That Prince Is A Girl The Vicious King's Captive Slave Mate novel Chapter 364

Chapter 364
PRINCESS EMERIEL

Emeriel wouldn’t go so far as to say she was avoiding her beloved. But if one were to put it that way… well, there was little she could do to deny it.

She was beyond mortified. Embarrassed didn’t begin to cover it. Chagrined… that, and so much more.

The things she had said. The things she had done in the early morning hours.

As soon as she’d woken that afternoon, the memories had been merciless, striking her and bludgeoning her. She had wanted nothing more than for the ground to open and swallow her whole.

But, of course, the ground had done no such thing, because her luck was dreadful.

So she had done the next best thing. She had quickly freshened up and all but fled to the plantations, spending the remainder of the day there. She kept herself busy inspecting crops, checking for pests, issuing instructions to the workers. But her mind…

Her mind was on her highly unladylike behavior. On the whorish things she had said. Words that belonged in the shadowed corners of a brothel, not from a princess’s lips.

When it came time to rest, she sat beneath the shaded expanse of an old tree, one hand resting over her belly as she watched the workers in the distance.

“My princess,” one of the young girls approached, offering a respectful bow. “Will you be meeting the court scribe today?”

She was supposed to. She helped her grand king with paperwork, easing his burdens in whatever small way she could, but today… Emeriel shook her head and the girl left. Not today.

She would not be collecting parchments. Not if it risked running into him.

“Sometimes in the dark of night when he is away, I part my thighs, and I touch myself. I pretend it’s him.”

She winced, squeezing her eyes shut. Oh, by the stars…

But in the midst of her mortification came a memory that warmed her heart despite everything. The way he held her, spoke to her, looked at her.

“It doesn’t matter if our bond doesn’t return. We will perform a bonding ritual. I would rather have you as my bondmate, go through the rites and vows, than not to have you at all.”

Her chest filled with something tender, and she blinked hard against the tears stinging her eyes. She still couldn’t quite believe he’d said that.

Two years ago, their bond had felt like a cage, a trap neither of them could escape. Now, the bond was gone, yet they were desperate to reclaim it, willing to undergo ancient rites to forge a non-natural bond just for a chance to belong to one another.

The irony. Oh, the gods must be laughing. They must be having such fun with us.

“Haven’t we suffered enough?” Emeriel whispered, staring out across the endless rows of crops.

“Could you not take pity on us?”

With a tired sigh, she let her eyes fall closed. Just for a moment.

But the moment stretched, and soon she had wandered into sleep under the quiet rustle of leaves and the distant hum of workers.

•••••

It was late evening by the time she returned to the fortress, exhausted, her back aching. Ugh. She could use sleep again. But when wasn’t she sleepy these days?

She rubbed at the small of her back and looked down at her belly. “See the things you put me through.”