Page 106 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

“But,” I start to say, but one look from Kieran and I close my mouth.

“No buts. It was not your fault. I will not have you blaming yourself for it,” he gently says.

“Is it going to happen now?” I ask.

Kieran nods, letting his hands drop from my face. I miss the contact, but I don’t say anything. “Yes, Elias and Zayden have already picked up the body⁠—”

“Marvin,” I remind him of his name.

Everyone deserves to be called by their name and not just a body. Marvin, even though he was the town drunk, deserves to be called by his name because he was a human being. He should be treated with respect. I know Kieran didn’t mean anything by it, but I couldn’t let him get by with it.

Marvin matters.

Marvin had a family at one point.

Marvin had people who cared for him, loved him.

“They have already picked Marvin up. We are going to go to the grave. People will see his name, so they’ll know it is him,” Kieran explains, correcting himself. “Do you want to walk or do you want me to carry you?”

I stare at Kieran and take a deep breath. “Is it far?”

He shakes his head. “Just over the ridge in the cemetery. We want him to be with his people, humans, and so people would know that someone took care of him.”

Kieran holds his hand out, and I grab it. He leads me toward Marvin’s grave, and I can’t help but let the tears fall from my face as Elias and Zayden put him in his grave.

“He didn’t deserve to die,” I whisper.

“He didn’t, but it had to happen.” Kieran pulls me into his side. “I wish it could be different as well, but it had to go this way. There was no other option.”

I know what he’s saying is true. Marvin would have told someone. They would have come to me or gone on a rampage to find out who was responsible for what Marvin was saying within the Fae. How many people would they have killed then? Hundreds? Thousands? Were there even thousands of Fae left to kill?

“Do you want to say anything?” Kieran asks. “Before Elias and Zayden cover his grave.”

I take a step away from Kieran and look at Marvin. What should I say?

“I didn’t.” I clear my throat, feeling a little awkward. “What am I doing?” I whisper to myself.

I can feel Kieran behind me before his hand lands on my shoulder.

“You’re okay,” he gently says. “If you don’t want to say anything, you don’t have to.”

“But he deserves it,” I say through clenched teeth. “He deserves this and so much more. But I don’t know him.”

I saw Marvin so many times on the street, and I could have said something to him then, gotten to know him, but I never did. Everyone told me he was just a drunk who didn’t deserve to be known. Marvin matters, everyone matters.

I turn to Kieran and bury my face in his chest, wrapping my arms around him. “I think I’ll say something later when I have the words instead of making something up now.”

Kieran’s hand cups the back of my head, keeping me in place as he kisses the top of my head. “Sounds good, Sweets. You let me know when, and I’ll come with you so you aren’t alone.”

I can hear Elias and Zayden filling the grave, and my heart breaks a little more. I wish everything could be different.

“I know, Sweets,” Kieran whispers, holding me closer. “Me too.”

I pull away from him, looking up into his eyes. “Is this ever going to change?”

Kieran rubs his hand across my face before cupping the right side. “Soon. I hope it will all change soon, and we can all live in peace.”

I lean my forehead on his chest, taking a deep breath in and slowly letting it out. “I hope so, too.”