Page 84 of The Princess In A 'Prince' Disguise

Emeriel headed straight for Aekeira's bedchamber and noticed Madam Livia exiting the room. He greeted the head maid, before continuing on his way.

Inside the chambers, Aekeira lay on the bed, reading a book. She looked up and smiled at the sight of Emeriel. The swellingaround her eyes had subsided, and she appeared much better than she had in the past couple of days.

"I saw Madam Livia," Emeriel said as he walked in, closing the door behind him.

"She gave me more herbs and informed me that I would be resuming my duties tomorrow. I have no idea how she managed to keep me away from work these past few days, but I am grateful to her. How did it go with that Lord?" Aekeira's eyes looked resigned. "How bad did he hurt you?"

Emeriel shook his head firmly and quickly narrated how it went with Lord Herod. "I packed food for you," he finished cheerfully.

Aekeira looked surprised as she took the bread and meat from Emeriel and began eating quickly.

Emeriel felt a prickling sensation on his skin, and scratched his arm to alleviate the itch. "What about you?" he hesitated. "Have you had any interaction with Lord Vladya since that night?"

"Fortunately, no. I have not seen him, and I will do everything in my power to avoid him. I hate him so much," Aekeira replied between bites. "Besides, now that he's hurt me the way he wanted, I'm sure he'll move on to the next human slave to torment."

After eating, Aekeira lay down, her eyes growing drowsy. Emeriel wasn't surprised—some of the herbs Madam Livia had given her induced sleep.

"Try to get some rest, Keira," Emeriel reassured her. "I'll be here with you, at least until you fall asleep."

"Are you alright?" Aekeira asked.

"Huh?"

"You have been scratching your arms non-stop for the last few minutes. I'm sure they've turned red from all that scratching." Aekeira observed, sleepily.

Emeriel's fingers froze, and slowly, his hands dropped. He hadn't even noticed. "I'm fine. It's nothing to worry about." He forced himself to believe it, suppressing his rising panic.

Ithadto be nothing to worry about, because the alternative was scary. There was no way he was about to go into heat again.

No.

Oh, Lights, just no.

Chapter twenty-seven

AT MIDNIGHT, WHEN THE CROWS SLEEP

Grand Lord Vladya gazed out into the night, his arms crossed as he stood at the center of the Blackstone tower. His mind wandered far from his present location.

His mood remained as dark as ever, though he refused to analyze the reasons behind it.

Frankly, his moods had rarely been sunshine in the past few hundred years, so he believed there was no specific cause.

It absolutely had nothing to do with what transpired two nights ago.

He had lost control of himself. When he recalled half of the things he had said, it made him grimace.

Vladya refused to believe the person who had raged because the human princess undressed for Zaiper was him.

So what if the girl was attracted to the second ruler?It should mean nothing to him. He didn't even like the girl, so what the hell was that?

The fact that she had captured the attention of every male in court, their eyes greedily taking in her naked form, shouldn't have upset him so much.

As he battled the need not to unleash on her, he had almost succumbed to a beastflare.

He snorted. Accidental shifting was for young Urekai coming of age, not for an ancient like him. He was three thousand eight hundred years old, for Ukrae's sake.

So why in the fires of hell did it almost happen? He had fought against the shift...and had nearly lost.

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