Rhys pursed his lips. “I thought that was going to be our little secret, Nikki. Or maybe you want me to spread your little secret around as well?”
I glared at him. “Michael lives in my father’s castle. He’s not a student here.” I looked at Michael. “Rhys came here to investigate me. Thinks I’m some sort of threat to his fellow iridescent-winged friends. He’s the one who told me there’s a prophecy.”
Michael took this information in, his expression steadily darkening. “Did he threaten you, Princess?” he asked quietly.
The implied threat in biology was still at the forefront of my mind. “A little. But I—”
Before I could say another word, Michael grabbed Rhys by the front of his shirt and slammed him against a nearby locker.
“Leave the princess alone,” Michael growled, sounding as dangerous and protective as I’d ever heard him. “Or you’ll have to deal with me.”
My eyes widened. “Michael …”
“Let go of me,” Rhys snapped.
It took several seconds, but Michael finally released him. He held his arm out to block me from Rhys, who was leisurely brushing off the front of his shirt.
“I’ll forgive that behavior only once,” Rhys said calmly, although his brown eyes swirled, a sign I now took to mean he was more worked up inside than he cared to show on the surface. His gaze dropped to Michael’s amulet. “I wasn’t aware Shadows were allowed to leave the dark worlds.”
“I guess you were wrong,” Michael replied tightly.
“I guess I was. Still. It doesn’t seem appropriate for a Shadow to enter the human world.”
“It doesn’t seem appropriate for a faery king to go to a human high school, either,” Michael said, standing protectively between me and Rhys. “Don’t you have a kingdom to run, Your Majesty?”
“The safety of my people comes first, no matter how I need to ensure it.”
“The princess isn’t a threat to your people.”
“We’ll see.” Rhys looked at me. “I think you need to keep a tighter rein on your servant, Nikki.”
“Michael’s not really—,” I began.
Rhys cut me off. “So, Shadow, are you here because of the prophecy?”
Michael continued to glare with unfriendliness at the faery king. “You shouldn’t be filling the princess’s head with lies that will only worry her.”
“It’s not a lie,” Rhys said firmly. “Besides, you’re in no position to tell me what I should or shouldn’t do.”
Michael ignored him. “Princess, we need to leave. Your father’s waiting.”
There was no question whether or not I’d go. I’d ditch my afternoon classes; not a problem. My father wouldn’t summon me if it wasn’t something important. And besides, I really wanted to talk to him about Michael’s continuing servant status. I needed answers and I needed them now.
I looked at Rhys. “I’ll make sure to tell my father that you’ve decided to harass me.”
Rhys’s eyes stayed on Michael. “By the looks of the company you keep, Nikki, I’d say I’m the least of your problems.”
I frowned at that. “Thanks so much for your opinion.”
I expected him to walk away, but he stood there, his arms crossed, watching Michael carefully before his attention returned to me.
“Just be careful with this one,” he said distastefully.
“With who? Michael?”
“Yes.”
I snorted. “You’re really telling me to be careful? What do you care one way or the other?”
His eyes swirled. “Fine. Forget I said anything, then.”
Without another word, he turned and walked back into the cafeteria.
Um, what was that? The dude who was thinking about killing me if he decided I was evil suddenly wanted me to be careful?
Sure. That made sense.
4
“I don’t know what his problem is,” I said as Michael and I left the school. “Why would he tell me to be careful if he hates my guts?”
“Because he doesn’t hate your guts. I think he likes you.” Michael was walking so fast I had to jog to keep up with him. “Isn’t it obvious?”
I gaped at him. “You’re not serious.”
“I am.” He stopped walking and turned to me to show he actually looked a little amused now.
“You think this is funny?” I asked.
“When I got here and you said he’d threatened you, I was worried you’d been in danger and I’d had no clue.”
“Kind of difficult for you to know what’s going on from the Shadowlands.”
“I know.” His amusement faded. “It’s disturbing to me.”
“He doesn’t like me. I saw it in his beady little faery eyes. He can’t stand me, actually. And he’s a little bit afraid of me. It’s a whole mix of unpleasantness.”
“Why would he be afraid of you?”
“He’s scared of my Darkling side. He thinks I’m all nasty and evil underneath my shiny, happy exterior.”
“Then for a king he’s a bit of a fool, isn’t he?”
“I totally agree. Do all faery royals have to take the throne so young? Maybe the power’s gone to his head.”
“The king and queen of the faery realm died recently. Rhys was their only son and heir to the throne.”
“Oh.” It hadn’t even occurred to me that he’d become king so young because his parents were dead. Then again, that was what would happen to me if my father died. It wouldn’t matter how old I was—I’d be queen of the Shadowlands.
I felt a sudden surge of sympathy for Rhys having to take on so much responsibility at his age. I didn’t want to feel it, but there it was. Had he been close with his parents? Did he miss them? Was this the reason for that grief I’d seen in his eyes earlier?
“How did they die?” I asked.
“I don’t know.” Michael shoved his hands into the pockets of his jeans, looking suddenly uncomfortable talking about death with me in the middle of a cold but bright Erin Heights street. “It doesn’t excuse him from bothering you in any way, shape, or form. He needs to go back to his kingdom and keep his nose out of issues that have nothing to do with him.”
