A Kingdom of Stars and Shadows

“What?” It was the only word I could manage as I tried to make sense of what she was saying.

“He may be the bastard son of King Riven, but he is the firstborn son of the Blood Court. He is our future and our destiny.”

I jerked out of Evren’s hold as she spoke, and I stumbled backward.

“He is an excellent spy and traitor to the fae crown. Apparently, he became an excellent betrayer to his mate as well.”

“Adara,” he said my name, and my gaze snapped to meet his. This man who I thought I loved.

“You lied to me.” The truth shook through me.

“I didn’t.” He shook his head frantically as he tried to climb to his knees. “I told you I was born of both magic and blood. I told you my mother was a vampyre.”

“But not the queen!” I shouted, and my magic surged through me.

Every eye was trained on me as a dim glow gleaned from my star marks.

“I couldn’t tell you the truth, princess. I didn’t know where your loyalty lay.”

Tears flooded my eyes, and a sob escaped my throat. “Is that what you were telling yourself when you were between my thighs? Were you searching for my loyalty?”

Evren rose on shaky legs, but when he took a step toward me, I took an equal one back. “Adara, please.”

“Don’t.” I held out my hand and my magic dripped from my fingers in a dark smoke that was so perfectly matched to his. “Don’t you dare touch me.”

Queen Veda laughed, the sound grated down my spine, and I clenched my teeth so hard that I feared they would break. “It would appear that the two of you have some things to work out, but the Starblessed will make a wonderful queen.”

I jerked back at her words, and my gaze slammed back into Evren. He was pleading with me with his eyes, and we continued to stand there, watching each other while the others watched us.

“Princess,” he whispered, and it almost broke me.

“I will never marry you, Evren,” I said sharply, my conviction sliding between us like a promise.

He took a small step forward, and it somehow seemed to suck all the air from my lungs. His gaze was no longer pleading, no longer begging me to understand. Instead, his eyes darkened and the grimace on his face overwhelmed me. “You will.”

“You’ll have to tie me up. You’ll have to force my hand, just as your brother did before you.”

Evren’s power shot out of him, the black smoke wrapping around me like a lover’s touch. I wasn’t prepared or skilled enough to fight back with my own, but still I glowed, brighter and more intense with every inch he touched.

He moved toward me then when I didn’t stand a chance of moving out of his hold, and he leaned in, testing me as his power thrummed against my skin. “That can be arranged, princess.”

His power strummed across my wrist, and I clamped my eyes closed to force myself to ignore the pleasure that ached under his touch.

No. Evren was not the man I thought I knew. He was as much my enemy as he had convinced me his brother to be, and I was a fool.

“Calix, get up!” Queen Veda barked at her guard, and he stood with a groan as he rubbed his chest. Right where my power had hit him. “We must move before Queen Kaida finds out of Evren’s treason.”

“He’s fed from her,” Evren spoke to his mother, and my back went rigid under his words. “Before he ordered her away, he fed.”

“And what of his powers?”

“I don’t know.” Evren shook his head, and his magic trembled around me, holding my arms at my sides.

“And you?” The queen nodded toward him. “Have you fed from your mate?”

Evren hesitated for a long moment, and I hated how easily they were discussing something that had been so intimate between us. “I have.”

“And?”

“She’s powerful.” Evren looked back toward me, and for the first time since I laid eyes on him in Starless, he looked like he saw nothing but my mark. “I could feel her power the moment I tasted her blood on my tongue.”

“Get the Starblessed.” The queen nodded toward her guards and two of them started toward me. I struggled in Evren’s magic, but he didn’t seem to notice. “We must keep her safe until we cross the border.”

The guards moved closer, and my heart hammered in my chest. I looked to Jorah, but he watched me as closely as every other guard of the Blood queen. He was every bit one of them as Evren was.

“Don’t fucking touch her,” Evren growled, his power slamming into me. “The Starblessed belongs to me.”

But the prince who belonged to two kingdoms was wrong. I belonged to no one.