Page 24 of The Rivaled Crown (The Veiled Kingdom #3)

CHAPTER 24

DACRE

T he tunnels twisted in endless, winding paths beneath the hidden city. The stone was cool against my fingertips as I ran my palm along the wall, following Verena deeper into the cavern. I could barely hear the movement around us anymore, the rebels making their final preparations, sharpening their blades, preparing for war.

Here, it was silent.

Only the soft scuff of our boots against the ground, only the sound of her breathing, steady and controlled, as she led me forward.

I didn’t ask where we were going. I already knew.

She didn’t look back at me, not yet, but her grip on my wrist tightened, as if she could feel the weight pressing into my chest. As if she knew what I wasn’t saying.

The air grew warmer, the damp scent of stone and earth giving way to something softer, something familiar. The springs.

The first place I had ever seen her clearly. A place that had once been a refuge. The place where she had first let me heal her, touch her.

When she had still been wary of me, still guarded and sharp-tongued, and I had been more than uncertain of her. I had thought her to be my enemy, and she had embraced the role with precision. Until neither of us could resist the undeniable force that simmered, pulling us toward the truth of what we really were, of what we were always destined to be.

What neither of us could ever imagine was forcing us together.

Verena stepped forward, releasing my wrist as she moved toward the edge of the water. She reached for the laces of her leathers, her fingers working them loose until each piece came away from her body with a soft rustle, revealing her skin as she shed the layers of clothes that still clung to her skin.

The warm glow of the moss bathed her bare skin in warm light, flickering over the ridges of her spine as she turned.

She still hadn’t spoken. She didn’t have to.

The moment she let her armor fall away, the moment she stepped into the water, I felt it. The tremor in her magic. The weight in her chest. The fear she wasn’t saying aloud.

“I need you,” she whispered as she settled into the water, her voice soft with vulnerability, and gods, there was nothing in this world or the next that I wouldn’t give her.

My hands were already moving before I could think, unfastening my own leathers, each piece falling away as I discarded them, my focus solely on her.

I followed her with a singular purpose, the world around us fading into insignificance, and by the time I reached her, the surface of the water was rippling gently around her.

The heat curled around my skin as I sank into the water, the steam rising between us, twisting through the silence.

Verena turned to me, lifting her arms beneath the surface, letting her fingers skim over my ribs, her touch soft and trembling. I let her touch settle me, but it did nothing to quiet the war raging inside me.

Her fingers traced slow, careful circles against my ribs, her body warm where she pressed against me, the steam curling in thick ribbons around us.

But I felt her waiting.

I had felt it since we left the training grounds, since she pulled me away from the rebellion, away from the eyes watching me too closely, waiting for me to fall apart.

But she was waiting, too.

I pressed my face into her neck, inhaling her scent, the soft mix of salt and wildflowers that was so uniquely her. My arms tightened around her waist, pulling her body flush with mine.

But it wasn’t enough.

She must have felt it, how I was barely holding on, because when she spoke there was so much caution in her voice, so much sadness.

“You haven’t said a word about her.”

An exhale punched from my lungs.

Verena didn’t pull away, but she lifted her head slightly, enough for her lips to brush against my temple. “Dacre,” she whispered. “Talk to me.”

I closed my eyes, pressing my forehead against her shoulder. “There’s nothing left to say.”

She stiffened then she pushed. Gently at first, her hands moving to cup my face, lifting me so I had no choice but to look at her.

But I wasn’t ready for what I saw in her eyes.

There was no pity, no hesitation, just understanding, and a sudden ache sliced through my chest.

Her voice was barely above a whisper. “You lost her twice.”

Her words hit me. They haunted me. “I never even got to say goodbye.”

She didn’t look away. Didn’t let me.

“You were just a boy,” she murmured, her thumbs sweeping along my jaw, soft, steady. “And you tried to save her.”

I let out a hollow laugh. “And I failed.”

“No.” Her voice was unyielding. “You didn’t fail her, Dacre.”

I turned my head slightly, pressing my lips against her palm. “Then why does it feel like I did?”

Verena exhaled slowly, her forehead pressing against mine. “Because you loved her. Because people who you trusted took her from you.”

A muscle jumped in my jaw, and I refused to allow my thoughts to go to Eiran, refused to let his betrayal settle back deep inside me again until I couldn’t find my breath. “She would have loved you.”