“Hopefully he’ll take the hint.”
Michael looked at me intensely for a moment. “Whether he likes you or not, I swear, if he lays one finger on you, I don’t know if I’ll be able to stop myself from hurting him. I don’t care if he’s a king.”
I gave him a slow grin. “And I appreciate that.”
He pulled me to him and kissed me quickly, then backed away a few steps, looking a bit guilty about what he’d done. “Can’t do that when we’re around your father.”
“What would he do if he found out?” I challenged. “And do we really care?”
“Princess, please. Let’s keep it a secret.”
I let out a sigh of frustration. “How can you be so accepting of everything? Dumb rules and lame behavior.”
“They might seem dumb to you, but they’re still rules that govern the behavior of everyone inhabiting the dark worlds. It’s how it’s always been.”
“Then it needs to change.”
That earned me an actual laugh from him. “Just because you don’t like a few things, everything has to change?”
That sounded about right to me. “Sure. Why not?”
He shook his head. “Let’s not argue. Let’s just go see your father. I don’t want to keep him waiting too much longer. I’m trying to detect the gateway. I know we’re close.”
“Fine, we’ll go see him,” I said. “But this discussion definitely isn’t over. Understood?”
His lips curled into a half smile. “Understood.”
“While you’re doing your gateway detecting, I have to call my mom quickly.” I fished into my backpack and pulled out my cell phone, pressing the speed dial to call home.
“Hey, Mom,” I said when she picked up on the third ring. “I just wanted you to know that after school I’m going out with Melinda for a b
it.”
It was amazing how easily the lie spilled forth. I felt guilt swirl inside me, but I couldn’t tell her where I was really going, could I? And if I wasn’t home right after school, I knew she’d worry. I’d rather come up with a nice little white lie that didn’t hurt anybody.
“Oh, really?” Mom said, and I could hear disappointment in her voice. “I was hoping you’d be home right after school.”
“Why?”
“I finished my book today and wanted to celebrate with dinner out and a chick flick.”
My mom was a paranormal romance novelist. When she got into a new project, she lived and breathed the vampires or werewolves or whatever her characters were for months. When it was all done, she suddenly had a lot of time on her hands and liked to cram in a whole bunch of mother-daughter events and excursions before she started on her next book.
“I’ll be home later, I promise.”
“What time?”
“Uh … later?” I felt bad about being so vague, but it couldn’t be helped.
“Okay, well, instead of dinner out, maybe I’ll order Chinese food delivery. Will you be here by six?”
“Sure. I promise.” I glanced at Michael. “No later than six. And Chinese sounds great.”
“All right, then. Say hi to Melinda for me.”
“I will. Bye, Mom.” I hung up and let out a long, shaky exhale.
My father was under the impression Mom was newly married and happy without him all these years. The truth was, she’d been married four times in her ongoing search for Mr. Right and had just got rid of the most recent Mr. Wrong a couple days ago.
What would she say if she found out my father hadn’t really abandoned us on purpose? Would she consider giving him another chance?
The idea filled me with a strange sense of hope.
I pulled myself out of thoughts of playing matchmaker with my mom and dad and looked at Michael.
“Have you found the gateway?” I asked.
“Not yet.” His face looked strained from how much he’d been concentrating.
“Is there a problem?”
He scanned the street. “No. I just need another minute.”
“Really?” I was surprised. He hadn’t had any problem finding the shifting gateway that would lead us directly into the Shadowlands the other times he’d taken me there.
“After what happened with Elizabeth, I … I’m still recovering my strength,” he admitted.
My aunt Elizabeth had taken Michael’s amulet away from him, and he’d almost faded away to nothing before we got it back just in time. He’d regained his form quickly, but I guess it wasn’t something he could snap back from like a moment of wooziness.
“You’re okay, though?” I asked with concern.
He nodded. “I’m fine. Although, it might take me a few more days to completely regain my strength.”
“Can I help find the gateway? I do have a dragon’s tear, after all.” I extended my arm to show him my bracelet. “My father said it could help me get to the Shadowlands, but he didn’t tell me exactly how to do it. It’s like he automatically assumes I just know all this demon-related stuff. And, well, I don’t.”
Michael took my hand and turned it over so he could look closer at the crystal. “Do you wear this all the time?”
I nodded. “I haven’t taken it off once. Mom asked about it, so I told her I got it at the mall for five bucks.”
“It’s very valuable. Priceless, as a matter of fact.”
“You mean it’s not the latest trendy dark-world accessory?”
“Definitely not. I’ve never actually seen one before, only heard of them.” He ran his thumb over the thin gold chain and his touch made my skin tingle. “But, yes, I think we can use it to help us find the gateway, if you’re willing to give it a try.”
“Cool. Just tell me what to do. You can be my tutor.”
He laughed a little at that. “Never been anyone’s tutor before. But it’s really just a matter of concentrating on what you want—focusing your thoughts toward your goal. In this case, it’s finding the gateway, which is pretty simple. I’ve heard a dragon tear’s magic can do much more than that. But we’ll start with baby steps.”
