The Veiled Kingdom (The Veiled Kingdom #1)
Chapter 1
NYRA
S weat ran down my spine beneath my thin cloak.
There was still a slight chill clinging to the air, but the guard who stood near the end of the bridge with his meaty hand resting on the hilt of his sword made my heart race at the thought of my next move.
I took a deep breath and looked out over the bustling market alley. The smell of smoke and salty fish stung my nose, but it couldn’t mask the scents of the slums or the sweaty bodies that pushed past me.
I let my dark hair fall over my shoulder as I moved through the crowd of people and as far away from the guard as I could get.
My eyes flicked up to the palace and the large iron gate that separated it from the busy bridge that was almost a city block wide.
The great bridge of the Marmoris Kingdom was a place of legend .
At least that was what the king would have liked for everyone to believe.
My traitorous gaze swept up the palace to where I knew my former room lay. The window was so high that I caught one of my father’s flags flapping in the wind just above it.
It was high enough that no one could see in, that my safety could never be breached.
Or so I thought.
In reality, it was just high enough for no one to see the king’s shame of a powerless heir.
I had spent far too many years mistaking his disgrace for vigilance.
My parents lost hope that the heir to their throne would have power when I reached the age of ten without a spark.
I could still remember the fear and concern in their eyes when they told me that we must keep the secret between us, but that concern died long before my mother.
My father had become void of his care for me, and it was resentment that stared back.
It was hard to hear the muffled conversations around me with the sound of the rushing water from the massive falls as it fell from beneath the bridge. I strained to listen, but all I could make out was the exchange of coins and whispered deals that weren’t meant to be overheard.
A breeze off the ocean had my hair whipping around my shoulders, and I inhaled until my lungs begged me to release it. Every time the gust of wind carried that familiar scent, it flooded me with bittersweet memories. I was torn between the nostalgia and resentment.
I looked out over the water at the dozen boats that were being boarded. My stomach ached with longing as I remembered how I used to watch them and daydream about taking sail until the wind carried me away from this place.
But my stomach always ached these days.
I forced myself to move and weaved through the worn carts until I passed by the merchant whose gaze always lingered on my body a little too long for my liking, but I smiled at him as he leered at me.
That was all I needed.
His gaze dropped to the swell of my breasts, and I let my hands fall behind me.
If he was watching the curves of my body, then he had no time to watch my hands.
“Good afternoon, you,” he said before he ran his tongue over his bottom lip that was barely visible through his overgrown graying beard.
“Afternoon,” I called back gently, ducking my head to make him see how shy I was, how flattered I was by his attention. All the while my hands wrapped around a single apple and a stale piece of bread.
I tucked the bread into the back of my trousers, keeping my hands hidden beneath my thin cloak.
With a practiced smile, I fluttered my eyelashes as the man ogled me with no concern about the worn ring on his hand.
“It’s supposed to get cold tonight.” As his gaze remained fixated on my body, I focused on maintaining the steady rhythm of my breathing, concealing the pounding of my heart.
I looked up at the sky, making a show of studying the clouds as I nodded. “Thank you for letting me know.”
As if those of us who slept on the street weren’t more than aware of the changes the pressure in the air would bring.
“You know where to find me if that cloak of yours doesn’t provide enough warmth.”
I bit down on my tongue to stop the retort that was begging to slip past my lips. The apple was still nestled securely in my harsh grip, its weight providing a semblance of comfort amid his remarks even as the juice dripped down my fingers as my nails dug into its flesh.
“Thank you.” I nodded once before I took a step back and got lost in the throng of patrons before he could get bored with my body and look elsewhere.
I couldn’t afford for him to look elsewhere.
I had been living on these streets for almost a year, ever since the raid, and I had been careful to make sure that no one watched me too closely.
I didn’t have enough money to buy my passage on one of the ships like I longed to and rumors of the danger beyond the coast had kept me rooted in place.
The rebellion had grown more ruthless, and I couldn’t risk moving south until the tithe, until the rebellion was watching my father and the palace far too closely to notice me.
