Chapter 13
“Do you think she’ll come back to talk to me?” I mutter, mostly talking to myself.
“She will until you give her the information she wants,” Mother replies as she sets down a hot cup of tea in front of me.
I wrap my hands around the cup, letting the warmth seep into my skin. It’s been two days since I last saw Avira and I can’t shake off the feeling that something bad is going to happen soon… something absolutely horrible.
“You are never alone now, so you don’t need to worry about her doing something to you,” she says.
“Do you actually believe me when I tell you that she is the witch?” I whisper.
Peeping ears. There is always someone walking by the house who could hear what we say in this house and tell anyone, getting us in trouble.
Mother nods. “In the beginning I didn’t, but after I gave it some thought there were things that didn’t add up.
I didn’t have the same connection with her that I do with you.
While I cared for her and remembered the pain of giving birth, there was nothing else, but I didn’t question it.
Not until you came back all battered and bruised. ”
Relief floods through me. I thought she was just putting up a facade. I’ve told her so much in the past couple of months and she has believed me.
How are you feeling? Kieran asks.
Uneasy, I reply honestly.
It’s like waiting for a ticking time bomb and I have no idea when it’s going to go off. Will I ever know?
Because of the witch and not knowing anything?
Yes, I whisper.
I wake up every morning, terrified that she is going to come and take me.
I go to bed every night, wondering if she’ll come in the dead of night and kill all of us.
I know too much… and she knows that.
Why is she keeping me alive?
Why can’t she track the book herself?
Everything is going to be okay. As long as you are always with someone and she doesn’t become desperate then she won’t do anything in public, Kieran explains.
She could become desperate at any moment, though.
She could, but I don’t think she will. She has to play the long game, and her becoming desperate so soon won’t do her any good. If she kills you then she will never find the book.
Why can’t she track the book? Isn’t she powerful?
“Prince Archie is outside,” Mother says, tapping the table to get my attention.
My eyes widen as I turn to look out the window. He’s talking to Henry. What could he possibly want?
“Just sit and drink your tea. I will go see what he wants.” Mother stands up and walks to the door.
Should I go into my room and pretend that I’m sleeping so he doesn’t come and talk to me? No. Mother told me to sit, and if she comes in with him and I’m not here she could get into trouble.
I mindlessly stir the tea, my mind far away from everything.
She can’t track the book because—
Prince Archie is here, I whisper, panicked.
Kieran goes silent right as the door opens, Mother and the prince walking in.
“Prince Archie was so kind to come and check on you,” Mother says. “Would you like some tea?”
I move to stand up but Prince Archie lifts his hand.
“You do not need to get up. I want you to rest.” Prince Archie sits across from me. “No thank you to the tea.”
Mother stands at the end of the table, all of us deadly silent… an awkward silence.
“Can I do something for you?” I ask politely.
“I wanted to see how you were healing. It looks like the bruises and cuts on your face are healing up nicely. How about everything else?” he inquires, placing his folded hands on the table.
“I am still extremely weak. I find it difficult to stand or doing anything for a long period of time. I have not been sleeping well either and I do not have an appetite,” I reply honestly.
Always being on edge has made sleep and eating become things of the past. I’m lucky if I can get a couple hours of sleep each night.
I wonder if Kieran knows I’m having trouble sleeping.
“Is there anything I can do to help you?” Prince Archie asks. “I have increased the guards in town to make sure that you are safe at all times. Henry is here to keep you safe.”
“I don’t want to see her ever again,” I whisper.
“I don’t know if I can keep you from seeing each other, but I can try,” Prince Archie replies.
Sighing, I look down at my cup of tea. “I don’t want to have to talk to her again. It puts too much stress on me and I’m not getting any better.”
Memories resurface every time I get a glimpse of her. Terror runs through my body for days on end.
I’m in a constant state of fear.
