Page 149 of The Princess and Her Grand King

He closed his eyes briefly, his heart lighter than it had been in years.

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At the sight of Grand King Daemonikai, Emeriel's pain…dulled. Receded into the background.

All she could focus on was him. How to shield him from the agony she knew was coming.

“Daemon…” Her voice wavered stepping toward him, her head shaking slightly.He was never meant to find out.

“Is it true?” he asked, his voice hoarse and trembling. “Did we make a child two years ago and lo—” His throat worked, hard. “Did we lose a child?”

The dread on his face was undeniable.

His eyes were practically begging her to say no. To tell him it wasn’t true.

That it was a lie, a cruel jest. A fabricated story to placate Aekeira.

Emeriel saw it all in his gaze. The raw fear, the refusal to believe.

And for a passing moment, she considered lying to him. Telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. Anything at all to spare him the weight of this unbearable misery.

But lying would not save them. Not from this.

“Yes,” she admitted. “I had a miscarriage.”

He staggered back as if struck.

"No," he breathed, his eyes searching the ceiling, the walls, anywhere but her face.

"It cannot be." He shook his head violently, as if trying to dislodge the truth. "It cannot be."

Emeriel’s eyes leaked more tears.

Her sister moved in her periphery, wiping away her own tears. Aekeira met her eyes briefly and mouthed,“I will be back later.”

The sound of the door closing barely registered. Emeriel’s focus remained fixed on her Beloved. “Daemon, I am sorry.”

“But it cannot be.” He closed the distance between them in an instant, his hands gripping her shoulders. Not harshly, but with the desperate strength of a man barely hanging on. “It’s not possible.”

“It is.” Her face scrunched as fresh sobs racked her. “I got pregnant, Your Grace. I carried your child. And then I…”

Her hands flew to her mouth, muffling the sound of her cries. “And then I lost him. I didn’t even know I was pregnant. I…”

Daemon's hands trembled against her shoulders before suddenly falling away. It was as though all his strength had left him in a single breath.

He turned without a word, his movements slow and heavy, and began walking.

Out of the chambers and into the hall.

His shoulders stooped, head hung low.

He looked sodefeatedit hurt Emeriel to her core.

Wegai stepped forward as if to follow, but she shook her head, silently commanding him to stay back.

The head guard obeyed, though he looked plainly worried.

Emeriel followed Daemonikai, keeping two paces behind him as he wandered aimlessly down the hall. His steps were leaden, dragging… like each one was a battle.

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