He nodded, as if satisfied by that answer. “I’m not here only because of the faery king, Princess. I’m here because your father has sent for you. He wants to see you immediately.”
“So you definitely can’t come here without his permission. You can’t just slip through any gateway?” That was what Evil-Dream-Michael had basically said.
“King Desmond must create the gateway and give me permission to use it. There’s no other way to get here.”
I wanted to tell him about my nightmare, but I held back. It was just a dream, anyway. Maybe having him gone for so long had made me start to doubt things. Doubt him. And seeing Chris’s sketch had burned that particular image of an ominous winged figure into my mind. My unconscious mind had simply blended the two.
“Nice of him to make an exception after all this time,” I said dryly.
“After you meet with him, he’s asked me to do something else.”
“Oh? What’s that?”
“Your Darkling powers. I know they’re new for you and still hard to control. He’s asked me to help you practice with them.”
I raised my eyebrows. “You’re going to coach me on how to be a Darkling?” He nodded and gave me a smile that made my heart twist. “I’ve been studying.”
“Is that what you do with all your spare time in that big, empty castle?”
“Reading. Lots of reading. I have a training program all organized for you.” I considered this. “Sounds like extra homework.”
“Aren’t you interested in doing this?”
Learning how to use my Darkling abilities properly and also getting to spend time with Michael with full permission from my father? I couldn’t think of anything better, actually.
“I guess I can spare an hour or so.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “I do have one question I’ve always wondered about.”
“What’s that?”
“The wings.” I tried to ignore the images of Chris’s sketch and “evil” Michael’s wings that popped into my head. “Demon wings. Darkling wings.”
“What about them?”
“Are they just for show or do they actually work?” I twisted a finger through my hair. “I mean, can I fly?”
He kept his expression neutral, but his now-mischievous smile grew. “I guess you’re just going to have to wait to find out.”
I glared at him, but my mood had brightened substantially in the last five minutes. Being with Michael felt good—too good. I wanted to forgive him for everything and put the last two weeks out of my mind forever. Then I had a thought. “Do...Shadows...have they ever had wings, too?” Michael was silent for a moment, frowning. “No. Never.”
“Good.”
He looked at me curiously. “So you want to be the only one here with the impressive wingspan, is that it?”
“I’ll have the wingspan, you can have the shiny green bling around your neck.”
“Sounds fair.”
Finding out that Shadows didn’t have wings helped to ease my mind. I hadn’t realized exactly how disturbed I’d been at the thought of it until it had been proven false. “Okay fine. Then let’s go. As long as I’m back by dinner, my mother won’t worry. Besides, I’m looking forward to having a little talk with my darling father, anyway.” He raised an eyebrow. “For some reason, I suddenly feel sorry for King Desmond.” His green eyes were so beautiful, it made it very hard for me to look away. “That makes one of us.”
“Be kind to him, Princess. He only does what he must because he cares about you. Every decision he’s made recently has been with that in mind. Even the things that seem harsh he’s done to help you.”
I wasn’t so sure about that. I decided I was more angry at my father than at Michael—after all, he was the one who prevented Michael from coming to see me. “Fine. I’ll go easy on him.
Although I still think it would have been nice for us to be together on New Year’s Eve. I ended up helping Melinda babysit. It wasn’t fun.”
He looked skeptical. “You think it would have been more fun with me?”
“At midnight it would have been.” A kiss from the boy I liked more than any other would have been a really nice way to welcome in the New Year. I studied his lips for a moment, resisting the urge to pull him to me and make up for lost time. I cleared my throat and ran a hand through my hair. “Okay...um...let’s find a gateway.”
I started walking, but he grabbed my arm to pull me to a stop. His touch sank into me and my breath caught. I looked up at him.
“I wanted to be there,” he said very seriously. “I want you to know that.” I nodded, feeling the burn of tears that had come from absolutely nowhere. I fought to hold them back. “I know. It’s just...we’ve been through so much together in such a short time. Not seeing you—”
“Feels like we’ve taken a big step back.”
I blinked, nodding. “Yeah. It feels like I need to get to know you again from scratch. I mean, not that I really knew you all that well to begin with.”
“You know me.” He swallowed hard, his hand still circling my wrist. I didn’t pull away. “You know me better than anyone else.”
“Do I?”
“I think so.”
I hissed out a breath and tried to hold it together. ‘This is all my father’s fault. He refuses to accept that I...”
“That you...?” he prompted after I trailed off.
I met his gaze. “That I want you as my boyfriend.”
His expression grew serious. “I’m a Shadow.”
“And I don’t care. You know I don’t. You know I consider you my equal, not a servant.”
“I know.” He moved his hand to my chin to tilt my face up. He leaned closer and my breath caught. I thought he was going to kiss me.
His eyes darkened. “Princess...” Then he blinked and stepped back from me. “We need to find a gateway now.”
Chapter 4
Disappointment thudded through me. He so was going to kiss me just then, but something stopped him.
Michael led me out of the park and down a laneway by the Erin Heights Town Center where I spotted a soft glow at the far side of the mall’s parking lot.
