Reign Check (7 page)

“Those records are not for everyone’s eyes,” Kieran said. “It’s top secret, highly sensitive information that my mother, the queen, keeps under lock and key.”

“Okay,” I said. “So the last Darkling had a bit of an itchy trigger finger, or whatever. That was a long time ago, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me. Honestly, I don’t want to cause any trouble or hurt anyone, like, ever.”

“Of course you don’t.” My father nodded. “So, as you can see, Kieran, your visit here was a waste of your time and ours. There’s no indication that my daughter is any danger to you or your precious demon council now or any time in the future, and basing your facts on something that allegedly happened a millennium ago is ludicrous. I realize Queen Sephina has always kept a tight rein on her kingdom and her concern is not completely incomprehensible, but I assure you, worrying about Nikki in any way, shape, or form is wholly unnecessary.”

“I would normally agree with you one hundred percent, Your Majesty.” Kieran crossed his arms as he continued to study me. I swear, during this entire conversation, he hadn’t taken his attention away from me for more than a second. I felt as if I was being inspected like a blonde slab of beef.

“Normally?” I said. “So what’s the problem now?”

“The problem now, Princess Nikki, is not that there are rumors or legends about a past Darkling being troublesome—though this is, after all, what brought about the law forbidding humans and demons from procreating. It was in order to avoid creating a hybrid of the two species. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?” He glanced meaningfully at my father.

“Kieran, stop mincing words and tell us what the issue really is,” my father said impatiently, ignoring the jab.

Before Kieran spoke another word I suddenly got a chill, a dark sense of foreboding. I looked at Michael and saw the same realization in his widening eyes.

::Princess, do you think this has to do with what King Rhys told you earlier?::

I inhaled sharply.

“There is a prophecy,” Kieran said, confirming what Michael and I were thinking. “It was revealed last week, on the very day Princess Nikki turned sixteen. At the time, it wasn’t known what it meant or who specifically it pertained to, but now it’s very clear to the council.”

“And what does this prophecy say?” my father asked sharply.

Kieran’s blue eyes tracked back to me. “That your daughter, the first Darkling born in a thousand years, will single-handedly destroy us all.”

6

Rhys had been right, after all. He wasn’t lying. There was a prophecy about me.

And it was a really sucky one.

“That’s completely crazy,” was the first thing I said after I found my voice again. “I’m going to destroy everyone? That doesn’t even make sense.”

Kieran’s intense gaze didn’t waver. “That is what the prophecy says.”

“I don’t care what it says. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I agree,” my father said.

I stared at him. “You do?”

He nodded, and looked at Kieran. “Who related this prophecy?”

“The official palace oracle. One who has relayed prophecies for a hundred years to my mother and to her mother before her. He has never been wrong before and certainly never about something so specific or catastrophic.”

“Well, your oracle is wrong now.” My father dismissed him without missing a beat. “It’s clear to me this must be a false prophecy based on a thousand years of rumors and lies about Darklings.”

“Your opinion is noted, of course, Your Majesty,” Kieran said thinly. “But I’m afraid your objectivity in this matter is at question.”

My father ignored him and placed his hand gently against the side of my flushed face. “There is no part of you that is destructive, Nikki. I know that. You are so much like your mother, and she is a beautiful and truly good woman. She’d never hurt a fly.”

I nodded in full agreement. “She takes spiders outside in glass jars so she doesn’t have to kill them.”

He smiled and rested his hand protectively on my arm. “I don’t doubt it for a moment.”

I relaxed ever so slightly. He didn’t believe the prophecy, so of course I didn’t have to freak out about it. This was a major relief.

“Prophecies are taken very seriously by the council,” Kieran said. He leaned casually against the edge of the large black table.

“And what does the council propose to do about this?” my father asked evenly.

“That remains to be seen, based on my report,” he said. “It’s likely the next step will be for the princess to be presented to the council in person, and a decision will then be made regarding what to do about her.”

