Page 51 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

“What days are you free?” she asks.

“What days are you willing to let me go for an hour or two?” I reply, not answering her question.

It doesn’t really matter what I want. I am helping around the house and getting things ready for the next market. It is up to her to decide what she thinks is best for me.

Mother sighs and stands, looking at the prince, smiling. “Monday afternoon. After she finishes all of her chores for the day.”

Prince Archie glares at us, and I clasp my hands together, not liking how he is looking at both of us. Why isn’t he saying anything?

“She has chores to do every single day, but Mondays are normally lighter. She can come in the afternoon. I don’t know what time exactly since chores change all the time, but Monday afternoon is the best answer I can give you. Sorry, Prince Archie. As you can see, I am about to have a child and she has been helping around the house to make sure we have everything we need. She is going to get busier as the days go on and I get closer to having the baby,” my mother explains.

A smile flashes across his face. “That is fine. Monday afternoon is when the tutors will be expecting her. They will only keep her for an hour, but she will be there every Monday unless otherwise stated. The first Monday, I will be here to escort her to the palace, and after that, a guard will come to get her.”

“Thank you so much, Prince Archie.” Mother bows slightly.

I bow, not saying a word. I don’t feel the need to say anything to Prince Archie. Not when he is trying to destroy my life day by day, request by request. He does not get that luxury.

“I will see you Monday.” Prince Archie looks at me before leaving, shutting the door behind him.

I take a deep breath in and slowly let it out. That was something I never thought would happen. Prince Archie in my parents’ home? Never. He never goes into people’s houses in the village.

I hope no one else saw him come or leave.

We are already the gossip of the town since they saw him walking with me twice so far.

“What was that?” My mother slaps my arm. “How did you forget to mention that you were supposed to talk to me about that? How foolish of you, child.”

I was wrong. I thought I had told my mother about him wanting me to take lessons, but I must be remembering wrong.

“It slipped my mind!” I take a step back. “The first time it slipped my mind since the prince was injured, and I was concerned about it then. The second time, we were so busy with the preparation for the market. Then I almost died from walking from Hellhollow so it really did slip my mind. I’m not lying!”

I briefly remembered the first time and could have told mother, but I didn’t want to. Mother has to understand that I don’t like Prince Archie and I will do whatever it takes to stay away from him.

My mother gives me a disapproving look, and I hold my hands up in the air.

“I’m telling the truth,” I gently say. “You know we’ve been busy.”

“You’ve been really distracted lately. Is it because of Prince Archie?” she asks.

“No, it isn’t. I promise,” I genuinely say.

Prince Archie doesn’t come to my mind often. But Kieran… Kieran is a different story. He is constantly on my mind, and there is nothing I can do about it.

Every little thing reminds me of him, even though I don’t know him that well. I haven’t known Kieran for very long, which baffles me that I can think about a man this much. Never in my life has someone distracted me this much, but Kieran is proving to be a major distraction.

From the way his eyes pull me in, to the way I feel super comfortable around him. And the pull I feel toward him is like nothing else I’ve ever felt before. Everything about him is captivating.

He is the reason I’ve been so distracted, and I’m not mad about it. If anything, it makes me happy that someone has captivated my attention. I have been worried I would never find somebody.

Not that anything can happen with Kieran. It is a law, one that is punishable with whippings or death. Even though I have this burning passion for him that seems to grow day by day, I can’t do anything about it.

“Are you okay?” Mother asks. “What has happened to make you so distracted? It seems to have come out of the blue.”

I feel terrible that I haven’t told mother yet. I don’t want to risk her telling the guards or being disappointed in me. I don’t know if I can handle that.

“I’m just tired,” I gently say, partially lying.

I feel terrible that I’m lying to her, but I don’t want her worrying about me. But I guess by not telling her she is going to worry even more.