Page 70 of Kingdom Of Veil And Vow

“But you saved me.” A broken sound crawls up her throat, and I frame her face with my hands, gently guiding those gorgeous eyes to mine. The intensity in them makes the breath in my chest halt—not out of fear, but in complete and utter awe. “You. Saved. Me.”

She struggles to understand what I’ve said, her focus bouncing from me to Alden and back again. “You’re okay.” It’s more statement than question, but I nod anyway, slowly bringing my forehead to hers. She releases a ragged exhale, resting her hands on my armor, right over my racing heart. “You’re okay,” she repeats, even as her eyebrows pull together.

Remembering her enhanced hearing, I force myself to calm, my heartbeat slowing in response. Siyala drags in a deep breath and then opens her eyes as she pulls slightly away. The golden ring around her irises is gone now, as is the ferocity with which she tried to attack Alden again. All that’s left now is a female who looks tired, as if the weight of what she’s done is already pressing upon her shoulders. I want to comfort her again, to wipe away her panic until she only knows peace. I want to spend hours, nights, months drawing only pleasure from her. Reminding her that she is strong and determined and incredible. But we don’t have that time.

The reminder forces my head away from hers, my hands leaving her face as I turn to stare at Alden.

“What are we going to do with him?” Disquiet creeps into my veins. Alden was my last resort for bringing one of my own to the Trusted. Without him, I am completely alone. Tucking the wayward strands of my hair behind my ears, I huff out an unsure breath. My plan to help Siyala escape had been accelerated when I learned King Dolian wanted her brought out of the dungeon. He threatened to starve her to make her more compliant and despite how carefully I tried to execute freeing her, it was all thrown out the window in favor of doing the best I could to get her out now. But how am I going to explain Alden’s dead body to the king? Then again, I had planned on planting a body in front of her cell to make it look like she bested a guard to escape. There was no shortage of loyal King’s Guardsmen I could pick from to use. Perhaps Alden’s needless death would be useful after all.

Bending down, I pull her dagger from his neck, wiping it on his tunic until it is clean. “Do you have your sheath?” She pauses, looking down on the ground before turning in a circle and pacing a few steps back in the direction we came from, finding it there. When she presents it to me, a strange combination of pride and terror courses through me. “I told you to run.” Sheathing the dagger, I spin it in my hand until the hilt is facing her.

Her brows drop low above those lovely eyes, the shape of them stunning even framed by a scowl. “You made me promise that no one would ever take what was mine ever again,” she counters, plucking the weapon from my hand. Resolve burns deep in her gaze, and the sight of it makes warmth stir low within me, pooling in an area that has no business being involved in this situation right now. “I was just making sure I kept my promise.”

The urge to crush my mouth against hers nearly makes me take a step forward, my godsdamn hands lifting as if to frame her face again. To dive into those perfect moonlit strands and tug her as close as possible until there is no space between us, save for the sound of our beating hearts. But I quickly rein the impulse in, stuffing it into a box and locking the lid. She is mere minutes away from leaving for good, and complicating our goodbye would serve neither of us well.

“Wait here,” I command before heaving Alden’s body over my shoulder and retreating back to the dungeon. Once I’m back at her cell, I stage the false scene—sliding Alden’s own weapon into the wound at the base of his neck and positioning his body so that it appears he was felled while entering her cell. Extinguishing the nearby torch, fear creeps into me as I walk in the dark. This isn’t part of the plan. Bad things happen when you deviate from a plan— Bad things were going to happen to her if I didn’t deviate. She is worth the risk. The breaking of my rules. She is worth it all.

Siyala is pacing when I return, but she doesn’t hesitate to reach for my hand, and together, we finally continue the rest of the way through the tunnels, popping out into the resistance meeting room. She takes it in briefly as we cross the room to where a cloak is hanging from the wall. I make to strip my armor so that we can travel somewhat undetected when the second hidden door to the room opens. My hand curls around Siyala’s arm, but I relax at the sight of Grayson, his own shoulders drawing down from his ears.

“Good, you haven’t left yet.”

“What is it?” I ask, Siyala shifting closer.

“Alaric sent word from the docks. The shifter ship is delayed, set to leave in the morning now.”

My chest deflates. “Delayed? You’re sure?”

Grayson nods, hands bracing his hips. “They’ve discovered a leak in the hull. It’s not bad enough to derail them for days, but they won’t be ready until tomorrow at the earliest.” I exhale roughly, glancing at Siyala from the corner of my eye. “We’ve got a few men keeping tabs. They will send word when the ship is a half hour from leaving.”

“So what does that mean?” Siyala asks, and though I trust Grayson implicitly, his attention falling to her makes something primitive surge within me. I turn to face her fully, drawing the hood up and over her head again and ignoring Grayson’s snort behind me. “Am I going back to the cell?”

“No,” I answer quickly, tipping my head back in thought. Where would be the safest place for us to go for the night? Longer if necessary?

“There’s a large group of recruits currently engaged in their final guard tests,” Grayson says. When I look at him, he rocks on his heels, hands slipped into his pockets. Mischief dances in his deep brown eyes, and I roll my own because of it.

“No.”

“I’m just saying, it’ll be fairly empty there.”

“Grayson, I said n—”

“Where?” Siyala peeks around me to look at my mentor, making his smile grow wider.

“He speaks of the barracks,” I tell her. “Where the majority of the guards live. It’d be like walking you into the belly of the beast.”

“Except that there is no beast because most of the men are gone.”

I clench my jaw. He isn’t wrong. The newest recruits make up the majority of the guards staying in the barracks. Most find their own places once they officially earn the King’s Guardsman title and the coin that comes with it. I had never felt the need to be farther away from the king than necessary, a decision I find highly stupid now.

“I can’t leave her in a room by herself in that place,” I say, shaking my head. “We need to think of somewhere else.”

“Can’t I just stay with you?” Siyala’s voice penetrates my thoughts, forcing my gaze her way yet again. “In the barracks?”

“I only have one bed,” I counter, lamely. Grayson snorts again, and I bite down on my tongue to keep from walking over there and knocking him on his ass.

Siyala shrugs, but there is a challenge in her voice when she says, “It doesn’t bother me.” Fucking stars above.

“Fine,” I spit out, grabbing the cloak anyway as I turn to face a gleeful Grayson. “Send the messenger to my room when they have word on the ship.”