Page 50 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

H is eyebrows furrow as he looks into my eyes. “What do you mean?”

“The prince and Skylar have both asked why I am coming into the forest so much.” My voice breaks toward the end. “I got stopped yesterday, and it happened again just before Elias came out.”

“I knew her friend was there. I waited until she was gone. Her friend didn’t know a thing,” Elias chimes in. “I made sure she was gone before I emerged. We’ve been keeping an eye on Adeline when you aren’t around and when she comes into the forest or is in the town. She has been safe.”

I blink several times, taking in his words. They have been watching over me? Am I in danger?

“It’s only natural for them to get suspicious. Don’t let that get to you. Don’t change anything. You need to pretend it hasn’t rattled you,” Kieran softly tells me. “They are not going to win. They are not going to take you away from me. I won’t allow it.”

“But,” it comes out as a whisper from my lips.

“But nothing.” He gently kisses my nose. “You are not going to get taken away from me. I won’t allow it, nor will anyone else.”

I pull away from him and drop the bucket to the ground, pointing my finger at him. “You can’t know that for certain!”

Is he crazy?

“And why not?” He quirks an eyebrow. “Why can’t I be certain I won’t let anything happen to my mate?” He takes a step closer.

I nod and step back. Not because I’m scared, but I don’t want to get distracted by his touch.

“Because you are my mate. You mean the world to me, and I won’t let anything happen to you. I won’t let them take you away from me or our people.” He takes another step closer to me, shortening the distance between us.

“What if you can’t do anything about it?” I whisper, hating myself for even uttering those words.

“There is no can’t. I will keep you safe; no one will touch what is mine. I promise.” He cups my face once again.

I take a deep breath and lean into his touch, relishing the feeling of him.

“You are safe with me,” he gently says. “You always will be.”

“Everyone is looking out for you now,” Elias chimes in. “Everyone cares about you. Now, Kieran has even more of a reason to break the curse.”

“Me,” I mumble. “I’m the reason.”

“I was always trying to work it out, slowly, so as not to get detected. But once I saw you, I knew I would have to pick up the pace. I don’t want to spend the rest of my life a slave and not able to be with you in every way,” Kieran explains.

“I had that in the back of my mind since the curse was placed, but everyone felt so lost in the beginning and we’ve slowly been gaining our confidence back.

We are going to break the curse. I will spend the rest of my life with you by my side, ruling over the Fae and humans. ”

“But not hurting the humans?” I ask.

“Not unless they provoke us. If they are going to go after our people, I will make an example out of them, but I don’t want to,” Kieran explains.

“I want to live peacefully with them like we did before. I want to rule like my father did, making sure everyone has everything they need. I don’t want people living out on the streets with no money or food.

I want them to have a roof over their heads.

I want everyone to be able to be with the person they love.

Not fearing that one of them is going to die because of some law. ”

“Sounds like a dream,” I whisper.

“It is a dream, but I am going to make it into a reality,” Kieran declares. “It will happen, and life will be so much better.”

I close my eyes and lean even further into him. What I wouldn’t do to be in that world right now. I would be able to be with Kieran no matter what, and we wouldn’t have to keep it a secret.

“I for sure can’t wait for that day. The day that I can freely roam the lands and see whoever I want so I can find my mate,” Elias says. “I want my mate desperately. I can’t wait for the day that I can hold her in my arms.”

My heart aches for Elias. But maybe it’s for the best right now because they won’t be able to do much with them anyways. There are laws, very strict laws, and it will only make it harder on them.

“Soon, my friend,” Kieran replies.

“What kind of reunion is this?” Zahra’s voice fills the forest.

I open my eyes and pull away from Kieran. Zahra stands next to a tree, a smirk across her face as she looks at me.

“Am I interrupting something important?” she asks, her head tilting to the side.

“No.” I roll my eyes.

I don’t know how I feel about Zahra, but Kieran seems to trust her, so I will too. I don’t know if it’s her teasing or her constant reminder to be careful every time we see each other.

“I thought I would give you a couple of minutes alone, but I can see that you aren’t actually alone. Kieran ran off without saying anything but your name. What happened this time?” Zahra asks.

