Page 71 of The Princess and Her Grand King

Since their encounter two days ago, he had watched her from a distance, following her quietly whenever he had the chance.

Now, she tended to flowers, assisting the slave workers. The contentment on her face as she moved among the blossoms was… mesmerizing. Daemonikai could watch her all day.

"Perhaps you should actually talk to her instead of stalking her, Your Grace," Ottai remarked dryly.

Daemonikai shot him a reprimanding look. "That’s an undignified thing to say. I do not stalk."

Ottai raised an eyebrow. "Let’s see. You followed her from the sick female's house, to the woods where she gathered herbs with Livia, then to the training field where she practiced swordplay, and now, to the garden."

Well, now that Ottai laid it out like that, it did sound like stalking. Not that Daemonikai would ever admit it.

"I merely follow discreetly," he corrected firmly. "I do not stalk."

The fourth ruler smirked. "If you say so."

"Quit it," Daemonikai growled.

"Have you tried apologizing?"

"I have," Daemonikai sighed. Her heartbreak ran deep. He could still recall vividly the raw pain he'd seen. The misery, the resolve.

"She wants nothing to do with me anymore," he conveyed, not bothering to hide the bitterness in his voice. "It’s a wonder she even agreed to return in the first place."

"Oh, that took quite a bit of convincing." Ottai told him, shrugging. "She’s harder now."

"And stronger." Daemonikai remembered her impressive archery skills and swordplay. Pride swelled in him.

HisSoulbondwas a woman of many talents.

"Pain has a way of changing people," Ottai said quietly. "It starts from the roots, twisting everything until one becomes numb to all that matters."

A sentiment they both understood all too well. "Only I caused this pain." Daemonikai’s jaw locked tight. "It was all my fault."

"You did what you thought was best,” Ottai offered. "But maybe the separation was necessary. It forced you and Vladya to truly understand what these women mean to your lives. Sometimes, one does not know the value of what they have until it’s gone."

I only hope I haven't lost her forever.

It was fascinating what coming to terms with oneself can achieve. Now that he had made peace with his conflicting emotions, understanding that going after Emeriel didn’t betray Evie’s memory, he felt most comfortable.

Reaching for this new star—Emeriel—was not a transgression. It was a chance at life, at healing.

And for the first time in a long while, the will to live was stirring in him.

He still had nightmares about that night he lost it all, and he still thought of them, but he no longer wished to die with them. Daemonikai wished toheal.

Not just to honor their memory, but to honor his. He wished to liveforthem… to livefor himself.For Emeriel.

"I refuse to believe I've lost her forever. I will win her back,” he stated with resolve. “I have no intention of giving up."

"I don’t think you’ve lost her, either. Beneath all those layers of armor is a woman who loves you more than life itself, Your Grace," Ottai said quietly, glancing back at her. "She stayed by your side through it all. Even when the chill of the frostfever became unbearable. She never left. She fought to keep you warm with her own body, despite the danger to her own health.”

The grand lord shook his head in remembered disbelief. “Beneath that tough exterior is a girl who is hurting, afraid to extend her love again."

Daemonikai’s eyes followed Emeriel as she approached an elderly slave woman struggling to carry a heavy bucket. Without hesitation, Emeriel took the bucket, carrying it across the garden.

Underneath it all, she's still the same soft-hearted female he once knew as Galilea.

And Daemonikai would reach her.

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