A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(35)

“I will never let you go again.” I told her the most honest truth that I would ever give her. “Gavril will have to kill me.”

“I’m not going anywhere.” She shook her head in my hand.

“Promise me,” I demanded of her, and her pupils flared. “No matter what we must sacrifice, it will never be one another. Not ever again.”

She was quiet for a long moment before she nodded. “I promise. Never again.”

I leaned forward, wrapping my arms around her, and I stood from the tub, carrying her with me.

“I told you I can walk.” She laughed, but I didn’t care.

I carefully set her on her feet before grabbing a towel. I ran it along her body, drying the water that clung to her skin before I wrapped it around her. I wrapped another around my hips before I took her in my arms again and headed toward my bed.

I knew there were many people waiting to see us, waiting to talk to us about what had happened in the fae kingdom, but none of them mattered in that moment.

It was just her and me, and everything else could wait.





CHAPTER 14





ADARA





E vren and I walked down the hall hand in hand.

I wasn’t sure how long we had slept, but I hadn’t felt so rested in a very long time. Evren had wrapped himself around me, his body cocooning mine in his warmth and safety, and the darkness of the night pulled me into sleep quickly.

My body still ached, and I could feel the ghost of Evren between my thighs. He had wanted to stay there, to forget the rest of the world until we were completely sated, and I wanted that too.

But thoughts of my father, of him being here, ate at the back of my mind, and I was eager to see him. Eager and nervous at the same time.

Evren’s hand wrapped around mine settled something inside me, and I followed him step for step as he led us through the palace.

We made our way to the dining room, and I was surprised at the number of people sitting around the table as we entered. Sorin, Jorah, and Thalia were all chatting as they ate, and Queen Veda sat at the head of the table, quietly watching all of them.

But it was my father at her side, my father, who looked far more human than the last time I saw him, that drew my attention.

Thalia jumped up from the table, moving to me so quickly that she almost knocked me over, and she drew me into her body with a tight hug. She let out a deep breath, a breath of relief, and it settled deep in my gut.

She finally let go of me, and she reached out and smacked Evren playfully in his chest. “Don’t you dare keep her locked away like that when we just got her back.”

Evren rubbed at the spot she just hit with a smile on his lips. “I would say I’m sorry, but I’m not.” He pulled me back toward him and wrapped his arms around my middle before pressing a gentle kiss to my shoulder.

“Well, she’s mine for the rest of the day.” Thalia grinned at me as she crossed her arms, and gods, I missed her.

“Not going to happen,” Evren said so nonchalantly, and Thalia’s eyes narrowed.

But I looked past her to stare at my father. He still held a fork in his hands, but he was no longer using it as his gaze settled firmly on me.

“Excuse me.” I moved out of Evren’s hold, and he let go of me easily as he tracked my gaze.

I walked hesitantly toward this man I didn’t know but who looked so much like me. He stood quickly as I approached, his chair scraping against the floor, and he looked as nervous as I felt.

He was my blood, my father, yet I knew nothing about him.

And he knew as little about me.

Still there was something deep inside me that was drawn to him. This man had sacrificed his life for my own, and I knew that truth deep in my gut.

“Hi,” I said awkwardly, and he wiped at his mouth with the back of his trembling hand.

“Adara,” he whispered my name, his voice gruff and filled with age. “I can’t believe you’re standing before me.”

“I know.” I shrugged my shoulders, and I could feel everyone’s eyes on us even though they were pretending not to eavesdrop.

I started to turn to Evren, seeking his strength, but my father quickly moved toward me, and it caught me off guard as he wrapped his arms around me. He squeezed me against his thin body, and my breath rushed out of me.

“Gods, it’s really you.” He took a deep breath, breathing me in, and my chest tightened as his hands trembled against my skin.

“It’s me,” I whispered so quietly that I wasn’t sure he heard me, but his hands pressed even harder against me as if he worried I would disappear the moment he let me go.

I felt the same.

He was my family, but he was also a stranger. He was a ghost of the father I thought I had lost, and I didn’t want to let him go.

We stayed like that for a long moment, just holding on to one another with a desperation that I knew we could both feel, and when he finally pulled away from me, his eyes were clouded with unshed tears.

His frail hands ran over my face, taking me in, and he smiled. “You look so much like me.”

“That’s what I’ve always been told.” I laughed softly, and his smile deepened.

I felt a hand press against my back, Evren’s hand, and he smiled down at the both of us. “Let’s eat.” He nodded toward the table, and my father slowly let go of me as we pulled out the chairs.