Page 46 of Prince of the Sun

“You mean to say that he cut the barrier, and the shadows, the monsters…”

“All released into Elaërion. Everywhere.” Pause. “Including Árrion.”

I shudder. “What-what happened?”

Daerios drags one finger along the seam between the futon and my shoulder blades. It makes me shiver even more deeply. “The darkness was a flood. It rushed into Elaërion through the rift in the barrier with all the force of a thousand-foot dam being broken open. We saw it spill in from the west, and watched the inky black leech through the sky, rushing toward Árrion like a great sandstorm. We were completely unprepared.” His finger comes to rest at the tip of my shoulder. “The monsters followed soon thereafter.”

“They chased you out of Árrion,” I guess.

“They did. But not before killing almost a fourth of the palace’s population.” He pauses. “Including the fifth prince. My youngest brother, Uian.”

Uian. I recognize the word. It’s Lukkarin. “Twilight.”

“That’s right.”

“I—I didn’t know you had another brother.”

“No one does.” He glances over at me. “Outside of the elves, I mean.”

“Could you not fight?” In my mind, the elves are endlessly powerful. Almost invincible. It’s hard to imagine a monster they couldn’t defeat.

“To the best of our ability, we did. But we were at a disadvantage.” He looks down, the pain clear on his face. “Our magic is tied to the elements. When the darkness flooded our world, it severed that tie. And not just for the Sun Elves, who draw our power from light. Foreveryone. Water Elves, Fire Elves, Wind Elves… The water was still there, and the earth, and the wind, and everything else, but we could no longer access it. It was just gone.” He swallowed. “They took our home, they took my brother, and they took our magic, too.”

The devastation in his eyes makes me sick to my stomach. Before I can think better of it, I lay a hand on his arm.

“I’m sorry,” I whisper.

He glances quickly down at where my body is touching his. Surprise flits across his face, followed by something else. Something I cannot fully read, but that is intense enough to make me withdraw my hand and clear my throat.

“But your magic is back now,” I say, speaking to the carpet instead of the prince. “Right? I’ve seen videos of you doing it.”

“I’m sure you have. Much to the chagrin of my father.” He sighs, and his finger brushes along the back of my shoulder blades again. “We can perform magic on Earth, yes. But it isn’t the same. Our scholars believe that it has to do with the chemical differences between realms. Here, you have all of the same elements that we do—sun, water, air, fire, all of it—but it is not quite the same as on Elaërion. And our magic is tied to our realm.”

He holds out his hand and—like it’s nothing, like it’s as easy as breathing—conjures a ball of light.

It blooms over his hand, dozens of glistening threads of pure sunlight, winding around each other, forming a perfect sphere.

I cannot help my intake of breath.

Daerios smiles sadly. “It is but a fraction of what I could once do.”

I am nearly struck speechless. I find that idea so terrifying that all I can do is keep a completely straight face as I say, “Well, there’s no need to brag.”

This surprises a laugh out of the prince. He drops his hand, the sphere of light dissolving, and turns to look at me full-on. The sadness on his face is gone, replaced with pure amusement.

I hate how relieved I feel to have been the one to make that sadness go away.

“You must…” I clear my throat. “You must really trust me. To tell me this.”

Daerios doesn’t initially respond, but he doesn’t look away, either. His eyes rove my face, taking in my eyes, my rounded ears, and settling, finally, on my lips. His stare lingers there as he says, softly, “I do, Quinn.”

Well, you shouldn’t.

The more Daerios tells me, the closer I come to the answers I have sought for so long. But… the less I want them. Or, at least, the less I want them for my original purpose.

Because Idowant to know. I want to know everything about the elves. About Daerios. His adventures, his missteps. I want every story, every loss, every past love. Every moment that led to this one. And I no longer want to know because I want to use it against him. I simply want toknowhim. I’ve never felt that way about another person before.

It’s terrifying.