The Hunted Heir (The Veiled Kingdom, #2)

by Holly Renee

I had never wanted someone’s blood on my hands in the way that I craved his. Because I had never wanted to protect someone as badly as I wanted to protect her.

My whole life had been molded for what was to come once we won, yet the only thought that continued to run through my head was, Why didn't I go with her?

“What’s the plan?” I asked, trying to sound as if I wasn’t ready to burn this entire damn kingdom to the ground before I’d let him touch her.

He was the son of the rebellion, and I was the daughter of everything they fought against. We were born and bred to be enemies, to never trust the other.

Power-hungry men who lost sight of what should have been important to them.

“Do all marriages have this connection of magic?” “No.” Eiran shook his head. “It’s rare. My parents were true mates.” Mates.

Birthed to be enemies. But in another world, another time, we could have been different. We could have been more. We could have been Dacre and Verena. Instead of the rebel and the heir.

They may not have thought she was mine to protect anymore, but they were fucking wrong. She was mine. Even if she was running, she was still mine.

Because I would do whatever it took to get her back. Even if she didn’t want to be, she was mine.

He was here, and I felt at peace and on fire all at once.

"I'll never trust you again." “Good.” I nodded. “Don’t trust anyone, Verena.”

“I never want to hear his name leave your lips,” he seethed. “He won't touch you.” “Because you said so?” My voice trembled with both anger and uncertainty. “Because you are mine,” he declared, his words cutting through me like a knife. I stood there speechless, taken aback by the possessiveness in his voice. But beneath it all, there was a hint of vulnerability that I had never seen before.

The mere thought of anyone laying a hand on her made me want to slaughter every soldier in the king’s army. The very idea of harm coming to her filled me with a fierce desire for vengeance, and I couldn’t fathom sparing those in the rebellion who would dare lay a finger on her either. The rebellion was my home, they were my people, but my rage knew no bounds when it came to her.

It was as if I was consumed by her, every breath proving to me that she was alive. The air she breathed sustained me.

Verena was mine. She was mine. I didn’t care whether she knew it or not.

“I regret so many things, Verena, but leaving this world for you won’t be one of them.”

Nothing would make me regret her.

“Haunted by thoughts of what I should have done, of the way I should have worshipped you.”

“I should have fallen to my knees for you as I will do now.”

“Like salt in the sea, you have become ingrained in every part of me, and I have been drowning in my regrets.”

“Your entire existence has been dedicated to preparing for your place as ruler of our kingdom, yet you have never been revered. It is a privilege I am unworthy of, but I would surrender every breath to worship you if only you would grant me the honor.”

“I am devoted to you.” His intense gaze locked with mine. “Please let me fall to my knees before you and prove my devotion with my tongue against your skin.”

“Show me, Verena,” he commanded, with a hint of desperation in his voice. “Fuck my mouth and show me how badly you want me to be the only one who worships at your feet.”

I can’t go another moment without tasting your pleasure and knowing that it belongs to no one but me.”

“Mine,” he whispered hoarsely, that one simple word a promise.

“I am yours, Verena,” he growled against my mouth. “In this kingdom and the next, wherever the tides take you, I am yours.”

“The gods made you for me. Carved you from the stars themselves until I could no longer bear to gaze up at the sky without longing for you.”