A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(19)

“I’m not talking about me.” Pain marred his face, and he leaned against the table. “I’m talking about the girl.”

I was confused by what he meant. “Adara?”

“No.” He shook his head. “The girl who was in the dungeons with me for many years. Leda.”

I had never heard that name before. I had no idea who he was talking about.

“What girl?”

His brows pinched together in furrowed anger, his mouth agape and eyes narrowed. A wave of dread seemed to pass over his features.

“Gavril’s mate.”

The two words felt like lead being slammed against my chest. It was true. He was doing the unthinkable to obtain power that no man should possess.

“Is she dead?” My voice shook with fear that I hated. If he had killed her, then he may be truly unstoppable.

“She would be better off if she was.” He met my gaze and his pupils flared. “The things they have done to that girl are worse than death. Queen Kaida has kept her alive as a toy to dangle in front of her cruel son. He would visit her down in the cells, but even as his mate, the girl hated him. She hated him for what he had allowed the queen to do, for what they had planned.”

“The death magic?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “The queen never spoke of it, but Gavril would whisper his apologies to her in the darkness of her cell. He thought the other prisoners couldn’t hear, but Leda’s cell was next to mine. I would do my best to comfort her after he left.”

“Did he?” I didn’t know what I was asking. Assault her? Take from her? Abuse her? Of course, he had. He had kept his mate, the person he should have cared for more than anyone else in this world, as a prisoner.

Dareen shook his head, and his gaze darkened. “I don’t know everything they did to her. She would never talk about it after they were gone. I couldn’t see her through the stone wall that separated my cell and hers, but sometimes she would reach her hand through the small bars until she could touch mine. Her hand was always caked in blood and cuts. He had taken from her. I just don’t know to what extent.”

“I thought he had to kill his mate to gain the power?” I thought over all the pages I had read about death magic, and they were all the same.

“To gain it fully, he does.” He nodded and his gaze shuddered. “But bringing her so close to the brink of death again and again gave him enough power to lay waste to his enemies if he so chose. He would whisper to Leda that he would spare her as long as he could as she cried. Killing one’s mate gives you an evil power that should never be seen by this world, but torturing her, inflicting that kind of pain over and over, it fed him just enough power to satisfy his greed without taking her life.”

Rage filled me. It oozed through my pores, seeped into my cells, and brought out a darkness in me I tried to keep at bay. Every part of me contracted and ebbed with the flow of my fury.

I knew we had to be smart about how we got her back, but guilt clawed at me for doing so, for not cutting down every member of his kingdom until there was no one left who could keep her from me.

“Don’t leave her.” He pinned me with his gaze and made it clear that this was a demand. “You do not leave Adara or Leda behind.”

“I won’t,” I promised, although I didn’t know how I was going to manage to save either of them. But I knew if it came down to it, I would choose to save Adara. I would always choose her.

I looked over at my friends. Sorin and Thalia were both packed and ready for our journey to Citlali, and Jorah stood with his hand on his sword as he watched us.

“Protect the kingdom.”

Jorah bowed his head slightly, and I knew he would do everything in his power to make good on his word. He would protect this kingdom with his life just as I would.

“Let’s go.” I looked back to Sorin and Thalia. “We have a long journey ahead.”





CHAPTER 9





ADARA





I t had been two days since the queen left me in the library. Two days since she threatened Evren, and yet there was nothing I could do with her threat. I had no way to pull my power, no way to give her son what she wanted.

Gavril had left me alone most of the time. Only coming back to his room at night after I’d fallen asleep. He would crawl into the bed I laid in, but he hadn’t touched me at all. For that, I was thankful, but I couldn’t rest.

Especially not when I noted the dried blood on his hands and lips night after night.

Eletta flitted around me, pinning my hair into curls and adding a silver crown to my head with the twin moons in the center of my brow. The dress I wore was a crisp white that clung to my body and shimmered endlessly, and as usual, the queen made sure my star mark along my back was on full display.

I looked in the mirror in front of me with hollow eyes and stared at my sunken cheeks where Eletta was applying rouge. I could hardly recognize the girl who looked back at me.

As the days stretched by, I could feel myself withering away. The hollowness in my gut that I thought was simply from the loss of my power grew and grew, and I knew it longed for much more than my power. Every part of me ached for Evren.

I could live without my power for the rest of my life, but I could do nothing without him.

The door to Gavril’s room opened, but I didn’t look up as he entered. I knew it was him.