A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(60)

“You stay at my side.” He tucked a piece of my hair behind my ear. “No matter what, you stay at my side.”

I nodded because there was no way that I could leave him. Not now. Not with all this fear coursing through me. He was my safety, and I could feel it with every part of me.

We left his room hand in hand and made our way down to the throne room. Everyone was already inside sitting at the table, murmuring over maps and arguing over plans.

Mina and a few others were scurrying about the room, bringing in food and drink and placing them on the table. She looked flustered, her hands wringing against her apron and her normally pinned-back hair loose against her face. I stopped before her and let my hand slip from Evren’s.

I grabbed her arms in my hands and bent until we were eye to eye. “Thank you, Mina.”

She blinked up at me rapidly and her face turned ashen. I didn't know if it was fear for her kingdom or her prince or maybe even me, but it was fear just the same.

“I'm going to grab some tea.” She pushed her hair her out of her face. “Everyone could use some calming tea.” Her gaze searched the room, and I knew this was the only way Mina could help in that moment.

“That would be lovely.”

She walked past me, and Evren snatched my hand back in his.

“Mina is scared,” I whispered to him, and he nodded.

“Everyone is scared, princess. It is how we choose to use that fear that will define us. It is how we choose to use it that will determine the fate of our world.”

Evren moved to the head of the table where only one chair remained. Queen Veda sat to his right with several of her men while Sorin, Thalia, and Jorah all sat to his left.

I took a step back and tried to pull my fingers from his, but he held me more firmly. “Sit.”

He pulled out the chair at the head of the table, the chair that we had made love in mere hours ago, and I sat down where he asked me to. Queen Veda’s wide gaze snapped up in my direction.

Evren moved to the other end of the table and grabbed a chair before bringing it back to me. He put the chair between his mother and me, and I felt like it was a clear divide on where I stood. There was his mother's side of the table with her men and then there was his. Sorin grabbed the arm of my chair and scooted me toward him with a loud scrape on the floor that made it evident where I belonged.

Evren sat down next to me, as tightly as the two of us could fit together, before looking at the parchments in front of him. “What do we know?”

Jorah spoke before anyone else could. “Gavril's men reached the outskirts of their land and delivered the parchment to one of our soldiers.” He nodded to the parchment that lay before us. “He has three dozen men with him, and no others that we have been able to track. We’re worried about an ambush, but there have been no signs that that's the truth.”

“He can't be trusted.” Queen Veda crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “I don't trust that he's coming here with only three dozen men. That would be a damning move for him.”

“It would be if he deemed me capable of harming him.” Evren reached forward and grabbed the parchment. He studied the writing, and I wondered what he was looking for. What signs he was searching for to find the truth behind his brother's lies. “He thinks that we hold no power and that him compromising with us will be seen as a gift.”

Evren looked up from the parchment and looked around the table before his gaze finally settled on me. “My brother is much like his mother, and both have made a habit of underestimating me. We will use that weakness to our advantage.”

Queen Veda looked unsure of what he said, and I didn't know if the worry that lay in her eyes was for her kingdom or for her son who was willing to sacrifice everything for it.

“We are going to tell him of your betrothal?” She looked back and forth between the two of us.

“We are.” Evren tossed the parchment back down on the table and took my hand back in his. “The invitation that he sent was not only a threat to my mate, but a threat to me.” His hand tightened in mine. “He wants me to fear what he is capable of, of what he's capable of taking from me, but he is the one who should fear me.”

I looked over at Evren’s circle of friends, and every one of them looked so proud of their prince. They looked so sure of his words and the truth that rang behind them, and I found myself believing every one of them as well.

“The two of you must make this believable.” She looked back and forth between Evren and me. “Gavril must believe without a doubt that the two of you are in love and incapable of losing the other.”

My back straightened, and I took in a sharp breath. I knew one of those things with absolute certainty. I was incapable of losing him. But it was the other that gave me pause. He was my mate, and I knew that I felt strongly for him. I felt more for him than I had ever felt for another, but I wasn't sure if that was love.

“Are you capable of that, Adara?”

I stared at the queen as I gripped Evren's hand firmly in mine. I could feel my magic swirling inside of me, my marks buzzing with the emotions that were running through me. “I am capable of whatever Evren asks of me.” I lifted my chin and felt everyone's eyes on me. “I am his to command and his alone.”

Her eyes narrowed and her back straightened as she watched me. “I am your queen.”