Verena’s breath hitched, but she didn’t pull away. “You think so?”

“I know so,” I rasped. “You’re what she wanted for this kingdom. She died trying to save you.” My fingers tightened against her waist, and I could feel the ache in her chest as I said the words, feel her guilt. “And I will finish what she started.”

The air between us shifted, thickened, the weight of what we were about to do settling over us.

I let my hands slide to her lower back, pressing her more firmly against me, reminding myself that she was still there. “Tell me,” I murmured, my voice rough. “Tell me what you need me to do when we get inside the palace.”

Her breaths came unsteady, but she met my gaze without hesitation.

“We find my father.” Her fingers curled against my ribs. “We kill him.”

The words settled between us, but she didn’t move. She didn’t blink.

I let my other hand skim up her spine, over the curve of her shoulder, tracing a path to her jaw. Soft. Careful. “How can I do it without you?”

Her throat bobbed. “What?”

“I don’t want you anywhere near him. I don’t want him to ever be able to hurt you again.” This wasn’t what we had already talked about, it wasn’t what we had planned, but every part of me screamed to never let her set foot back in that palace again.

A flicker of doubt crossed her face, but it was gone in an instant. She squared her shoulders, pulling herself straighter in my arms. “He is connected to the vessel, that’s where he gets his power, that’s his only source.” She looked away from me, beyond me, and I hated the fear that snaked into my veins. Her fear. “If I can sever its hold, he won’t have anything left. It’s already killing him.” She swallowed before she looked back to me. “But it has to be me.”

She sounded so detached. So resigned.

Like she had already accepted that it would cost her.

And that same feeling sank into my gut because I knew too. No matter what happened, no matter what we did, it was going to cost us far more than I would ever be willing to give.

I dragged my knuckles along the curve of her cheek, watching her carefully. “And if you can’t sever it?”

She hesitated, and her eyes shuddered, her lashes fluttering rapidly against her cheeks.

I clenched my jaw and tried to control the storm of emotions that raged through me. “Verena.”

She exhaled slowly, pressing her forehead to mine. “Then I’ll take it from him.”

My stomach turned. “Like you did with me?” I whispered.

She nodded, her grip tightening around my hands. “But I’ll be ready this time. I won’t let it control me.”

She said it as if she was trying to convince herself, as if her words could wrap around her and strengthen her spine.

I swallowed hard. “And what if you can’t?”

Her silence was deafening. My magic surged. My anger. My fear.

“I have to try. All of this can’t have been for nothing.” She looked around before her eyes paused on her mark, our mark. “Our mothers cannot have died for nothing.”

She didn’t look at me; she looked anywhere else, clung to anything else. “And if I’m unable to do what needs to be done, if I can’t, then you have to promise me you’ll leave.”

I pushed back from her just enough to see her face, to force her to look at me with my hand on her chin. “You truly believe I would ever do that?”

“No.” She shook her head quickly. “No, but I need you to promise. I need to know that he won’t be able to get to you.”

She blinked up at me, and there were tears in her eyes.

“I will promise you anything, Verena.” I let my fingers trail along her cheeks. “But I can’t promise you that.”

Verena’s fingers traced slow, steady circles along my wrist, and I could still feel the tension in her. The moment we left this cavern, the moment we stepped out of the hidden city, there would be no turning back.

She inhaled softly, her cheek pressing against my palm as she whispered, “Tell me everything one more time.”

I didn’t hesitate. We had already gone over the plan, the strategy my father had been working toward and searching for, for years.

My father had helped as we traced over the routes we would take, the positions we would hold, but he hadn’t said a word about my mother. Even as Reed was dragged to the tunnels, he hadn’t looked back at him. He hadn’t met my eyes.

“We will take the outer districts,” I murmured, my lips brushing against her hair. “We’ll be in place by nightfall. Kai will lead the first wave, keep the king’s forces distracted, keep them fighting in the streets.”

She nodded against me. “That gives us the time we need.”

“To get inside.”

My grip on her waist tightened slightly, but I forced myself to keep my voice steady. “The tunnels lead directly to the lower chambers beneath the throne room, directly to the dungeons. Once we’re in, we split. You, Wren, and my grandmother go for the vessel.”

