Page 59 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown (Kingdom of Bellhollow #1)

I lean my head up against the wall and take a deep breath.

So. Many. People.

So many people are coming over to visit, see the baby, congratulate my mother, and bring food and gifts. I’m happy we are getting some food to keep stock so we don’t run out, but I am exhausted from everyone coming over.

“Do you want me to turn away the next group of people?” I look over at Mother.

She is sitting on the same chair, holding my baby brother who doesn’t have a name yet, instead of lying in bed where Maria told her to. Apparently, Mother never has rested in a bed after having a baby longer than half a day.

“No, they are allowed to come in and see,” Mother gently replies. “Just a couple more, and then you can tell them to come tomorrow or the next day. They will understand.”

Nodding, I take another deep breath to try and calm myself down. I’ve almost snapped at several people today to tell them to go away and leave us alone, but I’ve kept it all inside and politely invited them in. That is what Mother wants me to do and that is what I am going to do for her.

Father would have been by her side, helping her and meeting all the people while I was out, but he isn’t here.

He’ll never get to meet his baby boy.

A son.

The son he always wanted but never had the chance to see or even know. Tears pool in my eyes at the thought, and I blink them back. Now is not the time to cry. I can cry later when I am all alone and it’s nighttime.

Walking up to the door, I open it as a knocking sound appears. Prince Archie is there, four guards behind him, as he fills up the doorway.

“Oh, I wasn’t expecting you,” I whisper. “Can I help you?”

“I wanted to congratulate your mother myself since I heard she actually had her baby yesterday,” Prince Archie replies.

“Oh, thank you so much, but that wasn’t needed.” I chuckle and look away.

Prince Archie grabs my chin and places his face right in front of mine.

“I want to, and you can’t tell me no again. Do you understand?” His voice is low and deadly.

I nod and take a step back, opening the door to allow him in. My whole body is shaking as nerves run through me. I didn’t think Prince Archie would come and threaten me. The guards stay outside, and I leave the door open, not wanting to anger anyone.

“Mother, Prince Archie is here,” I announce as I walk into the kitchen, the prince following me.

“Oh, give me one second to stand.” Mother’s voice is full of panic.

“Please, Ma’am, you don’t need to stand up. My mother taught me that women who just had a baby should be resting.” Prince Archie smiles as he stops right in front of my mother. “A boy.”

“Yes, Your Highness. I had a son,” Mother replies as she relaxes into her chair.

But anyone with one eye can see my mother isn’t relaxed. Her whole body is stiff as Prince Archie stands close, looking at my baby brother. I hold my breath and stare at him, wondering what he is going to do.

“I had the pleasure of meeting with your daughter the other day and talking about things.” Prince Archie strikes up a conversation as he looks at my mother, his eyes looking over her face.

My hand instinctively reaches up to my neck.

It’s still covered with the scarf, but the bruising is slowly getting better.

The salve Henry gave me has been no good on this bruise and it makes me wonder why.

He said it would be good to heal anything and yet it has done nothing for this.

Does Prince Archie have some type of magical powers against the salve? No, he’s human just like me.

“I heard about that. Did you have a good time with her?” she replies, looking down at the baby.

Prince Archie looks back at me and arches an eyebrow. I shake my head, lying to him. Mother knows not to tell anyone about how I got the bruises, and she knows it would do her no good if Prince Archie found out she knows.

“We did have a good time. We got some things cleared up.” He smiles sickly at me. “Your daughter will be needed at the palace for her tutoring sessions still.”

“Could.” Mother takes a deep breath. “Could Adeline have a couple of weeks off so she can help me around the house? I can’t get out of the chair much or my bed and her being gone for a whole afternoon will pull her away from me when I may need her.”

Prince Archie smiles at my mother and nods. “But of course. That is the least I can do for you and your daughter. Congratulations again.”

Mother bows her head, and the prince walks over to me, leaning in.

“You owe me,” he whispers before pulling away and walking to the door.

I suck in a breath and lean against the wall before my legs give out and I crumble to the ground. The door shuts behind him, and I close my eyes as the tears fall down my face.

“Adeline?” Mother calls out.

I hum but don’t dare open them, not wanting even more tears to stream down my face.

“What did he tell you?” she asks.

