Page 53 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

No one does.

“If I had a choice, I would be inside, staying warm and recovering, but I can’t.” Annoyance fills my voice as I talk.

Does he think I don’t know what I should be doing? I know I shouldn’t be out here.

I just wanted to get some fresh air for a couple of minutes, but I didn’t want to work. The only way out is by doing something productive and getting a fresh breath of air isn’t productive.

Kieran growls, “No mate of mine will run herself into the ground.”

“No mate of yours. Well, I’m not your mate,” I reply.

Kieran grips my chin and bends down, so we are looking at each other. “You are my mate. Never say you aren’t. You are and you cannot back out of this. We will always be tethered together, no matter what you think.”

He lets go of my chin and stands to his full height. I crane my neck back to look at him. I never realized how exhausting it is to have my head in this position all the time. How did people do it back then when they were with Fae? Did the Fae use some type of magic to make them shorter or have their head appear somewhere else so they didn’t have to look up so much?

“What exactly is a mate?” I ask.

I honestly can’t remember whether he has told me what it is or not. Someone I’m destined to be with? But that still doesn’t answer my question. What is a mate to him? Why is it so important to him and why should it be important to me?

“You don’t need to know that right now,” Kieran brushes me off, which annoys me.

“No,” I force out. “I want to know what a mate is and why I should care. I want to know what’s so important about it.”

I look at my feet, taking in a deep breath before quickly looking back up at him. Dizziness assaults me, and I groan, holding my hand out to catch something before I fall.

Arms wrap around my waist, holding me close to him as I try to regain my balance. What was that? Sparks dance around my skin as he embraces me, and I can’t help but lean forward, wanting more.

“Wha-what?” I whisper, looking up at him.

“You’re okay. Take your time,” he gently murmurs.

His face is so far away from me, but it sounds like it is right next to my ear. Magic?

Behind me, something rustles, and I push away from him, grabbing my bucket. If we are caught together, that would be the end of us.

That could be the end of Kieran.

I don’t know him that well, but I don’t want anything to happen to him. I don’t want anything bad to happen to anyone when they haven’t done anything wrong.

“Kier—” but the words fall from my lips as two Fae males emerge from the trees.

CHAPTER 13

Carelessly, I step away from Kieran, toward the river, trying to put distance between us. I slowly start to fall backward, a yell ripping from my mouth as I hit the ice covering the river. I sit there in pain, dazed, as my brain comes back to the present.

“Adeline,” Kieran kneels in front of me.

Tears form in my eyes as the ice starts to melt underneath me, soaking my dress. It’s just my luck that something like this would happen, in front of three Fae men.

“Are you okay?” Kieran asks, looking up and down my body to the best of his ability.

I blink several times, trying to get the threatening tears to go away. I don’t need to cry, because once I start, I’m not going to be able to stop. I hate crying in front of people.

“Sweets, answer me. Are you okay?” Kieran asks again, lightly touching my chin and pulling my face toward him.

I nod and look away when I realize the other two males are standing a little farther back, watching us. Why are they here? How did they know we were here?

My body starts to shiver, the cold seeping into my bones. I am going to pay for this later, but I can’t get up. I’m worried that if I attempt to, I am going to slip again, and I can’t humiliate myself any further.