Her breath hitched, but she didn’t argue.

“And you?”

“I go for your father.”

Her fingers stilled on my wrist. I felt her shift, tilting her head up to meet my gaze. Her eyes searched mine, filled with something deep, something raw.

Everything in me rebelled against the idea. The thought of letting her out of my sight, of leaving her alone in the same palace where she had been tortured, it felt like a mistake. But we didn’t have a choice. She needed to get to the vessel, and I needed to get to him.

I exhaled slowly. “I will do whatever it takes to keep him from getting to you.”

A shiver ran through her, and I knew what she was thinking: he would come for her. If the king knew she was in his palace, if he could feel her magic even a fraction of the way I could, he would hunt her down before she could sever the vessel’s power.

She swallowed. “Dacre…”

I brushed a damp strand of hair from her face. “We go in. We do what we must. And we walk out of there together.”

I needed her to believe that because I needed to believe it too.

I gently tucked my fingers beneath her chin, lifting it until I could brush my lips over the curve of her jaw and across her cheek before I rested my forehead against hers.

“This isn’t goodbye,” I murmured softly, the words barely audible over the gentle lapping of the water around us. “Promise me.”

Her grip tightened against my body, a silent plea in her touch.

I swallowed hard, struggling with the weight of the moment.

“Not goodbye.” She shook her head softly against mine, her voice edged with enough vulnerability to break me.

I kissed her before either of us could utter another word.

Not soft. Not careful. I couldn’t be either of those things when I was so desperate for her, so desperate to remind both of us that we were together.

Her lips parted beneath mine, her nails digging into my skin with a fervent urgency, as if she could anchor us in this moment, as if she could keep me from slipping through her fingers.

I sensed it in the way she clung to me, her body melding seamlessly into mine, every movement charged with a frantic, aching intensity.

I moved us, gently pressing her back against the smooth rocks of the springs, the heat of the water rising around us like a warm, embracing mist, licking at our skin. But it paled in comparison to the flames that burned inside me. Her touch was like a match being struck against my skin, igniting a wildfire of desire that consumed me from the inside out.

“Verena,” I groaned against her mouth, my hands roaming down her sides, gripping her hips, pulling her closer.

She gasped, tilting her head back, her throat exposed to me, and I didn’t hesitate.

I worshiped her.

My lips traced her neck, over her collarbone, down the slope of her shoulder. I tasted her skin, memorized every shiver, every breathy sound that escaped her lips.

“I love you,” she whispered, her voice breaking as she pressed her forehead against my shoulder.

Gods. The mark between us, the soul-bond flared. It swirled between us, our powers merging into one.

I lifted her into my arms, the water cradling us as I moved deeper into the spring, until we were surrounded by nothing but warmth, nothing but each other.

Her legs wrapped around my waist, her hands tangling in my hair, her lips everywhere.

I needed her. Not just like this. Not just in body. I needed to exist in this moment, to breathe her in, to let her consume me.

I let her.

I let her take what she needed, and I gave her everything.

I settled into the seat in the warm springs, feeling the soothing water lap gently around my shoulders. She remained astride me, her body pressed close, and I gazed up at her in sheer awe.

She was my mate, my wife, and the thought of losing this connection was unimaginable.

She steadied herself on her knees, her delicate hand reaching to guide my cock against her, aligning our bodies. Slowly, she descended, sliding down onto me, and a broken sound escaped my lips as I felt the heat of her sink onto me, enveloping me in a way that shattered every last shred of control I had left.

Verena gasped, her fingers trembling where they rested against my shoulders. She clung to me, her breath hitching as she took me deeper, and I felt it, the slow stretch of her body adjusting to mine, the way her thighs tensed and trembled, the way her nails bit into my skin.

I ran my hands up the length of her spine, fingers pressing into the damp heat of her body. Her chest rose and fell in unsteady, shallow breaths, her lips parting slightly as her lashes fluttered, her eyes locking on to mine.

She was stunning.

Her flushed skin, the curve of her lips, the way the water beaded along her collarbones, trailing lower, catching in the valley between her breasts.

She was ruinous.

And she was mine.

I lifted my hands to cradle her face, my thumbs sweeping over her cheekbones as I guided her mouth back to mine. The kiss unfolding slowly, unhurriedly, each moment drawn out with the desperation to have her feel me, truly feel me and how hopelessly in love with her I was.

