Before I Let Go (Skyland #1)(22)

“I don’t trust any of you.” I shook my head and tightened my grip on the candle.

“That’s smart. You shouldn’t trust anyone but the prince.”

“I trust him least of all.”

That smile cursed his lips once more, deeper and truer than the one before it. “Are you hungry, Adara?” He motioned toward the food at his side, and my stomach groaned. “I know you didn’t just come to the kitchens because you heard that’s where the roguishly handsome captain hangs out.”

I set the candle down on the counter near him before hoisting myself up and sitting on the other side of the food. I picked up a piece of bread, and it smelled divine.

“It’s weird.” I cocked my head and looked over at him. “No one but you has described you that way.”

He let out a choke of a laugh, and I didn’t dare tell him that I hadn’t talked to anyone about him at all. I knew nothing about this male except for the fact that he was as handsome as he was arrogant.

“If it was Mina, that’s not fair. She’s still holding a grudge for that time I accidentally set Evren’s room on fire.”

“What?” My gaze slammed into his as he laughed.

“Don’t look at me like that.” He held up his hands in defense. “Evren had just set a pig loose in my bedroom, but everyone seemed to forget that little detail once the fire broke out.”

There was an awkward silence between us, and I shifted against the counter as I tried to imagine a younger Evren.

“Are you…” I started my question without thinking but stopped myself and shoved a bite of food in my mouth.

“Am I what?” His gaze roamed over my face, and I felt self-conscious under his inspection.

I swallowed before wiping my hand over my mouth. “Are you a full-blooded vampyre?”

Sorin grinned harder than before and a flash of his teeth glinted in the candlelight. “I am.” He nodded. “Most of the people you will meet in this kingdom are.”

“But you don’t want to bite me?” My question sounded foolish even to my own ears, but I was still embarrassed when Sorin started laughing so hard that he held his hand against his stomach.

“Is that truly what you think of us? That we just go around draining the blood from every human we meet?”

I thought about everything I had ever read and learned about the vampyres of this realm, and that was exactly what I thought. It was all I had ever known until I met Evren.

Sorin must have seen the truth on my face because he continued without me answering him. “Your histories of us are incorrect. Our thirst for blood has been honed into a weapon, but we aren’t walking around like crazed monsters desperate to taste you.”

He lifted a piece of meat between his fingers. “Most of us drink from animals when the need arises. Some of us drink from humans who are more than willing to allow such a thing.”

“What?” I jolted back in shock.

“When Evren fed from you, what was it like?” His gaze was serious, searching.

My back straightened at his question. “How do you know he’s fed from me?”

“There are many ways that I know.” He cocked his head and ran his tongue over his bottom lip. “But the most predominant one is because Evren told me. Close friends, remember?”

“When he fed from me it was…” I could feel my blush heating my cheeks.

“It brought you pleasure, did it not?”

“Did he tell you of all the lies he fed me to make me feel the need to let him feed from me?” I crossed my arms over my chest.

Sorin was quiet for a long moment before his gaze ran over me slowly. “It’s a shame that the two of you are mates. Without that, I may have stood a chance at stealing you away from him.” His tone was teasing, and I had a feeling he was trying to get a rise out of me.

“We are not mates,” I growled the words between my teeth. It didn’t matter that he was right. I hated that everyone knew the truth so easily when I had just come to accept it myself.

“It doesn’t matter that you say those words with so much conviction, Adara. You cannot change who your mate is simply because you wish it so.”

I didn’t say a word. I simply stared at him as I thought about what he said.

“I can smell him, feel his magic radiating off your skin.” His gaze ran over my face. “There isn’t a single chance of you hiding it.”

My stomach hardened, and I tried to swallow down my emotion. “Where is he?”

His gaze darkened, and I hated the feeling it gave me.

“Is he in his room?”

“He didn’t tell you?” He watched me carefully, too carefully.

“Tell me what?” My heart hammered in my chest, and I pressed my fingers against my thighs to keep them from trembling. “What don’t I know?”

“He left tonight under the cover of darkness. He and Jorah are headed back to his father’s kingdom.”

Everything stopped as I stared at him and tried to take in his words. I couldn’t catch my breath, and my chest ached to the point of pain.

“He went back?”

“You say that like he has a choice.” There was an edge of anger in Sorin’s voice. “Our prince may be a lot of things that you think about him, but he has lived a life of sacrifice for his people.”