Shadow Prince

Contents Stella’s Old Secret Journal First Visit Stella’s New Secret Journal Sweet Night Sad Night Bad Night Strange Night Stella’s Official Journal Stella’s Secret Journal Stella’s Official Journal Last Visit To Slaughter Future’s Hands Stella’s Official Journal After Stella Secret Note #1 Final Secret Note The Shadow Prince More Books By Harper A. Brooks About the Author Shadow Prince © Copyright 2023 Harper A. Brooks Visit my books at https://harperabrooks.com All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher/author. This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, organizations, events or locales is entirely coincidental. Warning: the unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. H.A.B. Publications LLC Cover Design: Artscandare Interior & Formatting: Jennifer Laslie Proof Reading: Krista Cook Shadow Prince I am the Prince of Shadows, the future leader of the Shadow Realm. With my entire life tailored to fit my royal role, I thought I had everything figured out. I was to follow in my father's footsteps and be the king my fellow monsters respected and looked up to. Until she came into my life. Stella. Now, my life has been turned upside down all because of a human girl. She's special—I can sense the magic beating inside her, calling to me, but I quickly learn that I'm not the only one drawn to that call. As much as I tell myself I shouldn't care about her, I can't help myself. She's become my obsession, the spark of light against my infinite darkness, and I'll do anything to keep her safe. Anything. Even break her heart. Stella’s Old Secret Journal Stella I always remember it differently, the crash that killed my parents. Sometimes I’m there, sometimes I’m not. Sometimes we’re trying to escape the crash, sometimes not. The scenarios are always different in my head when I think of them. Only one thing stays the same. Only one thing I remember when I go to sleep. The monsters. There were monsters there. And they saved me. Three of them. First Visit Airic Everything sucks. I kick at the reddish black roses that line the path leading from Deimos Beach—a wild, windswept stretch of rocky sand and angry gray-blue seas that spit high in the air, only to crash down on the wet shore—to the Dark Castle. I stare back at it, and the spires and turrets poking up in the air in the late afternoon sky seem suddenly tinged with rain. Kind of like my mood. Though the rain of my mood comes with thunder and lightning. It’s nice to see. It’s home, even if it hasn’t felt like home that much since Mother died. Father’s become grim, hardened like a rock. And he’s shuttered our gates and the drawbridge more often than he flings them open for the subjects outside to come and pay thanks to his peaceful, if harsh, rule. My only friend Reis, who’s small for his size, is off training. He says he wants to be a knight. And my loner cousin, Wels, has gone home. Right now, I get Wels. His family, the people of his village are nervous because he shows great power. I— Stop. Someone’s there. Following me. A guard? A shadow? Or some villager who’ll cower when they see it’s their prince. I turn, and there, at the roses, is a touch of blue. I put on my imperious frown. “Who are you?” She shuffles out. A girl with pigtails and the strangest clothes I’ve seen. She has a coat that shines and puffs. Blue, stiff-looking pants that have the look of some of the roughest-hewn peasant cloth, but with the tailoring of a master craftsman. And shoes of many colors with magic lights in them. They flare to life as she walks. “Hi. I’m Stella.” “On your knees, peasant.” I point at the ground. I’ve never told a subject to do that, but there’s something about how she looks at me, like I’m the weird one and not her, that annoys me. I might be young, but she’s no older than I am. And a prince is a prince. Respect is what I deserve. But she’s not cowering. She’s not embarrassed, her big eyes full of disbelief. “Nuh-uh. My jeans are new and my aunt will kill me if I come back dirty. And my dad got me these sneakers.” Her what and what? I grow bigger, using some of my shifter magic. “Do you know who I am?” I ask her. “Um? No? You never said?” she replies without fear. “I am Prince Airic of the Shadow World.” “Oh.” She looks about as if she’s unimpressed with my title. “Cool beans. Is this the Shadow World, Airie” How dare she. I draw myself up tall. “Prince Airic,” I correct. She rolls her eyes. “Prince Airie.” “Airic.” “Jeez, fine. Airic.” I move a little closer. “So…you’re not scared of me?” “No. You’re a little high-strung, but you seem nice. Wanna be friends?” “I’m the prince of the Dark Castle. I don’t befriend peasants.” She stalks up to me, meeting my gaze head-on. “I’m not a peasant.” Then she kicks me in the shin. Not hard enough to hurt, but enough to startle me. And I am—startled and completely dumbstruck that she had the nerve to strike me, let alone touch me at all. “Stupid boys,” she says before she flounces off, leaving me staring after her. * * * Stella My eyes prick and burn. I dash a hand over my