Page 69 of Hidden Kingdoms

No, I wouldn’t let him touch her.

She was mine.

I wasn’t sure at what point I’d began to claim her as my own, but I wasn’t looking to question it.

“You saw the power that runs through her even if she is untrained. I’ve never felt anything like it.”

Let him think it’s about magik. My dick hardening in my trousers was hardly going to convince him my only interest was in her power, and as I tried to ever so subtly rearrange myself, his eyes burned.

“So, you have been fucking her then,” he spat at me.

“No Bastian, I haven’t. We kidnapped her. Of course I haven’t fucked her.” But fuck did I want to. Thinking of her wearing those lacy sets I had been sending had been keeping me and my cock company at night. He scowled at me as if he could read my thoughts, and I pushed the half-naked image of Goldie to the back of my mind.

I’ll revisit that later.

“You need to pull your head out of your arse and stop being such a dick.” I didn’t care I was pushing him. He knew as well as I did that this whole room would be torn apart before either of us managed to get the upper hand if it came down to a fight. Maybe that’s what we needed to do to rid him of this extra anger he was throwing around.

Being one of the few people who dared speak to him like that was always fun. As the Crown Prince of the kingdom, it was a small list, and satisfaction flooded me at the thought that Goldie had added her name to it.

“I will find another way,” he snarled. My own anger raged because, while, yeah, I wanted her, I also knew she was somehow the key to everything.

“If anyone else dies while you’re trying to find another way when Elodie is sitting in this very palace, then that’s on you. And believe me, Bas, I will hold you accountable.” I stormed to the door, yanking it open and stepping out into… an empty corridor.

Obviously, she didn’t wait.

Had I really expected her to? Not even a little bit.

Most of my anger dissipated as the door closed, replaced now by a dark excitement at the thought of stalking through the castle to find her. Stretching my magik out, I searched for a hint of hers, finding it quicker than I thought.

Inhaling the faint smell of honey and cinnamon that lingered in the air, I set off down the corridor, eager to be closer to her.

She had gotten further than I expected, and I couldn’t help but laugh when I realised where she was headed.

The dungeons weren’t where I imagined she wanted to end up, although I wouldn’t have minded catching her down there in the dark. A smirk crossed my face as I wondered if I should let her continue this way for that very reason, until I remembered the guards she would come across, and fuck knows what they would do with her.

There weren’t many people who even knew she was in the palace, and some of these guards were shifty bastards.

I quickened my pace, knowing how pissed the Commander would be with me if I killed more of his guards, and I didn’t need that sort of distraction right now.

I just needed to get to her.

Her scent grew stronger and as I turned the corner, there she was. The slight bounce to her curvy little body in those skin-tight trousers made me want to forever walk behind her. There was no way she knew where she was going. And also, no way she wouldn’t know someone was behind her, but she didn’t bother to look back and I bit back a grin at her stubbornness.

On her, it was fucking cute.

I followed behind for a moment, eyes glued on her peachy ass before the corridor began to subtly change, and I forced myself to catch up or risk her wandering too close to the darker places of the palace. Brushing my arm against hers as I did, I delighted in the hum of energy that pulsed through me.

28

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

ELODIE

The stone floor was warm under my feet, and the walls had begun to empty of art. With every step I took away from that room, my emotions calmed. I guessed I had been walking for around ten minutes before I heard footsteps behind me. Keeping my pace steady, my heart began to race. Technically I wasn’t doing anything wrong. No one had expressly said Iwasn’tallowed to walk around the palace. I would say I got lost and hope they took pity on me.

That wasn’t even a lie; I was definitely lost.

The pull in my chest tugged lightly as the footsteps rounded the corner, and I gave an internal sigh of relief as I realised who had found me, but I kept walking forward.

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