Page 130 of The Soulbond and Her Beloved

“Now that’s more like it.” He stopped choking her but still held her captive before him like a shield. “But do you truly think I’m fool enough to let her go until I’m safely beyond these walls? Come now, Daemonikai. You do not honestly think I’mthatstupid, do you?”

Daemonikai’s hands balled into fists.

Zaiper’s laugh came again. “That is the problem with all of you, so filled with weakness. Look at you, Daemonikai. Strong, legendary, Daemonikai. Yet you went feral over a few deaths.” He shook his head, clearly disappointed. “Some people die, and the ultimate ruler loses his mind. How is such a male fit to be king?”

He turned his gaze on Vladya next. “And you, Vladya. A single female dies, and you sit on the edge of madness for how long? Ottai—he loses a child and becomes a giant mess inside.” Zapiersneered with scorn. “None of you are fit to rule Urai.None of you.”

Everyone was dead silent as they witnessed the side of the Second Ruler none of them had ever seen. A darkness hidden under centuries of pretense and camaraderie.

“This is why I wanted to be the sole ruler.” Zaiper lifted his chin. “I would have led this kingdom to greatness, taken our kind to the next level.” He bared his teeth. “But that disgusting old hag had to open her mouth and ruin everything.”

Not First Ruler but Sole Ruler.

How long has this been decaying under my nose?

“And yes. It was me all along. Ah… it feelsexhilaratingto say it aloud. You have no idea how long I have waited for this.” Zapier closed his eyes briefly, savoring the feeling. “Daemonikai mad or dead—either worked. Vladya long gone. Then there would have been only me. But that little human kept intercepting my plans at every turn.”

He glared daggers at his hostage, who flinched. “It may even be worth dying here. You’re all mad with fury; I kill this one, and Vladya kills me. A quick death. But I get to take her with me. If I rip her open and drag out the seed inside her, tear out her lungs, her kidneys, every last organ—” He licked Aekeira’s ear, and she whimpered. “Then perhaps it’s worth dying for.”

Zaiper’s eyes cut across the room to Emeriel. A look of pure hate. “Daemonikai is lucky it wasn’t you I grabbed. You were the one I was reaching for, but your sister was closer. You would have died on the spot! Damn the consequences and snap your neck in two... I would’ve died a happy male!"

Emeriel looked pallid, like dead warmed up, but her eyes blazed as she met Zaiper’s glare without flinching.

Breathe through it. You cannot jump him. You cannot lose control.

“There's no measure for how much I hate I have for you, human princess,” Zaiper said. “Pray I never get my hands on you.” He shifted his hold on Aekeira, backing toward the exit. “Now, I’m afraid I must take my leave. It seems my company is no longer welcome. I will leave her by the door once I am safely through it. Razarr! Ready the men. We leave now!”

“You know what, Zaiper? You were right.” Daemonikai spoke at last, voice calmer than he felt. “Killing you here would have been a mercy, and that's not what you deserve. I still need answers. How did you do it? Why did you go to such lengths? Why did everyone—including your brother—have to die for your ambition?” His voice was deadlier as ever. “I have so many questions, and I will drag every answer from you before you take your last breath. You will suffer, I'll make certain of that, and my face will be the last you ever see when your death comes."

“You'll have to catch me first.” Zaiper’s chuckle was arrogant, still backing to the great doors. “That's the difference between you and me. You are so easy to catch, butI—I’m not. You know why? Because you aresurroundedwith weaknesses. If it's nother…” he pointed to Emeriel. “…it’s the thing growing in her. Or it’s Vladya. Or Ottai. Or our people. So many weaknesses, so many attachments.Ihave none. I feel none of those things.”

Without warning, he shoved Aekeira forward with so much force that she stumbled, falling at a dangerous speed.

Daemonikai was already moving, Vladya just as fast. They managed to catch her before she could faceplant.

Releasing the trembling lady into her male's arms, Daemonikai sprang to his feet. Zaiper already out the door, his soldiers forming a protective line around him.

Daemonikai pumped out so much aggressive pheromone, focusing on a single target... andshovedit all into him.

The male froze, unable to move, as the others continued. He made no sound, body locked, paralyzed.

Daemonikai was beside him in a flash, gripping the male’s shoulder, forcing him to stay upright. “Do you really think I cannot hurt you without touching you? Do you truly believe you loveno one?”

Zaiper turned with a victorious grin—until his eyes found Daemonikai’s hand upon Razarr.

The grin vanished.

Daemonikai pumped pheromones into the head soldier’s system, reducing him to growls of agony, making him thrash helplessly, unable to fight back. “Do you really think you’ll walk out of here tonight without losing anything?”

“My head soldier? You think I give a damn about him?” Zaiper scoffed, cackling. “Let him go, you deluded mad king!”

Daemonikaismirked. In the blink of an eye, he wrenched Razarr into the air, one hand holding his arm, the other his thigh in a horizontal state. He raised his knee andslammedRazarr’s back into it, snapping his spine.

“Nooooo!” Zaiper’s roar sliced the air.

He lifted Razarr’s shattered body again, smashing him a second time. The body folded around the blow, crumpling like wet parchment, before Daemonikai flung the broken body at Zaiper’s feet.

Razarr hit the ground hard, coughing up dark blood, breath rattling while he struggled to breathe.

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