As the Demon Demands ✔️

Chapter Seventeen

The past few days had been rough, to say the least. Evangeline still had all of her lessons, and it had been nice to have her mother there with her, but there was a heavy tension lingering in the air. Her ladies-in-waiting and her mother didn't address it, and she was relieved that they weren't pushing for answers. It wasn't as if she had any anyway.

She hadn't seen Marak in three days. He didn't have dinner with her, and he hadn't come into the bedroom either. She didn't know if he was still angry with her, and she didn't have the courage to seek him out. His temper terrified her, and when he had been screaming at her, her mind had blanked and all she had been able to do was hit him.

Anyone else would have been dead where they stood for striking the emperor. But she got to keep her life, and Marak was avoiding her. He had sounded... hurt after she hit him, and a part of her wanted to apologize genuinely. The other part of her was telling her that she had every right to hit him. She had been frightened and backed into a corner – what else was she to do?

It was because of that she didn't dare seek him out. If he was still angry, then it was best to keep her distance. She was willing to wait it out until he wanted to talk to her. Maybe once he finally calmed down, he would listen to her about Claude.

She didn't know what happened to Claude either. Her mother said that she never saw him leave, and when she had managed to track down Solomon and ask him directly, he only explained that he had been banned from the palace. He assured her that he was alive, which did bring her a little comfort, but she still worried. Though he had grossly misunderstood everything, he was still her friend.

If only Marak could understand that. He had seemed convinced that Claude was her lover, and that she wanted to leave him. She wanted to talk to him about that, but considering how angry he had gotten for just mentioning his name, she dared not approach him. She didn't want to be afraid, yet she couldn't get his terrifying rage-fueled face out of her mind.

Maybe this was how her life with him was meant to be. Forever trying not to upset him, living with constant anxiety over incurring his wrath.

"His Majesty can't ignore you forever."

Skylar's voice caused her to snap out of her thoughts. Turning around, she saw her lady-in-waiting glare up at one of the windows. Likely where Marak's study was. She hadn't been there for the blow out, but Evangeline had spoken with her and the other ladies about it. Their advice had been just to give it time. Skylar's advice had been to demand an apology.

If only she were so brave. If anything, she was avoiding him as well. Even now, she had Skylar sneak her away from the other ladies and asked her to hide out with her in the garden. Marak never came out here, so she was less likely to run into him.

"It's for the best," she said softly. "He... needs his space."

"Why? He's not the one that got yelled at and had his friend thrown out."

"I'm sure we'll talk about it eventually."

"He should talk to you now." Skylar folded her arms across her chest, still glaring at the window. "The wedding is in ten days. Saying sorry won't kill him."

No, it wouldn't, but she had never actually seen him ever apologize to anyone. Even when he had been younger and had to deal with those belittling him and mocking him, she had never once heard him apologize for anything. And considering his pride, she wondered if he was even capable of saying it at all.

She let out a heavy sigh and shook her head. This was all so overwhelming. She knew they needed to clear the air, but she didn't know how to approach him first. If he was still upset, she wasn't sure if she would feel safe being in the same room with him. Which was a problem in and of itself.