Page 116 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

CHAPTER 34

His 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.