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the thought of his seething fury was nothing compared to thoughts of her.
but now, I was choosing her over everything.
My heart raced as I allowed myself to think of this kingdom without her in it.
the moment she came into my life, she became it.
I cared about her, and that was dangerous.
Thoughts of her consumed me. Go south. Find her.
the one thing I knew for sure was, I wouldn’t stop until I found her.
She was mine, and I would find her.
Verena…she meant something to me and watching her now with him made my chest ache.
She was comfortable with him. He had made her comfortable with him. And somehow that thought was more of a betrayal than anything else.
his gaze roaming over the details of her face, and it made me want to break his jaw.
She was the heir to the kingdom, the princess to the fucking king who killed my mother, but none of that made her any less mine.
Because I would do whatever it took to get her back. Even if she didn’t want to be, she was mine.
And yet, I still yearned for him. Despite everything he had done, I couldn’t help but long for the man I knew.
He was here, and I felt at peace and on fire all at once.
For a moment, our gazes locked, and time seemed to stand still. I wanted to drown in her, to beg for her forgiveness, but we didn’t have time for that. Not now.
I wrapped my arms tightly around her, pressing my lips to her ear as I tried to calm her trembling form. “We’re okay,” I whispered urgently in her ear. “Just breathe. I won’t let them touch you.”
A wave of hot, red fury surged through me at the sound of his name on her lips.
“Let me heal you,” I pleaded, motioning toward her ankle. “I don’t need you to trust me, but at least let me heal you.”
"I want to heal you, then I want to get you out of this kingdom,” I answered honestly. I couldn’t make sense of anything other than those truths.
“Did you let him touch you?” His voice dripped with venom,
“How dare you ask me that question? How dare you pretend you would care?” I choked out, my throat tight with emotion. “Of course I care,” he retorted gruffly, but there was a flicker of hurt in his eyes.
His eyes blazed with jealousy, and for a moment, I couldn’t breathe.
My breath caught in my throat as I stared up at him. He looked like he was ready to set the world on fire, and all I could think about in that moment was how badly I wanted to burn. “I never want to hear his name leave your lips,” he seethed. “He won't touch you.”
“Because you are mine,” he declared, his words cutting through me like a knife.
I couldn't help but yearn for her presence. It gnawed at me, this desire to have her near me, and although I knew I was unworthy of it, I couldn't help but crave the touch of her skin against mine.
The very idea of harm coming to her filled me with a fierce desire for vengeance,
they were my people, but my rage knew no bounds when it came to her.
The very idea of her finding solace in another’s arms, of her laughter echoing for him to hear, of her hands cradling children that were not mine—it tore at my heart with talons of jealousy and regret.
"Dacre," she whispered my name so softly that I questioned if I had simply imagined it. Was I so exhausted and delirious from lack of sleep that hearing my name fall from her lips was enough to drive me to the brink of madness? "I'm here," I murmured, trailing my knuckles down her cheekbone and along the curve of her jaw.
Without hesitation, I reached out and pulled her into me. She curled up next to me, resting her head in my lap as her legs intertwined with mine, searching for warmth.
But now, as she sought comfort in my presence, peace washed over me. Her nearness acted like a balm, soothing my restless heart and calming the tempest of emotions that had been raging within.
“I will try to meet you there, but do not wait for me.”
“Dacre,” she whispered my name and the desperation in that one word was enough to break me. “Run, Verena.”
Verena's piercing gaze never faltered; her eyes locked onto his with an intensity that could set the world ablaze. Her anger was palpable, radiating from her in waves that threatened to engulf everything and everyone around her.
“You are no better than my father.” She was still staring directly
The son of the rebellion, yet I was choosing her. I had killed one of them for her.
The father who he turned his back on for me. He had killed one of them for me.
coursed through me. But I knew that it saved us. He had saved me. He saved me, healed me, then gave up everything he knew.
I prayed to the gods that one of them did. Dacre's strong arms pulled me closer, enveloping me in a protective embrace as we turned sharply to the right.
He leaned in and pressed his lips gently against my cheek. I leaned into his touch, allowing myself to revel in the feel of him before he turned and left the room, the door creaking closed behind him.
So, with the last thing I had left of my mother, I secured passage for us both. “Did you really think I’d put you on a ship alone and watch you sail away from me?” I questioned, instantly regretting my admission.
“But your people are here. Your rebellion is here,” she said, her voice cracking with emotion. “And yet, you won’t be.”
She was a risk. One that I shouldn’t have been willing to take, but trying to fight it was futile. My want for her was obsessive, incessant. Maddening.
I couldn’t sit there and look at those wounds forever when looking up at her made me want to hide them beneath a bandage as if they never existed at all.
“You may not deserve it, but it’s yours.” I swallowed hard, trying not to read too much into her words. She was mine.
“Verena.” He said my name so softly and I looked up at him, desperate for anything he would tell me. “I’ll never forgive you if you get caught.”
She was a price that he was more than willing to pay, a sacrifice that cost him nothing. And I would never forgive him for it. The very thought of leaving our kingdom made my stomach turn, but I would do whatever it took to protect her.
mesmerized by how the entire coast was before me but all I could see was her.
“I regret so many things, Verena, but leaving this world for you won’t be one of them.”
