A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows #3)(66)

I nodded once and felt my power coursing through me. “No matter the cost, he dies.”

Thalia moved to the other side of Adara, and I could see the same determination in her eyes.

“Sorin and Jorah are both there.” She nodded to the battlefield. “Gavril took down the entire front line of King Drystan’s defense.”

I couldn’t wait any longer. I squeezed Adara’s hand in mine before dropping it to grab both blades at my sides. “You have her back,” I told Thalia. It was an order, but one I knew I didn’t need to make.

Thalia would protect her at all costs.

She bowed her head slightly with her hand over her heart before she pulled her own bloodied blades from her sides, then the three of us took off.

We passed by soldier after soldier battling with the fae, and when the first fae soldier raised his sword toward me, I was caught off guard when a black tendril of power slithered past me and stabbed straight into the man’s chest.

I watched as his life drained from his face even as he clawed at her power, as if he could stop it.

But Adara was already passing him as his body fell to the ground, and the marks along her cheeks glowed as brightly as the hatred in her eyes.

More soldiers approached us, but each and every one was taken down by either her power or mine. Thalia used her blades, and I worried how much of her power she had drained containing the flames.

But Thalia was a warrior with or without the powers the stars had bestowed on her. She was a warrior forged from her past and led by her future.

And there was no fear in her eyes when I looked upon her.

There was only determination. Only strength.

My feet moved faster, my body grew lighter, as I sensed the pull of my power growing stronger with each soldier that fell at my hand.

Together, we claimed the souls of every soldier we passed. Only one landed his blade against me, his sword slicing through my upper arm, but I could hardly feel the pain when I ripped his soul from his chest with the thrumming power within me.

When we finally reached King Drystan’s force that mixed with my own, I realized that the fae soldiers were swallowing their line at a much faster rate than I expected.

They were trying to draw us out, to separate our forces, and even if we weren’t outnumbered before, we were now.

And Gavril’s army that pushed through the front line, every one of them had a dead look in their eyes, a red hue shown around them, startling me.

“It’s his death magic,” Adara called from beside me as she wiped the sweat from her brow. “It’s Gavril.”

King Drystan and his brothers stood before their men, and they slayed every soldier that dared approach them. I didn’t see them use their power, instead they fought with their blades and their hands, and as I watched King Drystan wrap his fingers around one of the soldier’s heads and snap his neck, I ground my teeth and forced my way to the front line.

I could still feel Adara with me, although she was a few steps back, and I harnessed the feeling of her as I gathered my power deep in my gut before letting it flow out of me.

Black smoke poured through the fae soldiers, taking out more than I could count at once, and I could feel King Drystan’s eyes on me.

“My brother?” I yelled, and he nodded beyond the soldiers before us.

I should have known that the coward would be hiding far beyond his front line, but it didn’t matter. I would destroy them all until I could get to him.

Each of them became nothing more than a step to killing my brother, a step toward protecting my mate.

I slammed my dagger into the chest of a soldier as I stepped over another and blood sprayed out around me.

But as I raised my hand, ready for the next soul to strike, it was my own body that was thrown back as my dagger fell from my hand. I gasped for air as my back slammed into the ground and my head hit with a thud.

“Adara,” I said her name even as I struggled to make out anyone that was around me. I needed to make sure she was with Thalia. I needed to make sure she was safe.

“Hello there, brother.”

I looked up, and even though my head still spun from the impact, there was no mistaking Gavril before me. He looked so much different than he did the last time I saw him.

His eyes met mine, the familiar hue now clouded with the red ring of his power. It ate away at everything he was, and I wondered if any part of the brother I had once loved was left at all.

“I’m so glad you could join us.” He squatted next to me, and he pressed his hand to my chest. I was shocked by the power that bolted into me. It tore my breath from my lungs and forced a grunt from my lips. “Did you bring my bride for me to collect?”

He let up just slightly, and I gasped for breath even as I felt blood trickle from my nose. “Are you referring to my wife?”

I watched as his gaze flooded with the red power that controlled him, consumed him, and that same power slammed back into my chest.

“She is not your wife in my kingdom. We don’t recognize the laws of this barbaric land.” He leaned closer to me until his mouth was close to my ear. “I suppose she will fuck better now that you have trained her as your whore.”

I lunged for him with my power, and he laughed. “Don’t worry, brother. When I’m finished with her, she won’t remember that you were ever inside her at all. It will be me and me alone that she prays to.”