Page 45 of The Nymph Prince

Everything good that happened was always followed by something bad.

I’d had a family once. A mother who held me when I was scared and a father who taught me to be brave so that I wouldn’t have to be afraid anymore. I’d had an older sister named Amara who toughened me up by picking on me, but who also dried my tears when a group of boys attacked me for being so much smaller than them.

All were dead, killed for something they’d had no control over. Men had raided our village, slitting the throats of men, women, and children. Mother had stuffed me under one of the loose floorboards in our house, and I’d sat beneath the floor, stifling my cries as I heard them being murdered.

Then I’d found another home with Kellan on theCrimson Night.He’d taken me, a mere boy who’d long since shut himself off from the world, and had given me another life. That, too, was gone. Because of me.

Even if Icouldfind happiness with Lorcan…it wouldn’t last for long. As much as I craved his body, I knew if I succumbed to that desire I’d be forever his. That terrified me. Losing him would be a pain I couldn’t heal from.

I got into bed and closed my eyes, trying to calm my restless mind. Eventually, exhaustion took over, and I fell into a deep slumber.

With sleep came dreams of soaring among the clouds, free and exhilarated, before crashing to the ground. It was the same dream I’d had before, yet slightly altered. Stars littered the night sky, but there was no moon.

Against my will, my body was carried through the streets of Black Hallows, past the crumbling buildings, and inside the temple.

“Blood of Haman, child of the dark,” the hooded figures chanted in unison. As I entered the musky chamber, they spoke louder, “Hear our call and make yourself known!”

The last time I’d had the dream, one of the men had approached me and I’d seen his face. He’d called mechild of the dark. I wondered if the scene would go even farther this time, giving me more answers.

I wasn’t sure I wanted them.

Like before, the man approached. His human face was made monstrous by his red eyes and the dark veins that traveled beneath his sickly pale skin.

“Child of the dark,” he greeted in a gravelly tone. “Welcome.”

That’s where the dream had ended before.

It wasn’t ending this time.

“Who are you?” I asked, noticing my voice sounded strange. It was muffled and airy.

“Your servants,” he answered, bowing his head.

“Servants? Why?”

“All hail the king,” several voices said in unison, creating an eerie echo throughout the stale chamber.

The other hooded figures moved closer, and as each of their faces came into view, my stomach turned. All had red eyes and visible veins beneath their skin. Except one. She had milky-white eyes and a face that was on the verge of decomposition.

I knew her.

A memory tried to form ofhowI knew her, and when it hit me, bile rose in my throat.

She was the seer Kellan had taken me to when he’d been in search of an answer on how to lift his curse. The one who’d given me the prophecy about darkness hunting me.

Were they the darkness she’d warned me of?

“The king has risen at last,” the seer said, stepping forward and lowering her hood. Her dark hair was wild and curly. Skin stretched open when she smiled, showing dark veins and rot.

“I’m no king,” I said, stepping backward and hitting a wall. The only door was on the other side of the room.

It’s just a dream, I repeated to myself.

Then why did it feel so real? I tried waking myself up. I couldn’t. The nightmare continued on, and I had no escape.

“Ah, but youarea king, yes you are,” she answered before giving a cackling laugh that echoed all through the dank chamber. “Your eighteenth year has come to pass, child of the dark, and your subjects await your presence in Black Hallows, your birthplace in more ways than one.”

“You’re mistaken.”