just a suggestion. I would hate for Adeline to reject you because of the turmoil in her life.”

“Right, you are correct, Skylar. Do not fret, Adeline. I won’t bring it up for while so you have time to process everything,” Prince Archie says as he looks at me. “Now, you have lessons tomorrow at the palace. A guard will come to pick you up in the early afternoon.”

“You are going to make her do lessons after her father just died?” Skylar inquires. “Not give her time to heal and recover from the huge loss in her life?”

I stare at Skylar in shock. How well does she know the prince? How can she be so comfortable to ask him these questions and suggest things? I would never dare to potentially insult him.

Prince Archie looks at me, searching my face before turning back to Skylar.

“You think so?” he asks.

My lips part as I look between both of them. They must be really close if he is looking at Skylar with confirmation about something she said. How many times has she been to the palace, and how close is she with him?

I’m not jealous of Skylar. If anything, I’m hopeful. Hopeful that she will take Prince Archie and have him to herself. That would be the dream and then I can live peacefully with Kieran.

I suck in a breath, shocking myself with my own thoughts. It shouldn’t because every single thought I have always leads back to Kieran. After the other day with him telling me to talk to Flynn and being right, I trust him a lot more.

“Yes, Prince Archie. Adeline is still in shock that her father is no longer with us and is having a hard time processing things. Her mind surely won’t be on the lesson. Her hand will be so red and swollen, it may still be that way at the wedding,” Skylar exaggerates.

There is no way my hand would still be swollen and red from one lesson of not learning anything. Scarred? Maybe. Hilga got close to breaking skin the first and last time I was there. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was her goal to make me bleed.

“Adeline, you can have tomorrow and next week off. But after that, I expect you to take your lessons. You need them,” Prince Archie says before walking away with his two guards.

My shoulders relax as I slump into the bench. Every single interaction with Prince Archie always makes me exhausted.

“You were brave,” I mutter. “I would have never imagined talking to him like that at all, let alone in front of other people.”

In the very beginning, I did say some things that I probably shouldn’t have, but I’ve learned now.

Skylar shrugs. “It is what it is. He needs to know that people are affected by death and can’t function properly.

He needs to know how to give people time to get their lives back to normal.

So much is changing for you right now, and I figured not having to deal with talks of marriage or having to attend lessons would help,” Skylar explains before cracking a smile.

“I’m also hoping I still have a chance with him.

Maybe I can get on his good side and garner his interest before he does anything. ”

I laugh and shake my head. “Be my guest and take him off my hands. I don’t want him.”

Skylar looks at her watch and jumps up from the bench. “I need to go back to the shop, but I’ll see you later. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do!” she says and walks off before I can say anything.

Standing, I walk to the house when I hear my mother’s voice.

“I just don’t know what to do, Agnes,” she says. “How am I supposed to go on? How am I supposed to look at my daughter when she looks so much like her father?”

Immediately, I stop outside the door. I didn’t realize that would be a problem. Was that why she wanted me out of the house?

“I know it’s going to be hard, but you can’t push her away. She is your daughter, and she is also hurting and grieving,” Agnes gently replies. “Talk to her and let her know what’s going on. You don’t want to push her away and lose her forever.”

I take a step away from the door as she replies.

“I’m not going to stop loving her or tell her to leave the house. I just can’t look at her right now. When she asked to take a walk in the forest and hang out with Skylar, it was such a relief,” she explains. “I don’t want it to be like this, but it’s too painful to look at her.”

That’s all I need to hear before I turn away and walk straight to the forest. I need to clear my head and figure out what I’m going to do. I know my mother isn’t rejecting me, but it still hurts to hear.

Once I’m in the middle of the forest, I sit in the snow, not caring that it’s melting underneath me. I just need time to think about everything going on, and the forest is the perfect place to do it. No one is going to interrupt me, and I get to hear the birds talk to each other.

My face sinks into my hands as tears pool in my eyes. I wish I could go back in time and not talk in front of Prince Archie or ask my father to teach me anything.

“Oh, Sweets,” Kieran gently says. “Come on. We don’t want you getting cold or sick.”

But I don’t move from my spot.

“Addie.” Kieran wraps an arm around my waist. “Come on, love. I’ve got you.”

He effortlessly picks me up, and I snuggle into his chest as he starts to walk who knows where. I grip onto his shirt, pulling closer to him as tears run down my face. How am I going to make it through?

“I know.” He holds me tighter. “I’ve got you.”

The sound of his footsteps and the birds are the only things I can hear over my sobs. I just want everything to go back to the way it was. I don’t want to constantly be at war with myself.

“Is she all right?” Elias asks. “Can we do anything?”

“Get a blanket and wrap it around us,” Kieran instructs. “I don’t know how long she was sitting in the snow for.”

I don’t either.

A warm blanket is wrapped around me and Kieran as he continues to hold me close.

“It couldn’t have been long. You didn’t feel her feeling cold until a couple of minutes ago,” Elias says.

Feel my cold? What is he talking about? Is that another one of the mate things?

“She’s been through so much,” Kieran worries.

“She’s strong and tough. She’ll make it through this,” Elias replies. “I’m going to give you two some privacy.”

I don’t know how long I stay in Kieran’s arms, letting the tears flow until I have nothing left inside of me.

“Let’s get you something to drink,” Kieran says, moving while holding me with one arm. “I’m going to set you down on a chair, all right?”

Before I can respond, Kieran already has me in the chair, the blanket around my shoulders as I stare at him.

“I don’t know what I’m going to do,” I hoarsely whisper, my voice full of so much emotion.

“We’re going to figure it out,” he gently says. “ Everything is going to work out.”

And I hope he’s telling the truth because I don’t know how much more I can take. Everything around me is crumbling to the ground.

“She can’t look at me.” Tears pool in my eyes, but I don’t let them fall. “My own mother can’t look at me.”

Kieran cups my face with his hands. “Only for a little time. She just lost her husband, but she isn’t going to push you away. Don’t let her.”

I close my eyes and lean into his touch, taking a deep breath to try and calm myself down.

“Take a little sip,” Kieran encourages me when I feel the rim of a cup being placed against my lips. “Slow and steady. I’ve got more if you need more, but I don’t want you to get sick.”

Slowly, I start to drink the water, letting the cold run down my throat, quenching the thirst I didn’t know I had.

“Good girl,” he whispers.

My cheeks flush bright pink as I stare at Kieran.

“I believe you,” I blurt out before I can stop myself.