I had no allies in this palace. I was wary of everyone here, but she was my true opponent in this palace. She was the one who I needed to watch at all times, but even knowing that I couldn’t look away from the prince as he spoke.
“She means well.”
“Means well for who?” My hand tightened on his shoulder. “I don’t believe the queen has any interest in me other than what I can provide for you.”
Gavril had the gall to look embarrassed by my words, but I didn’t know how he thought I could possibly think otherwise. “You are to be my wife, Adara. You are more than the blood that runs through your veins.”
His words were like a whisper over my skin. A whisper that captivated me.
“And how exactly do you feed from me?”
I knew this hall wasn’t the right place for that kind of question, but I had to know. The lores I had been told stated that the fae fed from a Starblessed like we are warned of vampyres. But as I looked up at Gavril, I saw no signs of sharp teeth for him to puncture my skin. I saw no signs of the monster that I feared lay beneath.
“You have time before you are to worry about that.” He cleared his throat before his fingers gently trailed over my skin. “I will not feed from you until we are wed. Until you are mine.”
That both calmed me and filled me with unease simultaneously. “And when are we to wed?”
“In a month’s time.” He drew me closer to him absently. “You will become a princess of Citlali before the twin moons meet in the starless sky.”
A princess. The thought was absurd to me.
I was no more fit to be a princess than I was to be a queen.
“I know this isn’t what you wanted, but you will learn to love it here, Adara.” He sounded so sincere, but I didn’t trust him. How could I learn to love something my father had died to try to prevent?
“But this is what you wanted?”
He didn’t answer me immediately. His gaze fell over every inch of my face as he thought about my question. “What I want is to fulfill my duties as the crowned prince of Citlali. I can’t expect you to understand that.”
His words felt like a whip.
“I think I understand more than most, considering my duty was to give up my entire life.”
He jolted backward like my words hit their mark.
“So it is your duty that causes you to long to feed from me? None of that comes from your own thirst of power?”
He leaned in closer to me, and I stiffened in his hold as his mouth pressed in close to my ear. “My thirst, as you put it, will be quenched soon enough, and we shall see what I long for after I have my first taste.”
He pulled back and his dark blue eyes stared down at me.
“Have you fed from another?” The question felt so intimate, but they had paid no mind when they asked the same of me.
“I have.” He nodded. “But none that have awoken my true power. None that feel the same as you.” His hand skimmed up the length of my back, and the touch felt indecent with all of these people watching. But I would be a fool to deny the thrill that ran through me with his touch.
It was unlike anything I had ever sensed before. It was a persuasion and a cautioning all at once.
The song came to an end, and Gavril wavered as he finally removed his hand from my back. He dipped into a small bow as he let my hand fall between us. There were several others dancing around us, others that I had barely even noticed, but I looked up toward the dais to find the queen’s eyes directly on me.
“Thank you for the dance, Adara.” Gavril stood back to his full height before he lifted his hand as if he wished to touch my face. I took a step back before I allowed him to do so.
Gavril searched my face, but I just needed to get away. I needed to escape his touch and their watchful eyes.
I turned toward the doors, and no one stopped me as I quickly made my way back to them. I could feel my heart hammering in my chest and my breath rushing out of me as I tried to calm my mind. This was too much. It was all too much.
I grabbed my long skirt in my hand as I finally made it to the doors, and I looked back to see the queen still following my every move with cold, calculated eyes.
I turned down the hall, desperate to get back to my room, when my chest slammed into another and my breath fell from my lips in a rush.