“That’s not going to happen.” My father kept his hand on my arm, as if shielding me from the prince. “You insisted you tell us this news in person. I now see that wasn’t entirely necessary, was it?”

“There are procedures to be followed,” Kieran said. “It’s a rule that information of this level must be given face-to-face.”

My father hissed out a breath, betraying the annoyance he’d been trying to hide until now. “You have delivered this news. I respectfully request that you leave my kingdom.”

“But there’s much more to discuss,” Kieran protested. “This is a highly volatile situation and one that needs to be handled immediately. A prophecy like this can’t simply be ignored. I need to ask the princess more questions about her intentions.”

“No. You’ve had your say. You’ve gauged our reactions. Now it’s time for you to leave. If there is anything else you wish to discuss, you may contact me by gazer.”

His hand began to glow with red light and he waved it toward the door, which turned from a normal entrance to a swirling gateway.

“You may return to the Underworld now, Prince Kieran,” he said.

Kieran’s gaze flicked to me and his head cocked slightly to the side. “Your daughter means a great deal to you, doesn’t she, King Desmond?”

“She does, indeed.”

“I understand why you’d wish to protect her, no matter the cost.” The prince’s eyes moved to Michael, who stood silently at an arm’s reach from me.

I glowered at the prince. How could a statement that sounded so friendly, so matter-of-fact, be so filled with malice?

Kieran gave us a forced smile. “This matter will be resolved. Denying the validity of the prophecy will only complicate things.”

“Please give my regards to Queen Sephina and Princess Kassandra.” My father’s words were clipped. There wasn’t any friendliness in his voice. In fact, I’d describe it as ice-cold.

“I’ll do that.” Kieran dipped his head in my direction. “Princess Nikki, I look forward to the next time we meet.”

Without another word, he walked through the gateway. It disappeared in a quick flash of light a moment after he did.

“I
really
don’t like that guy,” I said.

“Kieran is only a messenger,” my father said, walking past the table and toward the fireplace. “He has no real authority, here or anywhere else. That’s what makes him the way he is—desperate to please his mother and to show his existence actually matters.”

“Does it work?”

“I doubt it,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to experience that. It must have been a shock to you to hear what he had to say.”

“Not as shocking as you might think. I already knew there was a prophecy.”

His eyebrows went up. “How?”

I quickly told him about Rhys—his enrollment in the high school, his presence in my biology class, and finally his reason for being there—to find out more about the threat of Nikki Donovan, sixteen-year-old Darkling-o’-danger.

“Faeries are naturally curious and extremely protective of their own kind,” he replied after he’d processed it all. “And King Rhys, since the death of his parents, has been attempting to prove himself to his advisers and the rest of his kingdom.”

“He threatened the princess,” Michael said.

My father’s eyes clouded with anger. “He did?”

“Well … not in so many words,” I said quickly. “Seriously, I’m sure he’ll go away eventually. Especially when he realizes the prophecy about me is a false one. My main worry with him is that he’ll tell everyone at school my secret.”

I didn’t exactly know why I was defending Rhys, even in the slightest, but I guess I was. Did I feel sorry for him now that I knew he’d been forced to become king after his parents’ deaths? I did. How was I supposed to know whether that was hard for him? It was an assumption. I didn’t care who you were—human, demon, or faery—losing both your parents at any age would be a terrible thing. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if I lost my mom. And, since finding my father after all these years, I didn’t want to think about never seeing him again. The thought made a hard lump form in my throat.

There was silence in the meeting room for a moment. I finally looked up to see my father and Michael exchanging a glance.

“You said the prophecy is false, right?” I asked.

My father nodded. “I did say that.”

“So … why aren’t we celebrating?”

“Nikki, please sit down.”

The panicky feeling I’d had earlier began creeping back up on me. “You said it was
false
.”

He spread his hands. “And it probably is.”

