Chapter 332
GRAND KING DAEMONIKAL
The healer stepped back, wiping her hands on a cloth. “It is confirmed, Your Grace. Your female is with child.”
Daemonikai heard the words. He processed them, understood their meaning. And yet… “What?”
The healer smiled. “Congratulations.”
That didn’t seem right. “No one gets pregnant from a mini-heat.”
“Your female just did.”
“But, she does not have the scent of—”
“Your Highness,” she said patiently, “she truly is pregnant.”
Pregnant. Was this real? After years of longing, of praying to gods who had turned a deaf ear to his pleas, who had taken from him instead of giving… Could this truly be happening?
“Are you sure?” His knees felt weak, and he gripped the edge of the wooden table.
“I am certain,” she reassured him. “She is four to five weeks along.”
Daemonikai’s eyes shifted to Emeriel’s sleeping form, his heart drumming. She lay beneath the covers, her face serene, her breathing soft.
“Your Highness,” the healer’s voice trembled with emotion, “I cannot believe this happened for you so quickly.”
“Congratulations, Your Grace,” Faiwick, the Royal Healer, said from the doorway, where Daemonikai had chased him earlier. The examination had required intimate checks, and the moment Faiwick had attempted to touch Emeriel, Daemonikai’s instincts had flared. He had seized the healer by the throat and hurled him across the room.
“Do not touch my woman! Mine!” he had snarled.
Faiwick, gasping from the impact, raised his hands in surrender. “Yours! I only wish to check for—”
“Mine!” Daemonikai had raged.
Which, of course, had left the Head Royal Healer with no choice but to flee the bedroom, leaving his second, a female, to finish the examination. They had put Emeriel to sleep for the procedure, though she had stirred at times. That alone had been enough to keep Daemonikai tense, prowling, restless, his protective instincts heightened. For hours, he had paced the chamber, fighting the growing worry, wondering what was wrong with her, terrified of what it could mean.
Now, he had his answer. Still, it felt like an illusion, as if his yearning soul was conjuring a dream too sweet to be real.
16:40 Tue, 1 Apr
Chapter 332
He was trying to control his happiness, the burgeoning hope within him.
“I need you to say it again, healer,” he said, his voice shaking.
“You are going to be a father again.”
“Vladya! Emeriel is with child!” He called out, chest heaving with laughter. Pure joy!
The doors burst open, and Vladya appeared, Aekeira hot on his heels; she had spent the night restless.
Daemonikai ran onto the balcony, threw back his head, and roared. It rose above the celebration, the chattering of people and music. The next roar was a thunderous declaration, louder and fiercer—a call to celebrate, a proclamation of triumph. Inside him, the elation and joy were too enormous to suppress. Even after the third roar, it was not enough.
So, he whirled around and ran. His feet pounded against the stone as he moved through the corridor, past the intersection, down the spiraling stairs, and out into the open yard.
Then he shifted into his beast form, the wind whipping around him as he circled the citadel three times, exulting in the release, the power in every sinew. The sharp spines of his tail beat the air, then scraped the ground. Fire that could not be contained burned in his chest. She is carrying my child. My. Child.
At last, he skidded to a stop in the heart of the courtyard, lifted his head to the sky, and roared again. The people fell to their knees around him. Transforming back into his male form, Daemonikai collapsed on the ground. Then he began to laugh—deep, unbridled, chest-heaving laughter. He stared skyward, watching the stretch of stars. Tears blurred his vision. Still, he laughed.
“How does it feel?”
Daemonikai didn’t turn. Vladya settled beside him.
“Indescribable.” He was still grinning. “I am going to be your father again, Vladya.”
“I know how you feel. It is mesmerizing, is it not? I know the depth of your joy. Congratulations, Ancient One.”
“I had no trouble persuading you to accept your own impending fatherhood, yet now I find myself gripped by fear.” He sprang upright, his smile dimming. “I dread moving from here. I fear that if I breathe wrongly, this dream will shatter.”
“It is no dream,” Vladya nudged him. “It is as real as the blood in our veins, my friend. Both our females conceived in their last heat. Aekeira from her first full heat, Emeriel from a mini-heat.”
“Miraculous, isn’t it?”
“Wondrous. Tremendous. Phenomenal. I have a lot of words for it, really. But what matters most is: you and I—” Vladya smirked “—we are to be fathers.”
“We are,” Daemonikai nudged him back. “We did it. We fucking did it, Vladya.”
“Fuck yeah, we did.” Vladya’s voice dropped low. “I went straight for the womb.”
16:40 Tue, 1 Apr
Chapter 332
“That night? Same here. Pounded the hell out of it. It was a damn battle—and I won.”
“Hell yeah, we did.” The two males slapped hands hard. “Showed Mother Nature who’s fucking boss. Now we’ve got fruits buried in there, already starting to grow.”
“And it’s going to grow strong. We’ll make damn sure of it.” Daemonikai sprang to his feet, energy renewed. “Come, we need to return. I must hear all the healers have to say. I couldn’t hold back—I had to release it.”
Vladya chuckled as he rose. “The people will be waiting to hear the news that stirred such roars of joy.”
“As they should,” Daemonikai replied. “I will make an official announcement soon.”
“Alright, let’s do it,” Vladya agreed.
“Yeah?”
“Fuck yeah. Let’s shout it across the citadel—let the whole damn world know what rare gems our females are.”
Daemonikai grinned. “Deal.”