Chapter 20

CHAPTER20

Iwiped my sweating hands down the sides of my glittering black gown. The dress was provocative, a statement I was sure that my mate was trying to make. The neckline was deep and stopped just below the edge of my breastbone.

A simple string of diamonds fell against the base of my neck and drew attention there if you weren’t already drawn to the long slit that reached the top of my right thigh.

I was Evren’s mate, dripping in a black dress that looked so like him, like us, and I knew he wanted his brother to see that.

But my back was completely covered. Every bit of my mark was touched by fabric and shielded from everyone else’s eyes. The only marks they could see were those that lay along my cheeks. The rest were hidden, and it wasn’t because Evren wanted Gavril to know my power belonged to him.

But because it belonged to me.

My mark wasn’t a spectacle here, a damn trophy to be showed off. I was more than that, and Evren was making that clear.

The doors to the throne room opened, and a soft hush fell over the room as I stepped through. Gavril and his men stood at the base of Evren’s throne, but I didn’t dare look in his direction. I was too busy staring ahead at my mate who was watching my every move.

He tracked every step like a hunter waiting to strike, and even in a room full of people, my stomach dipped from the look in his eyes.

I could feel the others’ eyes on me as well, including Gavril’s, as I made my way toward him. The queen wasn’t in the room. Another power play from Evren. He was in charge here, and he wanted Gavril to know that.

He was his brother, but Evren was set to rule. And he would do so without fear of his brother.

My gaze fell on Jorah and Sorin who both stood at the base of the dais. Neither one were standing between Evren and Gavril, a clear stance that their prince didn’t need protection, but in unity.

But it was Thalia who took my breath away. She wore a deep blue dress that made her look like a goddess, and she stood at Evren’s side. Not a single step below him, perfectly even. And every bit of her scars were on full display, and I knew she did that purposefully.

She wanted Gavril to remember what he did. To see her scars and remember exactly what he had taken from her. But Evren wouldn’t allow that memory to be standing at the base of the dais.

He honored her at his side. Gavril took from her, but Evren held her in the highest esteem.

I looked to the empty throne next to Evren, the seat where he had asked me to sit, and Sorin held out his hand as I lifted my foot to take my first step upon the dais. I took it without question and let him help me to the top before he dipped into a small bow.

Sorin’s honor in front of these people had my throat feeling tight. I looked to the throne then back to my mate. He was sitting back on his throne, still watching me meticulously, and he looked so unbothered by his brother being here. But I knew the truth.

So I did the only thing I could. I stepped forward, not toward the throne that was waiting for me, but toward him. I dipped down until my hands were resting on either side of him, and I brought my face close to his.

He was their prince, the man who would rule this kingdom, but he was so much more to me. And while Evren had his own points to get across to his brother, so did I.

I leaned forward until our noses were almost touching, and my stomach dipped when Evren’s lips formed into a smirk and he ran his tongue across them.

“You’re meant to be sitting over there, princess.” He spoke softly for only me to hear as he cocked his head to the side where the throne waited for me.

“That’s what I’m told.” I lifted my right hand and ran it across his cleanly shaven jaw. “But I rarely do as I’m told.”

He didn’t have time to respond because I closed the space between us and pressed my lips to his. It didn’t matter that we were being watched and everyone was calculating our every move. This was about far more than any of them.

I chose Evren in this lifetime, and I would in the next. And he needed to know that truth.

I pulled back, but only far enough so I could turn, and I sat upon his right knee as I finally faced Gavril for the first time since I entered the room.

Evren’s hand snaked around my hip, and he pressed it to my lower stomach before he pulled me back against him possessively. My back, my mark, was pressed against his chest, and he didn’t hesitate to keep his hand exactly where it was.

“Brother, you do remember Adara, don’t you?” Evren’s fingers skimmed along my belly, causing me to squirm in his lap even as I looked at his brother.

The anger on Gavril’s face was palpable even though he tried to mask it. “Of course.” He gently nodded in my direction. “She does look quite good on your arm as a whore, but you should remember that she was born to be a queen.”

I stiffened, as did Evren, and I could feel his power rolling beneath me.

“You should watch your words when you’re speaking about my betrothed.” Evren lifted my left hand in his and pressed a gentle kiss along my finger that would soon hold his ring.