I moved swiftly through the people milling about the bridge and noticed a man wearing the finest fabrics as he walked up to one of the merchants whose eyes lit up at the sight of him.
The man wore no cloak, his shirt more than thick enough to keep away the chill in the air, but that also meant that the pouch that was tied to the front of his belt was clearly visible.
And based on the way it hung just below his hip, I’d bet that there were at least ten coins inside.
I quickened my pace, my eyes fixated on the man as I moved. Desperation clawed at my insides, urging me forward. But greediness would only get me killed, or worse, caught.
And I had enough food to take the edge off my hunger for a couple days.
But the tithe was only a few days away, and I had to run before it happened.
Because everyone in the kingdom was expected to present themselves before the king and pay the tithe owed with whatever power they held.
And I couldn’t.
Even if I did have the power to somehow pay what my father thought he was owed, the people who lived inside the palace would know me the moment they saw me.
The guards who patrolled the bridge, the city streets, and the dungeons didn’t have that privilege, but my father’s closest guards did.
And they would no doubt be there to protect their king when he stripped his people of what little he allowed them.
They murdered our people for not paying the tithe without a second thought, and it was the fear of what they would do to me that overpowered the fear of the rebellion.
I forced myself to move closer to the man as he ran his hands down his crisp shirt, completely oblivious to those around him.
It was a fool’s move on this bridge.
The bridge had proven to be the easiest place to become a thief, but it was also the easiest place to get caught.
And if it weren’t for the dread filling my gut at the lack of coins in my pockets and food to fill my belly, I probably would have turned away.
But I couldn’t afford to.
Not this close to the tithe.
The man spoke to the merchant in front of him for only a few seconds before he passed over two gold coins.
It was two coins less than I would be able to take from him.
I swallowed the fear that threatened to paralyze me and continued to shadow the man as he moved away from the merchant.
His gait was confident, his steps purposeful, as he made his way down the bridge completely unaware of my presence.
The cloak I wore could easily blend into the sea of cloaks that adorned the market, offering me a small measure of anonymity.
I moved as quickly as I could, trying to get to the man before he got closer to the palace.
I picked up my pace, closing the distance between us, my heart pounding in my chest, matching the rhythm of my footsteps.
He paused, letting a small merchant cart wheel past him, the wooden wheels loud and rickety across the pavers, and I knew this was my only chance.
The cart barreled toward me, narrowly missing me, and I shot forward, clinging to the man as I used him to catch my fall.
I stumbled into him, my hands flailing as I desperately clung to his shirt, pretending to lose my footing and forcing him to lose his .
He slammed into the man standing behind him, and the three of us barely managed to stay upright as we were jostled among the crowd.
I wasted no time as I pulled on the leather strings that held his pouch to his belt and caught the force of it in my hand.
“I’m so sorry,” I stammered, my voice shaky as I steadied myself. “I wasn’t watching where I was going.”
His eyes scanned over me, assessing me. I could feel the weight of his scrutiny, and every nerve in my body screamed at me to run.
My right hand was buried in his shirt, clinging to him as I tried to straighten myself up, and my left hand held on to his coin pouch for dear life.
The man’s confusion turned into concern as he extended a hand toward me. “Are you alright?”
I forced a small smile, doing my best to appear vulnerable.
“Yes. I just… I lost my balance. I’ll be fine.”
I prayed that he had yet to notice the loss of weight at his hip.
His hands were on my upper arms, holding me steady against him, and he hesitated for a moment before he nodded.
“Be careful out here. The bridge can be a dangerous place for a girl like you.”
A girl like me.
He had no idea that this bridge was more dangerous for a girl like me than anyone else. This entire kingdom was.
I nodded back and gripped the pouch in my fist before taking a small step back .
I inclined my head, keeping my eyes downcast. “Thank you, sir. I will be.” With that, I turned and effortlessly melted back into the crowd, my heart pounding with a mix of anxiety and guilt.
But neither were enough to make me regret what I had done.