Page 122 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

The only thing Kieran does is grab my arms, turning me around and keeping me in place as the guard stops in front of us. I struggle in his arms, trying to break free, but I’m no match against Kieran.

“What are you doing?” My voice is high-pitched and full of panic. “Kieran! Let me go! Save me from the guard.”

I thrash back and forth, trying to find a way out, but Kieran just tightens his hold, keeping me in place.

“Adeline Duvall, you are under arrest for the murder of Prince Archie and for fraternizing with the enemy.” The guard steps forward. “You will be sentenced to life in prison for these acts, never to be let out.”

“Kieran.” My voice is desperate as I try to look at him. “Why are you doing this?” My voice breaks.

But Kieran just stands still, not looking at me anymore.

“Please,” I beg. “It’s not too late to help me. You’ve killed someone before for me; you can do it again.”

It’s not a fair ask, but I don’t want to get taken to prison to rot there for the rest of my life. I don’t want to be separated from my mate. Why is he doing this?

“He won’t save you, Adeline,” the guard informs me. “We injected every single Fae with a serum to make them comply with us and not be able to lie. He has no feelings for you anymore.”

“I don’t believe you.” I struggle in Kieran’s arms once again.

“You are witnessing it for yourself. You’ll have the rest of your life to contemplate if what I said is true or not.” The guard takes a step closer to me.

I look at Kieran once more to see him staring at me with no emotions, and my heart breaks. Is the guard telling the truth?

“You are not my mate,” Kieran whispers.

I bolt upright in bed, breathing heavily as sweat drips down my face and body. My hands shake, and I bring them up to my face, wiping my face.

“Wh-what?” I whisper to myself.

Why do I keep having these awful nightmares? Are they going to come true?

I take a deep breath and slowly let it out, trying to calm my racing heart. Everything is going to be okay. None of this is going to happen. They are just nightmares because I am stressed about people finding out.

After pushing my covers back, I swing my legs over the side of my bed and stand up. Wrapping my coat around me, I make my way out of my room and straight toward my mother’s. She is soundly asleep on her bed, taking nice even breaths.

I walk into the kitchen and survey the area to see what needs to be done. I don’t know what time it is, but I won’t be able to go back to bed anytime soon.

A tug in my stomach makes me flinch, and I spin around, trying to find out what it is. But when it happens again, my eyes go wide when I realize it’s Kieran. Does he know I had a dream about him?

I quietly walk to the front door, opening and closing it as I make my way outside.

So quiet.

Everything is so quiet as I make my way through the town. The sky is still dark and snow is falling, but I don’t pay any attention to it as I walk into the forest where I know Kieran will be waiting for me.

“Are you okay?” Kieran asks, his voice full of worry, as I make my way to the same spot we always meet.

“I don’t know.” I take a deep breath. “Did you have the same nightmare?”

His eyebrows pull together, and he shakes his head. “No, but I felt your panic, and I was trying to calm you down, but nothing was working.”

“Watch,” I tell him, closing my eyes and waiting for him to touch me to see my nightmare.

His warm hands carefully cup my face, and I allow myself to relax in his presence.

“Oh, Sweets,” he gently says as I open my eyes. “I would never do something like that. There is no way for even the witch to eliminate the mate bond.”

“Are you sure?” My voice cracks.