Rough, Sara Fields [the top 100 crime novels of all time txt] 📗

here. I knew that it was exceedingly rare. The recipe for it had been long forgotten and the stockpiles of old had long disappeared. Some of it was rumored to be unstable, poorly mixed and no longer useful. This didn’t appear to be that way. I climbed up and peeked inside, enamored by the swirling bright green color. I held the candle far away.

One spark and this entire castle would be blown to dust.

I stepped down from the ledge.

I found several piles of clothing and without too much searching, I found a dark pair of pants as well as a gray cotton shirt. They were mildly dusty, and I shook them out before I stripped off my dress and put them on. There was a thin fur cloak I slung over my shoulders for extra warmth and as I hugged it around my body, I was thankful for such an astonishing find.

That night, I explored the underground passageways. I found old unused bedrooms, along with a multitude of places where I could watch and observe everything happening in the castle. Importantly, I found a passage that led into the kitchens. Since it was the middle of the night, the kitchens were deserted, and I took advantage of the opportunity to steal food for the next several days. When I was satisfied that I had enough, I slipped back into the secret part of the castle and settled myself in a nearby bedroom. It wasn’t much bigger than the size of a closet, but there was a sturdy wooden table and a bed made of straw. I piled a few blankets on top of it to make it comfortable.

The sun would be rising any minute and I curled up in bed exhausted. I closed my eyes and fell asleep, knowing that with the sunrise my absence would be noticed. It wouldn’t be long before the king himself started to look for me and I would do everything in my power to ensure that I would not be found.

He would not take my escape lightly. That much I was sure of.

For the next several days, I made the secret passageways of the castle my home. I walked through them in silence. There were a multitude of places where I could watch people scurry by through a gap in the stone walls or even several window panels that doubled as one-way glass. I could observe in complete secrecy.

Despite my frustration with the king, I found myself watching him the most. He was in his throne room when the news of my disappearance broke. At first, he was angry, his fury nearly palpable even from a distance. However, when he was alone, I saw something of a sadness weighing heavy on his brow. I observed him more closely, but that look disappeared as Neegan rushed into the room with him.

“Has she been found yet?” Magnar growled.

Even though I wasn’t even in the same room with him, I could feel his fury and the power of his alpha. I sucked in an anxious breath and my pussy clenched down hard. I could feel slick gathering between my thighs, and I pressed them together so firmly that it hurt.

“Not yet, my king. We are searching every inch of this castle. She will be found,” Neegan reassured him.

“When she is found, bring her right to me. I will handle her disobedience myself,” Magnar growled and a shiver of anxiety rushed down my spine. “The entire castle will hear her screams and her pleas for mercy as she is punished. She will learn that she cannot run from me, nor can she hide. When I’m through with her, there will be no doubt left in her mind that she belongs to me.”

He peered over Neegan’s shoulder and stared in my direction as if he could see me. For a long moment, I forgot to breathe. I told myself that he couldn’t see me, that he couldn’t know about the mirror I was watching him through, that he couldn’t sense the slick dripping from my still needy pussy.

When I couldn’t take it any longer, I rushed away and hid in my tiny bedroom. I curled up beneath the blankets and rested fitfully until it was night once again.

When I couldn’t stand lying in bed any longer, I walked the inner working of the castle safe in the hidden passages. The quiet of the massive building at night was overwhelming, but also calming and I enjoyed it. I quietly observed some of the members of Magnar’s advisory council and when Neegan wandered off on his own, I followed him. The passages were a bit disjointed and I lost him several times, but I eventually found him again in his study. He was seated at his desk looking over a leather-bound journal of some kind and a knock sounded on the door. He cleared his throat and opened a drawer, sliding the book inside and closing it swiftly before he spoke.

“Come in,” he murmured, and a young man entered the room. By his appearance, I guessed that he was a beta.

“Lord Neegan,” the man greeted him. He bowed his head respectfully and the king’s hand smiled thinly in return.

“Do you have anything to report to me regarding the king’s omega?” he requested.

“She hasn’t been seen anywhere, my lord,” the beta replied.

Neegan sighed loudly.

“You will double the numbers looking for her. I want her found. It reflects poorly on us that a useless little omega could disappear right underneath our noses,” he spat.

“Yes, my lord.”

“Do you have anything else to report?”

“There are rumors beginning to spread that the dead king Borgan didn’t die of natural causes. They are suggesting he was poisoned,” the beta said nervously. Neegan’s gaze flicked dangerously in the man’s direction. He knew what gossip like that could do. The more news like that spread, the more the city would question those who led them. It would undermine their power slowly. It only had to