A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(13)

“Ninety-four.” Sorin’s voice was rough and tired, and I knew that number hurt him as much as it did me.

Ninety-four.

The fae soldiers who infiltrated my kingdom killed ninety-four of my people. My hands balled into fists, and I could barely control the power that surged through me with my anger. They had killed ninety-four of my people, and still, all I could think about was her. What was he doing to her?

“I’m going to my father’s kingdom.” I turned to my best friend, and his eyes were two burning embers, flickering with a mixture of rage and worry.

“And what will we do about what the soldier told us? If he has enchanted the border like the soldier said?”

I stared down at my hands that held both mine and Adara’s power before looking up at him. “I have both mine and Adara’s power inside of me. I will find a way to defeat any magic my brother could possibly possess.”

“And if it’s a trap?” Thalia walked up to us, and I noticed the way she let her body lean into Sorin and accept some of his comfort after what we’d just done.

All of them, Sorin, Thalia, and Jorah, had killed almost as many men as I had, and taking that many lives took a toll on your soul. It didn’t matter how many had come before it. It still ate at a part of you that you’d never get back.

“I don’t care.” I shook my head and let out a growl. “I can’t just sit here while she’s there with him. While he tortures her.”

Thalia’s pupils widened and her breath caught. A wave of terror seemed to wash over her, and she closed her eyes, waiting for it to pass as Sorin’s hand tightened on her hip. “Adara is much stronger than you give her credit for. She can handle whatever Gavril throws her way. What she can’t handle is us storming in there with no plan and making things worse than they already are. If we have any chance of getting her back, we need to be smart about it.”

I pushed my hands through my hair, but I knew she was right. As much as I hated it, if it were any of them, I would tell them the same thing, but that didn’t make it easier to take. Jorah moved to the other side of me and pressed a crust of bread into my hand.

“Eat,” he ordered me and nodded toward the bread. “You’re not going to do Adara any good if you run yourself to death. You need to eat, you need rest, and we need to come up with a plan.”

I looked down at my hands and at the piece of bread, and I stared at the red blood that still stained my palms. I was still covered in the blood of my people, of our enemies, and I knew that by the time this was over, I would be covered in much more.

I took a bite of the bread and let it settle in my mouth. It was almost stale, but I didn’t care. I ate the rest of it, took a deep breath, and tried to let my anger calm.

“I’m going to go bathe.” I looked up at my friends, and there was so much worry and concern staring back at me. “Then we’ll meet back in the library.”

They nodded, and I walked away before any of them could tell me again that I needed to rest. I couldn’t rest when Adara was in the hands of my enemy. I couldn’t do anything except think of her and pray to the damned gods that Gavril hadn’t touched her.

I didn’t know what he would do when he discovered that she no longer had the power he so desperately craved. How would she protect herself?

I pushed into my bedroom and shut the door behind me before leaning against it. Despite the power that coursed through me, I was exhausted. I could feel the loss of Adara all the way to my bones, and it created an ache there I knew wouldn’t go away until I had her back.

I pushed off the wall and moved toward my bed. I toed off my boots, mud falling to the floor, and I fell back onto the bedding that was still rumpled from the last time Adara had been in it. I took a deep breath, breathing in the scent of her that still clung to my sheets, and my chest ached.

Every part of me ached.

I could still taste her on my lips, her kiss, her body, her blood. My ears longed for the sound of her voice, my throat burned with the longing to make her laugh, for her sweet voice to fill my home.

I would get her back. Even if my death was the cost. Adara would not stay a prisoner of the kingdom that wanted to take everything she had. She would be free of the burdens the blessing of the stars had bestowed on her, and I would use every breath in my chest to make sure of it.

She was my mate, and she would come home.





CHAPTER 6





ADARA





I t had been hours since the guards locked me into Gavril’s room. My hands were bloody and aching from the way I had pounded on the dark wood to be let out, but it was pointless. There was no one in this kingdom that would help me.

It was me and me alone.

I pulled the heavy, ornate chair into the corner so my back was against the wall, and I stared out at the door as I steeled my gut and wiped the tears that fell down my cheeks.

I needed to be strong to survive this. I needed to find a way to escape and go home.

It was hours before the doors to his room finally opened, and I refused to let Gavril see the weakness in my eyes as he closed them behind him.

Gavril had a tall glass with an amber liquid in his hand as he approached. I stared at him, trying to see if there was any humanity left inside him. Any sign of a human in those cold, dead eyes.

“I thought you might be thirsty.” He pulled a stool from near his desk and moved toward me. I tensed, and his eyes softened. “I’m not going to hurt you, Adara.”