Chapter 31
Nerves run through my body as my mother and I stand in front of the main doors. Are we really going to go outside and talk to everyone? I don’t know if I can do this.
Everyone will be looking at us, asking questions, and it may get ugly.
No.
I can’t think like that. They know me and my mother. They have known us our whole lives and we have never done anything wrong.
“Everything is going to be okay,” Mother says. “I’m right here. Let me do all the talking.”
“No,” I whisper.
“Adeline, let me. I have known them for longer and they trust me. We’ve all helped each other out in life so let me do the talking,” she says. “If they ask you a question then you can answer it.”
I look over my shoulder at Kieran and he nods.
Do as she says, he says through the bond.
“If you need to sit down you just let me know and we’ll get you a chair.” Mother pats me on the arm. “The first thing I’m going to explain is that you were hurt and lost a lot of blood so they know that you aren’t well.”
“You’re going to tell them about the witch?” I ask. “How is everyone going to react to that?”
Everyone thinks Avira is still part of our family.
“Everyone has always known there was a witch among us. We knew that she placed a curse on the Fae but no one ever knew who,” she explains. “I’m not going to say who the witch is, not until we can get whatever spell she placed on the people away.”
Nodding, I grab her hand and give it a little squeeze.
“Ready?” Elias asks as he stands at the door.
“Wait,” I quickly say and look back at Kieran. “What happened to Henry? Where is he?”
The last time I saw him was when we came into the palace and Avira showed up.
“Is he okay?” I ask when Kieran doesn’t say anything.
“He was found unconscious when we got here. He has a concussion, and a broken leg,” Elias says before Kieran can respond.
“He is being treated by one of the Fae doctors and is looking like he will get better in a month or so. He can’t put any weight on his leg but Zahra is taking care of him,” Kieran explains.
“The first thing he asked about when he woke up was where you were,” Elias chuckles. “Oh, Zahra was mad.”
“Does she hate me?” I ask.
Kieran shakes his head. “No, she doesn’t.”
That is the last thing I want to happen. There is no way I am trying to steal her man.
I already have mine.
“Does she blame me for what happened to him?” I whisper.
Kieran walks over to me and cups my face with his hands. “She is not mad at you and she does not blame you for what happened. She knows Avira is at fault and that is who she blames.”
Nodding, I take a deep breath.
“High Lord, it’s time to go now,” Elias interrupts. “The longer we stay in here, the more people are going to wonder if you are coaching them on what to say.”
Will they actually think that?
Kieran lets go of my face and takes several steps back.
“Everything is going to be okay,” Mother whispers as Elias opens the front door.
Blinding light from the sun shines through and I hold my hand up to cover my eyes. Has the sun somehow gotten brighter since the curse has been lifted?
I push that thought to the back of my mind as we slowly make our way out of the palace and in front of hundreds of people.
“Hello, everyone!” Mother yells.
“Are you okay?” someone screams. “If they are holding you hostage, just blink twice and we’ll come and get you.”
My grip on Mother’s arm tightens at the realization of them being serious. Even if we somehow were being held captive, they wouldn’t be able to do anything about it. The Fae have gotten their powers back and us humans are no match for them.
Take a deep breath, Kieran reminds me.
I take several breaths as I try to calm myself down. Everything is going to be okay. Mother is going to get them to understand that we aren’t being held hostage and they are going to slowly start to realize the Fae aren’t a threat.
“Adeline and I are perfectly fine. She was injured by the witch and has been recovering the past couple of days,” Mother explains. “We are safe with the Fae and they are not going to harm any of you.”
“That’s not true! They broke the curse so they could rule over us again!” a man yells.
My whole body locks up. They weren’t the ones to break the curse.
“Have they harmed you yet?” I find myself asking.
Everyone goes quiet as their eyes fall on me. I suck in a breath as nerves run through me.
“Have they?” I ask again. “Since the curse was broken, have they harmed you?”
No one dares to speak.
“They haven’t because they don’t want to harm you,” I continue. I swallow, trying to coat my dry throat.
Sweets, Kieran’s soft voice says through the bond. Don’t push yourself.
But I can’t just not do anything. They are spewing things that aren’t true.
“What do you know about this?” another person asks.
“Because for the past year, I’ve fallen in love with a Fae.
They don’t want to harm us and back before the curse was placed they never wanted to harm us.
They want us to be equals and to live a peaceful and happy life.
They want everyone to thrive and not live wondering when their next meal is going to be,” I say right before I go into a coughing fit.
My whole body protests and my grip on my mother’s arms tightens as my legs threaten to give out.
Kieran comes over to me, a glass of water in hand, and helps me take several sips of water.
“Don’t push yourself,” he says. “It’s going to take a while for them to believe anything we say. We have to show them.”
“But—”
“No buts. I don’t want you to exhaust yourself with this right now. You need to focus on getting better first.” He gives me a firm look.
Sighing, I nod and turn back to the people.
“I know it’s going to take a while for you to understand that they don’t want to harm you and I’m willing to be patient. I just ask one thing,” I say.
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.”
Mother lets go of my arm. “I’m going to go check on baby James.”
I turn to Kieran and rest my head on his chest, taking in a deep breath and slowly letting it out.
“Are you okay?” he asks.
“I’m tired,” I mumble.
Kieran picks me up and holds me in his arms. “Then let’s get you back in bed.”