Page 63 of The Princess and Her Grand King

Emeriel almost swallowed her tongue at the sight. Never had she seen him smile that way.

Hell, she had never seen himgenuinelysmile. Period.

It tugged at her insides, and shestareddumbfounded as he led her to his waiting steed.

Finally, she caught herself. "There is no extra horse," she noted, her voice dry.

"You will ride with me." He climbed into the saddle, extending his hand towards her. "Worry not, Beloved. I will not let you fall."

No, it wasn’t that kind of fall she was afraid of.

Emeriel absolutely hated the way "beloved" sounded coming from his lips. She hated the thrill it sent through her, the way it awakened parts of her she had fought to bury.

Hated how much she wanted to hear more of it.

With a reluctant sigh, she placed her hand in his strong, calloused one, and he effortlessly lifted her onto the horse, positioning her close behind him. He gave a subtle command, and they set off at a leisurely pace.

The closeness was suffocating.

His scent, the solidness of his back. The warmth of his body.Heavens, this was a terrible idea. A terrible, stupid, reckless idea.

The grand king glanced over his shoulder. "How was your morning, beautiful?"

"The morning is still fresh, Your Grace," she grumbled. Hesitated, then added, "I received the flowers. Thank you."

"You are most welcome," he said warmly. "The day is beautiful, is it not?"

"For a male who crawled out of death’s mouth, you're certainly in high spirits this morning," Emeriel muttered under her breath.

King Daemonikai chuckled. "I heard that."

"Damn supernatural ears," she mumbled.

"I heard that too," he added, his shoulders shaking with silent laughter.

Emeriel clamped her mouth shut, more startled by his laughter than anything else.

"I have prepared something for us," he announced. "Brace yourself." He signaled the horse to increase its speed.

Instinctively, her arms wrapped around his waist, holding tight as the horse surged forward.

As they galloped through the countryside, Emeriel fought to feel nothing.

Fought not to feel his strong body under her hands, his hair tickling her face, the solidness of his back against her chest. No, she noticed none of that.

The ride ended sooner than expected, but when she dismounted, she realized just how far they had traveled.

The towering peaks of Asbar Mountain stood ahead, its snow-dusted cliffs plain against the clear sky.

When had the rest of the entourage dispersed? Only Wegai remained, and even he turned his horse around to depart, leaving them alone.

"I need his horse," Emeriel requested.

King Daemonikai nodded, and Wegai obediently left the horse behind before making himself scarce.

Glancing around, her eyes narrowed as she noticed what lay ahead. He had set up… an archery range?

Targets lined the field… wooden frames holding tightly drawn circles of straw, each one marked with a painted bullseye. Bows and quivers filled with arrows rested on a makeshift stand crafted from branches.

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