A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(20)

No one other than him and Eletta had entered this room.

He moved farther into the room, and Eletta hurried out of his way as he stood behind me and stared into the mirror. He watched our reflections carefully, and I tried not to meet his gaze.

“You look lovely, Adara.” He reached forward and ran his hand along my shoulder, and I couldn’t stop the shudder that ran through my body at his touch.

My heart hammered in my chest, and my bones throbbed in the same rhythm. “This is what you wanted.” I looked at him in our reflections and raised my chin. “Am I not the girl you promised to showcase tonight?”

His brow furrowed, but he quickly smoothed out his features as his fingers tightened on my shoulder. “Tonight is the celebration of your return, Starblessed. The entire kingdom is to celebrate the return of their future queen.”

I stared up into his eyes as I clenched my jaw. “Does the entire kingdom know that I’m a powerless future queen?”

Gavril’s gaze darkened, and he didn’t answer me for a long moment as he stared down at me, then his touch moved along my back. He ran his finger down my spine, tracing the star mark, and his hands were gentle, the soft caress of a lover.

“My kingdom will hear no such thing.” His hand stopped just below the small of my back and chill bumps invaded my skin. “Your power is here. I will just have to try harder at coaxing it out of you.”

“I have no power, Gavril. Just let me go.” I hated how weak my voice sounded, how desperate.

“That’ll never happen.”

I turned on the stool until I could face him fully. I wanted to make sure he heard every word that left my mouth. “Then I will fight you every step of the way. I will never stop fighting you to get back to him.”

That red ring appeared around his irises, just as the red smoke of his magic dripped from his fingers and wrapped around my hands. I tried to struggle against it, but the power pinned my hands to my sides in an iron hold.

“What the hell, Gavril?”

“There are far too many important people here tonight, but it would appear that you have too much spirit.” He leaned forward and ran his hand along my cheek. I jerked out of his touch, but it didn’t stop him. “Allow me to break it for you.”

He pulled a small dagger from his side, and my gaze searched the room until it landed on Eletta standing in the corner. There was shock and terror in her eyes staring back at me, but she did nothing to stop him. There wasn’t a single word uttered from her lips that would stop the prince from taking from me. And I decided at that moment that I hated the girl.

“Please don’t,” I begged him, but Gavril wasn’t listening to me.

He took my wrist, the opposite one that held Evren’s mark, and he held it firmly in his hand as he pressed the blade to my skin. He only made the smallest cut there before he quickly closed his mouth over it, and I felt the bite of his teeth against my flesh as if he thought it would hold me still.

His magic still grasped me tightly, holding me firmly in place. But I still thrashed against it. I fought against him, and I cried out as pain sliced through me. Him feeding from me still felt so different, and I didn’t know if it was due to my lack of power or because I’d experienced feeding with Evren.

Because nothing would ever feel the same as him.

I blinked my eyes closed as the only thing I felt was pain.

He drained and drained me until I felt like a wilting flower. I could feel my strength leeching from me, and even as I tried to cling to it, it slipped from my fingers like sand.

The heat of his breath was like a brand on my skin, and when he lifted his mouth away from my wrist, the fire that had ignited in my gut to fight him was left in a pile of ash. He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, and for the first time since he entered the room, I noticed his attire. He was dressed in black pants and a rich blue jacket that had the crest of his kingdom on his chest. There was a golden crown set upon his head, and he looked every bit the prince that ruled this kingdom.

There was no questioning who he was when he entered the room tonight; his appearance demanded respect, and I knew that these people would give it to him. He had done nothing to earn it, nothing to gain their loyalty, but fear ruled far more than loyalty ever would.

“Clean her up,” he demanded of Eletta, and she scurried toward me with a cloth in her hand. I didn’t meet her eyes as she kneeled before me and pressed the cloth to the fresh wound on my wrist. Her hands trembled against mine, but I would not be sympathetic toward her fear.

“I think…” She hesitated. “I think she might need sutures.”

Gavril straightened his jacket and looked down at the lady-in-waiting. “Put a small bandage on her wrist and then cover it with jewels. I want no one to see the mark.”

Eletta hurriedly did as he asked. She wiped away the blood from my wrist before pressing the cloth down harshly to stop the bleeding. There was so much pain that sliced through me, but I didn’t look at her to see if she had noticed.

Once the blood stopped rushing to the surface, she grabbed the bandage and wrapped the thin white material around my wrist three times before tying it in a small knot. She let my wrist go, and it fell to my side limply as she rummaged through the small desk, frantically looking for something to hide the evidence of Gavril’s cruelty.

She wrapped five small bracelets around my wrist. Each one covered in jewels clear as water and they reflected every bit of the light that shined against them. Gavril watched her work, and when he was satisfied with what she had done, he reached his hand out and grabbed me around my upper arm.