Page 133 of Somber Prince

My heart pounded high in my throat. My fingers went numb, gripping the edge of the skylight. My left leg dangled over the courtyard, and my right one was slipping too. If it did, I’d hang by my hands only, which meant I’d crash within seconds. I didn’t have the upper body strength of an action movie star to pull myself up from that position.

Straining every muscle in my body, I felt for a rung with my left foot. The moment I found purchase with it, I shoved against the peg and flexed my arms, pushing my torso through the opening and onto the roof.

The rounded roof was made of smooth polished stone. But a low, solid banister ran around the skylight a short distance away from the opening, possibly for preventing sand and small animals from falling in.

Stretching toward it, I managed to hook my fingers over the banister, then pulled myself up and dragged my legs out through the opening and into the calm, early morning.

Before the wooden shutter fell back into place behind me, I heard the drunk, naked guy cheer for me from the inside.

“There you go, girl! You made it!”

Exhausted, I didn’t feel annoyed at him. If he were here, I’d probably even hug him, to celebrate being alive instead of lying in a blood puddle on the courtyard tiles below.

For a few heartbeats, I just lay there, catching my breath and taking inventory of my limbs and functions. I could breathe. After gathering my arms and legs under me, I knew I could move. Then, I pushed to my feet and looked around me.

The early morning was still dark. There wasn’t even a hairline of light on the horizon yet. They had sent the Joy Vessels to their beds early in their hurry to comply with the queen’s order to attend the execution.

Now, I had to figure out where it was taking place. And I hoped I wasn’t too late.

The domed roof of the sarai was only one of many. From the outside, the roofs of the city buildings looked like wide, low mounds over the surface of the giant hill of Kalmena. They poked out from the tall grass like bald spots. And I had no idea which one was the queen’s palace or where Rha might be.

I scrambled down the sarai dome, then climbed up another one to take a better look around. The air appeared to glow behind the next group of domes, so I headed out that way.

The wispy ends of the grass tickled my face as I pushed ahead, but its stems were hard and rough, scratching against my arms and bare legs. I missed the hag’s boots. Though, climbing up the beam in the sarai would’ve been more difficult with them on.

As I approached the glow, the sound of the crowd clamoring broke through the darkness.

The roof over the city parted in this location, opening to a plaza below. The surrounding buildings formed a hexagon around it. I crouched down to stay out of sight, then lay on my belly and crawled to the edge of the roof to look below.

Shadow fae filled the plaza, the crowd spilling into the side streets nearby. The windows and balconies of the surrounding buildings were bursting with spectators too. Tall pillars met in arches over the narrow side streets, illuminating the plaza with bright, golden light.

The flying insects that normally seemed to be comfortable around people rose away from the crowd, hiding in the grass on the roofs. A few of the silver moths and iridescent butterflies fluttered around my head.

In the center of the plaza stood a tower-like platform. Taller than the crowd, it reached the height of the second-floor balconies. On the top of the platform, two tall, ornate posts rose from the opposite sides with thick chains wound around each.

A man in a long shimmering skirt and strands of gemstones over his chest descended the stairs of the platform. He held a partially unwound scroll in his hand, looking like he might’ve read from it to the crowd, and I’d just missed his speech.

Two rows of guards created a live corridor between the stairs of the platform and the gates of the queen’s palace, letting a small group walk through. My stomach sank.

Rha walked toward the platform, flanked by at least a dozen guards. The Crown Prince was bound in chains. Six guards held the ends of the chains, three on each side. As if they really needed that many to contain one man.

His crown circlet was still on his head that he held high. But my doubt was gone. This was his execution. He was the one being punished.

Dread shook me. I frantically searched the roof and the walls for a way to climb down.

But what would I do once I was there?

How could I help? Attack the guards? Make a scene? Demand to see the queen?

Deep inside, I knew none of it would probably make any difference. But I couldn’t just sit here and watch. I crawled on all fours toward the closest balcony. But it was already filled with people. Thankfully, they were too absorbed by the events on the plaza to look up and notice me.

The guards brought Rha to the base of the platform and stood back, stretching the chains. Princess Alzali marched from the palace gate, carrying a wide sickle. The curved silver blade of the tool glistened in the golden light of the pillars around the plaza. It wasn’t made from the dark and deadly Nerifir iron. Still, my heart squeezed in horror.

What was she going to do?

Alzali circled the prince. He followed her with his gaze until she stepped too far behind his back.

Tossing the sickle up, as if in play, she caught it by the handle again, the sharp side of the blade turned toward her. With the dull edge, she hit Rha on the back of his knees.

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