A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(7)

“Yes.” I finally turned to him, and my eyes threatened to flutter shut as the smell of him hit me. “Your mother said we are leaving for the palace shortly.”

“We are.” He crossed his arms as he studied me. His black shirt was clouded with dirt, and when I looked back up at his eyes, I saw the same weariness in his gaze. “The men are going to take down our tent, and then we’ll head out.”

“You should have woken me.” I lifted my chin as I said it. “It was foolish to let me sleep in while the rest of the camp was packed up.”

It was foolish to let me sleep while you left me feeling so unsure.

I wasn’t sure why that bothered me so much. He had asked me to stay with him for the night, and he didn’t owe me anything this morning. But my chest ached, and I couldn’t get the feeling to stop. I hated him, and the feeling confused me. How could I hate someone so badly while also craving them with every part of my being?

“You were sleeping so peacefully when I awoke. I knew you needed your rest.” His gaze fell to my mouth, and I bit my tongue to stop from saying the things I truly wanted to say.

“Well, thankfully now I’m rested and thinking clearly. So we should be on our way.” I went to step past him, but he stopped me with his hand on my bicep. He moved in close, close enough that everything about him overwhelmed me.

He stepped close enough that every part of me felt unsure in my resolve to hate him.

“You’re angry with me.”

“You’re bright, prince.”

His lips cocked into a smirk at my remark. “I meant angrier than normal. Angrier than you were when I left you sleeping.”

My spine straightened, and I begged it not to tremble under the weight of his presence.

“I’m fine.”

He leaned closer still. His nose pressed against my jaw, and I felt him breathe me in as if I was his first true breath after a lifetime of suffocation. “I’m sorry if I upset you last night.”

“You didn’t.” My voice broke, and I hated it. “Last night shouldn’t have happened. It won’t happen again.”

He groaned and his breath rushed out against my neck. “We both know that’s a lie, princess. You can hate me in the light all you want, but the truth of us comes out in the dark. It always will.”

My stomach tightened at his words, at his threat, and an ache began between my thighs. We were surrounded by a camp full of others, but it only took a few whispered words from his lips until he was all that I could see. He was everything that I could feel.

“That darkness is yours, not mine.”

He chuckled soft and low, but he didn’t back away a single inch. “Let some of your magic spill from your hands, princess. Let the rest of the camp see the way your magic is the twin to my own.”

I clamped my hands into fists and tried to hide the dark stains that soiled the tips of my fingers, because I didn’t want to see my magic. I didn’t want to listen to the words he was saying.

“I’ve never met another living being with this magic, princess. This darkness is ours whether you want it or not.”

I didn’t know what he meant, but I didn’t ask. I didn’t relish in the thought of our magic having any parallel. He finally pushed away from me, and I avoided looking at him. Instead, I looked ahead to where Jorah was climbing onto his mare.

“You don’t understand your magic yet, but you will. Soon enough, it will feel as vital as any other part of you.”

Even as I tried to deny the truth of his words in my mind, I felt my magic course through me as if it were as crucial to me as the blood that ran through my veins.

I followed behind him as he led us to where his horse stood, and I hoped he wouldn’t deny me a horse of my own.

“Where’s my horse?”

“You’re with me.” He barely looked back at me. “We are heading into the Blood kingdom, and I want you with me.”

“I’d rather walk.”

Someone snickered behind me, but I didn’t dare turn around to see who.

“That’s not an option. You’re with me.”

Queen Veda was watching us, already perched atop her own horse, and I tried to force the fight down inside me.

“Adara, get on the damn horse.”

My gaze hit his as his brow furrowed, and he jerked down the strap on the saddle to tighten it.

“I’ll ride with Jorah.” I didn’t trust him either, but at least with him, I wouldn’t be plagued with my warring thoughts.

“That’s not going to happen.” He gritted his teeth, and his hand fisted around the reins.

“I remember you telling me once that you would trust Jorah with your life. Why wouldn’t you trust him with me?”

“It’s not about trust, Adara. You are my mate, and you will ride with no other man than me as we arrive at my home.”

I wanted to fight him more. I wanted to scream and thrash and take out every bit of anger and hurt that I was feeling at that moment. But I didn’t.

Because this fight wasn’t worth it. I didn’t know what I was doing. I didn’t have a clue what waited for me in the Blood kingdom or the fight I would face there.

I silently walked toward him and reached forward until my fingers wrapped around the pommel of the saddle, and I pulled myself up in front of him. Irritation clung to my skin as his hands met my sides and helped situate me against him.