A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(20)

“I hate you.”

“Yet the way you fuck me says otherwise.” He lifted his hand and ran the tip of his finger along his tongue. “There’s a fine line between hate and love, princess, and the taste of your pleasure on my fingers tells me you loved every fucking second of what just happened.”

My stomach clenched, and I reached for the door handle at my back. If I didn’t leave this room, he would have me on my knees begging him for more.

It opened with a loud groan, and Evren’s gaze shot to my hand. “Run back to your room.” He ran his hand down his cock, and I couldn’t stop myself from watching him. “I know where to find you.”





CHAPTER 7





I hadn't left my room since I ran out of Evren’s several hours ago. Nor had I heard a sound from him.

I told myself it was a good thing. I couldn't clear my head. I couldn’t form a single logical thought when he was around. It was like his magic, everything that he was, distorted my reality, and it was hard to remember why he wasn't good for me. The memory of his betrayal slipped through my fingers effortlessly.

But when I was alone, that was all I could think about. The way his skin felt against mine, the way my heart felt like it was crushing inside of me when I found out who he really was. Those thoughts warred inside of me endlessly, my want and my hate.

They were driving me mad, and I could handle it no longer.

The palace was quiet as I creaked open my door and peeked outside. Evren's door was securely shut, and nightfall had darkened the hallway. But even as fear tightened in my chest, my stomach rumbled. I had turned Mina away at dinner time simply because I wasn't ready to face her and know that she could possibly see the marks of him along my skin.

I was barely able to look at myself in the mirror.

I gently shut the door behind me before slipping down the hall in search of the kitchens.

I passed by doorway after doorway of rooms I didn't know, and I realized that I had seen very little of this palace. Almost every moment I had spent here, I had been locked inside my room. But the kitchen was typically the heart of the home, and I assumed that meant no different to the royal family.

I headed back toward the main entrance where I spotted two of Evren's guards standing near the door. Neither noticed me, so I pressed my back against the wall and slowly slid to the left until I was completely out of their view.

The last thing I needed was for one of them to alert Evren that I was out here. I didn’t need him finding me in the hall, especially when I was still sore between my thighs with memories of him.

I looked back around the corner as my chest tightened. My stomach was in knots with thoughts of Evren and the way I had let him rule over my body so easily, but the farther I moved through the castle, the more unsettled I became. This was more than the regret I knew I should have felt. Something wasn’t right.

I couldn’t explain it, but something in my gut churned with dread. It had pulled me from my sleep, and at first, I thought it was simply the uncertainty of everything, but the farther I got from my room, the more panic pulled at me.

My magic prowled inside of me. I could feel it as if it were as worried as I was, and my chest rose and fell harshly with each of my breaths.

Something was off.

I just didn’t know what that something was.

I let my hand drag along the rough stone of the walls as I continued to walk under the oil lamps and the smell of bread had me stopping near a heavy set of double doors.

The doors were wooden and intricately carved, and I pressed my trembling hand against one as I hurriedly pushed inside.

The kitchens were dark, save the lit candle by the oven, and I cursed under my breath for not bringing one with me. There was no way I was going to be able to find anything in here without some light.

I pushed across the room to grab the candlestick from where it sat, and I jumped when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught me off guard.

“Shit, sorry.” The male laughed as my back slammed into the counter behind me. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Who are you?” I took another step away from him, and he grinned. He was sitting on top of the counter across from me, and he had a plethora of meats, cheeses, and breads laying at his side.

“I should probably be the one asking you that since you’re the stranger in our castle.” He cocked his head to the side, and his long hair slid over his shoulder. He tucked his brown hair behind his ear before taking a bite of cheese as if he was completely unbothered by seeing me here.

“I’m not a stranger. I’m a prisoner.” I took a few more steps away until I was able to reach the candle. Hot wax dripped down on my hand, and I winced but didn’t dare drop it.

I moved it closer to the stranger in front of me so I could see him better. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I couldn’t stop that deep gnawing in my stomach.

“A prisoner?” He laughed and lounged back on his hands. “Our prisoners don’t have the privilege of sneaking around the kitchen for a snack in the middle of the night.”

“But you do have a lot? Of prisoners, that is.”

“We have a few.” He watched me, and I could practically feel him calculating my every move.

I attempted to do the same to him. He was dressed in all black, so similar to Evren, but his shirt was only buttoned about halfway up his chest as if he couldn’t be bothered to finish the rest of the task. Blades were strapped along his torso, and I wondered what he needed so many blades for in the middle of the night.