Page 22 of Somber Prince

His light-green eyes flicked to the large ornate fixture hanging on the opposite wall. Black sand trickled down a maze of glass tubes mounted to a polished gold plate with shiny movable parts.

“We don’t have much time before dinner,” he said with urgency.

“What is that thing?” I pointed at the glass-maze fixture. “A wall clock?”

“Yes. And according to it, we need to hurry if you want to make it to the royal dinner on time.”

I didn’t care about making it on time. But I also saw no point in stressing poor Sigid out.

“I’ll be quick,” I promised, sliding into the pool.

Crossing his legs, he sat on the ledge and handed me another bottle from his collection.

“This one is for your hair… Wherever you have it.”

I snickered, taking the bottle from him. “And here I thought you had no sense of humor.”

The bottle contained a clear, odorless liquid that lathered pretty well when I massaged it into my hair.

“Now, rinse it with this.” He handed me yet another small jar.

I did as he said. Between washing and rinsing, I cast cautious glances at the people around me. But after some initial interest in my sudden appearance in their midst, no one paid me much attention.

“So, you’re a Keeper?” I asked Sigid, hoping he’d be a little more forthcoming with the answers than anyone else had been so far.

“Yes, I will be a Keeper of Joy Vessels soon.”

“And a Joy Vessel is me?”

“Yes.”

“How does one become a Keeper of Joy Vessels?”

“How?” He flicked one long, pointy ear, looking a little surprised by my attention to his person. “Well, I used to look after the royal camels. But with you coming to Teneris, Prince Rha needed someone to take care of the sarai.”

For now, I chose to ignore the fact that skills of looking after cattle proved to be so easily transferable for him to look after humans.

“And the sarai is?” I asked instead.

“That is the part of the palace where Prince Rha’s Joy Vessels live. It’s nice there,” he offered helpfully. “You’ll like it. Sarai has one of the most beautiful gardens in Teneris.”

“So, only humans can be Vessels?”

“Humans and everyone else from Above.”

“Above where?” I automatically glanced up at the arched ceiling over us.

“Not there.” Sigid shook his head. “Other kinds of fae live in the planes above us. There is the World Above, with several kingdoms like Lorsan, Dakath, and others I don’t really remember. No one I know has been up there. Then there is the Sky Kingdom, which is even higher than those places.”

“Other planes? I’m not sure I understand.”

I thought “fae” was just another word for fairies—tiny magical creatures with wings—and either way, they were supposed to be imaginary.

It’d be so much easier if Sigid, the rest of his people, and this entire world with all its different “planes of existence” had turned out to be just a hallucination after all. But the longer I stayed here, the more I feared there was no waking up from this. This world was far too solid and real to be a mere hallucination, though its magic certainly had some dream-like qualities.

“Aren’t fae supposed to be in the forest? Living in mushroom circles or something?” I asked.

Sigid looked at me as if I’d eaten some very questionable mushrooms myself and was talking nonsense.

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