Falling Hard (Veronica's Secret) by Scarlet Rose Read Free Book Online

drunk.
    Marissa grunted. “I told you already. I don’t know. If you keep harassing me, I will never find the answers.” She turned and scurried off down the hall.
    Just as Marissa turned, Veronica was finally able to dip into her thoughts. It felt different this time than it had before. She felt an invisible tie from her own mind to Marissa’s.
    “ I hope it isn’t true. I feel for that child if it is. No one keeps track of the old prophecies any more. I have to get in contact with Baraccus …” Marissa’s thoughts trailed off as she rounded a corner.
    Who is Baraccus? Veronica thought. What prophecies? She stared at the empty hallway.
    The sound of someone clearing their throat pulled her out of her thoughts.
    “Veronica?”
    It was Benard. She spun around to see him standing just outside the conference room doors, as if he was about to enter.
    “Hello, Benard.” Veronica bowed ever-so-slightly to him, to show her respect for the future King. She did it partly out of spite, but also out of respect. Without some form of respect for a future king, she wouldn’t make it very far as a Queen.
    “Where have you been?” His face showed only curiosity, but his voice hinted at worry.
    “I went out into the city with Marissa, the healer. I wasn’t feeling well so she took me to see her sister.”
    He stepped forward until he was within an arm’s length of her. His left hand came up to rest affectionately on her shoulder. “I was worried, but your father said not to worry about it.”
    Veronica stared up into his dark brown eyes. They looked sincere. She tried to dive into his mind the way she had Marissa’s. The process was easier this time. Again she could sense a tiny invisible cord connecting them. It stretched directly from the center of her forehead to his.
    She didn’t hear any of his thoughts, though. She could, however, sense his emotions. A tiny bit of worry mixed with a lar ge amount of attraction to her.
    A hint of annoyance floated around in there as well.
    Veronica released the link before she became overwhelmed. Why couldn’t I hear his thoughts? Maybe he wasn’t thinking anything specific at that moment? She didn’t understand how she could have sensed his emotions but not his thoughts. Not even in her drunken nights had she felt another person’s emotion instead of—or with—their personal thoughts. The only other time that had happened was just a few days before, when Marissa had healed her hangover.
    She didn’t understand all the changes inside her.
    “Are you all right?” Benard asked with a hint of worry.
    She realized that she had been staring at him for too long without speaking. He probably thought she’d gone crazy. “Yes. Sorry. I was just thinking. I’ve got a lot on my mind.”
    “Do you want to talk about it?” His hand moved up toward her face and caressed her cheek.
    “ Uhh … no. I’d rather not.” She took a deep breath to focus herself. “I actually came here looking for you. I need to ask you something.”
    “Okay. How can I help you?”
    “I never got to hear the details of our engagement. How long will it be before we get married? Are there any stipulations between our two families that I should be aware of?”
    “Oh.” Benard’s hand dropped away from her face. “Actually the deliberations between our fathers went rather smoothly. Your father didn’t make any outrageous demands. I’ll give you the brief details. He only requested that we be married here before he gets too weak to enjoy the celebration of his only surviving child’s wedding. He requested that we not make any outside alliances, and agree to keep the Kingdom of Palinna as safe and protected as possible in these rough times.”
    “I see. And, how long before we are to be married?” Veronica couldn’t keep the fear from her voice.
    “Well, it will be sooner than any of us expected. King Doogan grows weaker by the day …”
    “How long?”
    “Five days. My family intends to stay