Page 144 of The Princess and Her Grand King

He turned, raising an eyebrow. "Why am I not surprised you are following me?"

"I wish to talk with you." Vladya grunted, catching up to him.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Daemonikai asked, resuming his walk. "You and I both know you're in a hurry to get back to Aekeira."

Once inside Daemonikai's chambers, Vladya settled lazily into an armchair, the leather creaking faintly under his weight. “What are your plans for your bloodhost?”

Daemonikai shrugged out of his hunting cloak, folding it neatly before answering, his voice flat. “I have none yet.”

“Perhaps you should, Daemon. The sooner you do, the faster you will tackle your thirst.” Vladya took a deep breath. “I sincerely don’t know why you aren’t drinking from her. Even if you don’t wish to see her, there are many ways to get her blood.”

“Iknowthat,” Daemonikai bit out, his headache getting worse.

He rubbed his temple before walking over to pour water from a decanter, the steady trickle of liquid briefly filling the room.

He ignored the glass once it was full. “I cannot drink from her. I will not.”

“Starving yourself is not the solution,” Vladya added quietly.

“She tried to kill Emeriel. My bloodhost—the one person whose existence is tied to keeping me alive—poisoned and almost killed mySoulbond,the one person in existence whoismy life.” The words came out in a suppressed fury, vibrating through the room.

His hand gripped the edge of the table until his knuckles turned white. “I knew Sinai was hard—vicious, even—but this? This isvile. This makes me question what else she’s done. What other horrors she has hidden.”

“You need her,” Vladya said calmly, even as understanding gleamed in his silver-gray eyes. “Bloodhosts aren’t just anyone, Daemon. You don’t have another, nor does anyone else. They are exceedingly rare, you know this. For another to emerge, the current one must die, and even then, it could take years. Many of our kind do not survive the waiting period."

“You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”

“I wonder about that, you need a reminder, evidently," Vladya added. "Your control is legendary but you are hungry. Very soon, you will start throwing pheromones around."

"It will not get to that," Daemonikai snapped, his patience thinning.

“You cannot give Sinai the maximum punishment," Vladya said warily. "She must get away with the minimum. I know it, you know it, the court knows it. Why not get it over with?”

Daemonikai glanced at the abandoned glass of water, lips pressed to a thin line. He knew all that. That was precisely why he tried to avoid dwelling on Sinai and her crime.

“While staying away might be punishment for her, you’re also punishing yourself. You are still recovering from soul death, and on top of that, you’re healing from the poison ravaging your organs. Youneedto feed.”

Daemonikai sighed, sinking into the chair opposite his friend, leaning back, and closing his eyes.

He tried to block out the incessant pounding in his skull, the headache constant now. At this rate, he’d win a trophy for enduring the sheer number of headaches plaguing him.

Rarely did a moment pass where his mind was clear and pain-free, and he knew—deep down—he couldn’t keep this up much longer.

“I will feed from Emeriel when it becomes too much,” he muttered, the words heavy with reluctance.

Vladya nodded. “That’s good—great even. Her blood is special to you; it should curb the hunger, at least for a while.” He hesitated, his gaze steady on Daemonikai. “However, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, my friend, but you know you can't sustain yourself on it. It won’t satisfy you, nor will it restore your full strength. She may be your soulmate, Daemon, but she is not your bloodhost.”

“Have you forgotten? A thousand years ago, I survived without Sinai’s blood for five years.” Daemonikai grunted.

"Of course, I remember. She was banished from Urai.” Vladya’s expression turned dark. “You know what else I remember? The suffering you endured during that time. Evie nearlydiedbecause you were draining her dry and we nearly lost over five hundred people in this kingdom… twenty we actually didlosebecause you couldn’t stop."

Daemonikai grimaced. Those were dark times, one of intense suffering and loss he preferred not to revisit.

"Think it over, my friend," Vladya said, rising. "Resolve this situation, and quickly. Even if you intend to feed from Emeriel, you know you’d never forgive yourself if you put her life in danger.”

***

Emeriel sank deeper into the warm water, letting the soothing heat seep into her throbbing muscles. The ache she felt all day finally starting to melt away.

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