ERON POV
I was very happy and couldn't believe I had found a woman who would understand me like this. Talking to her while my demon was angry, I was controlling myself because I knew what he wanted. Ever since he saw her naked, he had been restless.
But I didn't want to do something like that again. I wanted her to be herself. Hugging her was the way to calm my demon down; even the way she smelled and her cold body helped soothe my raging fire.
"I think we should have our dinner now," I said, breaking away from her hug. I didn't know what had come over me before or how I felt about her being in the brothel, whether she was the one I saw dancing naked or if it was just my imagination.
"Yes, Eron, I am hungry," she replied, her voice sounding calmer. I could feel my inner demon happy.
"Are you happy now?" I thought to myself, as that was the only way I could communicate with my inner demon. I waited for his reply, but he didn't respond. Maybe he was enjoying himself with Emily's presence.
I held her hand while we walked together to our garden, where we usually ate. The maids had already prepared everything, and I could smell it from afar. I could tell what they had made even without seeing it yet.
As we reached the garden, I quickly pulled out a chair for Emily. I didn't know what I was doing; perhaps it was my demon controlling me.
"If you don't know how to take care of a beautiful young woman like this, allow me to teach you," he finally said.
"Thank you," I replied.
Emily was looking at me, and I couldn't tell her that I wasn't the one doing this, but I was also enjoying it. If I had been doing this all along, maybe she would have loved me and accepted me, or maybe she didn't think I cared for her. All these thoughts raced through my mind.
"Can you please not disturb me with your thoughts? Let me concentrate on taking care of our wife here," he said. Wow, wife—I loved how he called her that.
Maybe I would not call her Emily again but just "wife."
"Wife, what would you like to taste first out of all this?" I said, noticing how her face turned red. I loved how she blushed when I called her that.
"You like that, don't you?"
"I don't know," she said, avoiding my gaze. "I think I'd just like some drinks first."
I poured her some wine and helped her. I watched as she brought the glass to her beautiful lips, and I was captivated, like a child. Maybe she would accidentally do something wrong, and I would be there to help her.
"Eron, I don't know how I feel about the way you are acting," she said, looking at me with her beautiful hazel-green eyes. "I feel uncomfortable; it's been a long time since someone actually cared for me like this," she added.
I watched her as she spoke, looking down at her glass. I didn't know what I was doing wrong or if she didn't like it this way.
"Who cared for you like this last?" I asked. Maybe if I engaged her in conversation, she wouldn't feel shy anymore. I watched her face lift up; I thought she was a conversationalist.
"It was my twin brother, Damion, when we were young. I was sick at that time, and he told me that he thought I would die then."
"That young prince? I didn't know the two of you were twins," I said. She was already adding rice to her bowl, and I could tell she liked the conversation. We spent a lot of time talking about her brother and family, and I understood that her father and my father were very similar in their quest for power.
I loved the way we were chatting and eating. They say it's not good, but I didn't want this moment to end. It was Esther who last engaged me in a conversation like this.
The more I watched her, the more I was falling in love with her. With every second, I knew I needed to protect her and guide her.
"My prince, the king wants to see you, and it's very urgent, sir," a guard said, running toward us, dressed in military attire. If they said the king wanted to see me, it only meant one thing: either he wanted me for battle or war.
Oh, I need to leave, and I have to leave my wife alone. I had been trying to get closer to her, and now I was doing well, and my greedy father wanted to spoil it. But there was nothing I could do; I just needed to attend to the king if he called.
"Wife, I need to leave. I need to go and attend to the king," I said, standing up. I went over to her side and gave her a peck on the cheek.
"I will see you later, my wife. Take care of yourself until I come back."
I picked up my sword from the table and followed the guard.
"What did the king want to see me for?" I asked the guard as we walked toward the throne hall.
"I think one of the kingdoms under us plans a coup; they want their independence," he said as we turned toward the throne hall.
The guard opened the door for us, and I was surprised to see many lords with the king and my brothers as well.
They paid no attention to me as I entered the room, and I was not surprised by their behavior; it wasn't the first time they had done something like this.
My brothers hated me, and my father only paid attention to me when we were at war or it involved battle.
"Since Eron is here, can we discuss this?" the king said.
Everyone sat down after my father took his seat. I knew where this meeting would end; I would have to go tomorrow to see what happened, and I didn't even know which kingdom wanted their independence.
"Everyone here sees that we are seven kingdoms, and I appoint lords and wardens to each castle under me. But the Golden Island wants their independence, and they are one of the great kingdoms. We hear a lot of things from them; we cannot afford to lose them," he said, holding his wine.
I couldn't wait for this meeting to end. My mind was with Emily. By now, she would have gone back to our quarters. I didn't know what she would be doing—maybe sleeping or reading, or perhaps she was just reading. I didn't know why she loved reading so much.
I didn't know what she was doing to me. I could not wait to see her and have her in my arms. The lords and wardens were talking and discussing, and some were saying that maybe we should give them their independence and impose a tribute on them.
I just wanted my father to give me the final say.
"What does Eron think about this?" James s said, one of my useless and wicked brother, facing me with a smirk on his face. I knew what he wanted, but I couldn't give him that yet. One day, I would give him what he wanted.
Everyone was looking at me, waiting for me to speak.
"Maybe we should just call the lord over and try to talk things out first. They might have a good reason, and then we can decide if we should go to war with them," I said.
Everyone laughed at me. I knew the idea was bad. Everyone wanted us to wage war against them, and they knew how useful I was in terms of combat.
"No!" my father shouted. "I don't want to talk or say anything about them. I want to kill James, their lord, and his family, and everyone bearing his name so that no one will think like that again."
I still wondered how my father had managed to combine seven kingdoms into one. People said it was the biggest war they ever fought; they called my father the Conqueror, the man who did the impossible. He had united the kingdoms and named them one.
"Eron, take your men first light tomorrow, and I want you to lay siege to Dorne. I think you are enough to defeat James and his army," he said, gulping his wine.
"Yeah, Eron is enough; I think he has the battle experience to teach James a lesson," Philip said.
"I second that," James said, my second brother.
I wondered where Darion and Mathew were; maybe they weren't around.
"I would follow Prince Eron, my King. It's been long since I've been to war, and I think I need to sharpen my blade. My men and I need a good fight," Lord Morgal said.
He looked at me, and I nodded, giving him my approval that I would be the commander during this siege. It would be an honor to have an experienced lord by my side.
My other brothers just liked to have parties and pursue women. They didn't go to war and left me to handle it. I thought the meeting had ended, and I could leave, but I needed the final say from my king.
"The meeting has ended, Prince Eron and Lord Morgal. Go and prepare your army. I don't want any mercy; bring me James' head," my father said, standing up and walking back to his quarters, his guards following him. I stood up immediately as I saw my father leave.
All my thoughts were with Emily. I needed to go and see her and inform her about the meeting.
As I was walking back to my quarters, I was shocked to see what was in front of my door: the guard at the door had been killed, and there was a lot of blood.
"Where is Emily?" I shouted.