Page 89 of Somber Prince

Rha offered his private dining room for my soiree while he was out with General Oskura. The general had just returned from Kalmena where she and her warriors had been honored by the queen for the successful defense of the City of Sumakis from the desert dwellers.

We were having a fun dinner with music and wine. Everyone seemed to be enjoying themselves.

“These guys are good,” Kostya pointed with a half-eaten lamb leg at the musicians on the stage. “They won’t replace a TV or my laptop. But still better than nothing.”

Other than the humans and the musicians, there were also a few Keepers in the room, including Sigid, of course, who had become my personal shadow, keeping a watchful eye on me from a distance and anticipating my every wish.

After the servants had cleared the dishes of the main course and brought in dessert, Melanie shifted closer to me.

“Is that new?” She pointed at the giant bib-necklace that covered my entire chest.

Although it wasn’t as big or as heavy as some that shadow fae wore, it still required two golden chains that crossed over my shoulders and under my arms to hold it in place.

“Yes. It’s new.” I splayed a hand over the cool surface of the precious gems.

It took Rha and me several days to arrange the stones. Then, the royal jewelers put them all in the elaborate setting of strands held together by golden links. The result was truly unique.

“Is that a picture of a storm?” Melanie tilted her head, squinting at the swirls of blue and brown, turquoise, moonstone, and various shades of onyx, from the deepest dark chocolate to coffee with cream, provided for a stunning combination.

Elaine peered at the necklace from across the table. “It’s beautiful. But it doesn’t look like the typical designs that shadow fae wear. They prefer geometrical shapes. This one gives me some Van Gogh vibes. Did the prince give it to you?”

I nodded. “We designed it together.”

Elaine’s eyes narrowed behind her glasses. “You two spend quite a bit of time together, don’t you?”

We did spend a lot of time together. Every spare moment Rha got, he spent with me. When he wasn’t around, I had that annoying restless feeling like something was missing. I sensed neither my friend nor my sister would like that if they knew. I wasn’t sure I liked that myself.

Melanie threaded her arm—still harness-free—through mine. I was grateful for her interruption because I had no idea what to reply to Elaine.

“Three days, Dawn,” Melanie whispered excitedly. “The portal to our world is going to be open again in three days.”

The news came like a bucket of cold water dumped over my head.

“Three? Are you sure?” I muttered.

“Yes. Apparently, the queen gave her permission to acquire more Joy Vessels for Princess Alzali to build her own collection of human pets. But Joy Guardians will open the portal a day early for us to get the fuck out.”

“Why would they go against the queen's orders?”

She shrugged. “Because they don’t want any more plain, magicless humans here in their precious kingdom. They’re trying hard to get rid of those who are already here.”

I chewed on my lip, suddenly lost for words. Emotions swirled inside me, but I couldn’t accurately name any of them. I had no idea which one to pick or which way to lean.

“It’ll be the last portal possible between our worlds for a very long time, Dawn,” Melanie added.

“What do you mean?” My head was spinning, scrambling all my thoughts.

“That’ll be it, sister. Apparently, the portal can only be opened three times, four weeks apart from each other. That’s all that magic spell will allow, at least in our lifetime. That’s our only chance, Dawn.”

“How do you know this?”

She gave me a smug look. “I told you I’ve got good sources.”

“What makes them good? How do you know you can trust them?”

“I don’t trust anyone. But these people aren’t doing it for you or me. They’re doing it for themselves. They want us out, and that’s just fine with me.”

I stared straight ahead of me. The room appeared to spin in a slow, maddening circle. I knew Melanie had been working on an escape plan. I thought I’d be ready when the time came. But the finality of it all hit me hard.

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