A telepathic prince from the shadowed realm seeks a bride from the world of light. But only when he looks beyond appearances can he find the mate God intended for him.  This is a soft-shelled gothic adaptation of the Princess and the Pea.
 

     There once was a land called Roses and Thorns, set deep within the belly of the earth.  Impenetrable as a giant’s fisted hand, the thistles and brambles grew gnarled and tall in this place so that not even a sliver of light could pierce their arched walls.  Here, the roses weren’t the roses of the upper realm, as they were born in darkness, and their petals were of blackest velvet.  These blossomed but once a year, upon the birthday of the reigning prince.  He was known only as the Shadow Lord, a man of incomparable charm gifted with the ability to transfer his thoughts to others.

     One month before his twenty-third year, the Shadow Lord fell prey to loneliness and longed to find a woman suitable to sit alongside him and rule his kingdom.  Rarely a word was spoken between his Lady Mother and himself, as they communicated only in their minds.  But she felt his misery, and it pricked her heart.  So one day, with a prayer and a few wise words, she sent her son on a quest into the upper realm to find his match.  Donning his richest brocade cloak and armed with three gifts for his bride—a sterling silver brush, a handful of jeweled hairpins, and a delicate lace scarf—he rode away on his steed of black steel.