Page 83 of The Princess and Her Grand King

How she had lived without this, without him, for two long years, she would never know.

"So, yes, Aekeira," her grand lord added with resolve. "Let's go back home."

Chapter nineteen

MY WOMAN. MY BELOVED.

"Ifyouknewthat,why would you still keep someone like him by your side?" Emeriel asked, puzzled.

King Daemonikai shrugged. "The Dragaxlov family has always seen the Naelzharoth as rivals, competitors. For millennia, even before Zaiper assumed the throne after his father, it has been that way. They want to beNil'nhile."

Emeriel was intrigued. "What does that mean?"

"First. They wish to be first in everything," he stated. "First ruler. First clan. Urekai has four clans and, thus, four rulers. Greyrock holds the headquarters for all northern Urekai, just as Frostfall holds all southern Urekai… my clan. But as First Ruler, I oversee all. The Dragaxlovs have no right to encroach on my territory, but I can enter theirs. That—” he smiled faintly “—is why they despise being second.”

Emeriel’s head bobbed as she absorbed the information.

Unrolling another scroll, King Daemonikai picked up his quill. "This rivalry didn't start with Zaiper, and it probably won't end with him."

"It can’t be easy ruling alongside them."

"It's not difficult." King Daemonikai scribbled on the parchment, his tone light. "Everyone is entitled to their opinions and ambition, as long as they don't act on them."

He sighed. "Actions are what breed consequences. Actions are what we prosecute." A shoulder lifted and fell. "Zaiper might hunger for power, but he wouldn't dare act on them."

I think he might have played a part in what happened five hundred years ago.

Emeriel kept her suspicions to herself. She was beginning to understand how Urekai society worked.

An accusation of this magnitude, even in casual conversation, could have serious repercussions.

“Did he… lose anyone on the night of the eclipse moon?" she asked cautiously.

Daemonikai stiffened, his hand pausing. He looked up at her, his face unreadable.

There it was–the shutting down.

Emeriel had almost forgotten how sensitive the subject was. "I apologize for overstepping—"

“No.” he squeezed his eyes shut, taking a deep breath. “No, it’s alright. Yes, he lost Kristof, his elder brother.”

“Elder?” she echoed, surprised. “I thought every kingdom chose heirs by birth order. How did Zaiper become grand lord if he had an elder brother?”

“Kristof was never interested in the throne.” A hint of a smile crossed King Daemonikai’s face again. “Even as younglings, it never appealed to him. His dream was to be a high-ranking soldier—the best. And that was what he became. He was different from the rest of the Dragaxlovs.”

Emeriel saw the fondness in King Daemonikai's voice. "You sound close."

“We were, once.” His voice softened with nostalgia. “We fought side by side in countless battles. He was the general commander of all our clan’s armies.”

"Wow," Emeriel breathed, impressed.

The grand king nodded. “Kristof was a force to be reckoned with. It’s a shame he never wanted the throne. He could have made a strong ruler… But his loyalty was to the battlefield, not the court. Because of his stance on ruling, the throne passed to the second son, Zaiper.”

King Daemonikai's quill paused, and a shadow fell over his eyes. “Kristof fought beside me on that night, knowing the danger of using strength without the Chalice. He helped many of our people escape even when his own strength began to drain. He fought with everything he had. Kristoff was found dead in an alley near Greyrock…” His voice faltered for a moment. “Whether he dropped dead from exhaustion or was slain by humans, no one knows.”

"I'm sorry to hear that," Emeriel said softly. "He sounds like he was a remarkable man.”

“Perhaps that’s why I can’t judge Zaiper too harshly.” King Daemonikai resumed writing, scratching against the parchment. “He lost someone too, and everyone grieves in their own way. Zaiper held it together, unlike Vladya and I, who completely fell apart.”

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