Page 59 of Somber Prince

That could possibly be the nicest thing anyone had ever said to me. Unless, of course, he meant that I was a handful, requiring his entire concentration to handle. Was it a compliment or a complaint? There was no change in his voice and no smile accompanied his words, which made it difficult to decipher their exact meaning.

My sitting cushions weren’t in their usual place by the table. This time, they had been arranged behind Rha’s dais, with a low stand placed in front of them.

“We’ll share a meal but not the table?” I asked.

He nodded. “It’s easier for the tendrils to connect while we both are eating.”

So, he was planning to eat with me this time. Only in order for him to do that, he’d have to face the door while I’d be staring at the wall between the windows behind him. A great meal that would be.

“What’s wrong?” he prompted, since I wouldn’t sit down.

“Does it feel right to you? Eating together with our backs turned to each other?”

“That’s a limitation not of my making. The tendrils are too short to reach over the dais and across the table. Unless you prefer I keep them hidden.”

I didn’t doubt he’d do that if I asked him to. But I didn’t want to deny him the simple pleasure of enjoying the meal with me.

“That would defeat the purpose of having lunch together, wouldn’t it?”

“Not exactly. I find your mere presence in this room satisfying already.”

“Is that why you personally came to the sarai for me?” Against my best intentions, my cheeks warmed, and something fluttered in my stomach once again.

“I severely dislike the unsettling feeling your absence causes in me.”

I lowered my head, hiding a smile.

“You know what it sounds like, Your Highness? It sounds like you missed me. And if I dare venture a guess, I’d say you like me.”

The man clearly had no idea about flirting. His expression remained unchanged as he stared at me batting my eyelashes at him.

“Liking someone or something falls in the range of emotions beyond our reach, Dawn. Now that you’re here, I simply feel content.”

It might not sound like much, but content was the highest positive emotion he could feel. And he felt it when I was here.

“I’ll tell you what. Why don’t we get rid of this thing?” Holding up my skirt, I shoved the heavy table out of the way with my foot. It slid only a short distance over the mosaic floor with a loud screech.

“Whatever are you doing, Dawn?” The prince stared at me like I’d completely lost my mind.

“I’m rearranging things here a little. Give me a hand, will you? This table might be low, but it’s too heavy for me to lift on my own.”

He gestured for one of the musicians to come closer. Together, they easily lifted the long, massive table.

“Where do you want it?” Rha asked me, looking more intrigued than upset by my manipulation of his personal environment.

“Over there?” I pointed at the spot by the opposite wall. “Just out of the way for now. Thank you.”

While they moved the table, I brought my sitting cushions to the front of the royal dais. Then I put the stand that was supposed to serve as my personal table between my seat and Rha’s.

There would still be a significant distance between us. His dais wasn’t high, but it was wide, not allowing me to move the table much closer to his cushions.

As the musician took his place on the stage again, Rha sauntered toward me.

“Would it be terribly disrespectful to ask you to sit on the floor with me?” I asked carefully, keeping in mind that disrespect to his royal persona carried a punishment.

“Why do you want me on the floor?”

“You see, I can't move the table any closer because of this platform. But if you sat on the same level as me?—”