A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(21)

He lifted me until I had no choice but to stand, and he pressed a kiss against my cheek. “Come, Adara. There are many people that are expecting us.”

He pulled me from the room, his grip tight and unyielding. I floundered beside him, my feet dragging as I stumbled toward the ballroom. My thoughts were muddled, and my head swam like I was no longer in control of my body.

If Evren saw me now, he would be ashamed of what I had let Gavril turn me into. If Thalia saw me… I winced and tried not to think of my friend. Tried not to think of how much worse she had it here.

But it was the thought of Thalia that I clung to as we walked through the double doors when someone announced our arrival. She would tell me to fight. Thalia would scream at me to get up off my ass and fight. She would have demanded it of me until I was so furious that I had no choice but to answer her command.

But right now, I couldn’t find it inside of me. Gavril had drained the fight from me just like he said he would.

This was just a game to them, and I had no choice but to play my part. If he wanted to show me off to the people of his kingdom, then he would show off the shell of a girl that he had created. No one would be impressed with the Starblessed that he paraded around tonight.

Gavril pulled me toward the dance floor, and I was surprised when he reached around me, placing his hand on my back and pulling my body into his side.

“See?” He started moving us along the floor, and my eyes drooped for a second. I was tired, so very tired. “We can have so much fun tonight, Adara.”

He brought my hand to his lips and kissed along my knuckles. I looked out to the side and watched as people from the kingdom watched me curiously. Could they see what he had done to me? Could they tell I was nothing more than a prisoner to their future king?

“I’m dizzy.” I barely managed the words as he spun me around the floor. I looked up at the ceiling and stared at the chandelier.

The crystals blurred and danced in the light, and I watched their movement even as Gavril’s hand tightened around my back as he tried to force me to look at him. I leaned back further into his hold, and I felt weightless as he moved us along the dance floor.

I heard whispers around me, but I didn’t care what any of them were saying. I hoped they saw me for the truth of what I was.

I prayed they watched me in Gavril’s arms and knew this wasn’t where I belonged.

Because even drowsy from his feeding, I could feel it through every part of me.

I barely noticed the song end, but Gavril’s body stopped moving against mine and I blinked up at the chandelier as it still swirled above me more slowly than before.

“Stand up, Starblessed.” Gavril’s words were a hiss between his teeth, and I lifted my head to finally look back up at him.

There was a sneer on his face, and it made a smile grace my lips.

His voice cracked like a thunderous explosion, and I flinched. “They are watching you, and you will show them you are worthy of me.”

I didn’t meet his gaze at first. I stared at his chest as my anger started to clear some of the fogginess from my head. “Worthy of you?” I let out a soft laugh and finally looked up to meet his eyes. “It is you who is not worthy of me.”

He stared down at me, and for a moment, I couldn’t hear or see anything on the dance floor besides the two of us and that sickening red ring around his eyes.

“Yet, you think the bastard prince of my father is?” He lifted his hand and pushed some stray hair out of my face. I knew what it must have looked like to those around us. It was the touch of a lover. The careful attentiveness of my betrothed.

But that ring around his eyes burned brighter with his words and his fingers on my back dug into my skin.

I felt the pain and fought against the need to cry out. “I think he wouldn’t have broken me the way you have. He wouldn’t use me like this.”

Gavril laughed, the sound a threat, and he moved his mouth closer to me. “The only thing my brother has done is use you, Starblessed. You are just too foolish to see it.”

Suddenly, I felt a vise-like grip wrap around my waist, as he jerked me into his chest, and his lips collided against mine. There was no warning and no gentleness in the way he kissed me. His mouth was brutal against mine, and I reached forward and tried to shove him away from me.

I pressed against his chest, but it was no use. He didn’t budge. One hand held me firmly while the other moved to the back of my neck and slipped into my hair. He gripped my hair in an iron hold, forcing my head back until he had better access to my mouth.

When his lips released mine, I gasped for breath. I felt swollen and bruised from his assault on me, and I didn’t know how much longer I could handle this. I looked up at him, and his eyes were almost taken over by the power there. He looked at me with the hunger of a beast, and I jerked free from his touch.

I turned away from him, my head still spinning from everything he had taken from me. I stumbled forward until I was able to reach out for support. My hands digging into someone’s chest. I didn’t know who it was, but I held on to them to stop the room from spinning.

I heard the whispers around me, and I knew people were staring at me. Looking at me like I was some sort of plaything for their prince.

Is this what they wanted in their future queen? Could they not see how desperately I didn’t want to be here?

Closing my eyes for a moment, I felt the world rush around me, and I tried to breathe through the nausea that clawed at my gut.