A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(29)

“My magic is controlled from here.” She pressed her hand against her stomach. “I reach deep inside myself, and I can pull the magic I want. I control it, master it, but Evren's is different.”

“What do you mean?”

I dusted off my hands as I sat up and stared at her.

“Evren's magic is more volatile. It's strong, stronger than I've ever seen before, and sometimes hard to control. He is wary of the magic that lies inside of him, and rightfully so. Your magic feels the same to me. The best thing you can do is learn to control it.”

My magic stopped inside of me as if watching her, assessing the words she was saying, and I hated how right she was. I had never experienced this kind of magic before, but everything about my magic felt uncontrollable.

It was as angry as I was.

“Show me how.”





CHAPTER 10





“This is a bad idea.” I pulled on the brand-new pair of boots Thalia had brought to Evren’s room and ran my fingers over the supple leather.

“It's just one night.” Thalia leaned against the wall as she watched me dress. “You’ve been training hard. It will be nice to take a little break.”

She was right. We had been training to the point my muscles felt like they were going to give out, and most nights I felt like doing nothing more than sleeping. But tonight, I had planned on laying down and reading the book she had given me. A book I hadn't even turned a page on yet because she had kept me so busy.

But I couldn’t deny that I did feel stronger both physically and with my magic. Even now just standing here talking to Thalia, I felt more in control of my magic. Whatever Thalia was doing was working, and I was grateful for her because time seemed to be dragging by with every minute that Evren was gone. She knew it too, and she had been doing her best to keep me busy.

But guilt still plagued me as everyone went on with their lives while he was risking his.

“Fine. One night.” I held my finger up in her direction. “One drink, then I'm coming back to my room.”

“Evren’s room.” Thalia smirked.

I rolled my eyes and pulled Evren’s black shirt over my head and tucked it into my trousers. She knew it belonged to him, but she didn’t tease me about it. I wondered if she knew how badly I needed this small connection to him even when I shouldn’t. I turned away from her as I tucked the crescent moon necklace into my breasts and shook out my hair.

“Okay. Let's get this over with.”

Thalia opened the door and waved me out. “Don't ruin our fun. Sorin will be with us, and I promise we’ll have a good time.”

“What exactly is going on with you and Sorin anyway?” I looked over at her, and she fidgeted with her hair until it was partly shielding her face. “Are you two having sex?”

Thalia swatted my arm and shushed me.

“Ow!” I laughed as her eyes widened.

“Would you be quiet?” Thalia looked up and down the hall, but there was no one around us. “No. I am not fucking the captain.”

“So, what?” I rubbed at the spot where she had just hit. “You’re trying to tell me this is all just built-up tension between the two of you?”

Thalia snorted out a laugh. “Something like that.”

I grinned as we finally made our way to the entry. Sorin was standing near the door talking to a few of his guards, but his gaze landed on Thalia as soon as we came into view. She was wearing her normal trousers and shirt, but they fit to her body like a second skin. If that girl carried a weapon, I had no idea where she hid it.

A wicked smile appeared on Sorin’s face as he looked back and forth between us. “Are you two ready?”

“I'm not exactly sure what I should be ready for,” I said without meeting his gaze.

He laughed before dismissing his men with a small nod. “You’ve been in the Blood kingdom for almost a week, and you haven’t left your room unless it’s to train or eat. If you're going to be a part of this kingdom, you need to actually experience it.”

My gut hardened and my magic flared inside of me, but I tried to focus on calming myself, pulling it back into the center of my chest just as Thalia had taught me. He spoke so easily about me becoming part of this kingdom. “I don't know that I want to be a part of this kingdom.”

It was the truth. I didn’t know what I was doing. I couldn’t make sense of what I wanted. The thought of leaving hadn’t run through my mind because I couldn’t imagine surviving in a world where I didn’t know if Evren was okay.

Sorin’s smile fell as my words sobered him up for a moment, but he quickly recovered.

“You know Evren isn't the only thing this kingdom has to offer.” He wrapped his arm around mine and pulled me to the door. “Not only do we have extraordinarily handsome captains, but we also make amazing wine.”

“You're quite full of yourself, aren't you?”

Thalia snorted from my other side, but Sorin only grinned.

“It's not being full of yourself when it's the truth.” He winked at me as we stepped through the door.

The sun was already sinking, and dusk was replacing its light.

“Come on.” Sorin tugged me forward, until I had no choice but to keep up with him. “What would you like to see first?”