Page 147 of Somber Prince

“It’s my magic, my sweet. How could it ever hurt me?” He pressed the end of the tendril to his arm, and I let the connection happen.

Rha’s emotions blended with mine, making us whole. It felt like coming home after a long absence. Love and comfort embraced me, wrapping around my heart like a warm blanket. I rose over his lap, letting some of his cluster slip inside me. Our bodies entangled as our emotions merged, making our connection complete.

Straddling his lap, I rocked against him.

“I love you.” I pressed the side of my face to his.

“I feel it. Your love is the biggest treasure of all, Dawn. As long as I have it, I can weather any storm.”

He gripped my hips, thrusting up into me. His feelers caressed my inner walls. Those that didn’t fit inside me stroked me from the outside, fanning my desire.

When the pleasure crested with orgasm, it wasn’t mine or his—it was ours. My moans mingled with Rha’s. Our bodies rocked against each other. My inner muscles spasmed around the length of his feelers. Every shudder of pleasure rocked through us both.

I relaxed in his arms, feeling completely spent and delightfully elated.

“I love you.” He kissed my hair, my temple, then the side of my face as I rested my head on his shoulder. “I love you, my treasure, my light. My one and only Joy.”

Chapter Thirty-Eight

RHA

An arrow sang through the air, piercing the quiet of the night. It embedded into the back of one of the queen’s guards with a thud.

Alarm jolted me fully awake. Dawn was fast asleep at my side, lulled by the steady pace of the camel. Carefully, I lowered her to the seat, slipping from under her to free my knife, the only weapon I was allowed to bring with me from Kalmena.

Another guard jerked with a strangled gurgling in his throat before he, too, tipped sideways and rolled off his horse. The remaining guards drew their swords. They halted their horses, steering them into a formation around our camel.

Peering into the night, I gripped my knife tighter.

Dawn stirred. “Rha?”

“Shh, my sweet.” I pressed a finger to my lips in a sign of silence.

It was best to keep her presence a secret. Only I feared it might not be a secret to those who were attacking us. She was my treasure in every way. But in this world, she was a Joy Vessel, more precious than gold.

“Stay down.” I gestured to the seat.

A battle cry thundered through the still and deadly night. Riders on horseback emerged from the darkness, heading toward us from every direction. Their shapes wavered, turning into shadows.

“Rha?” Dawn whispered from the seat. “What’s going on?”

Chills of dread slithered like snakes up my limbs. “Desert dwellers.”

They appeared in our midst. Dark shapes solidified on the horses behind the guards, their knives and daggers slicing through the guards’ throats. Some of the queen’s guards managed to turn to shadows just in time to escape.

Someone leaped on the back of our camel. Holding on to the frame, I leaned out and slashed across the attacker’s neck with my knife. He groaned, dropping to the ground.

“She’s here!” a female voice screeched.

I whipped around. A woman grabbed Dawn’s ankle, dragging her out of the seat.

Dawn screamed, kicking. A spear hit the camel in the shoulder. The animal cried out hoarsely, tilting to the side, its legs buckling. Dawn grabbed onto the seat cushion, but it fell out of the seat. I lunged for her as the camel fell onto its side.

The woman dropped and rolled in the sand. Dawn followed, the seat cushion landing on top of her.

“Dawn!” I leaped from the seat frame after her.

Someone jumped on my back. A cold blade pressed to my neck. I stabbed behind me blindly. A man groaned, a dagger falling from his hand. I shoved the limp body off me.

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