Page 58 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

Part of me wants to help the Fae figure out how to break the curse. They can’t all be that bad, can they? Kieran and his friends have been nothing but kind to me. Maybe it’s all a show so I can help them or they can torture me later, but deep down I know they won’t.

I just have a feeling.

“Anyway, let’s head to the room. The teachers are expecting you,” he says. “Come along, let’s get going. They don’t have all day.”

I look at Prince Archie and start to follow him. “Is that why they are constructing the new building?”

“Yes, I want it to be very ornate. It is going to be perfect.” Prince Archie looks back at me. “It is going to be my new home. It won’t be as big as this one as I’ll still be doing all my business here, but I wanted a home for us. Somewhere different than the palace.”

I take a shaky breath in as he says the word ‘us’ like we are going to stay together. If I ever get a chance to tell him no and be safe, I will. I am not going to get married to him, no matter what.

“This way. We are almost there,” he says, taking a left turn.

Gasping, I quickly close my eyes and look away. I am never going to get that horrific image out of my head. Tears pool in my eyes, and my heart breaks just thinking about them hanging on the wall.

Wings.

Fae wings.

Hanging on the wall on display. Horrific. How could the king have them displayed like that? How could they have done that to the Fae? The pain they must have been in when they were removed. I can still see the dried blood on the wall like they hung the wings up when they were freshly cut.

I clutch my hands in front of me and take a deep breath. Shivering at the thought, I keep my head ducked as we make our way down the hall. More wings cover the walls the further we walk down.

Prince Archie stops and turns to one of the walls.

Please, no.

“My great-great-grandfather had several Fae tied up by a magical spell from the witch. She got their wings out, and he cut them off and proudly displays them here. We honor him by keeping them up here. If I had it my way, I would fill up the whole palace with them and my new home. Bring in every Fae and have the witch remove their wings.” Prince Archie rubs his hands together. “When I become king, I am going to do that.”

Shuddering, I take a step away from the prince. Cruel. He is beyond evil for wanting to do that. The Fae haven’t done anything to them, and yet the prince wants to do maim them.

“Wouldn’t you have an uproar if you did that?” I ask tentatively.

“I don’t think we would. They don’t know how to break the spell,” Prince Archie replies as he starts walking again. “They are at our mercy and have been for hundreds of years.”

At some point, they are going to get sick of it and stop caring if their magic and wings come back. At some point, they are going to want their freedom more than they are going to want their wings back.

I’m honestly surprised it hasn’t happened yet. Unless the High Lord has been keeping all of them at bay, promising that he is actively working on a way to get them out of it. I don’t know how he would or if he is even still alive, but he very well could be. It could be Kieran like he said but I don’t know if I should fully trust him on that. He could have gotten his friends to agree with me and try to manipulate me.

“This is where you are going to take your lessons.” Prince Archie steps in front of a room. “I’ll be back in an hour to bring you to one of the guards so he can take you home.”

Prince Archie doesn’t wait for me to respond as he walks away, and the door opens. Two older ladies in black dresses, their hair pinned up, their hands clasped in front of them, stare at me.

“Oh, um, hi,” I awkwardly greet them.

I was not expecting them to be standing right in front of the door, looking at me like I’m their next toy they are going to torture.

“Do not talk like that.” The one on the right glares at me. “I’m Hilga and this is Maria.”

Hilga is definitely fitting for her with her attitude. Who ate her food this morning to put her in such a foul mood?

“Come in and sit in the chair,” Maria says sweetly. “We’ll start our lesson then. We only have an hour once a week, so we are going to go through a lot to make sure that you learn as much as possible. We have to use our time wisely.”

I’m thankful it’s only one hour a week and not the whole afternoon. We haven’t even started, and I’m ready for us to be done. I can’t wait to walk home and be alone.

“There is a certain manner that the future queen needs. A way she needs to behave and appear. You must act like a queen and not a commoner,” Hilga sneers at me.

I take a step back and glare back at her. Who does she think she is? I am a commoner, and that won’t change. People know me for who I am and it isn’t a queen.