Page 118 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

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.

CHAPTER 35

Tears pool in my eyes as I step out of the room, where Hilga stands with a stick in her hand. A week has passed since I had the encounter with the prince and Skylar about my frequent visits to the forest. Neither one of them has asked me about it since, thankfully. I haven’t changed much, besides the times I go so they don’t suspect anything, but I haven’t seen Kieran every day.

He doesn’t want to risk it in case the Fae looking out for us miss hearing them walk into the forest or they can’t have someone looking out while we meet up. Apparently, the prince has added more guards to our town, which has made it a little more difficult for the Fae to leave their posts than before.

Everything is changing around us, and I can’t keep up.

“Your hand looks worse than it did the first time,” Henry, the same guard who walked me to the gates the first time, says.

Not wanting to see the wings on the walls, I don’t lift my head. It never gets any better seeing them pinned to the wall, knowing most of the Fae are dead. My heart aches every single time I think about the man, who won’t ever be able to fly again, even if he got his wings back. I wish there was something I could do to help him.

“I thought you would have gotten better, but I was wrong.” Henry speaks again as we walk down the long hallway.

“I have been through a lot recently,” I mumble, trying to keep my tears at bay.

My hand aches from every single strike. I lost count of how many I took, but from the way my hand looks, it was a lot.

“Have you not been practicing?” he asks.

I shake my head. “Too much going on. With my father dying.” My voice cracks. “To try to get everything done, I haven’t had time to eat let alone practice.”

I’ve lost some weight since my father died, but I can’t do much about it. I’ve been giving my portion of meat to my mother so she can have the strength and nourishment for when she has the baby. Which leaves me with only a little food every single day, but I need Mother to be healthy and strong so I don’t lose her as well.

“Did you remember anything?” he asks another question.

I stop walking and lift my head, my eyebrows pulling together as I look at him. “Why do you care all of a sudden?” I inquire, folding my arms over my chest.

I hiss when the top of my hand brushes against my arm, pain shooting across it.