Page 27 of Somber Prince

I stared at him in disbelief. “You’ve been kidnapping people, then stealing their joy.”

“Sharing into it,” he corrected, as if that made any difference. “Joy is a necessity in our existence. It balances sorrow.”

I crossed my arms over my chest.

“And how has it been working out for you with all the kidnappings?”

His smooth brow furrowed. “The World Above has sealed our shadow tunnels. As did Sky Kingdom. We have never been welcomed anywhere in Nerifir, but now we’re physically unable to travel to Above.”

“Is that why you switched to kidnapping humans instead?”

Once again, he shamelessly admitted, “Yes.”

“Is that your new plan now? Keep hauling my people over here daily?”

“No. Traveling to your world is not that simple. The magical River of Mists that connects Nerifir with the human realm doesn’t stream through Alveari Kingdom. Using the ancient magic of our gods, Joy Guardians opened a portal to connect to the river, which in turn took us to your world and back.”

And also turned my entire life upside down.

I sighed. “You feel absolutely no remorse over what you’ve done, do you?”

“Remorse?” He seemed shocked. “Over what? Joy Vessels have a far better life here than anywhere else. Nothing is required of them, and every effort is made to keep them happy. Whatever you’ll ask for, I will do my best to deliver.”

He flicked his wrist at the lavishly set table, as if a fancy meal could make up for everything that his soldiers had done to me and my family while following his orders. Anger dowsed my hunger.

“You kidnapped me. You killed my father. And now, you expect me to just happily eat here with you? Well, I’ve got news for you, Your Highness. I’ve got no joy to share with you. You’ll get nothing from me. You might as well send me back.”

He heaved a long breath, folding his arms across his broad, bejeweled chest.

“I’m sorry about your father. I really am. I didn’t wish for that to happen.”

“And yet, he’s dead.” I bit down on my lip to stop it from trembling and squeezed my hands into fists.

He took a step toward the table. “Sadly, I cannot bring your father back. But I want to help you deal with your loss.”

“I don’t need your help.” I hugged myself again, shrinking away from him.

What could he possibly do, anyway?

He lifted the high dome from the large serving platter that I’d assumed held a cake. Instead, a dark sphere rested on it.

A head.

“What the fuck is this?” I muttered, backing away on shaking legs.

It was a severed head of a shadow fae. Its pointy ears tipped backwards. The eyes and the mouth were closed. The long, braided hair was wound around the stump of the severed neck like spaghetti noodles around a fork.

The comparison to food made me gag. But the illusion was that much stronger due to the black smoke rising from the dead head like steam. The wisps of smoke appeared to lift the particles of the skin, flesh, and hair in some bizarre decomposition process, leaving gaping holes in the flesh.

My stomach churned. Thankfully, it was completely empty. Otherwise, I’d throw up all over Prince Rha’s fancy skirt and fine jewels.

“It’s the head of the man who killed your father,” he explained calmly, as if presenting me with a head of cabbage he grew in one of his beautiful indoor gardens. “Your father is now avenged.”

The pungent stench of fresh blood reached me, mingling with the aroma of the food. Nausea rose to my throat, unstoppable.

“I’ve got to get out of here…”

Gripping my throat with my hand, I shoved the doors open and ran.

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