“I can do that. I will tell my father what happened and let him know that she will not be able to talk to you again. If she has anything to say then she will have to go through several people so you don’t have to talk to her,” Prince Archie finally says.
My eyebrows bunch together as relief floods through me. Is Prince Archie changing a little? “Why are you being so kind to me?”
Prince Archie turns to my mother. “You should go check on your newborn.”
Mother and I make eye contact.
“It’s okay, Mother,” I say.
She nods and heads to her room, leaving us alone.
“Do not get me wrong, Adeline. I am still the same as I was before. Once we are married you will not be able to go out to the forest but once every other week. You will be in the palace, and any time I want you, you will be available,” he says, his voice hard.
“I am being kind to you right now because I want you to be healthy by the time we get married. I am pushing the wedding back another year so you can heal fully and not have nightmares. That also means that in a year you will need to get over the fact that your sister did that to you.”
I open and close my mouth, shocked at what he says.
I can’t believe I thought he had changed. He is still the same evil prince he was before.
Prince Archie stands up. “I will be back in a month to see how you’re healing. I will also be bringing some cream for you to put on your scars, so when the wedding comes your skin is blemish free.”
He leaves before I can say anything.
“I can’t believe him,” Mother grumbles as she walks into the kitchen. “He thinks he can just say and do anything and there will be no consequences. Well, you know what? I can’t wait until the Fae break the curse and your mate goes after him. I can’t wait until he gets what he deserves.”
“You and me both,” I say.
“Now, gently release the cup from your death grip and go take a little walk.” Mother gives me a pointed look.
“I don’t know if I have enough strength to walk around right now,” I mumble. “Prince Archie took a lot out of me. I just want to lie down and sleep.”
But I know even if I do that, sleep won’t actually come.
“I think you should go on a walk to the forest. It will calm you down,” Mother says. “He will.”
Are you free? I find myself asking Kieran after hearing my mother’s words.
Yes, he replies. Come.
“I guess I’m going out,” I mumble, and push myself off the chair.
My right leg in particular has been giving me trouble. The man who beat me several times loved to give his attention to my right leg, almost like he wanted me to constantly think about him and Avira after.
I grab my jacket and put it on as I walk out the door. Even though it’s warming up, my body hasn’t been able to regulate its temperature.
“Going on a walk to clear your head?” Henry asks, pushing off the wall.
Dipping my head, I set out for the forest, taking my sweet time. I try my hardest to keep my walk normal, clenching my teeth as it gets difficult and tears spring in my eyes.
“Don’t,” Henry scolds.
“What?” I look at him, not caring if he can see my tears.
Before I got taken I would have wiped them away and pretended like nothing had happened but now… now I don’t care. I don’t have the energy to care about it.
“Don’t try to force your walk to look normal,” he says. “I saw you walk with a limp the other day when you were meeting Avira and you shouldn’t force yourself to walk normally. It is only going to make it worse, and you need to rest.”
“Walking with a limp will show people that I’m still hurt. I’m going to get into a bad habit of walking with a limp if I continue,” I reply. “Then it will be a hard habit to break, and everyone, including myself, will remember what happened to me.”
Henry stays silent as we walk into the forest, and before we know it, we’re in the clearing where I normally meet Kieran.
“We really need to change the location,” I say, out of breath. “But I don’t think I can walk any further than this right now. Not without taking another break or exhausting myself too much.”
But even when we changed locations regularly, we still got caught and that’s how this all started.
But without getting caught I would never have been able to roam around the castle. Without the deal I made, I would have never had the chance to see the hallway where the witch stays and get the book. We wouldn’t be where we are right now, one step closer to figuring out how to break the curse.
“We will change the location when you are healed more,” Henry says. “There are Fae walking around right now to make sure that no one is spying on you. And with me here, there shouldn’t be anyone keeping tabs on you.”
“Unless Avira tells someone to do it,” I mumble, chills running down my spine at the thought.
