Veiled Innocence (Book One, The Soul Cycle) by Krystle Jones

crying out in the process. Her curiosity won over her pain, and she tiptoed to the door, gritting her teeth against the protests of her body, and cracked it open. The hallway was empty. 
    She carefully stepped into the hall and slipped the door closed behind her. She listened carefully for a few seconds before picking a direction. With every step, her body hurt more and more. She bit her tongue so hard she drew blood and wound her hands into her nightgown, squeezing it every time her bones jolted.
    The commotion grew louder. She kneeled on the balcony and peered through the black iron railing into the foyer. 
    A hoard of servants was running around, carrying towels, blankets, and bandages, and in the center of it all stood a girl with messy red hair. She was nicely dressed in a deep green dress that complimented her hair color, but she was covered in dirt and twigs, like she had been dragged through Dreaka’s Forest. She looked young, possibly a few years younger than Lian, and her face flicked about wildly, like an animal caught in a cage. Lian squinted. Bruises bloomed along the girl’s neckline and face. One of her eyes was nearly swollen completely shut.  
    A strange, prickling sensation ran along Lian’s arms, accompanied by the sense she was being watched. She looked past the red-haired girl and gasped. 
    A woman with dark brow n hair and olive toned skin stared back at her. Her lithe body was dressed in exquisite gems and a shimmering black gown tha t accentuated her form. She sat on a chair whi le the healer examined her. She too looked as if she had endured a beating. H er skin was bruised along her chest and arms, and Lian thought she saw a long red gash across her neck , but it was hard to tell with the woman’s long hair. Lian’s father and sister were speaking with her. Alastor was also there, with his hand on the small of Ana’s back.
    All the while the woman stared at her. No, wait. Not at her; her gaze wasn’t directed at her eyes.
    She’s looking at my necklace. But how?
    Lian subconsciously reached up and placed a hand over the pendant, pressing it into her skin beneath her gown. The woman’s black eyes made her uneasy, and she quickly broke her gaze. They were beautiful and frightening at the same time , like the darkness that had consumed her earlier.
    “Darkness comes for you now.”
    A chill broke out over her. Could this woman be who the dream meant? Was she there for the necklace?
    Lian closed her eyes. It’s nonsense. Perhaps the medicine is causing me to draw irrational conclusions. It was only a dream, after all.
    A dream that had felt very real.
    She suddenly very much wanted to crawl into bed and forgot about everything, at least for a day. Crawling to the cover of the wall, she began to rise when a high-pitched voice caught her by surprise. 
    “What are you doing out here? You’re supposed to be in your room!”
    Lian gasped and stumbled, but a small hand caught her arm and steadied her.  “Ursa,” she croaked. 
    Ursa wasted no time and gingerly began leading her down the hall. “You’re too weak to be wandering around on your own,” she gently scolded. “What if you’d passed out?”
    Lian smiled wryly and then grimaced as a wave of pain hit her. “I didn’t though, did I? Besides, how else was I supposed to find out what was happening? It seems the whole of Accalia is in our foyer tonight.”
    Ursa clucked her tongue. “You and your curiosity. One of these days, it will get the better of you.”
    Lian groaned , and Ursa adjusted her hold on her arm. “What do you know, Ursa?”
    Ursa squeezed her mouth shut. Her lips were so thin already that they almost disappeared completely. “I’m not supposed to speak of it…”
    “Even better. You know it will only make me ask more questions, and surely you don’t want to put up with my relentless prodding, do you?”
    “I could request to be reassigned to a different part of the fortress.”
    “You wouldn’t. I know