A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(70)

I knew how it looked. My magic was still slamming into Evren, and even as my gaze slid past him to Thalia, I could see the fear in her eyes. But none of them had the power to stop me.

Her blue magic hit my own, not to harm me, but to stop me from harming her prince, but it did no good.

I would go with Gavril willingly, but I would play no part in his plan. When he took me, he would be taking me without my powers. He would be taking a Starblessed that held no blessings to make his prophecy come true.

I could feel the bottom of the well, every but of my magic drained from me, and I sagged against Gavril as the last of my magic trailed from my fingers.

The throne room was eerily quiet as Evren took a deep breath and shook his head. “Please don’t do this, princess.”

“It’s already done.” Gavril laughed with his mouth near my ear. “You gave yourself up for a man you think you love.” Gavril pressed against my neck, and I tried to jerk away from him but I was so tired.

Evren climbed to his feet with fury in his eyes, but Gavril lifted his blade to my neck just as Evren took a step in our direction.

“He craves your blood as much as I do, Adara. He craves your power. You are nothing more to him than a pawn.”

“I am his mate.” My words were as weak as I felt, but I hoped Evren could hear the truth behind them. I hoped he knew what they meant.

“Mate,” Gavril spat out the word, and his hands tightened against me. “Do you think fate knew he was your mate when my mother ordered him to take your father from you? Was that fate or his own power that caused him to lock your father in the dungeon and guarantee that your own blood would never get in the way of you being his? You may hate me, Starblessed, but the man you just saved is no better than I. He is worse. He damned you to this life. He damned you to be mine even though it’s the last thing he could want.”

I didn’t believe him. Evren may have been the one to take my father to the Fae kingdom, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe he knew my father was still alive.

I couldn’t bring myself to believe that he would ever do such a thing to me.

“Get your fucking hands off her, Gavril,” Evren growled, and Gavril’s thumb rubbed along my neck right where Evren could see.

“So possessive over something that doesn’t belong to him,” Gavril murmured before running his nose along my skin and breathing me in.

I looked away from Evren as I tried not to cry out, and my gaze hit my father’s. My father stood before me, but I still didn’t know him. I knew even less about him than I thought I had.

I feared what he had been through as I looked over his aging face. I had been in that castle for weeks, and the entire time he had been there. He had been tortured and feed from just as Thalia had.

“I’m sorry,” I mouthed the words to him, and I could see his emotion shutter across his face.

I was so sorry for all of it. For everything he had been through, for the decision I had to make.

Gavril pulled me back toward the door of the throne room, and his men surrounded us. I could feel Evren’s magic along with my own, and I looked back to my mate as our dark magic surrounded him.

“I love you, Evren.” The words fell from my lips just as Gavril lifted his hand and a magic like I had never felt before consumed me.

Cold, empty darkness ravaged me, and Evren’s face was the last thing I saw as I let it take me.