Page 91 of Somber Prince

I glanced at Elaine. She was telling something to the Keeper, her hands moving animatedly in sync with her words. She laughed, probably at something funny in her story. In response, the Keeper’s mouth stretched into a polite half-smile.

The shadow fae who’d been interacting with us the most had mastered that expression by now. They would smile when we did, but it never reached their eyes. It was like they simply tried to please us, mimicking our expressions.

The Keeper couldn’t possibly feel the merriment in Elaine’s story. I wonder what that conversation was like for him. If he didn’t feel the humor of it, what did he get from the interaction? Did he find it annoying? Or childish? Did he simply endure small talk, treating it as a part of his job’s duties?

The doors to the room suddenly opened and Rha breezed through. He entered noiselessly, like a shadow. Yet his presence immediately filled the space, bringing everyone’s attention to him.

“Your Highness.” The Keepers scurried to their feet, bending their heads in deep bows.

The musicians paused, bowing as well. The etiquette didn’t require us to do the same. Still, all the humans bowed their heads, too, some deeper than others.

Rha’s golden gaze skimmed over those present, finding me quickly. His shoulders dropped with relief at the sight of me. A smile tugged at my lips in response. I loved the familiarity we shared. It stretched between us like a silent greeting across the room full of people, no matter how far from each other we were.

He raised a hand, releasing the Keepers and the musicians from their bows. “Please continue.”

He headed to his private sitting room and left, closing the doors behind him—calm, dignified, and regal like always. I knew him well enough by now, however, to spot an unusual tension in his stride.

“Dawn?” Melanie’s voice reached me as if through a fog. “Are you listening to what I’m saying?”

I wasn’t. Did she say something?

My thoughts remained with the prince; the dark silhouette of his tall figure still impressed in my vision against the door he’d disappeared behind.

“Um… Just give me a minute.” I got up from the floor cushion.

Melanie winced. “Are you really going to run after him? Wagging your tail like a lapdog?”

There was no point in arguing with her. I just shot her a glare before grabbing my dessert bowl from the table.

“I need to speak to him.”

* * *

I found Rha out on the patio off his sitting room. He stood with his back to the windows, facing the desert.

The night was dark, with at least an hour or so before the sunrise. The shape of him appeared to merge with the night sky behind him. The golden clips in his six thin braids glistened like stars. The breeze played with his long, unbound hair under the braids, blowing the strands against the sky like dark wisps of clouds.

His skirt was made from a material that looked completely black, absorbing all light. But in the fabric’s folds, the moonlight glistened with indigo and emerald green, making it appear liquid. It streamed down his trim hips, hugging his muscular legs with the breeze.

Prince Rha wasn’t just beautiful. He was majestic, his presence effortlessly imposing. And standing against the night sky like that, he appeared godlike.

However, I’d learned to see beyond his appearance. I noticed the drop of his wide shoulders, the tight grip of his fingers on the stone parapet, and the way he hung his head, as if weighed down by worry.

Rha had made my pleasure his mission. And somehow along the way, his worries had become my own. Whatever bothered him concerned me too.

“Rha.” I climbed out onto the patio. “Look what I’ve got for us.”

He whipped around, his hair and skirt churning in a swirl around him.

“Dawn. You should be with your friends, enjoying your dinner.”

“The dinner is almost finished. Just dessert is left.” I held up the small earthenware bowl with honeyed apricots. “Care to share?”

He gave me a half-smile similar to the one the Keeper had given to Elaine—humoring but distant.

“Just look how good it is.” I lifted an apricot on my spoon, letting the honey drip into the bowl in thick, golden drops. “I’m so looking forward to enjoying it.” I stuck out an elbow, thrusting the leilathas on my arm his way. “Come on, darling, plug in.”

Coaxed out by my persistence, the black tendril uncurled from his arm, then gently connected with me. A second one promptly followed. Rha’s chest rose with a deep sigh.

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