What if she possesses someone and makes them get close to me? What if they are spying on me and I have no idea because they are still acting the same?
“The Fae will be able to tell if any magic has been used,” Henry reminds me. “Don’t worry too much about it. We are keeping you safe.”
“You may go see Zahra,” Kieran says as he walks into the clearing. “Thank you for bringing her here safely.”
Henry bows before heading deeper into the forest. How did he meet his mate? Did it take a long time for them to get to know and trust each other? Was Henry accepting of having a Fae mate since he is a guard for the king?
So many questions run through my head as he disappears behind trees, giving myself a pounding headache.
“Sit. I’ll rub your temples and shoulders to help relieve some of the stress,” Kieran instructs me.
Sitting down, I wince as Kieran gently rubs my temple, making it shoot sharp pain across my skull.
“Tell me if it’s too much,” he says.
“Okay.”
“What did the prince want?” he asks.
I thought I could get away with not talking about the prince and how he acted. But I know Kieran wants to be in the know and make sure that I’m okay.
“He wanted to know how I was doing. He pushed the wedding back until next spring to give me time to heal and get used to the fact that my sister did something unthinkable to me.” I chuckle at the end. “If only he knew she wasn’t my sister, but the witch.”
“Anything else? Your mood got worse and you were scared for a brief second.” His hands move to my shoulders, slowly working on releasing the tension there.
“He is still the same person as before. Wicked and not kind at all. He wants to do everything he said before, and said when we get married that he is only going to let me out of the palace to walk in the forest once every other week.” Anger courses through me.
“When we get married and the curse is broken, you can go out as many times as you want to walk around the forest,” Kieran tells me.
“You won’t be confined to just being in the house.
You can talk to whoever you want and can stay out as long as you want.
But you will have a guard with you just in case.
Not to keep tabs on you, but to make sure that you’re safe and if you get hurt or need anything, they can help you. ”
“I don’t mind having a guard. As long as they aren’t reporting every single detail about what I do in a day,” I say as I turn my head and look at him.
“You do not have to worry about that. I trust you,” he says.
Closing my eyes, my shoulders drop as Kieran continues to rub my shoulders.
“You haven’t been sleeping well, have you?” Kieran finally asks.
“Can you feel that through the bond?”
He chuckles. “Not that you’re awake, but I can feel you being scared in the middle of the night and I figure it’s from a nightmare. And you have dark circles under your eyes.”
“Perfect,” I mumble. “I’ve been avoiding looking at myself in the mirror. I didn’t think I looked that bad.”
“You’re still beautiful, but people can tell that you’re going through something. It’s okay,” he says as he goes back to massaging my head. “It’s going to get better. You’re going to get through this and overcome the nightmares.”
“I think the only way I’m going to start getting better is if she is dead,” I say, my voice trembling slightly.
“And soon she will be dead.”
I turn my head and look at him. “I want to see her die.”
“Sweets,” he says. “I don’t want you to have nightmares from seeing her die.”
“I don’t—” I take a deep breath, trying to calm myself.
“I don’t think I will be able to move on and not be afraid if I don’t see her die in front of my own eyes.
I trust you, but my mind is at war with itself right now, and I’m worried if I don’t see it then I will never get over it and will always look over my shoulder wondering if she is alive and coming after me. ”
Avira has sunk her claws deep into me and I know I will be carrying this wound the rest of my life… even if it gets a little easier with each passing day. I’m never going to forget what she did to me.
“When the time comes we will revisit the idea.” He kisses the side of my head.
I lean back and relax in his embrace. My body grows heavy as we sit in silence, sleep begging to pull me under and give my body the rest it needs.
“It’s time to go,” Henry interrupts.
Groaning, I barely have the strength to crack an eye open. “Just a couple more minutes so I can get a little nap in?”
Henry shakes his head. “We have already been out here long enough and we do not want to draw suspicion on us when the prince just visited you. Come on, let’s go.”