Page 73 of Of Storm and Emerald
She nodded and placed a hand on his shoulder. Giving it a gentle squeeze, which pulled his gaze to hers. “I know this probably won’t help, and I’m sure mother has hounded you enough already. But I think you should. Maybe seeing her again would help clarify some things in your head as well as your heart.”
Daemon nodded. “You’re right. But it could also complicate things far worse than they already are.”
Yvaine scoffed, then punched him in the arm.
“Ouch. What the fuck was that for?”
“If you’re going to keep being morose about the whole situation, call it off instead of dragging her along. Don’t be an ass. I don’t know the woman, but Idoknow that she doesn’t deserve to be led on. Figure it out or let her go.”
She paused, then pulled him into a tight embrace. When she released him, her eyes were soft, but also stern. “I mean it, Daemon. No one deserves to be led on. If you can’t figure out a way to have her, let her go.”
He nodded his assent, and she turned to head toward the door, hollering, “I love you, little brother!” before she pulled the door closed behind her.
After Yvaine left his chambers that morning, he decided to shower to clear his head. But it did the opposite.
Instead, the last line of Auraelia’s letter played on a loop, causing his cock to harden. Images of her spread out on his bed with her hand between her thighs as he watched played on repeat. Flashes of her pressed up against the cold marble in his shower as he sank into her pussy coursed through his mind.
Fuck.
Cock in hand, he stroked himself to the images flooding his brain until his release coated the black stone.
He’d dressed quickly after that. Heading out for a day of unrelenting princely duties.
There were council meetings to discuss the trade agreements between the Isles and the other courts. And with his father still ill, it was his job to step in and sit beside his mother to conduct them.
The Sapphire Isles provided exotic fruits to the majority of the realm. As well as fresh seafood, obsidian, and colored glass. Topaz provided grains, gourds, and a variety of fruits that weren’t conducive to be grown in the Isles or other parts of Ixora. For the Court of Pearl, it was high quality fabrics and pearls–of which his mother was quite fond. Emerald provided leafy greens, beans and berries, as well as game from their various hunting seasons. The Court of Opal traded in game as well, but also allowed courts to send their commanders to learn how to effectively train their soldiers.
The only court that the Sapphire Isles didn’t have a trade agreement with was the Court of Garnet. Tucked away on the other side of the Onyx Mountains, Garnet kept to itself. As far as he knew, they didn’t trade with any of the other courts either.
When the talk of trade agreements ended, the next line of business was discussing the solstice celebration. His mother’s eyes never left his face, boring holes into the side of his head that asked the unanswered question, “Did you invite her yet?”
Daemon tried not to zone out as the talk of guest list and food options drug on and on. Tried to ignore–and not look annoyed at–every not-so-subtle hint at him spending time with eligible ladies of the court.
After hours of discussion, he finally called the meeting to a close and excused himself before he could get pulled into yet another trivial discussion about canapes.
Slipping from the council chambers, he aimed for the garden at the far end of the castle grounds. He needed to be out under the open sky. Needed to feel the wind on his face.
Needed out of that stuffy room with its pushy politicians and his mother's unflinching gaze.
Outside, the sky was painted in an array of vibrant pinks and fiery oranges as the sun set on the horizon. The moon, already high in the sky, was waiting for its moment to shine.
Two steps down, a voice called to him from behind.
“What is it, Aiden?” he asked without even bothering to turn in his direction.
“Want to work off some of that foul energy that’s pulsing off of you in waves?”
Daemon half turned to where his friend stood on the top step, a cocky grin on his face. “Are youofferingto get your ass kicked, Lord Aiden?”
Aiden’s laugh boomed across the open courtyard. “In your dreams,Your Highness.”
By the time Daemon made it back into his rooms that night, the stars were out, glittering like fragmented glass that had been scattered across the inky black sky. Bone tired and weary, he grabbed a glass of whiskey before heading into his bedchamber.
It had been a while since he’d sparred with Aiden, and neither of them pulled punches. His now swollen and throbbing jaw was proof of that–as was Aiden’s newly formed black eye.
After a quick shower, Daemon pulled Auraelia’s letter out from his side table. Too tired to walk back into his study, he conjured parchment and a quill from his desk. Smiling as he penned his response.
Deciding to give her a taste of her own medicine.
