Page 119 of Kingdom of Death and Hope

I am your mate but our people are counting on you to figure out how to break the curse!

And they are counting on me to bring my mate back alive. Their future High Lady!

I take a deep breath and close my eyes, trying to calm myself down. Right now is not the time to get into a disagreement.

I know you’re worried about me. I’m worried about me, but I need you to figure out how to break the curse so that you can as soon as possible. If I’m still in here by the time you figure it out then you can come and rescue me without there being any bad consequences, I try to reason with him.

Kieran stays silent and worry forms inside. Did I say something wrong, or were we disconnected somehow?

If you were in my place, you would do absolutely everything you could to get me out of the dungeon. You have done it before when we were caught in the forest earlier this year, Kieran says. And yet you expect me to do nothing when it comes to you? How does that make any sense?

I look up at the ceiling and take several seconds to think about everything he has said.

Yes, I did do everything in my power to make sure you didn’t get killed.

And you made sure even after I got separated from my people, that I was placed with them again. You did it almost every single day, he reminds me.

But I had people stop me from doing what I actually wanted to do. I had guards watching over me at all times so I couldn’t do what I really wanted to do, which was go to you. Find you and see if you were okay with my own eyes. I had to rely on other people to make sure that you were okay and to relay messages about other things, I tell him.

But you are telling me to only focus on figuring out how to break the curse and not you.

I sigh.

He does have a point there. I just don’t know if he will have enough strength to focus on me and the book if something happens to me. Will he break and go after the royal family before they have the key on how to break the curse and all the Fae end up dying?

I can’t allow that to happen.

I’m worried that you are going to come and try to find me and everything will go down the drain when they catch you. I don’t want you getting caught and then no one knowing what to do because both of us are locked up or dead. I want you to think about everyone and not just me, I whisper.

Anger. Sadness. Annoyance.

All these emotions flow through me and I know that they are Kieran’s feelings.

I’m sorry. My voice breaks.

I understand what you’re saying but you’re my mate. You’re the person I have spent my whole life looking for and right now I do want to go to you and make sure that you are safe. Yes I do understand that I have an obligation to my people, and to focus on finding out how to break the curse, but I don’t want to. I want to focus on you.

Tears pool in my eyes and I quickly close them.

I now understand what my father talked about when he mentioned my future mate and how difficult it was going to be for me. It’s taking everything in me not to come right now but I am strong enough. I just need you not to block me out and answer me when I talk to you, or else I will break every rule and forget about the people so I can come and save you. His voice is raw with every single emotion.

I will try. Avira has been talking to me so I don’t know if I will be able to respond right away if I’m trying to pay attention to what she’s saying, I reply, completely ignoring him asking me not to block him out.

He sighs. I understand.

Silence fills the bond and I finally open my eyes. The light flickers and I flinch.

Henry said he is going to try and meet up with you soon to give you some food and figure out how to get you out of there, but we have to be careful. He can’t let on that he knows who the witch is or she’s going to change her identity and we are back at square one, Kieran tells me.

“I don’t remember the last time I ate,” I mumble to myself.

That is why he’s coming to give you food. The witch no doubt is going to try and starve you so that you will do anything for food, but we aren’t going to let that happen.

What if there is a spell placed around me that alerts her if anyone comes? I don’t want Henry to get hurt because of me.

Kieran hums.

Tell him not to come. I’ll try my hardest to not break, I say, but I sound anything but confident.