Page 72 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

Skylar waves her hand, dismissing it. “It’s okay. Everyone has a time when they doubt things, but you just have to trust the king. He wouldn’t do anything to harm anyone. He wants what is best for us.”

“Right,” I mumble. “Anyway. Soulmates. Do you believe in them?”

Skylar full-on belly laughs. “No. I definitely don’t believe in soulmates. It’s just something the Fae made up a while ago, but there is no such thing as that. Who would make sure the people got with the right partner? No one can know that.”

I nod, understanding where she is coming from. “I don’t know. I love the idea of having a soulmate out there, but I don’t know.”

If only Skylar knew Kieran keeps calling me his soulmate. That we are woven together somehow and will spend the rest of our lives together. Kieran makes me so curious about the Fae and what it was like before the curse.

“I love the idea of them as well, but you can’t really think they are real, can you?” Skylar looks at me like I’m crazy. “They are a made-up thing to make girls and boys hopeful, but they aren’t real and they never will be. You just have to find the right person for you, and they won’t be perfect. There will be flaws.”

There are flaws with everyone, I know that firsthand.

“Yeah, I just wish they were true so it would be easier to find the right person for you and not have to search everywhere.” I chuckle at the end. “It would be cool if they were actually a thing.”

My mind goes back to Kieran and whether he was telling me the truth or not. He has magic and wings. He keeps telling me I’m his mate and he’s the High Lord of the Fae, but is he really telling the truth? No human knows what the Fae High Lord looks like and I’m curious if Kieran is actually the High Lord or not.

I need to ask for some concrete proof, but what could that be?

“Enough of soulmates. Did you hear the news?” Skylar asks.

My nose scrunches up. “What news?”

“Apparently, there is a town up north where the Fae were retaliating. So they are bringing them here so they can be dealt with.” she explains. “They’ll probably do something like the other time and put them in the middle of the town and whip them publicly.”

I swallow hard and flinch at the mention of whipping. Whenever they do that, they make everyone watch, Fae and humans, so they know what happens when you go against the king. It normally keeps everyone in line, but there are those few who don’t seem to care and continue to retaliate. I feel bad for them, even if they are going against the king.

“I’m just giving you a warning. You know they make everyone in Bellhollow watch, no matter if you are human or Fae.” Skylar gives me a sympathetic smile.

Thankfully, when the Fae have gotten whipped, they don’t make a sound. I hate hearing the whip hit their skin, listening to the flesh get torn off with each strike, but they don’t react. A shiver works its way through my body as I think about the last public whipping. If anyone is caught leaving, they are held in place in the front to watch it closely by one of the guards.

Before I can say anything, a guard approaches me.

“A letter to you from the prince.” He hands it to me and walks away.

I look at Skylar, confused. Why would the prince be giving me a letter and not talking to me himself?

“Do you think it could be him telling me he isn’t interested in me anymore and is interested in you?” I ask, wiggling my eyebrows at her.

She chuckles. “Open it and read it!”

I carefully open the note and slowly start to read, my shoulders slumping when I realize it isn’t that.

“Oh,” I whisper, looking up at Skylar.

“Well? What is it?” she asks.

“He’s just letting me know he’ll be gone and that I won’t have lessons for at least the next two weeks. It could be longer,” I tell her.

I was really hoping he would be confessing that he loves Skylar and wants to be with her. It was foolish of me to think that before reading it.

“Something wrong with that?” Skylar asks.

I shrug. “No but yes. I just got my hopes up that he would want you instead of me. I shouldn’t have, but I am excited I don’t have to go to those lessons.”

Looking down at my hands, I take in the dark pink marks across them. Even several weeks after my hand were struck, there are still several scars. I don’t think they are going anywhere.

“You should’ve paid better attention to them and what they were saying.” Skylar laughs. “Then you wouldn’t have gotten hurt.”