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

by Holly Renee

I had given her every reason not to, but she still chose me. My chest tightened with a debilitating ache at the thought of losing her.

Now Adara was in the enemy’s kingdom, and her power remained with me. She made herself powerless, and I couldn’t stop my fury.

They thought I was their savior, but I would be no such thing. I would be their destruction.

“The Blood kingdom is my home.” I turned to look at her once more with my fingers digging into the wood of the door. “And the Blood prince is my mate. If you are to fear anything, it should be me. You should fear what I am willing to do to get it all back.”

They were my enemy. They had always been my enemy, and I refused to forget that fact as I stared into their familiar faces.

“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.”

“I’m not talking about me.” Pain marred his face, and he leaned against the table. “I’m talking about the girl.”

She would tell me to fight. Thalia would scream at me to get up off my ass and fight. She would have demanded it of me until I was so furious that I had no choice but to answer her command.

there was something dark in his eyes that hadn’t been there moments before. His jaw was set and his gaze unflinching. There was desire there, but there was also anger and power. It was the look of the man I feared.

The queen will save herself.”

I gasped at the feel of it, and I didn’t understand. I had pushed every bit of magic I had into Evren, but this magic was mine. My heart raced as I thought about what that meant. Evren was close.

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.

Pain shuddered over his face, and my chest ached. “I’m sorry, princess. I just need a moment.” “Then take it.” I nodded. “But you take it with me.”

Pleasure bombarded me, and I cried out. “My beautiful girl.” He ran his teeth along my neck. “My perfect fucking mate.”

I looked back at my friend, at the man who had been more like a brother to me, and I bowed my head slightly. He was the greatest warrior I had ever fought with or against, and I knew his word to be true.

This was my wife, the woman willing to fight for my kingdom, and I had never loved anyone more.

Thalia was a warrior with or without the powers the stars had bestowed on her. She was a warrior forged from her past and led by her future. And there was no fear in her eyes when I looked upon her.

queen.” Her voice purred, and my back straightened at her words. “We have come to serve.”

Our magic hadn’t been enough. It wasn’t enough, and I pushed my fingers into my hair and pulled on the strands as a scream ripped from my throat as I pressed my other wrist harder against his mouth.

He was my mate, and even when facing the god of death, we would not cower.

He pulled his trousers down his hips, and his cock sprung free. He was so hard, so ready for me, and I trembled as I stared at him. “You’re so damn perfect.” He wrapped his hand around his cock, and he fisted up and down the length of it as he stared down at my body before him. “Come here.”

His breathing evened out, slowly drifting, and even though I knew that we still had much to face, every part of me found comfort in the knowledge that we would face it together.