A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(23)

They claimed Evren had a thirst for power, but that greed they spoke of was all I could see in their eyes.

“Look at how his power has grown with her at his side.” The king looked down at me, and for the first time since I stood in front of him, his gaze met mine. “She is a part of the kingdom forevermore, and once the two of them wed, I will have an heir to my throne stronger than any leader we’ve had in hundreds of years.”

The room exploded, and I felt Gavril’s power snake over me again. It was brighter this time, almost blinding, and it made it hard to breathe. When it receded, Gavril was standing in front of me, his hands clamped down on both of my arms as the king stared down at his son—stared at both of us.

Everyone was staring at us, and I felt suffocated by this game they played. I choked on the way they tried to fool these people into thinking they were the royals they deserved.

When the truth of what they were was far more terrifying.

But none of these people who surrounded us seemed to care to look beyond their masks. I was the only one who knew how closely the royals resembled monsters hidden behind a thin shield of human skin. These people were fools for believing in them.

They were fools for watching Gavril’s power grow and not cowering in fear of what their ruthless prince would do.

I looked back up to the king, but my vision swam again as the glittering room moved around me.

“I think I’m going to be sick,” I whispered aloud, but I wasn’t sure if Gavril could hear me.

If he could, he didn’t indicate it. He kept his grip on my hand as he looked around the room. Everyone was still watching us, but their faces passed me by in a blur.

“It’s time to go,” Gavril said next to my ear, and I gasped and attempted to pull away at the feel of his breath against my skin.

He dipped his head toward his mother and father, and I took a step back. I just wanted to get out of here. I wanted to lie down. I was desperate to think of nothing but Evren and let my dreams of him wash away this awful feeling inside me.

The room began to spin and swirl like a tornado, the colors of the floor and walls darker with each turn. I was focused on the ground in front of me, watching my feet as if I were standing in quicksand. I could no longer see the king or queen, the man next to me, or anyone else. I felt like I was falling.

Gavril’s hands tightened around me, and I felt him press me into his chest. His arms were the only thing holding me up, and I couldn’t bring myself to care how it looked to the others.

He led me from the ballroom. I wasn’t sure if we had already passed the doorway into the hall when he bent at the knees and lifted me in his arms.

I didn’t want to be held by him, but I couldn’t deny the relief I felt when my feet left the ground.

Burying my face into his shoulder, I held on as nausea churned in my stomach. I tried to focus on to thoughts of Evren, but my mind was too foggy to focus on anything except the way I felt, the way the room moved, and the way the air left my lungs in short bursts as I tried to hold it all in.

I had never felt like this from being fed from before, but my body was rejecting Gavril as much as my mind did. I wasn’t sure if he had simply taken too much from me or if it was this magic of his that my body reacted to so poorly, but I cringed at the thought of him ever taking from me again.

Gavril carried me down the hall, and I tried to refuse when the guards opened the doors to his room. But I couldn’t find the words.

My head lolled back into his arms and darkness bled in and out of my vision.

He pushed into the room and set me down gently on the bed. I was expecting his anger, but his hands were careful as he made sure I was stable before he leaned away from me and stood.

“I want to go back to my room.” My words sounded weak even to my own ears, but I watched Gavril grimace before dropping to his knees before me.

I tensed as I watched his every movement, and I felt desperate to get away from him as he lifted my foot in his hand and slowly pulled my shoe off.

Gavril watched me with calculated reserve, his jaw set, lips closed and eyes shuttered. He set one of my shoes to the side before pressing my foot back to the ground and lifting the other in his hands.

I shivered at his touch as he worked my shoe from my foot. His fingers tensed against my ankle, his thumb rubbing over the sensitive skin there as he stared up at me.

“Let me help you get ready for bed.” His hand skimmed up the bottom of my dress, and I could feel that spark of magic deep in my gut.

It was elusive and intangible, like a phantom I couldn’t grasp.

Yet, it was there, and I found solace in that fact. I could feel its presence, yet it remained just beyond my reach, taunting me and making me feel both comforted and frustrated at the same time.

But I knew Evren held it safely inside himself, and he would use it and every bit of power that he possessed to get me back.

There wasn’t a trace of doubt inside me.

But it was hard to hold on to that faith when Gavril’s hands were on my skin.

He bunched my dress up until it reached my thighs before meeting my gaze. His eyes were soft and should have been comforting, but I found no comfort in the man before me.

I would never be so foolish.

“Can you lift?” he asked, his voice soft and smooth with only a hint of a rasp that hinted at the emotion he was hiding.

I didn’t answer him. I simply pressed my hands into the bed and lifted my hips while he pulled the skirts of my dress from beneath me.