The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom, #1)

by Holly Renee

I pulled her to my side, causing her hood to fall back, and when my gaze met hers, it was like looking into the depths of the ocean. The same color as the sky when the sun disappeared behind the clouds and a storm brewed on the horizon. A gorgeous storm that I could see staring back at me now.

“You’re going to regret this,” she promised, even though her voice barely carried over the sound of her ragged breaths.

Even if she was right, I didn’t leave her behind.

His inky black hair was messy, curling into his face, and matched his eyes that were still bearing down on me. They were so dark that they reminded me of a stormy night when the sky was so black that it swallowed the light of the stars.

He was beautiful, although harsh, and I hated the way he was looking at me.

I remember you from somewhere.

They were going to take me to the hidden city. The city we had heard stories about for years, but the monarch had never been able to find. The monarch whose bloodline ended with me.

But I stared at him as the moonlight danced off his jet-black hair until the lush trees gave way to a small glade.

“That information is far too classified for a rat like you.” I jolted backward as if she had slapped me. “So, I’m good enough to fight for you all but not good enough to know where we are?” “You’re not good enough to fight for us either.” As she spoke, her lips twisted into a sneer, and she shot me a withering glance as if I was the most repulsive thing she had ever seen. “You will have to prove yourself and your loyalty before you’ll ever be given that honor.”

And my mother couldn’t give him more. She had given her life trying.

“I can be grateful and still think he’s an unbearable asshole, right?”

My smile dropped instantly as I stared at her. “He’s your brother?” “The one and only.” “I’m so sorry.” She grinned so hard, matching dimples appeared on her cheeks. “For calling him an asshole?” “No.” I shook my head. “He is an asshole, but I shouldn’t have said it to you.” Wren burst out laughing and moved to my side before sliding her arm around mine. “I think you and I are going to get along just fine, Nyra. At least I’ll have someone on my side who doesn’t worship the ground Dacre walks on.”

I wondered if she would still show me that kindness if she knew who I really was. If she knew it was my father who was responsible for the death of her mother.

I could hardly recognize myself. I ran my hands down the length of my body, tracing the curves of the leather uniform that clung to my skin. I was dressed head to toe in black fighting leathers, leathers that used to instill so much fear into me, and yet, here I stood, looking as if I was one of them. But I would never

“My father’s love is this rebellion. He doesn’t mind living on his own.”

“I don’t trust her, and she trains with me until we find out more about her power.”

“She doesn’t rile me up. I just don’t like her.”

Everything about the rebellion had become uncertain since losing my mother.

moved over the long bridge, heading for the warrior quarters, and I couldn’t wait to hit my bed. I could have used a long session in the springs, but now when I thought about them, all I could think of was Nyra. And that pissed me off. She pissed me off.

“She’s not my girl.”

“She’s not yours to train,” I growled, my voice low but heavy with anger. “And she’s not here to be entertained.”

The possessiveness that rushed through me surprised me, even as I struggled to keep it in check.

“You can’t just dismiss me like that.” “I just did.” I glared at her as I tried to control my breathing, tried to control any part of me. “You’re not learning anything else from Eiran. You’re mine to train.” “I’m not yours to do anything with.” She took the smallest step back from me.

“Lies make you a traitor.”

“You keeping secrets is exactly what will get you killed.”

But memories of his hands hot on my skin as we moved through the routines made me lose my concentration.

My shirt clung to my skin, exposing the outline of my body as I perched on the edge of the spring. His eyes ran over every dip and curve and lingered for what felt like an eternity, sending shivers through my skin. The wine swirled through my veins like wildfire, clouding my judgment, but I didn’t want him to stop. He had been cruel to me, but I still didn’t want him to stop.

I was the powerless heir, but he made sure I was unmarred by his cruelty.

“Do you always have to be so difficult?” “Do you always have to be such an ass?”

Instead, his gaze lingered over my back, and he stilled. He looked like he had seen a ghost or… My scars. “Who did that to you?” His voice lacked every bit of his control.

“Who the fuck did that to you?” He enunciated every word, and fear coated every bit of me. I had never seen him this angry before. “It doesn’t matter.” “It doesn’t matter,” he repeated my words on a laugh that had no

The way his chest rose and fell with each of his inhales and exhales, the way his arm brushed against mine as he shifted. I was acutely aware of his every movement. My body was betraying me.

I let that tiny spot where we were touching fuel me, and I imagined what it would be like to let his hands roam over my body. My thighs clamped together as tightly as my eyes, and I took a deep breath. Dacre’s arm shifted again, and I could feel his body moving closer to mine. I let myself sink into his touch, the warmth of his body seeping into mine. And before I knew it, I was drifting off to sleep.

