Page 73 of Kingdom of Betrayal and Unknown

I open and close my mouth as I look at her, not knowing what to say. “I… What… Skylar?”

“I’m just telling the truth. Were you distracted when you were there?” she asks.

I was. My thoughts were on Kieran after I saw the wings pinned to the wall. While I didn’t want to get struck, I couldn’t help but wonder whether he was one of them or if the people who lost their wings are dead. Are his father’s up there?

“No, I wasn’t,” I lie. “I was trying my best, but if I even twitched, they would hit my hand. With no warning, and sometimes they wouldn’t tell me what I did wrong.”

That last part was the truth. Hilga had it out for me from the very beginning. Thankfully, I haven’t had to go back yet; but I never want to go back. Sighing, I look out at the Fae and watch them carry things back and forth from the construction site.

“I wonder what it would be like if we both could live in peace.” I speak my thoughts.

I shouldn’t, but I can’t help it. Everything about them intrigues me. I want to know what it was like before the curse. I want to know what they looked like and how they acted, if there were poor people or not.

I want to know everything.

Skylar nods. “Sure, but that is never going to happen and you know that.”

“I know,” I sadly say.

“They are dying creatures if you really think about it. They don’t have many women anymore, so they can’t possibly have any kids,” Skylar points out.

“What happened to all the women? I haven’t heard any stories about them.” I turn toward her.

The hairs on my arms stand up as I feel his eyes on me. Kieran. Clenching my jaw, I keep my focus on Skylar. I don’t want to give Skylar any idea what’s going on.

“There aren’t any stories that I know. People have speculated, but I don’t think anyone really knows apart from the people who were alive when the cursed was placed. Those are all Fae and won’t be telling us anything, so don’t think too hard about it.” Skylar shakes her head. “And even if someone could talk to the Fae about it, there is no way to tell if they are telling you the truth. They can’t be trusted, not a single one of them.”

My heart breaks at her words. She is right, though. We have no way of knowing whether they are telling us the truth or not, so I shouldn’t listen to Kieran and trust him. But why would he give me his mother’s ring? She’s dead, and he wouldn’t want to part from that unless I really were important to him.

Tugging in my stomach catches me off guard, and I wrap my arm around myself, trying to conceal my flinch.

“Are you okay?” Skylar asks.

“Yeah, I’m fine. I just want to hide my hand so people don’t keep looking at it,” I lie.

Another tugging sensation courses through me, and I know it’s Kieran. Looking up, I scan the Fae and find him, a smirk across his face.

I look at Skylar briefly before turning back to Kieran, but he’s gone. Disappointment fills me but I know he did it on purpose.

“I think I’m going to go back home. My parents still need some help.” I stand up.

“If you need any help, let me know. I’ve got some free time.” Skylar hugs me.

“I will. We’ll definitely need to meet up again, and soon. I’ve got at least two weeks where I don’t have to meet for lessons so I can take that time to hang out with you.” I smile before turning to walk away.

CHAPTER 19

“When do you think you’ll have the baby?” I ask as I finish up the last of my chores.

“It could be today or it could be another week. We just need to be prepared,” Mother replies. “The midwife is on standby. No one else is having a baby right now, so when the time comes, one of you will fetch her and she’ll come right away.”

And for that, I am grateful. I don’t think I could handle helping my mother birth my sibling. It’s a line that I would rather not cross if I didn’t have to.

“So I can still go out on walks?” My words are laced with hope.

I’ve been waking up a little earlier every single day to get all my chores done. I need my time outside before she has the baby. I may also want to see Kieran one last time before my life gets turned upside down.

A lot of things have changed since I got the note from the prince four days ago. The presence of guards has diminished, but no one is complaining. I think people are actually going outside more, even though it’s still the depths of winter. There is something peaceful about the guards not being around as much.