Page 47 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

I ’ve been in a funk ever since I saw Kieran in the middle of the night after my nightmare.

It’s been weird looking at my mother and not saying anything.

I don’t want to bother her by making her worried.

What would she say to something like that?

I also can’t tell her because she called me High Lady, she wouldn’t know what that is, and I can’t tell her.

“What’s wrong?” Mother asks. “You’ve been even more distant and quiet this morning.”

I stop washing the dishes and turn to her. I can’t lie to her, yet I can’t tell her everything.

“Well?” she asks, not looking at me.

Sighing, I clasp my hands in front of me. I shouldn’t be expecting her to look at me so soon after my father’s death, not when I overheard her. It’s going to take time, but I can’t push her away. We need each other.

“I had a nightmare last night, and you were in it,” I tell her.

Mother stops sewing the pants she has been working on, but she still doesn’t look at me. “What was it about?”

I shrug. “You were just warning me about something, I don’t know what, and then you killed yourself,” I whisper toward the end.

Her eyes shoot up to mine for a brief second before looking back down. “I would never kill myself. You need me, and the baby will need me.”

That’s what she said before, but things can change so quickly. Just like last night with Marvin. I want to talk to her about it, but she’ll have more questions than I have answers, and I can’t do that to her.

“I would never do that and leave three children on this realm all on their own. It wouldn’t be fair to Avira, you or the baby,” she whispers.

It wouldn’t be, but a lot of people don’t think about that.

“I know. It was a nightmare and nothing else. I checked on you and went for a walk outside to calm myself down,” I tell her, waiting for her to say something or scold me, but it never comes.

Mother starts sewing again, and I know she isn’t going to say anything. Before Father died, she would have told me not to go outside alone in the middle of the night and to be safe. This is different. It’s almost like she doesn’t care.

“Maybe we should consider repairing clothes as extra income during the slow months,” I suggest. “It would help supplement our income so we don’t dip into the savings.”

“I’ll think about it,” she replies, and I get back to cleaning the last couple of dishes.

“I could help in the afternoons after I finish all my chores for the day,” I offer. “I’ve finished most of the spices. I only have a few more before I am finished.”

I was going to offer to go back to Hellhollow to buy more spices, but there is still snow on the ground, and it’s a long walk. I don’t want to get caught again when it decides to snow again.

“I can create something so people can drop by and I can inspect what they need done and pencil them in and let them know how much it will be and how long it will take,” I explain.

“Elizabeth has been doing this, but she is getting older, and I heard from someone in the town that she is thinking of stopping soon. We could tell her that we’ll pick up her clients. We have all the material.”

I desperately want her to reply to me, but she just sits in silence, working on the pants.

“I think it would be wise, especially when the baby comes. It’ll be easier work than making brand-new clothes, and we could slow down on that,” I continue. “We sell out at every market, but this would help a lot in the interim.”

I look down at my dress that I’ve repaired several times.

“Set it up and I’ll look over it before you talk to Elizabeth,” Mother finally replies.

“Great. I’ll get right on that this afternoon,” I tell her as I place the last dish on the towel.

I turn toward her and watch for a couple of seconds. She is in her own world as she sews the pieces of fabric together. I worry about her every single day, wondering if she is going to make it to the next day or die of a broken heart.

“I have to meet Skylar in town in a couple of minutes. I told her I would to discuss some things.” I push off the counter and walk toward my jacket and put it on. “While I’m out, I’ll take my walk and collect some ice.”

“Be safe,” is all she says as I take the bucket and head outside.

Tears threaten to spill as I take a second to compose myself. Things are so different now, and I know they will be for the rest of my life, but I wasn’t prepared for it. I wasn’t prepared to have to learn how to cope with not only my father’s death but a lot more.

Taking a deep breath, I start to walk into the town to find Skylar. I know she is free around this time, so she isn’t expecting me, but I needed to get out of the house.

I needed to get away from my mother for a little bit. It was like I was talking to a wall but I knew it was my mother and I couldn’t do it anymore.

“Adeline!” Skylar yells as she waves her hand in the air.

I force a smile and walk in her direction, changing my attitude the closer I get. I don’t need her asking questions right now because I don’t want to talk about it.

