Page 201 of Kingdom of Death and Hope

Mother gives my arm a gentle squeeze.

“I ask that you keep an open mind and heart about this situation. There are a lot of things that are in the unknown right now and we are working on trying to figure everything out. There are going to be bumps along the way, and no doubt each side will get annoyed with each other, but we need to show grace. Things are changing whether we like it or not, and you can choose to accept it and live peacefully, or you can decide to fight it every step of the way and your life be miserable,” I say. “Our hope is to get everyone to live peacefully and not struggle. We want Fae and humans to be equal.”

“Who is going to rule then?” someone asks.

“Kieran, the High Lord will,” I reply.

“And she will be right by my side.” Kieran grabs my free hand and gives it a small squeeze. “She is my fated mate.”

Several people start yelling over each other and I’m not able to catch a single word they say. But they sound angry.

“Kieran,” I whisper. “Maybe you should have kept that a secret for a little longer.”

He shakes his head. “Please, everyone let me say something.”

Everyone quiets down and looks at Kieran.

“She is my mate and there is nothing anyone can do. We both are going to be ruling as equals and hope that with lots of communication we can make the Fae and humans equals. That is what we have always wanted and will always want, and with Adeline by my side through it all I hope that you can be at ease,” Kieran says. “That is all for now. If you have any questions you can form a line to the left and there will be someone who will write it down. In a couple of days we will be standing out here like this and will answer those questions.”

“Why can’t you do it now?” a man yells. “We want answers right now.”

“Because I need to get my mate back to bed so she can rest. She just woke up today and is still recovering from almost dying,” Kieran replies. “She needs me by her side at all times and I do not want to exhaust her. So if you could give us a couple of days to allow her to rest and regain more of her strength, I would really appreciate it.”

“He’s not trying to push you aside, but Adeline was really hurt,” Mother speaks up.

“What happened?” Agnes asks as she makes her way to the front of the crowd. “She looks awfully pale.”

“She was stabbed and lost a lot of blood,” Kieran says. “After three days of being asleep, she woke up this morning. I didn’t want her to come but she insisted so she could put you guys at ease.”

Agnes takes several steps forward and Elias blocks her path.

“Elias, she’s not going to hurt me,” I mumble, feeling utterly exhausted. “We’ve known each other since I was born. She helped my mother.”

Elias looks back at me for several seconds before taking a step to the side.

“Are you worried we are going to hurt her?” a man asks. “It should be us worried that you are going to hurt her.”

“I would never hurt the High Lady. I would lay down my life protecting her before I even think about harming a single hair on her head,” Elias replies.

“They are just protective of me,” I speak up. “Worried that I am going to get hurt and they don’t want that.”

“Are you really okay, my dear?” Agnes asks as she gently places her hands on my shoulders.

I nod. “I’m really okay. They are taking care of me well and making sure I get all the meals and liquids I need to survive. Kieran is really protective and makes sure that I have everything that I need.”

She looks over at Kieran before looking back at me. “Does he really love you?”

I quickly glance at Kieran and he smiles at me.

“Don’t answer that,” Agnes whispers. “I can see the way you look at each other. He’s your soulmate.”

“He is, and I wouldn’t want anyone else,” I finally reply and look at her.

“Then I am happy for you. I know that you won’t allow anything to happen to us and I can see how much he cares for you. He’s not going to do anything to upset you.” Agnes pats my shoulders. “I’ll talk to some people. Don’t worry too much about us right now. Focus on healing.”

“Thank you.”

Agnes walks back to the crowd and faces them. “Let’s go back to our homes and get to work. She needs to rest. Just like the High Lord said, if you have any questions line up to the left and tell them.”