Shaking my head, I push off the wall and wipe away the tears. “Nothing for you to worry about. He just wants to meet up in a couple of weeks so we can have lunch.”

It’s a lie, and from the look on my mother’s face, she knows it as well.

“I am going to go take a short walk in the forest,” I whisper. “Are you going to be okay here? Do you need anything before I go?”

I need to get out and calm down my head before I do or say something I am going to regret.

“No, you can go for a couple of minutes, but don’t let the prince catch you walking outside right after he visited.” Mother gives me a pointed look.

“I won’t,” I mumble.

Grabbing my coat, I put it on before walking outside, taking a deep breath of the frigid air. I look right and left before heading around the house, making my way straight to the forest. My hands shake as I clench them by my side.

Tears continue to stream down my face as I make my way further into the forest, letting let my feet guide me.

“Adeline.” Kieran’s voice sounds right next to me.

My shoulders shake as a sob makes its way through my body. Kieran wraps his strong and warm arms around me, pulling me into his chest.

“Shhh, you’re okay,” he whispers. “I’ve got you.”

“I was so scared,” I mumble against him.

I can’t seem to take hold of my emotions and force the tears to stop. Around Kieran, my body knows it’s okay to let go.

“I felt it and knew you would be coming to the forest,” he murmurs, and I feel a kiss on top of my head. “I came here when I felt it. I tried to console you through the bond, but for some reason I couldn’t.”

Not responding, I hold Kieran tighter until the tears dry on my face. I take a deep breath and pull away. He cups my face and gently rubs away the tears from my cheeks.

“What happened to make you so scared?” he gently asks.

“I can’t talk about it now. I promised my mother I would only be a couple of minutes. I don’t know if the prince is watching me or not, and I need to be around if my mother needs anything,” I rush out, not making much of any sense.

“Shh, you’re okay. Tomorrow afternoon?” he asks.

I nod and place my head on his chest, taking a deep breath once again. Kieran is still cupping my face as I pull back and give him a smile.

“Are you safe?” he asks.

“Yes,” I reply. “Or I think I am.”

I owe the prince something. I don’t know what it could be, but he wouldn’t call upon it now… not when my mother just asked for me to be around for a couple of weeks while she recovers.

“If you aren’t, pull on the bond, and I will come right to you and keep you safe.” He looks into my eyes. “Do you understand?”

“Yes, but I won’t do it. I won’t pull on the mate bond and get you into trouble,” I say before I pull my face out of his hands. “I need to go, but I’ll meet up with you tomorrow. Promise. Later at night, when the sun is starting to set. The prince won’t be around then.”

Kieran nods, and I turn, clutching my chest, and I start to walk away from him. Why is it getting harder and harder to walk away from him?

We need to find out how to break this curse, or I am going to find myself living with the Fae and end up in a cell or getting the Fae all killed.

“What are you doing in the forest?” Avira sneers.

Balling my fists up at my side, I take a deep breath and look at her. “I was calming down after the prince came and visited us.”

“And you left Mother alone in the house after she just had a baby?” She looks at me like I’m crazy.

“I did, but it was only for a couple of minutes, and she said it was fine,” I tell her and raise my hand as she opens her mouth. “No, I am not ready for this right now. I am going home. Why don’t you go back to the palace where you clearly want to be?”

I push past her and start walking to the house. Exhaustion weighs on me even harder as I drag my feet against the cobblestone road.

“Were you with a Fae?” she asks out of the blue, ignoring what I said.

I freeze and turn toward her. “No, I wasn’t. What is your obsession with them?”

How does she keep knowing when I’ve been with a Fae?

“You were in the forest. That is where they live. You are always in the forest, and I was wondering if you were meeting with one,” she explains.

“No, I wasn’t. We’ve been taught not to look at or talk to them.

I am not going to randomly start talking to them one day.

” I roll my eyes. “You need to stop asking me about it. I haven’t and I’m not going to.

There is nothing for me to discuss with them or a reason to meet up with them.

I am just walking around like I normally do or I’m getting ice from the river. ”

She eyes me, but nods. “Sorry, I just want you safe and the Fae are not safe. They are savages. Cruel and unkind toward everyone but their own. I don’t want you to get close to one and end up hurt or dead.”

But she doesn’t know them like I do. I keep that to myself, not wanting to put her on edge or suspect me of talking to them.