The Hunted Heir (The Veiled Kingdom, #2)

by Holly Renee

"You were born to lead, yet you fell to your knees for her like a coward and let her slip through your fingers."

But I didn’t regret it.

Regret flooded my veins like poison, but not for letting her go. I couldn’t force myself to regret that.

It didn’t matter that Verena had lied to her as well. She was her friend.

I couldn’t let myself think about a single one of them laying a finger on her because if they fucking hurt her… I cracked my neck in an attempt to calm myself down.

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.

I would find her, but it wouldn’t be for the benefit of him, or this rebellion.

With every thought of her, the loyalty that had become so ingrained in who I was slipped further from my grip.

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?

“I don’t want you to find her.” She moved closer to me, and I felt Kai shift at my side. “I don’t want you or our father anywhere near her.” “Don’t lump me with him.”

him. “I am nothing like him.” “Then you find

“You find her and don’t you dare bring her back here, Dacre.”

“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.

“No, but I know her better than that,” I replied, meeting his gaze head-on. “She’s not stupid. She knows the palace is where we’d be looking for her.”

I shouldn’t have been lying for her. I shouldn’t have cared about where she was at all, but I fucking did.

I was going to find her, but I wouldn’t be bringing her back here.

He would be looking for me.

The mark that had led me to him.

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.

Dacre could be one of those men too, but a flicker of doubt told me that even though I wanted to hate him, he was nothing like them.

Occasionally, we’d catch a glimpse of what looked like faint footprints in the soft soil, but they’d disappear as if the forest itself was trying to conceal her.

And I felt possessed with the urge to trace each one and find out her truths.

If he wanted Verena, then they would do everything within their power to get her, and I would do everything within my power to stop them.

Of course, they would take her back to the palace, but it was what her father would do with her once they got her there that worried me.

She was a traitor, but who was it that she was truly betraying?

“Because I don’t want you to use a girl who’s done nothing wrong?”

Verena had become a weapon that effortlessly shredded the last remnants of my loyalty.

And I had believed her. Part of me still did.

She had been my best friend once upon a time, my only friend, and now, she was gone.

I had trusted him when I couldn’t trust anyone else, and I selfishly wished he were here with me now. I pressed my thumb against the mark he had given me, the fake mark that he believed would help me escape.

“Are we to be judged by the sins of our fathers? I promise you, Princess, you will lose.” “Don’t call me that,” I snapped,

“You don’t even know me.” He shook his head, his jaw clenching as he struggled to contain his emotions. “You’ve never given me a chance to.”

She was out there somewhere, alone and vulnerable, and guilt twisted inside of me for failing to protect her. The mere thought of what she could be enduring made my gut churn with worry.

I needed to find Verena before anyone else could.

“Please help me find her before they do. She’s in danger.”

“I won’t help you hurt her.”

All I wanted was to disappear, but the moment I had seen Eiran I realized that maybe all I ever really wanted was to be found.

But I couldn’t stop the ache that crept into my chest as memories of being with Dacre assaulted me.

But thoughts of my own magic crept into my mind, of how I hadn’t felt a flicker of it since I left Dacre, of how I hadn’t been able to find it until I found him.

"You're freezing." His words surprised me, and I met his gaze. Slowly, he lowered himself onto his back and tucked his arm beneath my shoulders. "Come here," he said softly, pulling me close. It felt wrong to be in his arms, thoughts of Dacre drifting into my tired mind, but his warmth was comforting. As he wrapped his arm around me, my eyes fluttered shut and sleep finally claimed me.

her eyes. Shades of brown and blue swirled together within her irises. It was as if I was being pulled under by her, lost in the depths of her tempestuous beauty. In that moment, I had no desire to come up for air, content to drown in her.

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.

“Verena.” I reached out for her, calling out her name in a desperate plea to pull her back to me.

But I heard her final plea before she vanished completely. “Don't become him, Dacre.”

But no matter how hard I tried, she was there. Constantly, continually.

The mere thought of Eiran hurting her ignited a primal instinct within me, like a rabid animal.

She was mine. Even if she was running, she was still mine.

“I bet she was beautiful.” He chuckled, his eyes glinting mischievously. “Does that mean you think I’m beautiful?”

Eiran was beautiful. He wasn’t Dacre; he didn’t affect me the way Dacre did, but he was still beautiful.

“And here I was thinking that you were starting to like me.” “I’ve always liked you, Eiran.”