This is why I don’t like her. She always makes it seem like something is always wrong with me. And maybe she is right, but I don’t want it to be that way.

“There is nothing wrong with Adeline needing me,” Kieran says before I can reply. “People are getting suspicious, and she wanted to warn me.”

Zahra’s eyes narrow on me, and I shrink back.

“I told you to come at different times to avoid suspicion.” Zahra’s voice is cold and distant. “If only you followed what I said, you wouldn’t be in this situation.”

Annoyance rolls inside of me as I glare at her.

“I have been,” I snap before I can stop myself. “But someone is following me.”

Kieran’s hands tighten around my cheeks. “What do you mean someone is following you?”

I shrug my shoulders. “I don’t know who, but someone has to be if they are suspicious of my activity. What else could it be?” I ask. “I’ve been going to the forest every single day before I met you, in the spring, summer, and fall. I don’t know why they are so interested in me doing so now.”

It makes no sense why they would suddenly take an interest in what I am doing in the forest. Skylar knows I like to be in nature, and so does the prince by now.

“The prince is interested in you,” Zahra points out, like I don’t already know that. “He’s probably keeping tabs on you. He doesn’t want you to fall in love with someone else when he intends for you to be his bride.”

“You don’t have to remind me,” I mutter.

“Her friend did say the prince had asked her to keep an eye on her,” Elias says.

Right.

“And I kindly asked her to stop, that there was nothing to report on. Now if only she would believe that, it would be great.” I sigh.

“Be careful around her.” Elias gives me a pointed look.

“She’s my best friend. I don’t need to watch out or be careful around her,” I tell him, offended that he thinks Skylar would do anything like that.

He raises his hands in the air. “Think about it.”

I shake my head. “I don’t need to think about it. Skylar won’t do anything to me. She’s my best friend and she has my back.”

“She’s getting close with the prince,” Kieran says.

“She wants to become the princess. She is trying to win him over so he will take an interest in her. I told her to do it to get his attention off me. I don’t want it. I don’t want the prince.” I raise my voice and pull my face out of Kieran’s hands. “She isn’t doing anything else.”

Or I hope she isn’t. She has gotten close with the prince, but I encouraged her to.

I told her to gain his interest. I didn’t think she would get this close to him in such a short amount of time, but it’s none of my concern.

She is an adult and knows what she is doing to capture the prince’s attention.

But why isn’t it working? Why is the prince so hell bent on choosing me?

“We aren’t saying she would go behind your back and do something. Does she like the Fae or does she hate us all?” Kieran asks.

“She doesn’t like the Fae. She agrees with everything Prince Archie has said, but I’m sure her mind can be changed. She hasn’t heard anything else but what the prince and king tell everyone,” I explain. “I haven’t told her everything, but I can try.”

Kieran shakes his head. “Don’t. Not yet. I’m not ready to lose you, so we have to keep it between us.”

I sigh and nod. “I’m not ready to lose you either. She loves me and is my best friend. She wouldn’t turn me in to the guards or prince, nor would she turn you in.”

That last part I’m not so sure about but I’m not telling Kieran that. But with the look he is giving me, he knows. I can’t keep anything from him.

“Just be cautious around her. I know you trust her, but sadly, I do not and I want you safe. So do it for me?” Kieran asks, his voice gentle.

I give him a small smile. “Okay,” I reply.

It’s the least I can do for him. He has done a lot for me, and if he wants me to be a little cautious around her, I will be. It won’t hurt me.

“Thank you,” Kieran whispers, leaning down and kissing my forehead.

I stand on my tiptoes, puckering my lips as I look at him. I want him to kiss me.

Kieran smiles.

Fucking smiles at me.

“Soon, Sweets.” He gently says. “Soon, we will kiss, but not now.”

My shoulders sag as I drop to my feet. “Why not?” I ask, sounding impatient.

He chuckles. “Because the first time I kiss you, I want it to be special.”

“It can be special now.” I give him a knowing look.

“It could be, but I want to make it more special. Just the two of us,” he whispers.

Right… Elias and Zahra are both here.

“Let’s fill up your bucket so you don’t spend too much time in the forest and make them even more suspicious.” Kieran lets go of my face and takes the bucket from my hand.