Page 110 of The Soulbond and Her Beloved

Sinai had not realized how much she would miss these simple luxuries until they had been stripped from her.

And so, in the hours since her return, she had basked in the sunlight on her terrace, squandered good coin on wines and spices, and indulged herself every pleasure she had taken for granted.

But when night fell, the darkness returned with it.

Now she lay in her bed, staring into nothing. Her body cradled by silk and feather down, yet she may as well have been shackled in that cold cell. Sleep did not come, and she was incredibly sad.

Was it time to give up? Daemonikai will never be mine, will he?

Never did she imagine she would ask herself such questions. Yet in recent days, it was all she asked. It was misery at its peak, and it hurt her pride to entertain such notions. To think she had been outdone by a wretched human.

Centuries of waiting, of scheming, of devotion… all for nothing. Daemonikai had chosen another.And now, she was carrying his child.

Emeriel conceived the heir Sinai had longed to give Daemonikai herself.

She fisted the sheets, stubbornly refusing to shed tears. This was no longer a contest she could win through seduction or cunning smiles. No, Daemonikai was building a family again. One that would stabilize him yet again, one that would bind him away from her.

Perhaps it was time to give herself over, wholly and without reservation, to the Second Ruler.

If she could not have Daemonikai, she could have something else she'd always wanted just as fiercely: the crown. The title of Grand Queen. And together, they might bring Daemonikai to his knees.

For if Sinai could not have him, she would gladly see himdie. No one else would have him. No one.

A sharp knock rattled the door.

“Mistress,” came a soldier’s voice.

At this hour?She scowled at the ceiling before answering. “What is it? Leave me be. It is far too late for this nonsense.”

A brief hesitation. “The Grand King summons you.”

She bolted upright.

“The message is to come... prepared.”

***

She knocked once.

Shit.Sinai needed to tamp down her anticipation, excitement, and relief.

Who would have thought that just when she was about to surrender, fate would choose to smile upon her?

It'd been so long since she'd receivedthe messagethat, at first, it had failed to register. But when it did, she had flown from her bed and readied herself with a speed she'd not thought herself still capable of.

And now, she stood before the chamber the soldier had escorted her to, clad in one of her finest, most enticing nightrobes. One that clung to her body like a second skin, cut to reveal more than it concealed. Easy to slip from the shoulders. Easier still to discard entirely.

For effect, she had bathed herself in the oils of meccai leaves to deepen her blood’s scent. Making her more tempting. Divine.

“Enter.”

Sinai walked inside and quietly closed the door. The room was dark, with only the flicker of a single brazier near the bed.

Daemonikai stood by the window, arms crossed, his back to her. “Take off your clothes. Get on the bed. Present to me.”

Good news never sounded better.Nothingsounded better.

Her arousal intensified lightning-fast as she slipped the thin straps from her shoulders. It pooled at her feet.

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