Chapter 358: The Snake's Fears and the Advice No One Asked For

Elyn’s POV

I took Azerion to his bedroom and placed him on his bed, though the demon in question wouldn’t let me go. He shook his head, his little arms tightening around me.

“Don’t leave me,” he cried.

And I just knew he wasn’t talking about me leaving his bedroom. He was talking about me leaving him altogether, which was likely not going to happen. For now.

It wasn’t as though I was even planning to leave. I mean, those portals I had been researching were just for research purposes, obviously, and not because I wanted to escape the Demon Realm.

Why would I leave Zorathys and his beautiful self and his sweet, lovely, mind-blowing kisses?

Just in case — I’m not saying I wasn’t leaving because of Zorathys’s kiss or because I liked him. I’m simply saying I wasn’t leaving.

Yeah.

That was it.

Nothing else.

And if I was being honest, I wanted to spend more time with him. I wanted him to kiss me more and maybe even cuddle with me or perhaps go further—

Azerion sobbed louder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

All hope of spending more time with Zorathys and kissing him had flown out the window. I needed to focus on the demon child currently soaking my shoulder with tears and apparently convinced I was disappearing forever.

“Azerion,” I said softly, sitting beside him on the bed. “I’m not leaving you.”

“But you just said you’re leaving,” he argued, his voice wobbling.

“To go to my bedroom,” I said. “I’m not leaving you or anyone else the way you think I am.”

“But you and the King.” He sniffled. “He’s going to take you from me.”

I sighed and ran a hand through his hair.

“You do know the King and Queen are married, right?” Rin said from where she stood, her eyes fixed on Azerion with the expression of someone who considered this conversation beneath her but was participating anyway.

“They are not married,” Vaelory corrected. “Only engaged.”

“So?” Rin asked. “They are together, are they not?”

“Yes, but—”

“That means they are married. And that’s all that matters.”

“They haven’t had a ceremony,” Vaelory said. “They are yet to take their vows.”

“What ceremony?” Rin asked.

“A wedding ceremony.”

“Who cares about it?” Rin said. “As long as my lady kidnaps the King or makes him faint or gets him on the verge of death by trying to drown him or burn him with fire or magic or anything, and then convinces him to say his vows and pledge himself to her — everything is settled. There is no need for a formal ceremony.”

I stared at her.

“You want me to do all that to Zorathys,” I said.

Rin nodded. Enthusiastically.

“Yes, my lady. It would be very effective.”

“Effective for what? Getting myself killed?”

“Oh!” she said.

Yes. Oh. Before I even attempted to drown Zorathys, he would drown me a thousand times and find it mildly entertaining.

I shook my head.

And apart from that, it didn’t make any sense. If I was ever going to get married, I was doing it the normal way I knew, not whatever this was.

“Anyway,” Rin said, turning back to Azerion, “my lady and His Majesty belong together. So stop with the fake tears.”

Azerion cried harder.

I glared at Rin.

She made a face.

“Shut up,” I told her.

She nodded and pressed her lips together.

“Since you and the King are kissy-kissy now,” Azerion said, his voice still wobbling, “you’ll leave me.”

I almost laughed at kissy-kissy.

“Azerion,” I said, “I don’t know how many times I need to say this, but I’m not leaving you. Zorathys and I — we — he’s my fiancé. Just because we are kissy-kissy, like you said, does not mean I’m going to leave you.”

“But he’ll want more now,” Azerion said seriously.

I paused at that.

“Velira said that anyone who kisses is in love,” he continued, with the gravity of someone delivering a formal report. “And then they’ll keep kissing and then do strange things and then end up together. Or even if they don’t end up together, they’ll be lovers, and they will do everything together. You will leave me and spend all your time with the King.”

I stared at him.

I thought about what he had just said.

I thought about where he had gotten this information.

And then I thought about the specific name he had cited and felt something behind my eye twitch.

“Velira said that?” I asked.

He nodded.

“And Thalira too,” he added.

I sat with this for a moment. Was this surprising in any way? Absolutely not because Velira was capable of such thoughts given what type of demon she was snd who her parents were.

“Azerion,” I said.

He looked at me with his wet blue eyes, lower lip still wobbling.

“Velira,” I said carefully, “is not always the most reliable source of information.”

Neither was Thalira that just jumped on the next big chaos.

“She seemed very sure,” he said.

“I imagine she did,” I said.

“She said she learned it from her mother,” he added.

I closed my eyes briefly.

Of course she had.

“Listen to me,” I said, opening them again. “Zorathys and I being kissy kissy does not mean I’m going to disappear from your life. I’m still here. That doesn’t change. And besides we have a bond. Do you think I’ll just leave you like that?”

He sniffled. “It’s because Velira ssid so.”

“And I’m telling you that’s not happening.”

“Promise?” He asked me.

“I promise.”

He considered this for a moment his brows furrowed as he concentrated on whatever thought he had in his head at this moment.

“Pinky promise?” he asked.

I looked at him.

Then I held out my pinky.

He hooked his around mine immediately, his grip tight and warm and slightly too hot as always.

“Sealed,” I said.

“Sealed,” he said. Then he sniffled once more for good measure.