A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(25)

Her words hit me in my gut because she was speaking truthfully. This woman had endured far more than I could ever fathom, and still she stood at Evren’s side.

“And you trust Evren completely?”

“With my life.” She nodded once before taking a small step back. “I would give my life to protect our prince, and as his mate, I will do the same for you.” Her hand came down and patted me on the stomach, and I let out a harsh breath due to her declaration and her hand. “Now we need to work on your breathing.”

“I’m breathing just fine,” I gritted through my teeth.

“No. You aren’t.” She took a deep breath, and I watched her chest rise and fall. “If you want to be a weapon, you must be able to control the things inside you that are needed to cleave this world.” She tapped against my thigh. “Your balance and your breathing are two of the most important things. Without those, nothing else matters.”

“Okay.” I nodded and tried to focus on what she was saying. I tried not to think about where Evren was at that moment or the danger he was putting himself in.

I forced myself not to think about why I cared.

Instead, I focused on Thalia, and I was cursing her by the end of our training session. Sweat was rolling down my back, and my legs throbbed as I made my way down the hall to my room.

“Wait up,” Thalia called out before jogging in my direction. I leaned against the wall because I was certain I would fall without it.

“I can’t handle any more today.” I wiped my brow with my sleeve. “Call me weak all you want, but I need a long, hot bath.”

Thalia snorted before shoving a book in my direction. “This is for you.”

The book was bound in brown leather that was fraying on the edges, and no writing creased its bindings. “What’s this?” I quickly flipped through the pages and stopped when I saw a drawing of a Starblessed.

“It has a lot of our history.” She shrugged. “Evren said that you were a reader, so I wanted to give you this in case you were interested.”

I pushed off the wall before I could think better of it and wrapped my arms around her. “Thank you.” My power writhed inside me, and the book burned in my hand. I barely knew Thalia, but already she felt like more than just a member of the Blood Court. She felt like my ally, and this book she had just given me, this knowledge into who I was, meant more than I think she could ever realize.

“You’re welcome.” She pulled away quickly and pushed her hair out of her face. “Now get some rest. We’ll start again early tomorrow.”

“Okay.” I nodded and held the book close to my chest as she left me standing there. I forced my stiff legs to move and headed toward my room. I flipped the book open again, the scent of old paper calming my racing heart, and I smiled.

I made it to my door but hesitated as my power pulled inside me. I glanced back over my shoulder and my gut twisted as I stared at Evren’s door. He’s not there. I repeated the words over in my head and tried like hell to get my power to understand.

But it wasn’t just my power that needed him, that was going insane with worry. Thalia had distracted me, but now there was no one to keep my fear from destroying me.

I pushed across the hall and ran my hand over his door. The aged wood was smooth beneath my fingers, and I found myself reaching for the handle with trembling fingers.

I should have gone back to my room, but I twisted the handle and was shocked when it opened without an ounce of resistance. I quickly stepped inside and closed the door behind me. His room was dimly lit by a small fire that Mina must have kept going for him, and his bed was still rumpled in the way he left it.

I moved toward it, careful and shaking. The scent of him was overwhelming as I sat down on the edge of the bed and allowed my fingers to clutch the linens.

I took a deep breath, breathing in the memory of him, and something deep inside of me settled. This was his room, his home, and I shouldn’t have been there.

But that didn’t stop me from kicking off my boots or stripping out of my sweaty clothes. I truly needed a bath, but I couldn’t force myself to leave his room.

Instead, I grabbed a black shirt that was thrown haphazardly over his chair and pulled it over my head. I was instantly engulfed by the smell of him, and I lifted the neckline and pressed it against my nose.

Just a few minutes. That was all I needed. A few minutes and I would disappear from his room as if I had never been there at all.

That was what I told myself as I climbed into his bed and pulled his dark covers up over my shoulders. A few minutes alone in his bed, and the ache I felt over him being gone would start to disappear.





CHAPTER 9





I covered my head with my blanket as the loud banging continued. I wasn’t ready to wake up or face whoever was waiting for me on the other side of that door.

I groaned and pressed my pillow to my face as I tried to block them out. My pillow that smelled exactly like Evren.

Evren, whose room I was currently invading.

“Shit.” I threw the pillow to the end of the bed as I shot up and looked around me. The sun was shining in through the window, and it gave me no chance to pretend that I hadn’t spent the entire night in Evren’s bed.

“Wake up, Adara!” Thalia’s voice rang through the hall, and I cursed again as I jumped from the bed.