A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(2)

It never would be.

A cry escaped Leda’s mouth, and she attempted to pull her hand from mine, but I held firm. “Please, don’t.”

Her words made my chest ache. If I could have found another way to ensure the future of my kingdom, of my power, without taking from her until she was on the brink of death, I would have done so.

But there wasn’t.

Adara was the key to the prophecy, and I couldn’t allow the way I wanted to protect Leda from everything, from myself, get in the way of that.

“Don’t fight me, love.” I raised my hand and pressed it against her cheek. Her eyes shuddered, and her body trembled beneath my touch. But I couldn’t go long without touching her. “I’ll make it good. Easy,” I whispered the words against her lips before I met them with my own.

The kiss was gentle, pleading, but she remained stoic beneath me.

“I’m sorry,” I murmured against her lips as I pulled away.

I lifted Leda’s arm and slid my small dagger against her scarred skin. Her body stiffened, but I refused to let her go. My grip was firm as I ran my tongue along her wrist, collecting the blood that seeped from the cut before sealing my mouth over her and feeding from her.

I ruthlessly drained the life from her body, taking every drop of her essence into mine. As her life ebbed away, I could feel the power within me grow.

She cried out in agony, and I knew I was close to killing her as I feasted from her body.

But it was the only way to get the power I needed, the power I craved.

I pulled my mouth away from her wrist and pressed my hand to the wound. Her weak pulse thrummed beneath my fingers.

She was on the brink of death, but we would slowly nurse her back to life. It was a cycle that had to continue until I was completely ready to claim the power she held.

The power I would gain from killing my mate.





CHAPTER 1





EVREN





A tingling sensation spread through my flesh like wildfire. Every nerve ending seemed to be alive with her energy, her presence felt in every corner of my being.

I could feel her blazing into my chest like a dying sun.

She had given me her magic, forced it into me without giving me the choice, and it snaked under my skin now as frantic to find her as I was, like an invisible tendril reaching out to her.

My skin prickled with the anger of her power. It was clawing inside me like a caged animal screaming for release.

It was hers, but even with its searing rage, it felt like it was as much a part of me. The connection to my mate still strong even through only her magic.

My heart raced as my anger was fueled from its depths.

She hadn’t just forced her power into me, she had paralyzed me with it and forced me to watch my brother take her.

He took my fucking mate.

I stared at the door where he had disappeared with her as I ground my teeth together until my jaw ached. He transported her out of my kingdom, a kind of magic I hadn’t seen in many years, a kind of magic that required sacrifice.

A kind of magic that was almost impossible to fight.

Death magic.

My anger tasted like acid in my mouth. It thrummed on my tongue, white and furious and cold. It felt as alive as her magic that quivered through me uncontrollably.

But it wasn’t the kind of anger that was helpful.

The kind of anger that helped me build a plan, one with the strength to carry me to the places where I would find her.

My anger was reckless. It was bloodthirsty, and I wasn’t sure I could control it.

I needed to think.

Fucking breathe.

I took a step back toward the wall but fell against it, my back slamming into the hard stone.

Running my hands through my hair, I took a deep, seething breath. I needed to find a way to get her back.

I had to.

I had forced myself to be strong for so long—seen and endured so many things—but she had such a powerful hold on me. Something that made me feel so vulnerable and so fragile.

Because throughout all my years, there had never been something that could break me as easily as she could. She had the power to destroy me in ways that I never saw coming.

The chaos of voices around me jumbled together into a faint echo. They were shouting and arguing, but their words felt distant, like they were being smothered by a pillow.

My heart beat so fast I thought it might burst out of my chest. I had to force myself to inhale, to keep the ice-cold fear from overtaking me.

I looked around desperately for something to cling to, some thread of hope that might pull me back from the brink, but all I could see was her face, haunting me, taunting me.

Pressing my trembling, magic-stained hand against my chest, I tried to swallow down slow, deep breaths.

I forced my mind to think of anything that could help me, but no matter how hard I tried, all I could see when I shut my eyes was her, her gaze beseeching me.

She was my mate, and I failed her.

She had chosen me over everything. She had chosen me even though she knew the truth of me delivering her father to Queen Kaida so many years ago. The bond inside me that laced the two of us together felt taut and strained with the ache of the two of us being apart.

I had given her every reason not to, but she still chose me.

My chest tightened with a debilitating ache at the thought of losing her.