Page 94 of Somber Prince

I took a few tentative steps back toward the windows. But that wasn’t quick enough for him. Storming across the patio, he hooked his arm around my middle and dragged me through a window and into the sitting room.

“You need to go,” he gritted through his teeth.

Fear’s icy fingers closed around my heart.

“What the fuck is going on?” I screamed. “Rha!”

Zala, the cat, shot from the floor cushion and dashed out of the room.

Rha let go of me, but only long enough for us to catch our breath, while we glared at each other.

“You need to be away from me, Dawn,” he growled. “Go to the sarai, with the others.”

“Why? What’s wrong with you? Are you sick? Talk to me. What are you feeling?”

He drew in a long breath, taking a step away from me.

“Lust.”

His skirt moved below his belt as if with a puff of breeze. The fabric billowed in the middle, right over his groin.

Understanding dawned on me.

“Is that the procreation thing you told me about? The one that shadow fae go through once a year?”

He rubbed his face, wincing as if in pain. “You must be at your peak.”

“Me? What does it have to do with me?”

“Everything.”

I remembered he’d said that a couple who spent enough time together would eventually end up having sex. The woman would enter her fertile period, triggering a response in the man.

We had spent a fair amount of time together. Was I ovulating? There was no way for me to tell for sure. I didn’t feel any different.

But Rha certainly did.

For weeks, we had shared everything, from food to the bed to feelings. His body had attuned to mine perfectly. And now, it was reacting in a way it was designed to do.

“Come.” He scooped me up again, shoving the door to the dining room open.

My dinner party had mostly dissolved by now. Melanie and Elaine were still there, having a conversation by the table. Sigid, the only Keeper left, was relaxing on the cushions nearby. Kostya was still eating, helping himself to a tray of baklava.

All four turned to us when Rha all but crashed through the door, carrying me in.

“Take her to the sarai,” he ordered to Sigid, depositing me in front of the Keeper.

“Rha, wait…” I immediately pivoted back to him.

He stood his ground, his shoulders raised, his head low. His ears tipped back as if getting ready for an attack.

“You’ll spend the day in the sarai, Dawn,” he rasped. “The following day too.”

“But how are you supposed to go through this alone?” I grabbed his arm.

He hissed, tossing his head back as if my touch singed his skin, then shoved me toward Sigid.

“Take her away. Now.”