I tilted my hips upward, filling her completely, and she gasped into my mouth, her fingers tangling in my hair, pulling, as if she wanted to sink even deeper, as if she wanted to drown in me.

And gods, I would let her.

I wanted to submerge myself in the depths of her, to immerse myself in every part of her until we were one.

No war. No prophecy. No fate that threatened to take her from me. Just the two of us forgetting everything outside these cavern walls, even if only for a little while.

Her hips rocked, slow, teasing. A roll of her body that had my breath catching in my throat, my fingers tightening against her waist.

Her pace was torturous. She was savoring every second, carving this moment into her bones so that no matter what came tomorrow, she would still feel this.

Still feel me.

A soft whimper escaped her lips, and I felt her tighten around me, felt the way her body clenched, the way she trembled in my arms, her control slipping.

I dropped my head back against the rock, my chest heaving, my grip tightening as I fought against the primal need to take control, to pin her beneath me and devour her.

But this moment was hers.

I let her take.

I surrendered to her rhythm, allowing her to dictate the pace, her movements slow and devastating, her body rolling against mine in a way that had my teeth grinding, my muscles coiling beneath her touch.

She was killing me.

Soft gasps spilled from her lips, her forehead pressing to mine, our breaths mingling, hot and uneven.

I love you.

She didn’t say it, but I felt it in every touch, every kiss, every desperate pull of her body against mine. I felt it screaming at me through our bond.

It was as if I could feel the warmth of the sun, even as far underground as we were. It was all-encompassing and inescapable. It heated every parted of me, and I gasped as I felt the way she was choosing every part of me, the way she trusted me fully.

And I hoped that she could feel me as well, because I needed her to know. She was not just my mate, not just my wife.

She was everything, and I would worship her until my dying breath.

I thrust up into her, pulling a sharp gasp from her throat. Her eyes widened, her fingers gripping my arms as I did it again, harder this time, my pace matching the frantic rhythm of my heartbeat.

Her moan shattered against my lips, and I swallowed the sound, drinking her in, devouring her. Her body arched, her back bowing as she rode me, her nails dragging down my chest, leaving faint, stinging trails in their wake.

I slid my hand between us, my fingers finding her clit, pressing, teasing, until she gasped, her head falling back, her body tightening around me. Her thighs quivered, her grip turning bruising, her lips parting on a broken sound that sent a violent shudder through me.

I wasn’t going to last. Not like this. Not when she looked like that, like the gods themselves had carved her from stardust and set her ablaze just for me.

Just for this.

I buried my face against her neck, my teeth grazing her pulse point, biting down just enough to remind her that she was mine, and I was hers.

She cried out, her body trembling, her release hitting her in waves that sent me spiraling. I held her tight, crushing her against me as I let go, let myself fall with her, let the pleasure rip through me like a storm.

It was blinding, and her name tore from my lips as I buried myself deep inside her, as I lost myself completely in her warmth, in her scent, in the fucking feel of her.

The world blurred at the edges, the cavern walls, the glowing moss, the water lapping at our bodies, none of it existed.

Only her.

Only us.

I held her there, her body still shaking, her breath still uneven, her heart hammering against mine. Neither of us spoke. We just breathed. Just held on.

Her hands slid into my hair, soft and reverent, and I closed my eyes, exhaling slowly. I felt her lips press against my temple, a whisper of warmth, of love. Of a promise.

“I love you,” she murmured, her voice thick, hoarse, fractured.

I pulled back just enough to look at her, to study every inch of her face, every flushed detail, every lingering trace of pleasure in her gaze.

“And I love you,” I rasped, brushing my lips over hers.

She curled against me, resting her head against my shoulder, and for a moment, just one perfect, fleeting moment, there was nothing but warmth, nothing but her.

Nothing but this.

But even as I held her, my body ached, my muscles trembling with the exhaustion I had been ignoring. I knew she felt it too. Her arms slackened slightly where they had been locked around my shoulders, her breathing deepening as if she were already on the edge of sleep.

Neither of us spoke about it. Neither of us let go, and I would hold on to it for as long as the gods allowed.

But when the sun set and rose again, the war would begin, and I didn’t know if we’d ever have this again.