That barely-veiled mask slipped from Gavril’s face. “Well, it is my future queen that I have come to discuss.” His hand rested against the hilt of his sword, and my eyes tracked the movement. “You taking her from me was even more treasonous than you taking the other Starblessed that stands at your side. They both belonged to me.”

“Neither belong to you,” Evren growled from behind me, and his chest pressed firmer against my back. “You threw Thalia away like she was trash you were finished using.”

My gaze slid to Sorin, and even before my eyes landed on his handsome face, I could feel his fury radiating from him in waves. He would kill the crowned prince for his offense to Thalia and that alone.

“And the Starblessed?” Gavril nodded in my direction as if I was an object to discuss. “I wasn’t quite finished using her. But I take it by the way she’s clinging to your leg like a bitch in heat that she is no longer pure.”

Evren’s magic shot out around me, swallowing me in his darkness, and Gavril laughed. This was exactly what he wanted. He was pushing Evren’s buttons for a reason, and I didn’t realize why until I felt another source of magic slam into me.

My gaze met Gavril’s, and he cocked his head as he smiled at me. His power felt strong, and for a moment, fear raced through me as I stared into his hollow eyes.

“Don’t worry, brother. I won’t snatch the Starblessed out of your hands like you did me. I will let her choose her fate.”

Evren’s hands tightened around me and pulled me impossibly closer to him.

“Did you know, Starblessed? That your blood has a really particular taste.” Gavril ran his fingers along his lips as if he was remembering the moment he took from me. “The moment it touched my lips, I knew that I had tasted it before.”

I didn’t say a word, but my back straightened and the marks burned against my skin.

“What do you want, Gavril?” Evren growled through his teeth, and his magic rumbled around me.

“What is mine.” He nodded in my direction before taking a step toward me. “I am to rule with her at my side.”

Thalia shifted closer to me, and I could feel her magic coming to life beneath her skin.

Gavril noticed her too. He looked toward her before that same smirk crossed his lips. “Are you going to protect her, Thalia? You couldn’t protect yourself.”

Rage like I had never felt before came over me, and I stood from Evren’s lap before he could stop me. My magic shot from my fingers and swirled around me as I stared at the prince to whom I was promised.

“You will never speak to her again.” I hardly recognized my voice, but I heard the gasps of others around us. This wasn’t a part of the plan, to show Gavril the amount of power I held, but it refused to lay dormant while he spoke to her like that. “You do so again, and you will rule nothing.”

Every part of my skin felt alive with my power, but I could still feel Evren’s wrapping around me, protecting me even when I wasn’t sure I needed it.

“So this is why you took her?” Gavril’s gaze darkened as he took me in, and I could practically see his plotting turning in his mind. “They say you are Father’s selfless son, but look at you taking all the power for yourself.”

“I don’t want her for her power.” Evren’s hand wrapped around my thigh and pulled me back a step until I was standing between his legs.

“Lie to the girl all you want, brother, but we both know exactly what you want from her.”

Gavril turned and looked behind him and nodded someone forward. One of his soldiers, a man I recognized from the fae palace, stepped forward with his hand wrapped around the arm of another. The person had a hood covering their face, and the moon pendant around my neck burned against my skin.

He shoved the person forward until they fell to their knees in front near Gavril, and he reached forward and tugged the hood back from their head.

I didn’t recognize the man before me, but my power seemed to. It snaked around me as if it were ready for anything, but both me and my power couldn’t look away from the man.

“What is this?” I shook my head and reached up to rub the spot where my pendant lay.

“Ask your betrothed.” Gavril nodded behind me. “I’m most certain he will remember him.”

The man looked up at me, and there was so much sadness in his eyes. His hair was brown, a similar shade to my own, and his eyes were bright. But it was the star mark along the top of his hand that held my attention.

“Who is this?” I asked again, my voice firmer and full of power.

Evren stood and pressed his chest to my back, and I could feel his rough rush of breath against the back of my neck.

“It’s odd, don’t you think?” Gavril ran his hand over his jaw. “That you wouldn’t recognize your own father.”

I jerked backward and slammed into Evren. His hand wrapped around my middle and his power snaked around every other inch of me.

