Page 119 of Somber Prince

“Kiss me.”

She shook her head. “You won’t feel it, darling. Your tendrils?—”

“I’ll remember. Kiss me. Please.”

I didn’t wait for her to close the distance between us, putting my mouth on hers first. To my relief, she met me eagerly. Wrapping her arms around my neck, she pressed her body to mine.

And I did remember.

Every delicious morsel of joy she’d so generously shared with me had been carefully stored in my memories. The emotions rose from inside me, brought forward by her touch.

I remembered what she’d be feeling at that moment. Tenderness must be flushing over her now. It’d be flowing through my tendrils had we been connected. Tantalizing tingles of lust would be twirling through it. Love burned deep inside me, radiating through my whole being. And I knew the same feeling resonated through her.

I drew her closer, deepening our kiss. The slide of my lips, the twirl of my tongue, every caress of my hands was bringing forward more of the joy inside her. I couldn’t taste it, but I remembered it all.

Breaking the kiss, she leaned back. Her gaze roaming over me, she must’ve noticed my heavy breathing, my flushed skin, and the burning need for her in my eyes.

“You…” She cupped my face, smoothing my hair gently. “You’re feeling it, aren’t you? But how?”

“I remember, my sweet treasure. Once tasted, your joy is impossible to forget.”

Chapter Thirty

DAWN

In the Alveari Kingdom, I was called a Joy Vessel. I was the source of happy emotions that shadow fae could not experience on their own. Only if so, then how did Rha give me so much happiness back?

Being in his arms healed me. His soft kisses and light caresses soothed the pain of loss and uncertainty. The journey to Kalmena was long, but not tedious or exhausting. The future no longer looked like an impenetrable black wall to me. It remained muddy and grim, but whatever came my way, I felt I could deal with it. And if Rha was with me, maybe dealing with anything would be easier?

Curled into his warm body and lulled by the steady swaying of the seat on the back of the camel, I must’ve dozed off at some point.

Noise woke me up. Clamoring of a crowd, trotting of hooves on stone tiles, clinking of tools and weapons. It was the general commotion of a big city.

I lifted my head from Rha’s chest and rubbed my cheek.

“Are we here?”

The dark fabric was now drawn down over our seat, blocking the view of the city. With me no longer sprawling on top of him, Rha straightened in the seat too. The look in his eyes softened as he reached over to stroke my cheek.

“You have the pattern of my necklace imprinted on your face.”

I rubbed my cheek again. “Great. Well, the pattern on your necklace is flawless. It may add some symmetry to my face at last, right?”

“No,” he replied, brutally honest, like always. “It makes it even more grossly asymmetrical, since the imprint is only on one side.” He took my chin in his fingers and brushed a feather-light kiss on my lips. “But I love your face, my treasure, just the way it is.”

I smiled, not moving away. His affection was more than thrilling—it was utterly disarming.

“What will happen now, Rha? To us? And to you?”

His hand fell away from my face.

“I’ll have to meet the queen.”

“What will she do to you?”

“That remains to be seen. But her judgement is usually fair.”

I huffed. “What is she going to judge you for? What transpired wasn’t your fault. You didn’t know about our escape plans. And it’s not like you sent those thugs after us.”

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