The Hunted Heir (The Veiled Kingdom, #2)

by Holly Renee

"You are a damn disgrace to this rebellion,"

"You were born to lead, yet you fell to your

knees for her like a coward and let her slip throu...

“The heir to the Marmoris Kingdom is on the run.”

“And she has been hiding within our ranks.”

“For weeks, Nyra has been secretly training with our warriors,”

“We're not sure if she was sent by the king or acting of her own accord.”

“I want all of you to search for her,” he commanded. “Bring her to me.”

“The future of our rebellion depends on finding her!”

“The king will do anything in his power and use every resource to find her. We should have never been so careless to let her escape.”

My father didn’t need my truth. I’d been the one to let her run. I had fucked her like she meant nothing to me and let her run. But all he knew was that I had allowed her to get away. My father knew she wouldn’t have stood a chance at escaping unless I allowed it, and I had. And that was the only truth he needed.

But I didn’t regret it.

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

She lied to all of us, and I was so damn angry, even if I couldn’t blame her for doing so.

Because I had never wanted to protect someone as badly as I wanted to protect her. And that thought left me torn and unsettled. She was the last person who deserved my protection.

Many nodded their heads at my father’s instructions, but I didn’t. I would find her, but it wouldn’t be for the benefit of him, or this rebellion.

I was the rebellion leader’s son, but she had wrecked everything I knew.

yet the only thought that continued to run through my head was, Why didn't I go with her?

“I’m going to find her.”

“I don’t want you to find her.”

“I don’t want you or our father anywhere near her.”

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

“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.

The princess will most likely be trying to get back into the palace. We need to be prepared to stop her.”

“She’s not going to th...

“We will.” I agreed with my father for the first time in a long time. I was going to find her, but I wouldn’t be bringing her back here.

He would be looking for me. My father was an enemy of the rebellion, and now, so was I.

My chest ached as I stared down at this man’s mark and all I could see was Dacre’s betrayal. All I could see was my own.

We were born and bred to be enemies, to never trust the other.

“What did you mean by the support for the rebellion is wavering?”

“The rebellion was never supposed to be about power or control. It

was a fight for freedom, for a better future. But as time has passed, some have started to see it as an opportunity for power. The lines have become blurred, and many have lost sight of the true meaning.”

“I’ve met men like that,”

“I’d say you have. It’s hard to trust anyone anymore, and even those who led the fight for a better future have become blinded by their ambitions.”

“You think Davian wants to become king.”

“It has been Davian’s plan for years to make his son, Dacre, the next heir to the throne.”

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.

She wasn’t a lost princess. She was on the run.

I had no idea what I would have done if I had, but fuck, I had been so damn cruel to her out of my own anger. She had lied and betrayed me, but I didn’t know what secrets she kept buried. She was a traitor, but who was it that she was truly betraying?

“Do you honestly think I would trust you with our plan after what you’ve done?”

“And do you honestly think that I’m going to help you find her when you plan on using her like she’s some sort of bait to draw her father out?”

My loyalty had been wavering for a long time.

Verena had become a weapon that effortlessly shredded the last remnants of my loyalty. And that only made me angrier at her.

Part of me wished that she had been exactly who she said she was instead of the one person I shouldn’t have wanted, shouldn’t have craved. And that made us both fools.

“I have spent my entire life not forgetting, just as Wren has.”

It wasn’t Dacre. He hadn’t come.

“I don’t trust you.”

“I came here to find you. Not to serve Davian.”

“Your father serves Davian.” “And yours has destroyed our kingdom.”