A Kingdom of Blood and Betrayal (Stars and Shadows #2)(2)

“You’re not leaving this tent, princess.”

“Says the adoring mate.” I crossed my arms as I looked at him. “Did you take lessons from your brother?”

“I am not him, Adara,” he snapped, his voice shaking with his anger.

“No.” I shook my head as emotion clogged my throat. I could feel moisture pooling in my eyes and that only made my own anger flare. “You’re worse.”

His knuckles turned white as he clenched his fists. “What would you prefer? Would you like for me to let you go out into that camp with men who were just so willing to take you from me? Would you prefer that I let your fate be up to them?”

My pulse hammered in my chest as I thought about what he was saying. “Doesn’t that bother you?” I watched him carefully for anything that would clue me into what he was thinking. “You are their prince, but they were more than willing to rip me from your fingers.”

“My mother is their queen.” He pushed his hand through his hair in frustration, but I couldn’t take my eyes off of him. “And I lost sight of my role.”

I could feel his anger thrumming through his magic. Fear and anticipation spiked through me as it traced over my skin.

“And what is your role, Evren?”

“I was always meant to get you away from him.” He shook his head in frustration. “But not until he was weaker. Not until I could do so without him knowing it was me.”

“So, what? You were just biding your time as the dutiful brother and son until you could rip everything out from under them?”

Evren stood and moved toward me, and I took a step back against the edge of the tent as his voice snapped. “What I did, princess, was everything that I could to protect my people. You can say I’m as bad as Gavril all you want, but you know nothing of his cruelty.”

His words ricocheted through me and settled deep in my gut. He was right. I knew little of Gavril or what he was capable of, but I was still angry. I still wanted a fight because his words were a reminder that I knew little of him as well.

“And the way you fucked me? Was that for your people, prince? Was that to protect me from his cruelty?”

He narrowed his eyes as he searched my face, and he lifted his dark, magic-stained fingers until they wrapped around the back of my neck and forced me to look up at him. “When I fucked you, that was for no one other than you and me.” He moved closer still, his breath leaving a trail of chill bumps against my neck. “You make me greedy.” His lips whispered over my jawline, and I couldn’t contain the small moan that fell from my lips. “You make me want to forget any duties that I have and just get lost in you for eternity.”

“That will never happen again.” My voice lacked strength, and I hated that Evren could recognize my weakness. I could feel his smile as he grazed his lips against my ear.

“We both know that’s a fucking lie, princess,” he purred. “You want me just as badly now as you did before you saved me with your magic.”

“I don’t want you.” I shook my head even as pressure built between my thighs. Being this close to him was bad for my head. The smell of him overwhelmed me. The feel of his magic flooded my senses. There was a familiarity that made my marks buzz along my skin, but his magic also felt like phantom hands that were trying to discover every inch of me.

It was hard to remember why I hated him when he was near. It was hard not to reach out and move into the small space he had left between us.

“You may not want me, but gods, I want you. I love fucking you.” His nose ran along my jaw, and he inhaled a sharp breath. “It makes me so fucking hard to carry your scent on my body and to know that every male around me knows that you belong to me.”

My stomach tightened at his words, and I tried to swallow down my need for him as I continued to shake my head softly.

I didn’t belong to him.

I never had. Not really.

But every part of me was begging me to let his words be true. I couldn’t see his betrayal when he was choking me with desire. I would suffocate on it, and he would make me thank him for it with my last breath.

My fingers trembled as I raised them and pushed against his chest. I needed space.

Space he wasn’t willing to give me.

“Don’t push me away, princess.” His words were soft and vulnerable as his hands grabbed mine and pushed until my fingers dug into his chest. They were branding his skin, almost to the point of pain, but I could hardly notice when he was staring down at me like he was. “Don’t hate me for the choices I’ve been forced to make.”

I jerked my hands away from him as reality set in. I could still remember the way his face had looked when I realized who he was. I could still taste the way my own magic had become bitter against my tongue.

I moved past him, toward the bedroll he had laid out for me, and I pulled it to the far edge of the tent. “Don’t delude yourself into thinking that I will fall to my knees before you simply because you wish it so. No one held a dagger to your neck and made you deceive me. No one made you pretend to be something more with me in the name of saving your people. You want to pretend to be a savior, Evren, but you are just as much a villain as your brother.”

“Is that what you want me to be?” He watched me as I dropped onto my bedroll and lay against the rough fabric. “You want me to be the man that you hate?”