Page 140 of Somber Prince

But there was one more thing I had to do before they would take me anywhere. I’d shared every single emotion with Rha. I couldn’t leave here without sharing my hope with him too.

Folding my hands into a funnel, I brought them to my mouth.

“I love you, Rha!” I screamed toward the platform.

The wind tore my words from my mouth, whisking them away. Maybe it took them all the way up to my prince, or maybe it didn’t. But somehow, I knew that he heard me, anyway. I felt a firm tug of reassurance in response, as if we were still connected through his tendrils.

I took a deep breath, feeling stronger and ready to face anything.

“All right.” I thrust my arms out to the guards for them to take me away. “Now, lead me to the queen.”

Chapter Thirty-Six

DAWN

Queen Abeille was alone when I entered her private sitting room. The only light came from the three tall panels of golden hexagons. They stood around a low chaise piled up with silk cushions. Each hexagonal frame in the panel of many was about the size of a dinner plate. It was filled with a thick amber substance that glowed, illuminating the room.

The queen stood by a side panel, turned mostly with her back to me. She was shorter than I’d expected, looking rather frail.

A semi-transparent, chocolate-brown veil stitched with gold covered her head-to-toe, draping all the way down to the floor. It was held by a tall crown of hollow hexagons fitted together, with tall amber-colored spikes rising from the top corners of the hexagons.

Something flew from one of the honeycombs and zoomed my way with a buzzing sound. I ducked with a gasp.

“Careful,” the queen said in a quiet voice without turning. “The sting of a golden bee will surely kill a weak little human like yourself.”

Only then did I notice the large bees sitting on the panels. Most of them didn’t move at all and could be easily mistaken for decoration, especially since their wings appeared to be made from paper-thin iridescent crystal fitted into golden filigree frames.

The queen slowly turned to face me. The veil covered her forehead, hair, and shoulders, leaving her eyes in the shade. In a heavily bejeweled hand, she held a narrow spoon with a long handle.

I opened my mouth to plead Rha’s case, but she spoke first. “Tell me what you think about the honey they make.”

Was she for real?

Her son was out there, burning alive under the scorching sun, and she wanted to do a honey tasting with me?

I felt torn between wishing to yell at her, to shake her until she came to her senses, or to fall to her feet and plead for Rha’s life. But I’d made too many mistakes in my life, big and small. I could not afford to make any right now. A wrong word or even a gesture could lead to her kicking me out of this room, sealing Rha’s fate.

She was my last resort. My only chance.

I couldn’t rush it.

I reined in my impatience, bridled my anxiety, and just stood there, rooted in place while watching the queen tap the golden spoon against the thin, clear barrier that held the amber liquid inside the frame. The barrier cracked like glass, but it appeared to be made from caramelized sugar. She removed a shard of it from the frame, then dipped the spoon into the honey inside.

“Taste it.” She lifted the spoon to my mouth.

I parted my lips obediently, allowing her to slide the spoon in. The veil over her upper arm moved, as if a tendril was emerging. I braced for another invasion of my senses. But the tendril never made it from under the fabric.

Instead, the queen waited for me to take the honey from the spoon as she stared at me. Her lips curved slightly.

“You have the most peculiar eyes. And my son has the most unusual taste, it seems.” She glanced aside. “So, what do you think about the honey?”

The honey was sweet. Probably. Though, I couldn’t say much about its taste. The bitterness in my chest spoiled everything. My mind was so far away from this untimely tasting session, I couldn’t focus on analyzing the flavor or even the texture.

“It’s good,” I squeezed through my throat coated with the sticky substance.

“You know, they say the lily honey from the Wetlands of Lorsan from the Above is the best in Nerifir. I wonder what they would say if they had a chance to try this one.” She gave me a penetrating look, with the eyes of the same pale gold shade as Rha’s. “I wonder which one you would prefer if you tasted them both.” She sighed. “Too bad I don’t have any Lorsan honey for you to try. The shadow tunnels we used to travel to the Above have long been sealed. You see, the fae from Above fear us. They believe we have the ability to suck out their souls.”

“Have you ever tried talking to them, to explain yourselves?”