Page 106 of Somber Prince

But she wasn’t done yet.

“I won’t wake the prince. But when he gets up in the evening and finds you gone, I’ll have to tell him where you went.”

“Do you?”

“He’s my prince. I swore an oath to serve him,” she said firmly. “When he asks, I won’t lie. I’ll tell him where you went, and he’ll come after you to take back what’s his. But if you make haste, he won’t catch you.”

“All right, then.” I made a move toward the parapet, but she grabbed my hand, reaching out from the shadows of the room.

“I want you gone, Sweet One. But I don’t want you dead. Once you leave the safety of Teneris, make sure you keep going and don’t stop until you go through the portal. Do you understand? The desert is not safe for anyone, but especially for your kind. There are those who wish you harm.”

The raspy, annoying chuckling was gone from her voice. It sounded surprisingly firm and smooth. Her grip on my arm felt strong. Now I had a feeling that if I ran, she’d catch up with me easily enough.

Her warning sent a cold trickle of dread down my spine.

“It’s not in the shadow fae’s interests to harm us,” I pointed out. “Why would anyone want to hurt us? You said it yourself. The Watchers just want us gone.”

“The Watchers do. But the desert is also filled with those who will try to stop you from leaving. They mean grave harm to your kind.”

She glanced back into the room over her shoulder and let go of my wrist.

“Now go.”

But I didn’t move.

“No. Tell me what you mean. Who are the people who want to harm us?”

She glanced behind her again, looking nervous, then leaned forward, squinting against the sunlight that pierced through the shadows under her hood.

“A scorpion is a deadly creature, Sweet One, but it’s not as lethal as the golden hyacinth of the desert.”

“A what?”

Had the old crone overheated in the morning sun already and was spewing gibberish?

She held my gaze with her pale eyes. “The hyacinth of the desert is sweet and fragrant, like the finest dish created for Joy Vessels. But do you know how it keeps so lush in the harsh black sands with no water?”

“No, I don’t.”

“By preying on poor desert creatures and drinking their blood. Beware of the golden hyacinth and of those who wear it,” she hissed quickly, before dashing back into the room and slamming the shutters closed.

I blinked at the closed window, not quite sure if I even should pay any attention to what she’d just mumbled to me, leave alone trying to understand it. Then I realized that whoever spooked the hag into leaving could spot me here soon. I had to leave.

I climbed over the parapet, then started a long, careful descent along the sharp slope of the city wall. The grass reached up to my shoulders. In some places, it covered me entirely, its wispy ends swaying above my head. Birds chirped in it somewhere. Small animals scurried past my feet every now and then.

My legs shook from strain by the time the grass ended, and the black sand finally crunched under my boots.

I turned left and hurried along the wall to the spot where Melanie, Elaine, and the others waited for me.

“There you are,” Melanie exhaled with relief, as if the weight of an entire mountain dropped from her shoulders at the sight of me.

“I said I’d come.” I shrugged.

Elaine placed a hand on my shoulder. “You made the right decision, Dawn.”

I knew I did.

I just wished I felt it too. But all I felt was doubt.

---