Chapter 7

CHAPTER7

Ihadn’t left my room since I ran out of Evren’s several hours ago. Nor had I heard a sound from him.

I told myself it was a good thing. I couldn’t clear my head. I couldn’t form a single logical thought when he was around. It was like his magic, everything that he was, distorted my reality, and it was hard to remember why he wasn’t good for me. The memory of his betrayal slipped through my fingers effortlessly.

But when I was alone, that was all I could think about. The way his skin felt against mine, the way my heart felt like it was crushing inside of me when I found out who he really was. Those thoughts warred inside of me endlessly, my want and my hate.

They were driving me mad, and I could handle it no longer.

The palace was quiet as I creaked open my door and peeked outside. Evren’s door was securely shut, and nightfall had darkened the hallway. But even as fear tightened in my chest, my stomach rumbled. I had turned Mina away at dinner time simply because I wasn’t ready to face her and know that she could possibly see the marks of him along my skin.

I was barely able to look at myself in the mirror.

I gently shut the door behind me before slipping down the hall in search of the kitchens.

I passed by doorway after doorway of rooms I didn’t know, and I realized that I had seen very little of this palace. Almost every moment I had spent here, I had been locked inside my room. But the kitchen was typically the heart of the home, and I assumed that meant no different to the royal family.

I headed back toward the main entrance where I spotted two of Evren’s guards standing near the door. Neither noticed me, so I pressed my back against the wall and slowly slid to the left until I was completely out of their view.

The last thing I needed was for one of them to alert Evren that I was out here. I didn’t need him finding me in the hall, especially when I was still sore between my thighs with memories of him.

I looked back around the corner as my chest tightened. My stomach was in knots with thoughts of Evren and the way I had let him rule over my body so easily, but the farther I moved through the castle, the more unsettled I became. This was more than the regret I knew I should have felt. Something wasn’t right.

I couldn’t explain it, but something in my gut churned with dread. It had pulled me from my sleep, and at first, I thought it was simply the uncertainty of everything, but the farther I got from my room, the more panic pulled at me.

My magic prowled inside of me. I could feel it as if it were as worried as I was, and my chest rose and fell harshly with each of my breaths.

Something was off.

I just didn’t know what that something was.

I let my hand drag along the rough stone of the walls as I continued to walk under the oil lamps and the smell of bread had me stopping near a heavy set of double doors.

The doors were wooden and intricately carved, and I pressed my trembling hand against one as I hurriedly pushed inside.

The kitchens were dark, save the lit candle by the oven, and I cursed under my breath for not bringing one with me. There was no way I was going to be able to find anything in here without some light.

I pushed across the room to grab the candlestick from where it sat, and I jumped when the sound of someone clearing their throat caught me off guard.

“Shit, sorry.” The male laughed as my back slammed into the counter behind me. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Who are you?” I took another step away from him, and he grinned. He was sitting on top of the counter across from me, and he had a plethora of meats, cheeses, and breads laying at his side.

“I should probably be the one asking you that since you’re the stranger in our castle.” He cocked his head to the side, and his long hair slid over his shoulder. He tucked his brown hair behind his ear before taking a bite of cheese as if he was completely unbothered by seeing me here.

“I’m not a stranger. I’m a prisoner.” I took a few more steps away until I was able to reach the candle. Hot wax dripped down on my hand, and I winced but didn’t dare drop it.

I moved it closer to the stranger in front of me so I could see him better. My heart was hammering in my chest, and I couldn’t stop that deep gnawing in my stomach.

“A prisoner?” He laughed and lounged back on his hands. “Our prisoners don’t have the privilege of sneaking around the kitchen for a snack in the middle of the night.”

“But you do have a lot? Of prisoners, that is.”

“We have a few.” He watched me, and I could practically feel him calculating my every move.

I attempted to do the same to him. He was dressed in all black, so similar to Evren, but his shirt was only buttoned about halfway up his chest as if he couldn’t be bothered to finish the rest of the task. Blades were strapped along his torso, and I wondered what he needed so many blades for in the middle of the night.

“And trust me, Adara, none of them are treated as you are.” Hearing my name fall from his lips put me on edge.

“So, you do know who I am.”

“Of course, I do.” He chuckled and ran his hand over his full lips. “Do you really think our prince could bring you back here and the entire kingdom wouldn’t know of it?”

“Because of the prophecy?”

His eyes widened, but only for a moment before he smoothed out his features.

“Because of everything he’s sacrificed.”

“Who are you?” I held the candle higher, and a dimple marred the handsome lines of his face.

“Sorin.” He held his hand out in my direction. “I am the captain of the Blood army, and one of Evren’s best friends.”

I narrowed my eyes at him. “So, you’re the captain of the Blood army and Evren is the fake captain of the fae?”

He simply grinned harder.

“Well, I guess technically he is if we’re referring to Prince Gavril’s men who are meant to do nothing but prance around his castle and protect his ass. Then yes, he is their captain.”

“And what is it that your men do?”

He sobered then, the smile dropping from his face. “We protect this kingdom and everyone who our prince serves.”

His answer angered me, fueled a hate inside me I couldn’t tame. “And those were your men who attacked us in the woods? What exactly were you trying to protect then, Captain?” I couldn’t forget that the men who came for me in the forest, the ones who tried to take me from Evren, had been wearing the uniform of Sorin’s army.

“Those men did not belong to me.” He leaned forward and his hands gripped the edge of the counter. “Those are the queen’s guard.”

“And you do not serve your queen?” There was a bite to my voice, and I hoped that he could hear it.

“I serve anyone my prince tells me to, but that attack to get you here before Evren was ready was not my doing.”

“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.”

I could hear the truth in his words as I gasped for breath. I pressed my hand against my chest in an effort to relieve the tension that pulled there. He brought me here then he left me. He left me, and he didn’t dare say goodbye. My heart hammered as anger fueled me, but there was also so much regret. I should have spoken to him instead of storming out of his room. I should have told him the truth about how torn I was over the need to protect myself and the need to be near him.

“He left me.”

“He will do whatever it takes to protect our people. He has spent his entire life making sure we weren’t destroyed under his father and brother’s rule.”

Sorin slid off the counter and moved in front of me. He stared up at me as if he needed my full attention for the next words that passed his lips. “The people of this kingdom will follow Evren blindly wherever he asks them to go. We will do anything he asks of us, and we aren’t willing to do that because he’s like his brother. He is everything that his brother is not.”

“And what if you’re wrong?” I could hear the fear in my voice, the desperation to believe what he said about Evren to be true but the fear that it wasn’t.

“If you believe that”—he shook his head softly as he started walking toward the door—“then you don’t know your mate at all.”