I shook my head as I stared at the man I had no recollection of. “You’re lying.”

“Am I?” Gavril chuckled and pulled on the man’s hair until he was forced to stand again. “How do you think I recognize the taste of your blood, Adara?” He lifted the man’s wrist in his hand and showed me the scars that lay there. “I have fed from your father’s blood for years while I waited for you. He had refused me your hand in marriage so I took it against his will.”

“My father is dead.” My voice trembled, and I studied the man’s face. I didn’t know him, but I was a fool if I tried to deny that there were so many similarities staring back at me. “My father wasn’t a Starblessed.”

Gavril chuckled again, and the sound made my magic surge. “It’s sad how little you really know. How easily you were kept in the dark. Isn’t it, Evren?”

My chest tightened, and I looked over my shoulder at my mate.

“He didn’t tell you?” Gavril was still speaking, but I couldn’t pull my attention away from Evren. “He was the one who captured your father after he refused to give us you. Evren is the one who hand-delivered your father to our queen.”

Evren’s gaze searched mine, and even though he didn’t say a word, his eyes softened, begging for forgiveness. Gavril was telling the truth.

I jerked out of Evren’s hold and almost fell forward. Thalia moved to my side as Gavril laughed.

“Tell me that isn’t true.” I stared at my mate, and I wanted him to say it even though I could already feel the truth in my bones.

I wanted him to destroy the feeling that was clawing at my chest and prove to me that he was nothing like his brother.

“It’s not what you think.” Evren reached out for me, but I took another step back. “I had no idea your father was alive.”

“But you’re the one who took him?” The words slipped past my lips like an accusation, and I didn’t want it to be true.

My chest ached as I stared at him and willed him to tell me anything other than what I feared.

“I did.” Evren swallowed hard. “But I had no idea what it would lead to.” He motioned to my father. “I did it because Queen Kaida had ordered it so. The same way she had ordered me to deliver you to her kingdom.”

“And you did so dutifully.” My words were laced with anger, but I couldn’t stop them. It didn’t matter that Evren hadn’t known me then. He had taken my father from me. He had delivered him to my enemy, and I couldn’t stop the pain that sliced through my chest at the thought.

“Princess,” Evren whispered my name, but my gaze snapped to Gavril as he cleared his throat.

“I offer a life for a life, Adara.” He crossed his arms and the smug look on his face ate at me. “If you want your father to live, then you will come with me.”

“That’s not fucking happening.” Evren’s growl boomed through the throne room, and he stepped forward to block me from Gavril. “Adara will go nowhere with you.”

“Then would you like the honor of killing her father?” Gavril pulled his sword from his scabbard and held it toward Evren.

Everyone reacted, weapons drawn and emotions tense. Sorin and Jorah moved to my side ready to defend me and Thalia with any means necessary.

“You are the one who took him from her the first time. Maybe you should be the one to take him from her for eternity.”

I let my gaze slide to the man at Gavril’s side, and I stared at this man who I should have recognized immediately. I had dreamed of him constantly. Prayed for a day when I would remember his face, but it was nothing like I imagined.

His lips held the same curve as mine, and his eyes were the same shade of ice blue that everyone told me my own had reminded them of. The eye that matched my father.

This man that stood before me was a stranger, but when I looked into his eyes, something felt familiar. It felt like a home that I never had, a home that I had always been searching for.

A home I had thought I found in Evren.

“I’ll do it.” I didn’t let my gaze fall from his even as he shook his head.

“Please, no.” His voice was gruff and full of age, years that I never got to experience with him.

“I won’t let them take you from me again.” I spoke only to my father, and I didn’t care who heard me.

“You’re not taking her.” Evren’s magic swirled around his hands, and I could feel his fury without looking at him. “I will destroy your entire kingdom before I allow you to take her again.”

“And you believe she will still choose you?” Gavril stared at his brother even as he pulled my father closer to him. “You’re going to let her father die, and you think she’ll still choose you?”

“Don’t touch him.” I stepped forward and my magic shot out of my fingers. It was moments away from slamming into Gavril before he blocked it with his own.

“Be careful, Starblessed.” The smile fell from his lips, and his hand tightened around my father. “Don’t do something you will regret for the rest of your life.”

