Page 138 of Kingdom of Death and Hope

“I think I want to go outside and try to walk around,” I whisper.

“I can’t stop you from going out, but if you do, just be careful. Don’t overwork yourself and be safe,” she says. “And make sure to take a guard with you. Preferably Henry if he is still here.”

“I will.” I give her a small smile.

I don’t think I would want to walk outside of the house without Henry or a different guard with me. What if Avira shows up again and wants to take me back? At least if I have Henry with me he would help me stay away from her.

I push myself up from the chair, biting the inside of my cheeks as everything screams at me to sit back down and rest. But I can’t.

I need to see Kieran.

Please tell me you are free and can meet me in the forest, I mumble through the bond.

I don’t know what I’m going to do if he says he can’t see me.

Is everything okay? Kieran asks.

I just need to see you. I don’t think I can go another day without seeing you in person, I whisper, feeling absolutely pathetic.

Whenever he was locked away I never had these feelings. Sure, I wanted to see him and wanted to get him out, but this time is different.

Maybe it’s because I know who the witch is now and everything is becoming more dangerous. She can manipulate anyone into thinking anything and I can’t. She could turn everyone against me and there is nothing I would be able to do.

Tell me when you are in the forest and I will come and see you, Kieran replies.

My shoulders drop and I look over at Mother. “I’m going to go out now. There will be less people right now. I won’t be long, I promise.”

“Take your time.” She smiles. “I know he won’t let you do anything that will put too much strain on your body. He’ll have you sitting down before you even get to say hi to him.”

I chuckle. “He isn’t like that. He cares but he won’t make me sit before I can say hi.”

Mother smirks and waves her hand in the air, dismissing me. I slowly make my way to the front door, opening it and seeing Henry leaning up against the wall.

“I thought all guards were supposed to stand tall at all times, but I’ve caught you several times leaning against the wall. Doesn’t that make people less intimidated by you?” I ask as I step outside.

The weather is slowly getting warmer with each day passing. Winter is almost over and excitement bubbles inside me. Soon I will be able to go out and walk around without worrying about getting frostbite and almost dying.

“The other guards do, but I do not,” he replies. “Everyone knows who I am and are afraid of me.”

My eyebrows raise. “I don’t think that is the case.”

“Before I was assigned to guard you, I was out punishing people for wrongdoings. Everyone knows who I am and what I look like. Why do you think no one really comes close to you now?” Henry asks.

I mull over everything he says as we walk toward the forest, incredibly slow compared to all the other times.

“You probably figured it was because the guard activity also increased and rumors about you spread?” Henry continues to walk, matching my pace. “That was part of the reason, but rumors die down after a while and they still don’t come close to you, do they? And then once they figured out who you were to the Prince, it all changed again.”

“Were you really killing people?” I ask, stopping and heaving in breaths.

At this rate we are never going to get to the forest to see Kieran. I scan around the town, my eyes stopping on where the Fae are. Several of them are watching me, worry written all over their faces.

Standing up straighter, I smile and turn to Henry. “Let’s get out of here before they say something to him.”

But I already know they are sending messages to Kieran to let him know how I look. Elias told me they like to keep Kieran informed when he is not close to the town where he can see me. Did they just randomly start doing it or did Kieran tell them to?

I push the thought to the back of my mind and start to walk once again.

“Is everything okay with you and them?” Henry asks.