A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(11)

The queen’s hand tightened into a fist, but it was the only sign she gave of her anger. “You will do whatever you are told, Starblessed.”

She looked back to Gavril before she stepped away from me, and I watched them both as the queen passed by the thrones and slipped through a door at the back wall.

Only Gavril and I remained in the room, and I dug my nails into my palms as I watched the prince stare at me. His hand rested on his chin, and he leaned back in his throne as if he was completely unbothered by me standing before him.

We stared at one another wordlessly before he finally stood and took a step toward me.

I swallowed hard. “What kind of pet would you like me to be, Gavril? Because that is all I will ever be to you. I will never be your queen.”

Gavril’s lip lifted in a sneer, and he took another step forward. “Are you sure, Starblessed?” His eyes slid over my body and dipped to my exposed cleavage. “I could drop to my knees before you when I feed from you. I could soothe every bit of the burning with my tongue. Is that what my brother did to win your loyalty?”

His words sent the fire in my gut raging.

The prince reached out slowly, and I cringed when his hand touched my face. He brushed a finger over my lip, and I wasn’t prepared when he pressed against my flesh roughly until a bite of pain coursed through me.

“I could make you forget my brother’s touch altogether if only you’d let me.”

“That will never happen.”

His thumb trailed down my chin, and I tried to jerk out of his touch, but he held firm, controlling. He leaned forward, and I clamped my lips closed when his mouth came within inches of my own. “You won’t have a choice.”

He pressed his mouth against mine roughly, and I jerked my head to the side to try to get out from his touch. His lip curled into a sneer as he examined me for a second before he slipped his hand into my hair and tugged harshly. He used the hold to tilt my head back, and I cried out in agony when he used his teeth to scrape down the length of my throat.

My heart thundered, and I struggled to catch my breath as I pressed my hands against his chest and tried to shove him away from me. But he was too big, and I had no energy left to fight him off.

“You will beg me for it by the time we’re finished, Adara.” He drew back his hand, and he curled his fingers around my hair so tightly that I whimpered in pain. “I can make this as painful or as pleasurable as you want. It is up to you how this will go.” Gavril snapped his fingers, and the doors to the throne room opened.

I didn’t have to turn around to know that his guards had entered behind me. My heart thundered in my chest, and I could feel my panic rising inside of me. Gavril was going to feed from me against my will. He was going to feed from me, and he had no idea I had no power left for him to take.

That was the truth I clung to as two guards stepped up beside me, each one taking one of my arms in their hands. I didn’t fight against them. There was no use, but I also didn’t look away from Gavril.

If this was what he wanted, then he would watch every second of what he did to me. He would have to look into my eyes and see my hatred staring back at him.

The two guards pushed me forward until I had no choice but to follow their lead, and I was shocked when they pushed me down against the throne Gavril had been sitting on only moments before. Both of them still held on to my arms, pressing them down against the throne, but their effort was wasted. I had no strength left to fight them off.

Gavril stood in front of me and pulled a small dagger from his side. It was ornate and looked about as worthless as he was, but I knew it would cut me just the same. He stepped toward me, and I jerked my arm away from the guard, which threw him off-kilter. I did nothing but simply thrust my wrist out toward Gavril while I stared at him with every bit of venom I possessed.

“Not there.” He shook his head as he stared down at the black mark of endless night and stars on my wrist. “I will not allow my lips to touch the same place my brother took from you.”

I ground my teeth together as I pulled my wrist back into myself. “Your brother didn’t take from me. I gave. And there’s nowhere on my body you can touch that hasn’t already been claimed by him.”

There was a sneer on his face, but he tried to mask it with a smile. “Do you really think giving me the details of how you were my brother’s whore is going to save you?”

“I’m not telling you that to save myself.” I pressed my thighs together protectively as his gaze dropped down my body. “I’m telling you so you know who I belong to.”

The guard at my side shifted nervously, but Gavril simply laughed. “You belong to me, Starblessed. I was the one who brought your father to you. My brother was the one who took him from you in the first place.”

I clamped my eyes closed because I couldn’t think of my father. Not now, not when I knew he had been treated so much worse than anything they would ever do to me. But Gavril’s words were a blaring reminder of what they had taken from me, what the queen had taken from me. It may have been Evren’s hand that had taken my father, but it was the queen’s rule. It was her orders that forced him to do things he would have never done on his own.

The fury inside of me took over, and I could hardly control it as I stared up at him. “He will kill you.”

“Your father?” Gavril laughed, but I shook my head.