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“Is that right?” I turn to face him.

“It is.” He flicks the tip of my nose gently with a claw, but then grows thoughtful. “There are boundaries between king and court that didn’t exist when I was merely the heir in waiting. Those boundaries make it difficult to maintain the same relationships I had before.”

I know a thing or two about feeling disconnected from the people you grew up with. For a very different reason, of course, but the sentiment feels the same.

It’s on the tip of my tongue to share some of my past with him, but I hold back. Whether to give him his own space to process whatever he’s thinking about right now, or simply because I’m not ready to delve into those memories with him, I’m not sure.

What I am sure of is that I don’t want my demon to feel alone.

“I’m here,” I tell him softly. “I hope that helps a little.”

“‘A little’ doesn’t even begin to cover it,” he murmurs, pressing a kiss against my hair.

The next few minutes pass in silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts.

I love it here. With the beauty of the meadow and the soothing warmth of the day, it’s lazy, decadent, peaceful, and exactly what I didn’t know I needed. Here, now, held by my demon husband, I can almost pretend this is all going to work out. I can imagine a hundred days like this spread out over the years.

“Would you like to go explore a little bit more?”

Eren’s voice pulls me out of my daydream.

“Ugh,” I protest. “That would mean having to get up.”

He chuckles. “I’m more than content to stay here, if that’s what you’d prefer.”

I’ve sprawled further down in his arms, and when I crack my eyes back open to look up at him, I find his handsome face closer than I expected. His lips linger over mine for a moment, swallowing my contented sigh.

“No,” I grumble when he pulls back. “I’d like to get up and stretch my legs.”

When we’re both upright, Eren grabs the basket, hesitating for a moment.

Reading the cause for it immediately, I put my hands on my hips. “I promise not to freak out again if you need to portal that somewhere.”

His bashful smile is absolutely growing on me. “I’ll be right back.”

When he disappears this time, I’m ready for it, and watch fascinated as his edges blur and then blink completely out of existence. Reaching out to touch the air where he’s just been standing, there’s absolutely no sign of a portal, no remnant of the power that took him wherever it is he’s gone.

I’m still staring at that blank bit of space when two warm hands settle on my hips, and I can’t stop the startled yelp that breaks for me.

“Hey!” I protest, whirling around to come face to face with Eren.

He’s unrepentant, leaning in to press a kiss against my lips. “Miss me?”

“Not if you intend on scaring me to death every time you do that.”

The complaint is good-natured, and I don’t hesitate for a moment before taking his hand and letting him lead me up the grassy slope away from the lake.

When we reach the trees’ edge, dark, towering pines stretch above, and a narrow footpath wends its way over a soft forest floor strewn in pine needles and a carpet of soft moss.

“Where are we going?” I ask Eren as he leads us forward down the path.

“I thought we’d climb up to a little lookout.”

I nod in agreement, and we walk in silence for a while. The slope upwards is gentle, the air a little crisper as we walk when a breeze kicks up off the mountains above.

A thought occurs to me a few minutes later. “What kind of lookout is this?”

He looks over at me, a little puzzled. “A scenic one? It’s a nice place to take in the view.”