Chapter 18
“Kieran,” I say, breathless. “What are you doing here so close to the edge of the forest?”
“I heard you talking and I knew you were in pain. I decided to carry you the rest of the way,” he says as he starts walking further into the forest.
“I’ll see you soon,” Henry says, raising his voice as he walks in the opposite direction.
“You didn’t have to risk yourself to come and get me,” I mumble. “I was about to start walking again.”
“I didn’t want you to push yourself too much. You still have the walk back and I won’t be able to help you.”
“But—”
“No more. I have done what I have and there is no going back. I would do it over and over again if it meant giving you a little reprieve from the pain.”
Tears blur my vision and I push my face into his chest, taking in his scent.
“The doctor is here to look at your thigh,” Kieran says as he puts me down on the ground.
“Hello, Adeline. I’m Hayden, one of the many doctors of the Fae. I heard you have a nasty cut on your thigh that is giving you problems. Can I take a look at it?” he asks.
Nodding, I pull my dress up so they can see the bandage. “My mother didn’t want my dress to rub up against it and make it worse.”
“That is very smart of her to do. I have brought a new one to wrap it up with after I take a look at it. Do you want me to take off the bandage or do you want to do it?” He looks up at me, a small smile on his face.
“You.” I gulp. “I can’t look at it.”
“You let me know if it hurts at all,” the doctor tells me. “I will be as gentle as possible.”
I grab Kieran’s hand, squeezing it tightly as the doctor starts taking it off. I look at our conjoined hands, giving all my attention to it.
The healer hums.
“Is it okay?” I ask. “Am I going to lose my leg?”
“You won’t lose your leg, but if we don’t get this under control it may eventually lead to it,” the doctor discloses. “I want you to take extremely good care of it from now on. Clean it twice a day and make sure that you are not walking too much on your leg.”
“Okay,” I whisper.
“You are going to be just fine though. We are going to get you all healed up and brand new, like it never happened.” The doctor gently pats my leg.
“Can you do something similar to my memories as well?” I joke. “Heal it and make all the bad memories go away?”
Tears pool in my eyes and I quickly close them. I just couldn’t keep my mouth shut.
“I’m okay,” I quickly say but my voice is full, a key indicator that I’m about to lose it all and break down.
“Oh, Sweets,” Kieran says gently, wrapping his arms around my upper body. “Everything is going to be okay.”
I bury my face into his chest and grip onto his shirt.
“Sadly I don’t have anything for the memories, but soon they will be distant and you won’t think about them.
You are so strong for what you went through,” the doctor says.
“And I’m sorry for saying that it would be brand new like it never happened.
I shouldn’t have said something like that with what you went through. ”
“It’s okay,” I mumble into Kieran’s shirt.
Silence fills around us as the doctor starts to clean my cut. Kieran continues to whisper sweet nothings into my ear every time I wince from the pain.
“All done with the cleaning,” Hayden announces. “It’s looking a lot better than before.”
I turn my head to look at it, but Kieran keeps my head in place.
“Don’t look at it,” he whispers. “Don’t force yourself to look at it.”
Nodding, I bury my face into his shirt again.
“It won’t be full proof, but Kieran is going to put some of his saliva in this bowl with some of the other herbs and salve and we are going to put it back on your cut to help it heal,” the doctor explains.
Right. I completely forgot that somehow Kieran can heal me. I pull away from him and look at the doctor.
Disgust shows on my face. No matter how many times they mention mates can heal each other with their saliva, it will always gross me out.
The doctor chuckles. “Everyone thinks it’s a little weird, but it works and we are going to do it.”
“How did you guys even find out it’s a thing?” I can’t help but ask.
Kieran sits right next to me after he put some of his saliva in the bowl. He pulls my upper half into him so I can’t look at my leg.
“A woman got hurt a long time ago and her mate felt so bad and he wanted her to stop being in pain. They were both scared and worried about each other and the man licked the wound, trying to stop it from bleeding and running onto her clothes and that’s how they found out,” Kieran explains.
“Oh,” I mumble.
“Thought it was going to be something weird?” he asks. “The woman was being hunted and he happened to save her. Sadly she was hurt and he helped her.”
“Wait, why was she being hunted?” I ask, and hiss as the healer starts applying the remedy to my thigh.
“Everything is okay,” Kieran coos at me. “Just focus on me, the doctor is almost finished.”
“Why was she being hunted?” I press.
Kieran chuckles. “She stole some food from a vendor and they were chasing after her. An arrow shot through her arm,” Kieran says.
“Wh-what?” I look up at him in disbelief. “They shot her with an arrow because she stole some food?”
He nods. “They did. They were money hungry and didn’t follow the rules of the law. Don’t worry, they were punished for shooting her with an arrow and hurting her. She had to pay for what she stole.”
“Her mate paid for it,” the doctor interrupts.
“It was a huge misunderstanding. They thought she was stealing and she wasn’t.
