Page 46 of Somber Prince

I wished I could bottle up his voice and keep it with me for whenever I needed to calm my nerves again. Nothing else had such a soothing effect on me before.

“My tendrils scared you,” he stated. “Can you tell me why you’re frightened of them? Is it because of the way you were taken? Or of what you had to go through during the harness fitting? Or maybe you’re afraid I’ll violate your emotions by feeling them with you?”

“All of the above.” I sighed, amazed by how accurately he’d hit all the points.

He understood what I’d been through. He knew. But what surprised me the most was that he cared. Rha might not be able to like anything, but he clearly disliked me being upset.

“They are gone now. See?” He turned his arm for me to see the skin unmarred by any smoke or shadows. “I wasn’t going to harm you. You were playing with my hair, and I just wished to know what you felt when touching me.”

“Oh.” I dropped my gaze.

It was best he didn’t know everything I felt when touching him and especially when he was touching me.

“I’ll tell you what…” With a finger under my chin, he brought my face up, forcing me to meet his eyes. “I will not release my tendrils again in your presence. Not until you ask me to.”

“But then, what do you need me here for?”

“To finally have dinner with you since it didn’t go that well the last time. Come. I know you’re hungry.” He took my hand again, helping me up.

As he led me into the dining room, I tried to imagine what it was like to exist without joy. For me, it’d probably be the little, everyday pleasures that I’d miss the most. Like the early morning breeze coming through the open windows right now and the floral scents it brought with it. Like the silky caress of the fabric against my body. Like the intriguing presence of this man in the room with me.

For the first time ever, I fully realized how utterly deprived the life of the shadow fae was. They had every reason to sit around feeling sorry for themselves, but they didn’t do that. Instead, they evolved. They built a civilization. They existed, even if without joy.

“What keeps you going, Rha?” I asked. “What gets you out of bed in the morning? I mean in the evening?”

His expression turned contemplative as he considered his answer.

“Duty is my motivation,” he said. “My people depend on me and the decisions I make every night. I’m used to being busy. But this evening, it was you.”

“Me?”

“Yes. You, Dawn, were the first thing I thought about when I woke up. You’re like a puzzle.” He tipped his chin at the door to the room where we’d left the pile of the multi-colored pieces on the table. “But more unexpected and unpredictable. Which makes your presence more stimulating. I’ve been looking forward to seeing you all night.”

I wasn’t sure what exactly he meant by “stimulating,” but it was kind of flattering to be someone’s reason to get out of bed.

Rha held my hand while I lowered my butt onto the cushions on the floor in front of the table.

The musicians picked up their instruments. Servants closed the tall windows with thick shutters, getting ready for the sunrise.

As if following some invisible sign, the doors to the room opened and servants carried in dishes with food. They set them all on my side of the table while Rha took his place on the dais again.

A servant placed a single crystal goblet of water in front of the prince.

“Is it really enough to eat only once in twenty-four hours?” I wondered.

“It’s enough to restock everything my body needs.”

I resisted a closer look at his body, but I’d stared at it enough to know it was well “stocked” in all the right places.

Servants placed an appetizer of flaky fish and veggies in front of me, and my willpower evaporated. I grabbed a fork and dug in. Only after I’d taken a few bites did I look up at Rha again.

His tendrils remained hidden. He reclined sideways in the cushions, his chin resting on his hand.

The dinner felt very one-sided with only me eating. The one way Rha could participate in it would be to allow him to use his tendrils. A shiver of unease ran down my arms at that thought.

At the same time, I realized it wasn’t the fear that had made me shrink away from Rha the last time, but the memory of it. The terror I’d felt when the shadows had come for me or when the Joy Guardians had restrained me was still fresh in my mind, but I wasn’t afraid of Rha. I believed him when he’d said he didn’t want to hurt me.

A servant put a fragrant dish of meat with rice and vegetables in front of me. Another one brought a metal pitcher with a long, thin neck and a curved spout. He poured a glass of dark, aromatic wine for me while the prince continued to nurse his glass of water.

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