A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows

“Don’t be.” He shook his head. “I will always be at Evren’s side.”

“Why is that?” I looked ahead of us as Evren fed our horse before pulling things out of the saddlebags. “Why are you so loyal to him?”

Jorah looked at me for a long moment before he finally spoke. “Evren has earned my loyalty over and over. I am loyal to him and him alone.”

“But not to the crown?”

“Only if that’s where Evren wants my loyalty.”

I was shocked by his answer, and I turned to look at him fully. Jorah was so handsome even if his face was typically severe in a scowl. “Were you born in Citlali?”

His back straightened, and for a long moment, I didn’t think he was going to answer me. “No. I was not.”

“Where were you born?”

“Jorah,” Evren called out to him, and I looked back to see him watching me. “I need you for a moment.”

Jorah left my side without hesitation and made his way to his captain. They spoke close to one another in hushed tones, and I wondered what they were discussing. None of the other guards seemed to mind them as they laid out bedrolls against the hard ground.

I sat down next to them, and all three looked in my direction.

“No fire?”

“No.” The one with light blond hair shook his head. “It draws too much attention.”

A chill ran down my spine, and I couldn’t stop myself from looking over my shoulder. I didn’t see anything lurking in the trees, but I knew that didn’t mean anything. Things that lurked in the darkness knew how to not be found.

I wrapped my cloak tighter around me as I looked back at them. The air seemed to get cooler and cooler the farther we made it into the forest, but I would make do just like the rest of them.

“What are your names?”

They looked up at me curiously as if they hadn’t expected me to talk to them at all.

“That’s Landry.” Evren dropped a bedroll beside me as he pointed to the guard who had just spoken to me. “That’s Achar.” He pointed toward the handsome guard who had his shoulder-length hair pulled back with a leather string. “And that heartthrob over there is Caelum.” He pointed to the last man of the group whose beard was so large that it took up most of his face. He smiled, large and genuine, and I decided right then that I liked him.

“It’s nice to meet you all.” I nodded in their direction. “I’m Adara.”

Evren chuckled before dropping another bedroll beside the one he had just put down. “They know who you are, princess.”

“Don’t call me that.”

Evren didn’t reply. He just sat down on the bedroll before looking to his guards. “Get some sleep. Jorah’s taking the first watch.”

All three of them obeyed him immediately, but I didn’t blame them. I knew they had to be exhausted from riding all morning. Jorah probably was too.

“I can take first watch so Jorah can sleep.”

“That’s not happening, princess.” Evren patted the bedroll next to him. “You need to get some rest. We’ve got a long night ahead of us.”

“I’m not sleeping beside you.”

“You are.” He laid down and rested his head against his arm. “You can either sleep next to me willingly or I can tie you to a tree and sleep next to you there. It’s your choice.”

“Such great choices,” I huffed and looked up to see Jorah watching us.

“Just fucking get on your bedroll, princess. I’m not going to be able to get any rest unless you’re beside me.”

I wanted to argue, to tell him exactly how little I cared about him getting any rest, but the truth was he was the one responsible for getting me safely to where we were going. If I wanted to make it through the Onyx Forest alive, then I needed him. I needed all of them.