I Bought the exiled king (by Natalie Winter) novel Chapter 151

Chapter 151

Valencia

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I closed my eyes and pressed my back against the damp stone, torch trembling in my grip.

I needed to think.

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I couldn’t just rush blind through these passages like a terrified rat. Killian was down there, bleeding and chained, and the only reason I was still moving was because he had forced me to. He had told me about Torv.

That meant Torv mattered.

So I dug through my memories, forcing my mind to slow even though my body screamed at me to run.

Faces blurred through my head: guards who leered when they thought I wasn’t looking, guards who obeyed Martin with wagging tails, guards who turned away as if I were some parasite clinging to their prince.

But then–yes. Him.

A tall one, always half in shadow. Not the kind that strutted about with armor polished until it blinded, nor the kind who barked orders as if volume equaled strength.

No, he had always lingered around Killian, not too close to eavesdrop but not too far to jump into action if anything untoward happened either.

The more I thought the more I recalled him hovering around Killian, silent, and steady in the background.

Torv. It had to be him.

His hair was pale, cropped close, more like straw than gold.

He carried himself like someone who could take a hit and still keep standing. Broad across the shoulders, though he had the habit of hunching forward as if to make himself smaller, less noticeable.

I remembered seeing him in the training grounds once while Killian was shouting orders at me, all muscle and fury. Everyone else had been too cautious to approach. But Torv had carefully approached Killian to whisper something in Killian’s ears.

And Killian had let him come closer. That signified trust.

And another time at night when moonlight spilled onto the castle, my eyes darted nervously while Killian pretended not to notice me staring at him instead of the soldiers.

But Killian’s own gaze had flicked sideways, landing on Torv. It had been quick, instinctive, like the silent exchange of men who had long ago forged trust in fire and blood.

Yes. Torv wasn’t just another guard. Killian trusted him. And if Killian had trusted him with a potion that could save his life, then Torv was the only man I needed to find.

10:38 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 151

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I straightened, gripping the torch tighter, my skin prickling with determination.

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But the recollection came with a sharp problem. Torv was stationed near the south wing. It was the exact opposite direction of where I was right now and the far side of the castle.

It was farther even than the throne room where chaos was still raging. I could still hear echoes of it now- clanging steel, shouted orders, the kind of fury that shook walls. That was the path I would have to take to reach him. Right through the center of the battle.

It was too far and too dangerous.

I squeezed my eyes shut, imagining Killian in that filthy cell, iron collar biting his throat, chains cutting into

his wrists.

Time was bleeding out of him with every drop staining the dungeon floor. He had asked me to find Torv, but if I lost myself in the maze of passages or if Martin’s men caught me before I reached the barracks, what good would that do?

No. I needed another path.

I looked up again and continued going left until I could see the castle exterior. My heart leapt with joy.

I was finally on the ground, and had successfully walked out of the maze called the dungeons.

The smell of fresh air filled my nostrils but I had to plaster my back to the wall because something came flying at me.

I crouched back to see that the fight had now spilled onto the open gardens.

No, it was not a fight but a full–scale war.

There were soldiers and werewolves fighting brutally with fangs and blades.

I guessed Maelyn’s father had called for his army and we were in the middle of an actual war.

Shit.

Now would I move through this maze of fighting soldiers?

I looked around, trying to carve a path for myself that would attract less attention. I hoped that the maid’s uniform I was wearing would make most of the soldiers ignore me like a rat scurrying away to safety.

I crouched down low and followed the dotted shrubs along the wall that were tall enough to hide me. I reached the end of the shrubs and was wondering where to go next when my nose twitched, catching a whiff of something beneath the musty smell of damp stone and grease, ignoring the fresh stench of blood.

I focused on those other smells.

Herbs. Crushed, pungent, familiar. The sharp tang of tinctures and salves, drifting faintly through cracks in

the wall.

10:38 Fri, Sep 26

Chapter 151

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