Page 38 of The Crown of the Dark Prince
Well, if Hyrax wasn’t here, what was a girl to do but explore?
I needed a distraction, after all. Something to pull me away from the weight of politics, councils, and unwanted marriages. What better distraction was there than seeing what this realm offered?
A mischievous grin tugged at my lips as my eyes scanned the room, settling on a door behind the throne. With a glance over my shoulder, I moved toward it, careful not to touch the bones that made up the throne. I didn’t want to think about whether they were real.
The door opened into a winding hallway. Smooth gray walls replaced the rough stone tunnels I was used to, and torches lit the way with a soft, flickering glow. At a crossroads—door to the left, hallway to the right—I hesitated, chewing on my lip.
Was I in a castle?
Did this realm stretch beyond the caverns and throne room?
It had to. There had to be somewhere where the souls of the dead now lived.
“I’ll meet with you in a quarter hour,” a deep male voice called, shattering my thoughts.
Hyrax.
Panic surged through me as I recognized his voice, its resonance pulling at the power within me. His footsteps echoed, growing louder with each passing second.
What if he didn’t take kindly to finding me wandering the Underworld on my own? He might be my ancestor, but he was still a god. And Hyrax wasn’t a god anyone wanted to anger.
Turning to retreat, I sucked in a sharp breath as I realized his footsteps were coming from the direction of the throne room.
“What is it, my Lord?” another voice—Caldrius,perhaps.
“I sense Theadora,” Hyrax sighed, his footsteps slowing.
Shit.
He couldsenseme? What did that even mean?
Without thinking, I pushed open the door to my left and stumbled into the room beyond, closing it quietly behind me.
The scent of smoke and bergamot filled the air as I took in my surroundings. The bedroom was dimly lit and disheveled, but its chaos felt oddly deliberate, as though the owner knew exactly where everything was. Dark tapestries depicting ancient battles hung on the walls, their fabric soft under my fingertips as I traced across them.
A four-poster bed with rumpled black sheets dominated one wall. Next to it, a small wooden desk sat cluttered with slate pencils and crumpled parchments. Drawn to it, I walked gingerly to the desk and lifted one of the crumpled papers, unfolding it carefully to reveal the sketch of a rose not entirely unlike the one I had attempted to draw earlier today. A far more skilled artist than I drew this sketch, but they must have been disappointed, given how carelessly they discarded it. I couldn’t imagine why. It was stunning, perfectly accurate in its proportions, and expertly shaded.
“Find something you like?”
I jumped, smothering a yelp as I turned to see Caldrius leaning against the door, arms crossed and eyes focused on me as his lips curled in a teasing smirk. He wore a simple black shirt, noticeably covered in blood, unbuttoned low enough to reveal a tuft of dark hair.
Flustered, I stepped back instinctively, but my heel caught on the edge of a rug. Caldrius moved faster than I expected, a hand catching my elbow before I could stumble. Warm. Steady. Unshakable.
“Easy,” he murmured, amusement flickering in his eyes. He didn’t let go right away, and for a fraction of a second, the warmth of his grip was the only thing I could focus on.
I yanked myself free, heatflooding my cheeks. “Do you make it a habit to lurk in dark shadows and sneak up on unsuspecting women?”
He raised an eyebrow, smirking at me playfully. “I don’t think one can lurk in their own bedchamber, love.”
My heart lurched, and the parchment fell from my fingers, floating haphazardly back to the desk as I stepped back and smoothed my fingers against the skirts of my dress.
“My apologies, I hadn’t realized.”
“You know, if you wanted a private tour of my room, all you had to do was ask.” His voice was thick with double meaning.
The warmth in my cheeks grew, spreading down the back of my neck as I scoffed at him. “Of course I didn’t come here for that!”
“No?” He crossed the room, seating himself on the edge of the bed as he undid his boots. “So you make it a habit to break into rooms uninvited?”