A gateway to the Shadowlands opened up when it was needed—such as when someone like Michael was here for a quick visit and needed a way back—but shifted position frequently. With focus, he could sense where it was. Humans couldn’t see the gateways at all, which was good.
Having humans randomly go through glowing magical doorways to find themselves in another world wouldn’t be a good thing.
This one was very visible to me and it flickered like a faulty light bulb. That usually meant that it wouldn’t last very long. Michael must have sensed that too because he grabbed my hand and pulled me quickly toward it. It could take a while before we found where it would appear next.
“Ready, Princess?” he asked.
I nodded. “As ready as I’ll ever be.”
He reached down to take my hand firmly in his and a nice shiver went through me from his touch. Then, the very next moment, we jumped.
Before the jump, we stood on the pavement next to a rusty Toyota. After the jump, we fell through a vortex that made my head spin. I squeezed my eyes shut and held my breath. A couple seconds later, we touched down on soft grass.
The gateway from Erin Heights always led to the same place: a grassy field directly between the Faery Realm and the Shadowlands. To my right a green forest represented the border of Rhys’s kingdom. To my left the green grass and wildflowers gradually morphed into a gray, rocky, barren landscape, featuring a scary-looking black castle that had tall spires reaching up into swirling storm clouds overhead.
Two very different worlds. Two very different races. Such close neighbors could borrow a cup of sugar from each other whenever necessary—if they were on friendlier terms. I knew demons weren’t welcome past the border of the Faery Realm. I’d experienced it personally when I’d first met Rhys—and his sword pointed in my direction as he kicked me out.
I looked at the sprinkling of colorful flowers across the blanket of green grass. “I always forget how beautiful it is here. And these flowers...” I had a thought. “Are any of these faery roses or are those only found in the forest?”
Michael looked at me curiously. “You’ve seen a faery rose?”
“I have one, actually. A gift.”
His expression darkened immediately. “Really. Gee, I wonder who gave that to you?” He crossed his arms and swept his gaze across the field. “No faery roses out here. Only deep in the Faery Realm. I’ve heard it’s against the law for anyone to remove one unless it’s by royal decree.”
“Interesting.” I guess that’s what Rhys meant when he said he hadn’t bought it or stolen it. He was king, so he was the only one allowed to give one away as a gift.
“Very,” he said, but there was an unpleasant edge to his voice that made me think he didn’t really mean it.
Talk of Rhys and roses, especially when they pertained to me, put Michael in a bad mood.
Very interesting.
He moved close enough that I could feel the warmth of his body. “Come on, let’s get to the castle. Your father’s waiting.”
We began the ten minute walk to the front doors of what I had previously nicknamed Castle Dread. Once we reached the rocky part I had to watch my footing so I wouldn’t twist my ankle.
Michael offered me his arm and I was happy to take it, but then became even more distracted by being so close to him.
“So King Rhys gave you a faery rose, huh?” Michael said after a minute of silence.
“He did.” I watched him carefully for his reaction.
“Why would he give you such an extraordinary gift if you’re not his girlfriend?” The weight of his gaze fell on me. “Unless he believes the prophecy about the two of you?” I froze. “Prophecy?”
“That the Darkling princess is fated to wed the faery king. You knew this already, didn’t you?” He noted that my expression was one of dismay, not surprise, and his lips twisted into an unpleasant smile. “Demon servants love to gossip. I guess King Rhys has been sharing the news with anyone who’ll listen.”
“Does my father know?” I asked. I wished I’d shared this particular information with Michael when I’d had ample opportunity. Now I felt guilty he’d learned it from someone else.
He nodded. “A marriage between you and King Rhys would be beneficial on many levels.
This would help forge new alliances between faeries and demons.” I crossed my arms, my stomach churning. “I guess all I need to do is pick out my wedding dress.”
That earned me a look from him so sharp it almost cut into me. Still, his jealousy toward Rhys was kind of...reassuring. It meant that the feelings between Michael and me didn’t go one-way.
“You don’t honestly think I’m getting ready to marry him, do you?”
“Maybe not now.”
“Not ever. That guy is arrogant and elitist. I can’t stand him.”
“Dragon oracles are rarely wrong in what they prophesize.”
“I don’t care what the prophecy said. I’m not in love with Rhys.” His jaw clenched and he averted his gaze to stare up at the tall black front doors of the castle that, as soon as they sensed my presence, began to slowly open. The castle automatically recognized that I was the king’s daughter, which was kind of cool.
“A royal marriage isn’t always about love,” he said simply.
That, I didn’t have an answer for. In fact, it left me with my mouth hanging open, now that I had something new to worry about.
One more stomach-churning thing to add to the list of topics to discuss with King Desmond.
Inside the castle, directly past the doors, was an expansive foyer with a shiny black floor. I couldn’t even see the ceiling, it stretched so far up that it became darkness high above my head.
A huge, winding spiral staircase led up to the main castle, including the chambers and the meeting halls. Not many people lived here—just my father, some servants, and Michael.
