Page 73 of The Slave in A Princess Disguise

With a heavy sigh, Aekeira forced herself to sit on her bed, the worry twisting her insides into knots. It wasn't just Em she feared for. She also feared for the male who had insinuated himself into her life and thoughts, refusing to leave.

Is Em safe?

Is Lord Vladya safe?

Grand Lord Vladya stirred, disoriented. The air hung heavy with the damp scent of moss and earth. The rhythmic drip... drip... drip... of water off the cavern walls. He blinked, his eyes adjusting to the dim light filtering through a crack in the rock ceiling.

This time, it was the cave.

Not just in any cave, but one on the outskirts of Urai. Vladya had no memory of how he ended up here, miles from the border. His last recollection was sparring with his soldiers in the training yard. And...nothing.

His head throbbed with a familiar, agonizing pain. Rising unsteadily, he stumbled towards the cave's entrance. His clothes were caked in dirt, as if he had run through every forest in the kingdom before finding refuge in this cavern.

Outside, the sky was ablaze with the golden hues of dawn, the bright sunlight piercing his eyes painfully. Had he been unconscious for a day?Weeks?

He reached for a messenger bird perched on a nearby branch, murmuring a few hushed words before sending it off. Returning to the cave, he sank down onto a moss-covered boulder, clutching his aching head in his hands. And, waited.

"Your Highness?" Yaz's voice broke through the haze of pain. How much time had passed?

"In here," he rasped, his throat dry and scratchy.

Yaz appeared at the cave entrance, flanked by two soldiers loaded with supplies. Vladya accepted the offered waterskin, splashing the cool liquid over his face and neck.

"How long was I gone?" he asked Yaz as they made their way out of the cave, his voice still rough.

"Two days, My Lord," Yaz said, concern coating his tone.

Damn it. Daemonikai would have noticed his absence by now.

"My Lord?"

"What is it, Yaz?"

"Permission to ask—"

"Denied."

"Your Highness..."

"I do not want to hear it." Vladya knew Yaz was very worried about him, but he did not want to deal with Yaz's worry right now.

If he were lucky, he would not have to deal with anybody's worry.

He simply wanted to get back to his abode, have the healer prescribe something new for his headaches.

Because, apparently, the current so-called medicinal concoctions he’d been taking were nonsensically ineffective.

At the fortress, he passed through the familiar intersection and was almost at Blackstone when he heard a familiar voice.

"Lord Vladya?"

Vladya did not turn. "Not now, Ottai."

"Yes, now," his friend insisted, his voice firm. " And if you do not grant me your time, I shall follow you all the way to Blackstone. And mark my words, I shall plague you until you give in."

Vladya stopped with a resigned sigh.

"Figured as much. Everyone, leave," Ottai ordered. Within seconds, the meeting of paths was deserted, except for the two of them.

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