The Veiled Kingdom by Holly Renee

Author:Holly Renee [Renee, Holly]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2024-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 13

DACRE

The thunderous pounding of a fist against my door woke me abruptly, and I groaned in frustration. My eyes felt heavy as I blinked them open and saw the dull lantern light from outside streaming in through my window.

My muscles were stiff, and my shoulder throbbed slightly from how I had slept on it. I attempted to shift position, but a soft warmth pressed into my skin.

I squinted against the light as I took in Nyra’s sleeping form next to me. Her pale skin was illuminated with a golden hue as her chest rose and fell with each breath, and I could feel the plushness of her curves through our clothing. My chest was flush against her, and the rest of us were intertwined, her thigh grazing mine as she snuggled closer.

She had made sure to keep her distance from me last night before we fell asleep, and I had been thankful.

That was, until she didn’t.

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.

The knocking at the door came again, and I cursed under my breath before carefully untangling myself from beneath Nyra and sitting up in my bed.

I pulled the blanket up to cover her body, her body that was covered in my clothing, before I quickly moved to the door.

I grasped the cold brass handle and heaved open the door. The warm glow of the lanterns spilled into the dark room like liquid sunlight, casting shadows on the wall. Taking care to be as quiet as possible, I stepped out into the hallway and gently pulled the door closed behind me.

My father stood before me, fully dressed in his leathers with all his weapons strapped to him, and his face was unreadable as always.

“What time is it?” I asked, my voice rough with sleep.

“Early.” He crossed his arms, and I could feel him assessing as his gaze ran over me. “One of the new recruits gave information about how to access the palace from beneath.”

My gaze shot up at that. “Beneath?” We had been searching for different ways to get into the palace for my entire life, but with the way it was surrounded by water and the massive falls, there had never been any way other than going through the front gate and being met with the king’s army.

“The tunnels.” My father’s answer was clipped as he shifted on his feet.

Legends told of a secret tunnel that led directly beneath the waterfalls, but we had searched high and low without finding any trace.

My mind automatically went to Nyra who was still lying in my bed. If she had worked in the castle all that time, there was a good chance that she knew.

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