A Kingdom of Venom and Vows (Stars and Shadows, #3)

by Holly Renee

She was on the brink of death, but we would slowly nurse her back to life. It was a cycle that had to continue until I was completely ready to claim the power she held. The power I would gain from killing my mate.

He took my fucking mate.

Because throughout all my years, there had never been something that could break me as easily as she could. She had the power to destroy me in ways that I never saw coming.

She was my mate, and I failed her. She had chosen me over everything. She had chosen me even though she knew the truth of me delivering her father to Queen Kaida so many years ago. The bond inside me that laced the two of us together felt taut and strained with the ache of the two of us being apart. I had given her every reason not to, but she still chose me.

She had given me her magic without taking a moment to think of what the consequences would be.

But there wasn’t a force strong enough in this world or the next that could stop me from loving her.

“To get death magic, he would have had to…” Thalia trailed off, her fear palpable between us. “Kill his mate.”

I couldn’t hate him for something that happened before I knew him. I couldn’t hate him for what he did to help protect his people. Because everything he did was for someone else. And there was nothing I could do to stop myself from loving him. Despite everything I knew, despite the roles he played.

“Your brother didn’t take from me. I gave. And there’s nowhere on my body you can touch that hasn’t already been claimed by him.”

“When you reach the barrier, let her power go. Let every ounce of it pour from you, and her magic will find her. The queen will save herself.”

“Get your hands off my mate.” Evren’s voice boomed through the garden, a demand to not be mistaken, as he stormed through the double doors with a blood-soaked sword in his hand.

I was Evren’s mate, and his strong hold on me reminded me of all the things I was, of what I should have been. I was his mate, the future queen of the Blood kingdom, and I was the Starblessed that would determine the fate of this world.

When she looked at these scars, I didn’t want her to think of him. I wanted her to think of me and how my love for her was something I had waited a lifetime for. I would have waited a hundred lifetimes to get to her.

Every part of me belonged to her, to use as she demanded.

“You have me. For this lifetime and any that come after.”

“My beautiful girl.” He ran his teeth along my neck. “My perfect fucking mate.”

“I have searched for you through a thousand lifetimes, princess, and I will search for you through a thousand more.”