He lifted his hand with his sword and brought it close to my father’s chest.

“I’m sorry, Adara.” My father’s words were a plea on his lips. “I’m sorry for everything.”

“No.” I held out my hands and tears welled in my eyes. “You want a trade, and I said I’ll do it.”

I took another step closer to him, and Evren’s magic wrapped tighter around me. I looked over to my mate, and all I could see was his anger and pain.

“I won’t let you do this, Adara.”

“You don’t have a choice.” I shook my head and guilt slammed into me as I watched the way his face crumpled. I was so angry at him for the things he had done, but I was angrier about the fact that he hadn’t told me.

He was my mate, and I had chosen him, but he had left me in the dark.

Evren quickly moved in front of me and moved down the dais toward his brother. Gavril stiffened and his hand tightened around his sword.

“Let her father go.” His voice was the command of a ruler. This was the crowned prince that was meant to be. “You want a trade and you’ll have one, but you will not take her.”

“What?” My stomach tightened, and Thalia called out his name.

“Let her father go, and I will go with you willingly.”

“I need her to fulfill the prophecy.” Gavril nodded toward me.

“One will defeat, one will cower.” Evren recited part of the prophecy aloud for us all to hear. “I will go willingly as your prisoner. I will cower to you in order to save her. It is her fate that will begin your rule.”

Gavril stared at his brother for a long time before he looked up at me, and I couldn’t quit thinking about what Sorin had once told me. Queen Kaida needed my hand or Evren’s head.

“No.” I shook my head and tried to move forward, but Evren’s magic slammed into me like a wall. “No!”

Evren held out his hand toward his brother and black magic trailed from his fingers. “You let her father go, she remains in the safety of the Blood kingdom, and I will go with you without a fight.”

Gavril looked down at his hand before he slowly lowered the sword from my father, and I could hardly see as tears began trailing down my face.

“No, Evren!” I shot my magic into his, but it hardly made a difference.

“You said a life for a life.” Evren was completely ignoring me as he spoke to his brother. “I am the crowned prince of the Blood kingdom. Take my life for his.”

I searched for Sorin and Jorah, and I could see the panic in their eyes. I hurried toward them and wrapped my hands around Sorin’s arms.

“Stop him,” I begged, and Sorin looked down at me with pity filling his gaze. “Do not let him do this, Sorin.”

“I made a promise to him.” Sorin reached forward and wiped the moisture from my face. “I will protect you no matter the cost.”

“Swear it,” Gavril held out his hand toward Evren, and I could feel his own magic radiating from his skin even though I couldn’t see it. There wasn’t a single visible sign of his magic. “Swear it, and I’ll let him go.”

I moved out of Sorin’s touch and looked for my friend. “Thalia!”

A deal sealed in magic couldn’t simply be undone. If Evren took his hand, if he swore to his brother while his magic sealed his words, there would be nothing we could do.

Thalia’s panicked gaze slammed into mine, and her bright blue magic slipped through her fingers as she tried to penetrate the wall that Evren’s magic was holding up. She was blocked as easily as I had been, and I watched in horror as Gavril took Evren’s hand in his.

“I swear.” Evren’s magic wrapped around Gavril’s wrist, and I could feel their magic mixing together as their deal began sealing between the two of them. My chest felt like it was caving in as I watched them. My magic swelled inside of me as I made my decision.

They spoke of me as if I was the key to saving their kingdom, but they were wrong. It wasn’t me this world needed. It was him.

It always had been.

I gathered every bit of my power I could before letting it pour from my fingers in a wave of magic. It shot into Evren’s magic and bent to my will. I didn’t stop until my power hit him full force.

It shot into him when he wasn’t expecting it and knocked him away from his brother. His hand fell from Gavril’s before either could seal with their magic between them, and Evren’s gaze shot to mine.

There was confusion and panic staring back at me, but I didn’t stop. I moved toward him as I pushed my power harder, and Evren hit the ground as my black inky magic poured from me and slammed into him.

“You will take me.” I looked up at Gavril, and I could see the shock in his own eyes. “Swear that you will take me instead of him, and I will go with you willingly. I am the key to the prophecy. Not him. He is not to be harmed.”

