Page 71 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

I can’t deny there is something between us. It feels like we are meant to be together, but it could be Kieran’s influence on me. He said he has a little magic left. What if he can change my mind on things? No, he wouldn’t do that. I don’t know him well, but I just have a feeling he wouldn’t do it.

“Are you listening to me?” Skylar asks, touching my shoulder.

Flinching, I give her an apologetic smile. “Sorry. I’ve just been lost in my thoughts for a couple of minutes. I’m listening now.”

I seem to be apologizing to a lot of people lately when they talk to me. My mind is constantly on Kieran, no matter what I’m doing. The ring he gave me? I’ve carried it in my pocket since the day he put it in my hand. Part of me is worried I’ll put it in my room and Mother will find out about it, but the other part of me wants to keep it close because it means something to him and he gave it to me.

He gave me his mother's ring.

“What’s wrong?” Skylar sits beside me. “You can tell me anything, you know that, right?”

I nod and shrug my shoulders. While I know it, I can’t talk to her about Kieran. Skylar doesn’t like Fae and will most likely report the person if she sees anyone talking to them.

“Nothing,” I mumble.

“Something is definitely wrong. You can talk to me. I won’t tell anyone, not even the prince when I see him next,” she smiles.

I shake my head. “Nothing is wrong. I’m just thinking about a lot of things. I’ve got a lot going on in my life right now, and I’m trying to make sense of it all.”

That is part of it. Kieran is a big part I’m trying to make sense of. He is so confusing, not only with the words he says, but the way he acts toward me as well.

“I know what you are really thinking about!” She raises her voice.

My eyebrows lift as I wait for her to tell me. When I see her looking around, I know it’s not going to be good.

“Are you thinking about having sex with one of the Fae?” Skylar asks, amusement crossing her face.

My face goes red, and I look up at the Fae, wondering if they heard what Skylar said. Several of them are staring at me, and I quickly dart my head away. Oh my.

They heard Skylar.

They actually heard what she said. How many other people heard what she said as well?

I look around, but no one else is looking at us, and I let out a breath of air.

“I heard they are really well-endowed,” Skylar continues to talk. “I’ve also heard that when their wings were out, they were really sensitive.”

“Skylar!” I gasp.

“Oh, come on. You honestly have to have thought about that already. I’ve seen some of the glances you have given them. Everyone gets curious at some point. I bet everyone has thought that.” Skylar chuckles. “I also heard some of them have horns. Still, we won’t see any of them because of the curse. What a shame. That would have been cool to see their wings and horns if they had any.”

“Stop.” I laugh. “You cannot be talking about this.”

Skylar turns to me. “Why not? It’s perfectly normal to talk about it. I bet they have talked about us a few times and what we look like. You never know.”

Shaking my head, I look away from her but don’t look at the Fae. Are they staring at us right now, wondering how crazy Skylar must be to be thinking about those things? Or are they just pretending like nothing happened?

“The curse,” I hesitantly say.

“What about it?” Skylar asks.

“Do you think they were really evil back then?” I look at her.

Skylar shrugs. “I don’t know, and we shouldn’t really think about it. The king is right. He wouldn’t lie to us. They had to have been since the king said it. We have to trust the king and prince, they know what they are talking about and won’t lead us astray.”

I clench my jaw and shrug. It’s so hard for me to trust them, knowing that Kieran and his friends aren’t vicious at all. Sure, they may have their moments, but so does everyone. I just don’t know if I should be putting all of my faith and trust in the king and prince. But I also don’t have a reason not to. Kieran and his friends could be lying to me.

“Let’s change the subject.” I force out a chuckle. “Sorry for bringing it up again.”