Page 137 of Somber Prince

Alzali joined us on the platform. “She wished to say goodbye. Isn’t that sweet, cousin?”

Wind tore at the fabric of her skirt and shroud, but her hood remained on, held by the circlet of her crown. She brought a hand to her belt, to the opposite side where the key used to be, then swept the plaza with her gaze, turning around.

Using the moment, I shifted to the left and grabbed Rha’s manacle.

“You’ll have to tell me what to do next, okay?” I whispered, quickly shoving the key in the lock.

If I set him free, together we could find our way out of this.

“Dawn, no!” His eyes opened wide with alarm, focused on something behind me.

I turned around.

Princess Alzali held a dagger in her hand. She didn’t raise it, just holding it casually while sliding a finger along its curved, dark blade. The metal sparkled with red where she touched it—Nerifir iron.

I moved closer to Rha, as if I could protect him somehow.

“It was very fortunate to find you here, sweet little Joy Vessel,” the princess murmured.

“Why? What do you want?”

She bent over and took my hand, yanking me up to my feet.

“I want you to attack me.” She placed the dagger in my hand.

“Don’t, Dawn,” Rha urged, with warning.

I took a step back from her. “I’m not going to fight you.”

If I did, I wouldn’t win. My human strength was no match for the fae power. The princess wouldn’t give me the dagger if there was any chance of me using it against her successfully.

It felt like a trap.

She seized my wrist.

“But you did attack me. Oh, look!”

She moved my wrist, slashing with the dagger clutched in my hand. The blade pierced through the fabric of her shroud, leaving a long, ragged tear in it.

Alzali yanked me closer, speaking straight into my face, “I don’t want to kill you, Sweet One. Joy Vessels are rare and now irreplaceable. But I have to get rid of Rha before his ill-tempered general does something stupid, like organizing a rescue mission. If you do as I say, I’ll let you live.”

“You can’t kill me. If you do, you’ll end up here, in Rha’s place.”

“No, poor thing.” She shook her head, looking at me with pity. “Not if you die due to an unfortunate accident, while the two of you attacked me, and I fought for my life.”

“But that’s a lie! I’m not fighting you.”

“Every lie can be true if enough people believe it. The guards will confirm that I allowed you to see the prince out of the kindness of my heart. And in turn, you betrayed me.”

She had a cruel plan. And the worst part was that it might work. There were just the three of us here. No witnesses, and no one to stop her.

I twisted my arm, trying to free my wrist, but she held tightly, so I unclenched my fingers from around the handle, letting the dagger drop.

“I’ll take it as a no,” Alzali stated flatly. She jerked my arm back and gripped my throat. “So, the little sweet bee thinks she can sting? But you are so gravely mistaken. You’ll die by ‘accidentally’ falling off the platform and breaking your neck. Except that I’ll break your neck first, just to make sure.”

She squeezed my throat, cutting off my airway. Blood rushed to my brain, blurring my vision. My heartbeat thundered in my ears so loudly, I barely heard a clunk of metal dropping to the marble tiles of the platform floor.

A chain rattled.

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