“Did you hear about Marvin?” Skylar asks when I step closer to her. “Apparently, he died and someone dug him a grave.”

Freezing, I stare at her. I didn’t think people would know yet. I thought it would take a week or more for anyone to find out that he died. If I were drinking or eating anything, I would have surely choked on it.

“I didn’t,” I tell her. “Do they know how?”

I hold my breath as I wait for her answer. Skylar eyes me suspiciously before brushing it off.

“Someone was walking to their mother’s grave when they saw a new one with a pretty headstone with Marvin’s name on it. Some people want to dig up the grave to see if it’s actually Marvin, but a lot don’t want to,” Skylar informs me.

“That’s so sad,” I whisper. “I didn’t know Marvin that well, really.”

“Are you okay?” Skylar blurts out.

I stare at her with wide eyes. “What do you mean?” I ask.

Skylar places her hand on my right shoulder. “I’m just asking how you are and not if you are hiding anything. But from the way you are reacting, I suspect you are hiding something. What is it?”

I suck in a breath as I stare at her, not knowing what to say. I can’t tell her about Kieran or his friends. I can’t tell her that I was there last night when Marvin died. Kieran and his friends would be in trouble… I would be in trouble.

“Come on, you aren’t going to keep a secret from your best friend, are you?” she asks.

“No,” I mumble.

If only she knew how many secrets I was keeping from her. I never thought I would keep anything from her, but meeting Kieran has changed everything. He has opened up my eyes, and I know Skylar won’t reciprocate if I told her anything.

“Well, what is it then?” Skylar tightens her hand on my shoulder. “I want to know. My break is almost up.”

“It’s nothing big,” I mumble. “It’s just my mother not wanting to look at me because I remind her of my father.

It’s her not really caring anymore about what I do or if things are getting done.

I know it’s the grief talking because I feel the same way.

I want to sit around and cry or not do anything, but I can’t.

Things need to get done around the house, and if I stop, they won’t get done. ”

“You have to understand,” Skylar starts, and I raise my hand.

“I said I understand. She lost her husband, the love of her life, and I remind her of him. But I don’t know. Maybe I’m being selfish,” I mumble. “It’s just a lot going on, and I feel like we are surrounded by death. Who else is going to die?”

I hope no one, not even from natural causes. But everyone probably thinks Marvin died from natural causes and that isn’t the case. Only a few people know the truth and I’m burdened with it.

“No one else is going to die. Well, I can’t promise that.

You know wintertime is always the worst for deaths.

People don’t realize how cold it can get, and they try to do things and don’t dress appropriately,” Skylar explains.

“There will probably be some more deaths, but it’s going to be okay. I’m here for you if you need anything.”

“Thanks, I appreciate it.” I give her a small smile.

“I don’t want you keeping secrets from me again, even if you think it’s going to be a burden. I want to hear them. I’m your best friend.” Skylar gives me a pointed look.

I raise my hands in defense. “Sorry. I just didn’t want to put that on you and make you feel like you had to make me feel better.”

Now I’m going to have to be extra careful about how I act around her. Skylar hates the Fae, and I’ve been talking to one, and I’ve slowly been falling in love with him. No. Not falling in love with him. I can’t. But I also can’t help but feel some feelings for Kieran.

“Skylar! Get back to work!” her boss shouts at her.

“Sorry, I need to go, but maybe on my day off, we can hang out and really talk about everything,” Skylar offers. “I would love that. Has the prince gotten back to you on when you have to go to your lessons again?”

I shake my head and take a step back. “He hasn’t, but it’s only been a week. He said he was going to give me two, but I expect him to come any time now. But we’ll talk about that later!”

Skylar waves, and I head toward the forest, bucket in hand. I was hoping for her to make me happier and not tell me everyone knows that Marvin died when I was expecting it to take a week for them to notice. But life is a big mess right now and nothing is going the way I thought it would.

I take a deep breath as I step into the forest, letting the chirping birds and the quietness surround and relax me. I just need to live in the forest for the rest of my life. I’m never worried and tense here.

“Aren’t people going to get suspicious with how much ice you get from the stream?” Zahra asks as I step further into the forest.