Page 7 of Dark Prince's Captive

I shoot them all a dirty look.“Fuck you all.Open the portal and let me go home.Now.”

They continue laughing.Then the one who spoke originally, issuing the command to the lizard dude who grabbed me, comes up to me.His lipless shark mouth moves, but instead of his language, what comes out is guttural, heavily accented English.

“Shut up, human.You on Zerra now.You slave.”

And as I stare at him, jaw slack, he reaches out a clawed hand and forces me to my knees.

Chapter3

Aruan

The whispers float in the air, wafting through the oppressive bubble of silence that surrounds me as I walk through the Great Hall of the Water Palace.

They think I can’t hear them.They think they’re safe in the other quarters.They don’t know I’ve modified my ears to sharpen my hearing, just as I’ve modified my muscles, bones, and tendons to increase my strength.I’ve also enhanced my eyes to improve my vision, enabling me to see through solid matter.So I glimpse them scurrying about the various palace rooms, huddling in their little groups to whisper fearfully about the Terrible One, the Alit prince they wish had never been born.

The Alit prince who should’ve been killed before his power grew too strong to be contained.

Reaching the waterfall at the end of the Great Hall, I part the sheets of falling water with my mind and exit onto the ledge connecting to the Sky Bridge.I walk onto it and head for the platform at the central intersection.It’s my favorite place to watch the sunrise and take in my kingdom.

This morning is particularly nice, the air cool and fragrant, the bridge ropes damp from the night’s dew.The midday winds will arrive soon, but for now, the air is still and calm, the dark sky just beginning to glow with hints of orange and pink.The only sounds out here are the songs of the small winged dragons and the roar of the waterfall, though if I strain my ears, I can still hear the goings-on inside the palace—the never-ending whispers, plots, and intrigues.

There are many in that palace who regret keeping me alive.

Some of them would like to try and remedy their mistake.

I sigh and lean onto the thick woven rope ringing the platform.When I was a child, I loved to hang on this rope, my feet dangling over the edge as I swung back and forth between safety and danger, between the boring stability of the bridge and the lethal tree-height drop below it.

I never fell, but I could have.

Maybe should have.

The entire kingdom would’ve rejoiced.

A distant screech of a dragon reaches my ears, pulling me out of my morbid mood.I clench my teeth and step back from the rope.It’s been happening more lately—the random darkening of my thoughts, the growing numbness inside me.For several seasons, nothing has brought me joy, and I know that eventually, the numbness will spread until everything ceases to matter.

The sky lightens further, and I inhale a deep breath, dragging fresh morning air into my lungs.

What the dragon?

Confused, I take another breath.

There’s something in the air.Something almost… sweet.But it’s not a smell.More like a vibration.

I inhale again.

What is it?

I can’t pinpoint it, but the sweet vibration is stronger now.I can feel it with my entire body.It’s as powerful as the eastern storms that tug at the very roots of the trees, yet nothing around me is moving.

All the movement is within me, inside me.

I’m vibrating from within.

Vibrating so fast that I’m hot.

No, not just hot.Every part in my body is on fire.

I grip the rope in front of me, the edges of my vision darkening and expanding at the same time.The sensation is surreal, all-consuming.I’m here yet elsewhere.I’m falling apart yet being made whole.The scorching vibration expands, filling me, deafening me, blinding me, hijacking all my senses, and when it dies down, I’m different.

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