She thought her mate was close by to pay and he wasn’t, so when she grabbed the food and took a bite out of it, the owners demanded payment and she tried to explain but they wouldn’t allow her.
That’s when she looked around and ran and everything else happened. ”
“Wow,” I whisper. “Did she heal okay?”
“She did and they are still alive to this day,” Kieran says. “Maybe when the curse is broken you can meet them. I have no doubt they would like to meet you.”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I pull away from Kieran.
“Can you hold your thigh up for me?” Hayden asks. “I’m going to bandage it up for you.”
As I pull up my leg, I clench my hands, stopping myself from yelling out in pain.
“Everyone is excited to meet you. Several of them have already begged the High Lord to allow them to come with him whenever he meets with you.” The doctor looks up at me.
“I don’t want to disappoint them so I think it would be better if we don’t meet any new people,” I say, looking back at Kieran.
Kieran gives me a soft smile. “You are not going to disappoint them. They have watched you in town when you thought they weren’t looking. They have heard what you have done for them and for me. They are honored to have you as their High Lady.”
“And that’s what worries me,” I point out.
“You won’t meet all of them at once. They want to make sure that you are comfortable and you won’t disappoint them,” Hayden says as he ties off the wrap. “Is it too tight?”
I shake my head. “I can feel it but it’s not cutting off circulation.”
Hayden stands up. “I am all done here then. It was a pleasure meeting you, Adeline, and I hope we can meet again under better circumstances. Until then, if you have any questions about your thigh, please do not hesitate to ask your mate and he will ask me.”
“Thank you.”
Hayden leaves and I look down at my leg. He wrapped it beautifully and tied a small knot, tucking it in on the side.
“He wasn’t here long. How long has he been a doctor?” I ask, trying to fill the silence.
Kieran moves so he’s kneeling in front of me. “He was a doctor before I was born and had been for a while. He’s one of the few who has been around the longest.”
“He doesn’t look that old,” I mumble to myself. “Will I be like that or am I going to die young?”
“When the curse is broken, we will be able to help you transform part of your soul and body so it will age like the Fae,” Kieran explains.
“I will become Fae?” My eyes widen.
He chuckles and shakes his head. “You won’t become Fae. But your body will change and you will live a long life with me.”
“And it can only happen with mates and not any other person?” I ask, immediately thinking about my mother and younger brother.
“It can only happen through mates,” he says sadly. “It is tough when you’re human. You do have to watch friends and family members die, but you will also make so many new friends and I will make sure to make you happy every single day.”
“I—” I start, but I close my mouth quickly.
I’ve already lost one parent and I know with each passing year my mother could go as well, but to watch my younger brother—twenty-five years younger than me—die is going to be hard. He should outlive me.
“Before I forget.” Kieran stands up and pulls something out of his pocket.
“I forgot to bring the lemons and sugar.” I pout.
“Next time.” Kieran smiles.
“But I wanted them the next time I saw you,” I mumble, and look down at my hands.
Kieran pulls my face up so we are looking at each other.
“It just gives you another reason to see me sooner.” He wiggles his eyebrows. “Here are the herbs I was talking about before,” Kieran says as he hands me a bag. “Just put a little in some tea and let it steep for a while. Then when you’re ready to go to bed, drink some and go lay in bed.”
I look at the bag in my hands, running my thumbs across it before looking back up at Kieran. “What if it doesn’t work?”
What if nothing can help me sleep any better than he can?
He tilts his head to the side. “If it doesn’t work?”
I nod.
“I don’t think anyone has ever asked that. They normally ask what they should do if it works too well,” he hums. “But if it doesn’t work then increase how much you put in and see if that works.”
“What if no matter how much I put in it doesn’t work?” I whisper.
Do I want it to work or am I secretly hoping it doesn’t?
Even though I’m scared out of my mind to be asleep for that long without any protection, I do know that I need sleep or like Kieran said, I may pass out in the worst time possible and be in even more danger.
Kieran cups my face with his hands. “Don’t think like that.
It’s going to work. Try it in the morning so that you have Henry outside your house and your mother is awake.
If it works then take it again at night to help you sleep.
But I don’t want you sleeping during the day and staying awake at night. It’s not good for your health.”
“What if that’s the only way I can sleep?” I can’t help but ask.
I really need to stop asking questions, but I can’t help it. They are just coming out of my mouth before I can stop them.
Whenever I’m worried about something and I’m near Kieran they just come tumbling out, almost like they are begging Kieran to hear them and help me calm down.
“Then we will try something else that can help you sleep during the night. I just want you to try it once in the day so you know how it feels before you try it at night,” Kieran says. “But you are going to overcome this and become stronger. I believe in you.”
“If only you could sneak into the house at night,” I mumble. “I can easily fall asleep next to you. My whole body just relaxes, like it knows you will take care of everything and I don’t have to worry about anything.”
Now I just want to feel like that every single day, all day.
Kieran kisses my forehead. “And I’m glad your body and mind know that because it’s true. When you are with me you don’t need to worry about anything or be on alert.”