He looked back and forth between his brother and me, and he knew the truth of my words. Taking his brother wouldn’t get him me. It wouldn’t give him what he truly wanted.

He would have nothing but a dead brother and a betrothed he was still unable to touch.

“I swear it.” He nodded once, and I sent a trickle of my magic in his direction.

He watched every move it made as it wrapped around his hand and wrist, and I kept my magic pushed hard against Evren.

Gavril’s magic mixed with my own, and he nodded once. I could feel it lock into place, the deal between us, and I could barely hear Evren as he screamed out my name.

I looked back at him and slammed my magic harder and harder until he stopped fighting against me. Then I pushed harder. I forced my magic into him until I feared that it would be too much.

I had no idea what I was doing, but I remembered what he told me. We were mates which meant our magic was linked. He had said that it was legend that one mate could pull from another, and I didn’t have time to figure out how it worked. I poured my magic into him harder and harder until I could feel it draining from me.

Evren shook his head, but he couldn’t stop me. Not now. Not when so much of my magic was already pouring into him. I felt it the moment he opened up, the moment he accepted what I gave him, and I didn’t stop until I could feel myself draining fully.

“I thought you wanted him unharmed.” Gavril laughed as he wrapped his fingers around my bicep and tugged me into his side. “It looks like you’re going to do the job for me, Starblessed.”

I knew how it looked. My magic was still slamming into Evren, and even as my gaze slid past him to Thalia, I could see the fear in her eyes. But none of them had the power to stop me.

Her blue magic hit my own, not to harm me, but to stop me from harming her prince, but it did no good.

I would go with Gavril willingly, but I would play no part in his plan. When he took me, he would be taking me without my powers. He would be taking a Starblessed that held no blessings to make his prophecy come true.

I could feel the bottom of the well, every but of my magic drained from me, and I sagged against Gavril as the last of my magic trailed from my fingers.

The throne room was eerily quiet as Evren took a deep breath and shook his head. “Please don’t do this, princess.”

“It’s already done.” Gavril laughed with his mouth near my ear. “You gave yourself up for a man you think you love.” Gavril pressed against my neck, and I tried to jerk away from him but I was so tired.

Evren climbed to his feet with fury in his eyes, but Gavril lifted his blade to my neck just as Evren took a step in our direction.

“He craves your blood as much as I do, Adara. He craves your power. You are nothing more to him than a pawn.”

“I am his mate.” My words were as weak as I felt, but I hoped Evren could hear the truth behind them. I hoped he knew what they meant.

“Mate,” Gavril spat out the word, and his hands tightened against me. “Do you think fate knew he was your mate when my mother ordered him to take your father from you? Was that fate or his own power that caused him to lock your father in the dungeon and guarantee that your own blood would never get in the way of you being his? You may hate me, Starblessed, but the man you just saved is no better than I. He is worse. He damned you to this life. He damned you to be mine even though it’s the last thing he could want.”

I didn’t believe him. Evren may have been the one to take my father to the Fae kingdom, but I couldn’t bring myself to believe he knew my father was still alive.

I couldn’t bring myself to believe that he would ever do such a thing to me.

“Get your fucking hands off her, Gavril,” Evren growled, and Gavril’s thumb rubbed along my neck right where Evren could see.

“So possessive over something that doesn’t belong to him,” Gavril murmured before running his nose along my skin and breathing me in.

I looked away from Evren as I tried not to cry out, and my gaze hit my father’s. My father stood before me, but I still didn’t know him. I knew even less about him than I thought I had.

I feared what he had been through as I looked over his aging face. I had been in that castle for weeks, and the entire time he had been there. He had been tortured and feed from just as Thalia had.

“I’m sorry,” I mouthed the words to him, and I could see his emotion shutter across his face.

I was so sorry for all of it. For everything he had been through, for the decision I had to make.

Gavril pulled me back toward the door of the throne room, and his men surrounded us. I could feel Evren’s magic along with my own, and I looked back to my mate as our dark magic surrounded him.

“I love you, Evren.” The words fell from my lips just as Gavril lifted his hand and a magic like I had never felt before consumed me.

Cold, empty darkness ravaged me, and Evren’s face was the last thing I saw as I let it take me.

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