Page 41 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

Kieran stands and grabs a long coat, and drapes it around my shoulders before sitting next to me.

“You called out to me, begging me to come to you,” he gently explains. “You may not have thought it was me, but you pulled at the bond we share and opened up communication for a brief second and called out, showing me where you were.”

My mouth hangs open, not completely believing him, but how else could he have found me? He wouldn’t have been able to follow me the whole time without one of the guards noticing. The only other logical reason was what he just told me, which isn’t logical at all when I really think about it.

There is no way I could talk to him in my mind. No way at all. I have no magical powers.

“Hello.” He looks at me, but his mouth doesn’t move.

Pushing myself back, I snag myself on the coat he placed over me, falling onto my back in the process.

“Wow, you’re okay,” he soothes. “Everything is okay.”

“Yo-you just⁠—”

“I just spoke in your mind. Do you believe me now?” he asks.

I nod as he helps me sit up. The heat from the fire flitters against my skin, and I try to scooch forward, but Kieran stops me.

“No closer. I don’t want you to burn yourself,” he gently but firmly tells me. “We don’t want you to warm up too quickly and cause any damage.”

He’s right. Last year, when I came back, my mother warmed me up slowly, even though it was painful; she didn’t want to cause any damage by warming me up too quickly. I didn’t want that either.

“I’m sorry for calling you without knowing it,” I whisper, keeping my eyes focused on the flames.

“I’m not,” he replies. “I’m glad you called me.”

When I finally look at Kieran, he is smiling.

“You called, I came. You need me, I’ll come. No matter the circumstances, no matter how dangerous it is, I’ll always come when you call me.” Kieran kneels in front of me.

I didn’t realize I was leaning forward, gazing into those familiar cobalt blue eyes.

His hand grips the back of my neck, keeping me in place so I don’t move. “I’ll always come, no matter the circumstance.”

I suck in a breath, believing every word he said.

“I take care of what belongs to me.” He kisses my forehead, and I close my eyes, taking it all in.

We stay there for several seconds, his lips on my forehead as we just exist in each other’s presence.

“I belong to you?” I finally ask, pulling away.

He smirks. “You belong to me. I belong to you. We belong to each other for the rest of our lives. You can’t do anything about it. Even if you could, I wouldn’t let you.”

I open and close my mouth several times, trying to come up with something, but I have nothing.

“You don’t need to say anything. I know you’ve gone through a lot tonight,” he gently says. “Let’s lie down so you can get some sleep before you have to go back to your parents’ house in the morning.”

Right. I still have to go back home at the time I would have if I were still walking and he hadn’t run here. Disappointment fills me at the thought of having to go back. I want to stay with Kieran for the rest of my life.

“Come on,” he urges as he helps me lie next to the fire, his body right behind mine.

I let out a sigh of contentment as I close my eyes, taking everything in. It feels natural for Kieran to be this close to me, like it’s meant to be.

“I’ll wake you up when we need to head to your house,” Kieran whispers. “You just relax and get some rest.”

After taking a deep breath in, I slowly let it out, and I relax. My body feels heavier with each passing second, begging to go to sleep, but my mind keeps me awake. I’ve warmed up, but will I easily get cold again and die in my sleep?