Page 107 of The Princess and Her Grand King

Aekeira lowered her eyes. “It wasn’t easy to let go,” she admitted, her voice quiet. “But when faced with the choice between giving us a chance or living every day half-dead inside, I chose to take that chance.”

“Even though he’s half-mad and soulless?” Emeriel’s voice held an edge.

Aekeira’s lips lifted in a soft smile. “Even then.” She looked up at Emeriel, her eyes bright. “And you know what, Em?”

Don’t call me—Sigh. “What?”

“These past few weeks with him have been the happiest of my life.” Aekeira’s eyes sparkled, a dreamy look on her face. “I’ve never felt more alive. More fulfilled.”

Utterly disgusting. Utterly adorable.

“Give the grand king a chance,” Aekeira urged her. “Listen to him. Then decide what you want to do. Running away is not really the answer. The Emeriel I once knew understood that.”

“I’m not sure I want to be that Emeriel anymore. That girl let her heart lead… and look at the bottomless pit she fell into. Now, I only follow my head.”

Aekeira went silent.

Finally, she said, “And there’s nothing wrong with that.” Rising to her feet, she added, “I’ll go fetch Madam Livia—she needs to know you’re awake.”

Emeriel nodded, watching as her sister walked toward the door.

But Aekeira paused, turning back, her hand resting on the doorknob.

“Maybe you don’t have to be that girl anymore,” she said quietly, “but you can’t lose her completely, Em. Because that girl survived hell. She endured slavery, the hell of sleeping with a beast. Faced the agony of heat and its recovery, of shouldering a crushing secret, and still lived through being severed from her soulmate. She went through all of that, and she…survived.”

Emeriel’s chest tightened hard. She looked away, her sister’s words hanging in the air.

“That girl was the best part of you,” Aekeira added. “She was the strongest part. The bravest. She’s everything that made you,you. Maybe you don’t have to be her entirely anymore, but you can still carry her with you. Because she balanced you out. It’s alright to let your head lead… just give your heart a chance to follow, too.”

Stop, please.Emeriel stared down at her hands. They were shaking.

“I love you, Em.” Her sister opened the door, offering a small, sad smile. “I will always love you, no matter who you are.”

Long after she left, Emeriel whispered into the quiet, “I love you too, Keira.”

***

TWO YEARS AGO

Three months after returning from Urai.

Emeriel woke to a splitting headache and an even sharper ache in her stomach.

Sunlight streamed through the window, assaulting her sensitive eyes, but she had neither the strength nor the will to rise and close the curtains. Instead, she threw a pillow over her face, shutting out the world.

Another day dawned.

Another day to hope for her Beloved's return, to pray he would come and take her back.

She didn’t care if she had to return as his slave; Emeriel was ready to serve him for the rest of her life. She would accept any crumb of affection he could give her, if only he would come for her.

"I'll be a good girl, I promise," she mumbled hoarsely, her eyes too dry, too exhausted to summon tears.

Another day to wish for death.

Outside her door, voices filtered through.

“She was half-dead, severely dehydrated,” Prince Daviel snapped. “If our men hadn’t found her when they did, she would be gone by now.”

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