Having her in my space had been a bad idea. I didn’t trust her. Hell, I didn’t even like her, but there was something about being surrounded by the scent of her in my room, about not being able to look anywhere without seeing her curves, that drove me crazy. Even now, I found myself glancing at her full lips before tracing down her body to the deep curve at her hip.

I was half angry and half mortified when I woke up, clinging to a pillow that smelled exactly like him.

Which was why I hated myself for searching the grounds for him now. Not only had he not been in his room when I woke, he also hadn’t been at the training grounds when I showed up this morning. I had been fully prepared to ignore him and try as hard as I could while barely speaking a word in his direction, but I didn’t get the chance.

Eiran’s hand tightened around mine as if he could protect me against Dacre’s scrutiny. Dacre was wearing his leathers, but his vest was missing, and I only noted one dagger at his side. His body was relaxed, his gaze glazed over from the wine, and he was devastatingly handsome. “Eiran took over, did he?” He lifted the bottle to his mouth and took a long drink. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and the bottle clinked against his teeth before he lowered it again. I could see Wren looking back and forth between us out of my peripheral, but I didn’t dare take my eyes off him. “Does that mean you’re going to strip down in his room tonight and sleep in his bed?” Eiran went rigid beside me, and Wren sucked in a sharp breath that echoed in the silence as everyone watched the exchange. But Dacre was only looking at me.

“What’s wrong with me? Nothing at all. I was just telling the man the truth.” He lifted the wine bottle and pointed the neck toward Eiran. “Don’t you think he deserves to know you were in my bed last night since he’s clinging to you as if tonight you’ll be in his?”

“You haven’t seen me be mean. If I were mean, I’d slide my cock between your lips to keep you from talking when I tire of hearing you speak.”

His warmth was palpable despite the fact that we weren’t touching. “You can’t say things like that to me.” My voice shook, and I wasn’t sure if it was anger or lust that coated my words. “Why not?” His voice was like liquid pouring over me. “Because it pisses you off or because you’re getting wet between those perfect thighs you’re clamping together as you imagine it yourself?”

“Maybe you should visit the springs if you’re so sore. Lay off the wine.” Eiran’s voice was harder than it had been only a moment before. “I could.” Dacre nodded as he slowly rotated the bottle between his hands. “But every time I’m in the springs and I close my eyes, all I can think about is her body and the way her legs felt beneath my palms.”

you were planning to kill me, you really should have done it the first day.” I looked back over my shoulder, but I could hardly make out the others now. “I’ve become really fond of Wren.” “Just Wren?” He cocked an eyebrow at me. “You looked like you were growing awfully fond of Eiran too.” “Jealousy isn’t a good look for such a handsome guy.” He stopped in his tracks, and I slammed into him from behind. His free arm shot out to catch me as I stumbled backward. When he locked eyes with me, his touch was so gentle it sent a shiver down my spine. “Did you just call me handsome?” “I’m pretty sure I was talking about Eiran.” “I don’t think you were.” He licked his lips again, and although he seemed to be absently doing the move, it was utterly infuriating. “It’s okay if you think I’m handsome.” “I also think you’re an ass, but you’re really clinging to the handsome thing, aren’t you?”

“I kept dreaming of stripping you bare of everything else until you had nothing left to hide behind.”

“Did you wear this tonight to punish me?” “How in the world would this be punishing you?” “Because you’re not mine.”

“I’m not anyone’s.” His gaze darkened as it followed the trail of his hands, his touch becoming firmer. “Has Eiran touched you?” I stumbled over my words, barely managing to squeeze out a “What?” before an incredulous scoff escaped my lips. I shook my head in disbelief. “You can’t be serious.” “I’m completely serious.” He lifted his gaze from my abdomen to my face, and I felt a wave of rage surge through me. His eyes were taunting me with the same disdain that had been laced through every training session he’d put me through. I quickly stood and moved away from him before I did something I would regret. He called out my name, but I didn’t stop as I moved back toward the entrance of the small cave. Dacre was drunk, and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with him tonight. Not when he was touching me like that.

“What are you doing?” “Enjoying you for a moment.” He breathed me in,

“We’re not doing anything.” “Aren’t we, though?”

“Dacre.” The sound of his name was muffled against his palm, and he groaned against the back of my neck. “Gods, I love when you say my name.”

“Nyra!” Eiran called out, and Dacre chuckled softly. “I’ll let you go back to him on one condition,” Dacre breathed against my ear. “Tell me you don’t want me, and I’ll let you run off with him.”

“Are you wet, little traitor?” he whispered in my ear, and a moan passed through my lips that I couldn’t stop.