My aunt Elizabeth used to live here, but after she tried to kill both my father and me to gain power for herself and her nasty demon prince boyfriend, Kieran—the one who’d made up the world-destroying prophecy about me—she’d been banished to the Underworld. Then, when Kieran tried to kill me, he’d been banished to Hell.
I wondered what my mother would think of this cold and empty castle. We’d stayed in some pretty lousy places over the years that were bleak and depressing when we’d moved into them.
But she’d pitched in and decorated them as best as she could on a tight budget and made every place feel like home. Maybe that was her magic.
My father waited for us in a familiar room, one with a large fireplace. The glow gave the otherwise cold and dark room a surprisingly warm feel. My father sat at the end of a long black table and he stood as I entered the room.
“Nikki,” he greeted me. “I’m glad to see you.”
Me and my father—we looked a lot alike. His hair was short and a couple shades darker blond than mine. Our faces were a similar shape. Our eyes the exact same shade of hazel. I wondered if my mother still saw him whenever she looked at me; if I was a constant reminder of what she’d lost. A reminder of being abandoned.
I really didn’t want to think about that. I didn’t like to dwell on things I couldn’t change.
“Happy New Year,” I said.
He drew closer to me, a smile on his face. I wanted to be mad at him, just as I’d wanted to be mad at Michael. But it was clear in his expression that two weeks for a man like King Desmond wasn’t that long at all. It was only a brief time between visits, not a sign that he was ignoring me.
“I think I know why you wanted to see me,” I said.
“Oh?” He raised an eyebrow. “Why?”
“The prophecy about Rhys and me. Just for the record, I don’t want to marry him.” His gaze flicked for the briefest of moments to Michael before returning to me with understanding. “No, I don’t suppose you do.”
“Is that a problem?”
“Not particularly.”
“But I thought...” I trailed off, uncertain and surprised by his blasé reaction.
“You thought I would force you into an arranged marriage at your age to help relations between demons and faeries? What kind of a father do you think I am?”
“I really don’t know,” I replied honestly, feeling deeply relieved.
He glanced at Michael again. “If I might have a little privacy with my daughter, I’d appreciate it.”
“Certainly, Your Majesty.” Michael looked at me, holding my gaze for an intense moment before he left the room.
I paced to the fireplace, which was so huge it would take up an entire wall of my living room at home. My arms were tightly crossed over my chest as I studied the flames for a moment before I spun around. “You should have let Michael visit me.” He leaned against the table, his own arms crossed. “I wondered how long this would take.
Less than a minute and a half. It must be a record.”
“What?”
“You challenging me on the decisions I make. Just so you know, Nikki, no one else does that.”
“Who else would? You live here like a confirmed demon bachelor. A few servants aren’t exactly going to second-guess you, would they?”
“No, they wouldn’t. For very good reason. I am king here.” I tried not to roll my eyes. “Michael deserves to be treated better.”
“I treat him better than you might think. I believe we’ve been through this before.” He sighed.
“Ad infinitum.”
“You’re right, we have been through this before, ad whatever-ium.” Anger flashed through me. “But, bottom line, he should be able to go wherever he wants to, whenever he wants to. I mean, I can. Nobody’s stopping me. I know my bracelet can open a gateway whenever I want one.”
Apparently dragons cried one crystal tear at the moment of their deaths and that tear contained all of their m
agic. Since dragons could also move between worlds with ease, the tear allegedly also had that ability.
Kieran had wanted my bracelet for that purpose, which was why he’d tried to kill me. Of course, his goal had been to dominate and rule other worlds, starting with the human one.
I shuddered at the thought.
“Then,” my father said, weighing my words, “it’s too bad that Michael isn’t my strong-willed sixteen-year-old daughter, isn’t it? He could go wherever he wishes to.” The thought of Michael as a sixteen-year-old girl was almost humorous. “Don’t try to make fun of me.”
There was a glimmer of amusement in his otherwise serious hazel eyes. “I’m not. I wouldn’t dream of it, Nikki.”
“And I’m not marrying Rhys,” I said again, in case it needed restating.
“I believe you should marry whomever you wish to. However...”
“Here it comes,” I groaned. “However what?”
“An oracle has the ability to see the truth of the future. Even if that future is difficult to accept.”
“I wonder what a dragon oracle would say about you and my mother?” I said under my breath.
“Excuse me?” His tone lost any of its previous amusement.
A chill went through me at the look on his face. He didn’t like me bringing up the subject of my mother. At all. In fact, “didn’t like” put it mildly.
“Nothing,” I said lightly. “Nothing at all.”
His jaw was so tight that I was sure he couldn’t speak with it stuck in that position. He didn’t try. He moved back to the end of the table and sat down heavily in his chair again.
“So,” I began after an uncomfortable silence passed between us, “Even though you’re trying to keep me and Michael away from each other by any means possible, you’ve still okayed his coaching me on mastering my powers, huh? Sounds a bit strange to me.” Perhaps I could have put that a little better. Too late now.
When he spoke, his words were clipped. “I think you would benefit greatly by gaining some control over yourself.”
His meaning couldn’t be more clear. “Aren’t you afraid that we’re going to be too busy making out for me to learn anything?”
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