Page 74 of Somber Prince

His tendrils appeared, reaching for me.

I shook my head. “You don’t want to feel this. There is really nothing pleasant inside me right now.”

He paused the tendrils, but only for a moment.

“I’m just trying to understand you, Dawn. All of you. Your pain too. Your feelings are chaotic. But the more time I spend with you, the better I learn to read them.”

The smoky ends of his tendrils flared before fusing with the openings on my arms and along my spine. I inhaled, bracing for the intrusion. The more often he did it, however, the less intrusive it felt. By now, it was simply like opening a door and letting him in.

His handsome features pitched into a frown.

“I told you there’s nothing pleasant in there,” I said. “You really should listen and stay away sometimes, for your own good.”

He drew in a long breath, as if adjusting to the cacophony of emotions raging inside me.

“That’s the problem, my treasure. I can’t stay away, and I don’t want to. You aren’t just a piece of a puzzle, Dawn. You are the entire puzzle. One that keeps teasing me with a solution I don’t think I’ll ever find.”

“I have a spoiler for you, Your Highness. There is no solution. If there was one, I would’ve already found it and used it to get my life in order.”

“Has it not been in order, then?”

I shut my eyes tightly for a moment before blurting out, “I’m twenty-five years old, which is a very ‘ripe’ age for a dancer, as someone put it at one of my auditions. But I feel like a teenager still figuring things out. Without much success, mind you.”

“Twenty-five is so young, Dawn.”

“I’m sure it is for someone like you. But in my world, there is a place in life one is kind of expected to be at by a certain age. Like I may not have a successful career yet, but I should be on my way to getting there. I may not be married, but I should at least be dating the right guy. I may not have children, but I should probably know where I stand on having a family. But I have none of it figured out. Nothing. I’ve been drifting through life with no plan and no direction, hoping things would fall into place one day. Only it’s been going from bad to worse.” I drew in a shuddered breath, suddenly feeling short on air. “When I look back at the years I’ve lived, Rha, all I can see are losses. First, Ciana. Then, Mom. Now, Dad… I’ve lost people close to me. And gradually, I’ve lost my confidence and sense of direction too. Dance was the only thing that has been constant, but even there I’ve failed to make any big gains. I followed my passion for the sake of passion, without a plan, and that’s not how things are done if you want to achieve success.”

“Passion like yours is rare, Dawn, and should be treasured.”

I huffed a bitter laugh. “Passion alone doesn’t pay.”

“But it does. In our kingdom, emotions that strong are everything. You are the rarest treasure.”

I wondered why I was saying all of this to Rha, why I was confiding in the prince of darkness about my innermost insecurities. But then, I remembered he was the one so intimately connected to me right now, more intimately than anyone ever had before. He was literally swimming in all my emotions right now, and he showed no desire to get out. In fact, he seemed willing to dive even deeper, no matter how murky they were.

“You sure are a glutton for punishment, Your Highness,” I muttered. Running a hand over my face, I tried to collect myself. “I’m not even sure why any of it matters, anyway. That life is gone for me now.”

With an arm around my shoulders, he led me over to the swing. He shook the sand off the seat cushion, then sat down, taking me with him.

“I sit here late in the evening or early in the morning before sunrise sometimes.” He pushed off the floor with his foot, rocking the swing. “You’re right about one thing, Dawn—all your worries are in the past. You’re here with me now. From now on, I’ll do the worrying for you.”

If only it were that simple. But Rha wasn’t a solution to my problems. He was a part of them.

“Coming here wasn’t an escape from my past, Rha. I gave up even more here. Sometimes it feels like all I have left is fear. I don’t even belong to myself anymore, and I’m scared to lose the little I still have left. I’m scared that something worse will happen to everyone I care about.”

He stroked my hair, cradling me against his chest. Stoic, solid, reliable, like a pillar of strength amidst a storm. And I leaned on him, soaking up his support like a sponge. He didn’t offer me any words of platitude, which was perfect. His silence proved more comforting than any words.

Darkness solidified around us as the sun sank deeper behind the horizon. My anxiety settled with the disappearing light.

“Sorry for dumping it all on you.” I wiped my face with my sleeve, taking a long, calming breath. “Not sure why I told you all of that. You probably don’t even know what it’s like to make mistakes. You’re too calm and rational for nonsense like that.” I lifted my head, sliding my gaze up his wide chest covered with precious jewels, to the muscular column of his neck, to his beautiful face with the proud chin, high cheekbones, and intense golden eyes. “You’re perfect in every way, Rha. Your life must be perfect too.”

His shapely lips curved into a bitter smile. “Is that what you think?”

“It certainly looks that way.”

“From the outside, it might.”

I didn’t want to know his story. I didn’t need to get any closer to Rha. Physical attraction was more than enough to have between us, considering the circumstances. Yet against my better judgement, I asked, “Isn’t it true?”

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