A forbidden lover

The bells of the grand cathedral rang out, marking the hour of noon and filling the crowded marketplace with a chaotic energy. Clara pulled her frayed woolen shawl tighter around her head, blending effortlessly into the bustling crowd of merchants, farmers, and shoppers.

She kept her gaze low, but her eyes scanned the perimeter with practiced precision. She was a smuggler for the resistance, delivering medicine to the oppressed lower sectors of the city. Today, her contact had told her to meet in the open, right under the nose of the ruling council. It was a suicide mission.Suddenly, a heavy hand gripped her elbow. Clara’s breath caught in her throat.

Her hand instinctively drifted toward the small dagger hidden inside her sleeve."Don't look around, and keep walking," a deep, velvet voice whispered in her ear.Her heart did a violent flip. It wasn't her contact. It was Julian. He wore the polished armor of the High Guard, his silver crest gleaming in the sunlight.

He was the commander’s right-hand man, the city’s golden protector, and the one person Clara was absolutely forbidden to look at, let alone love. They had met by accident months ago in the neutral territory of the outer woods, sharing stolen moments in the dark. But here, in the heart of the city, their proximity was pure danger.Julian guided her...