“Baby steps are good.”
“Be careful. Magic sometimes comes with a price.”
“That sounds ominous. But I used it before and nothing bad happened. Of course, it wasn’t for this sort of thing.”
He shook his head. “I’m sure it’ll be fine, then. You’re not tapping too deeply into its magic. Besides, your father would never give you a gift that could potentially hurt you.”
“Let’s hope not.”
“Just concentrate. See the gateway in your mind. Focus on it.”
“And then what?”
“And then”—he shrugged—“you’ll either know where it is or you won’t.”
“Not an exact science, is it?”
“Afraid not.”
“Okay, here it goes.” I closed my eyes.
Concentrate on the gateway. I knew what it would look like. A translucent rectangle the size of a door, with glowing edges around a swirling kaleidoscope of color. Barely there, hanging in midair or against a wall. I focused all my thoughts on that image. Show me where it is.
After a few seconds I felt a sensation like fingers squeezing a sponge in my head. Hadn’t felt that the last time I’d tried to focus on the magic in my crystal. But maybe I hadn’t been concentrating quite this much. I felt the crystal heat up against my wrist. It was normally cold and had never warmed to my body temperature before.
Then, suddenly, I sensed where the gateway was. As if a GPS device had clicked on in the center of my brain, directing me to the right place, I knew where it was. Michael had been right—we were close.
I opened my eyes and felt a twinge of pain. I grimaced and brought my hand to my head. “Ouch.”
“What?”
“Headache.”
His hand was on my forehead. “Is it bad?”
“No, not really.”
He brushed his lips against my temple.
“Probably shouldn’t let my father see that, either, huh?” I grinned at him.
“Definitely not.”
The headache had faded to nothing as quickly as it had arrived. “Come on. I know where it is.”
I led him around a corner up ahead. We were only three blocks from the school and at the edge of the downtown business area. The gateway to the Shadowlands was near the back of a Starbucks and down an alley.
I felt suddenly nervous at seeing my father again, but I tried to be brave. “Okay, let’s go.”
“Princesses first.”
“Such a gentleman.” I turned from him toward the swirling gateway.
He grabbed my hand before I went through. “Princess, I just wanted to say thank you.”
“For what?”
“For wanting to ignore the rules when it comes to me. You don’t know how much that means.”
I smiled at him. “I guess I’m a rebel.”
“You’re so completely different from how I expected you to be. I still can’t get over it. You’re not a spoiled brat who thinks she can get whatever she wants whenever she wants it.”
“Maybe if I’d been born a princess, I’d be more like that.”
“Somehow, I doubt it.”
“I only want a few very specific things,” I said pointedly. “But I do get cranky if I can’t have them.”
I really didn’t care about any rules, especially those that told me who I was and wasn’t allowed to like. And I’d make that very clear to my father.
Michael was my boyfriend. And if my father didn’t like it … well, that was just too bad, wasn’t it?
I stepped through the gateway feeling a new surge of purpose. I could change things. I knew I could. Just because it had been one way for thousands of years didn’t mean it always had to be that way, did it? Shadows shouldn’t be forced to be servants. And they should be able to date
whoever they wanted, whenever they wanted, without anyone telling them they couldn’t.
How difficult could it possibly be to change some stupid and outdated rules?
5
The moment after I stepped through the gateway there was a familiar feeling of vertigo, where I couldn’t see or hear anything. But before there was a chance to get scared or think about anything at all, I’d already arrived on the other side.
The gateway from the human world opened up at a beautiful pastoral clearing between the Shadowlands and the faery realm. Green grass replaced snow-covered pavement. The scent of spring flowers hung in the air. It was warm enough for me to remove my winter jacket immediately.
A second later, Michael appeared next to me—just like magic. He pushed his dark hair back from his face. “So are you ready to see your father again?”
I looked toward the line of tall thick trees—the forest that bordered Rhys’s land. So beautiful and lush and strangely welcoming. Then I turned to look at the field of flowers where we stood. Slowly it changed from soft green grass to sharp gray rock, leading to a black, windowless fortress with massive spires reaching up into the stormy, lightning-etched skies above.
The Shadowlands castle—the nasty-looking, scary place my father called home and that filled me with a healthy dose of dread whenever I saw it.
Despite how uneasy the castle made me instinctively feel, I finally nodded. “Let’s go.”
The walk took ten minutes, after which we reached the twenty-foot-tall front door of the castle. We stood on the threshold, and the door slowly began to creak open enough to let us inside. It did that automatically for me—apparently the castle itself could sense that I was the princess and therefore allowed inside.
Michael led me through the cavernous foyer toward a spiral staircase at the center that seemed to extend right up to a ceiling so high I could barely even see it. I’d been here before, of course, but this time I took a moment to look around at the darkness that surrounded me. This wasn’t a happy place. It was cold and unwelcoming, and it sent a shiver of fear down my spine.
The very stone this castle was made from helped keep unwanted elements from the dark worlds—including any demons who would like to find a way into the human and faery worlds for malevolent reasons. Supposedly it worked well—and had for a long time. I guess it didn’t have to look like Disneyworld, did it?