Bound to the Demon Lord ✔️

Chapter Twelve

Things had been relatively normal the past week. It had taken two days for her body to feel normal again, but she was happy to not be confined to Krios's bedroom. She was also glad that she could return to her own bed once she could walk around. Sleeping next to Krios had been rather embarrassing, since he would spoon her in his sleep.

At least he hadn't tried to have sex with her again. In fact, Krios had acted pretty normal, all things considering. He had also pretended that their conversation never happened. Normally, she would have been frustrated, but considering how he had asked her not to talk about it, Phoebe decided not to press the issue.

Instead, she just did more reading. It was proving to be a dead end though. She wasn't uncovering anything new, just more details about the tensions between humans and demons before the war. On top of that, more memories had manifested; they were a mix of ones with Krios and ones without. And the ones without had been interesting to say the least.

Many were just of people within the Temple urging Seraphine to reconsider her relationship with Krios. Then there were nobles who whispered behind her back and accused her of being a traitor to humans. Not everyone had been against her, but those that had been were vocal about their displeasure. And they were the ones that the books acknowledged as being against any unification of the realms.

Edward seemed to be the most displeased out of everyone though. He kept insisting that Krios was manipulating her, and that their relationship would only lead to misfortune. Seraphine had lectured him every time, but he never stopped badmouthing him. And while Seraphine had forgiven her friend each time he spoke ill of their relationship, Phoebe had honestly found him annoying.

No wonder Krios had hated him. He was persistent in trying to get Seraphine to leave Krios. She still had no idea if Seraphine knew Edward had affections for her, but they were obvious. Maybe that was why Krios had said Edward wasn't her friend; he was too busy trying to be her lover.

She didn't tell Krios any of this though. She had a feeling that talking to him about that man would only upset him. Maybe if she kept reading, more memories would come naturally. She didn't care for the headaches, but she was willing to do anything to get some answers.

But her eyes needed a break from all the reading. With her mobility back, she had gone out into the gardens to get some much needed fresh air. Her maids had been more than happy to set up a table for her under a gazebo overlooking a manmade lake on the eastern side of the castle. So now she was sitting outside and enjoying some tea and cakes while practicing some embroidery to pass the time.

It was nice. She honestly couldn't remember the last time she had time to herself to just sit and relax. Even when she first got here, all she had focused on was uncovering the truth and finding a way out of her. While those were still a priority, she didn't have to think about it now. She could enjoy the gentle breeze on her face while watching the servants run around and attend to their daily chores.

Which made her notice that the younger maids seemed to be a bit peppier than usual. She could hear them whispering to each other excited whenever they would walk by. While she couldn't make out their conversations, it didn't sound like they were talking about her or Krios. But clearly something was going on.

Eventually, her curiosity got the better of her. She turned to Gloria, who had been standing nearby to prepare anything she might have needed. She had tried to dismiss her earlier, but Gloria insisted on staying. Now she was glad she had.

"Gloria?"

Her maid perked up, already inching towards the cart to get her more tea. "Yes, my lady?"

"I noticed the younger ones have been acting rather giddy all day," she said. She waved a hand at her to not worry about the tea. "Is something going on?"