“Probably?”
My mouth felt dry. “You sounded so certain when you were talking to Kieran.”

“I feared what he might do otherwise.”

“So you think there’s a chance there’s some truth to it?” Michael asked.

My father took in a deep breath, his brow creased. “I honestly don’t know.”

That wasn’t very reassuring. “It’s not true. I don’t care what this crazy oracle guy says, there’s no way that I could ever destroy anything or anyone.”

“I know.” His eyes flashed. “Still, it is worrisome. Dragon oracles are rarely wrong when it comes to a prophecy this specific to an individual. And that Kieran said it was related on your birthday, the day you would have begun to manifest your half-demon powers, worries me even more.”

It couldn’t be true. That my father had just been lying to Kieran—faking him out—so he wouldn’t put me under arrest or something and drag me to some Underworld prison, and—

Wait a minute.

“Did you just say
dragon
oracle?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, of course. All oracles are dragons.”

“But not all dragons are oracles,” Michael added.

I pointed at my dragon’s tear bracelet. “Big, scaly, fire-breathing dragons.”

“Much like demons,” my father explained, “dragons are capable of shifting form when it suits them. But yes, they can be big, scaly, and fire-breathing if they choose to be.”

Brain exploding now. “
Okay.
And they can make prophecies.”

“They see glimpses of the future and interpret them, then pass this information along to those whom the prophecy affects. They communicate when they have something …
prophetic
… to share that will affect demonkind, but they live wherever they please, be it the dark worlds or elsewhere. I know there are several living in the human world as we speak.”

“But …” I licked my dry lips, a thousand questions swirling around in my head. “How can they be in the human world? How can they get through the barrier here?”

“Dragons are the only creatures capable of easily moving between the worlds without using gateways. However, they took an oath of peace centuries ago and are very rarely, if ever, dangerous unless provoked.”

I tried to wrap my head around all of this. I finally sat down in the closest high-backed chair and gripped the edge of the table as if trying to anchor myself. “So that’s why one of their tears works to help me focus my power?”

“A dragon is a very powerful and magical creature. It’ll cry only one tear in its entire existence—at the very moment of its death—a tear filled with all the power it had during its lifetime.” His expression turned grim. “Since dragons are naturally immortal, their death must come at the hands of someone else.”

“You mean when someone kills them?”

“Yes.”

“So the dragon that cried the tear on my bracelet is dead?”

There was a heavy pause before he replied. “That’s correct.”

I shuddered. “This place is so violent—all this talk of killing and death and destruction.”

My father sat down across the table from me. “Is the human world that much more peaceful?”

“It’s different.”

“Yes, I agree with you. But along with all that is light in the human world, there is still much that is dark.”

“Like me?” I looked up at him.

He shook his head. “Don’t even think that.”

“But that’s what you’re saying, isn’t it? That there’s a possibility the prophecy’s true? That I might be like the last Darkling and go postal on everyone?”

He studied me for a moment, a quizzical look on his face. Maybe he’d never heard that particular expression before. “I’m only saying that we must be very careful in future dealings with Kieran and the demon council. They’re the dangerous ones in this scenario.”

I didn’t want to believe it, but now that I knew my father wasn’t entirely confident in the prophecy being a total lie, how was I supposed to be so sure, myself? After all, I’d seen myself in action in total Darkling mode a couple of times now. I’d felt that violence deep inside me that came from using my power. I’d blasted Chris out of the limo at Winter Formal, and only when Michael arrived and helped calm me down did I know I wouldn’t do more damage. The same happened when I’d used my power to stop my aunt. I’d wanted to destroy her, not just protect myself from harm.

What if I really lost control someday?

What if Rhys was right in thinking I was dangerous and deadly?

“Michael, would you be so kind as to fetch us something to drink?” my father asked, studying my stricken expression.

It snapped me out of my thoughts. There was that
fetch
word again. Michael wasn’t a trained dog.

“Of course, Your Majesty,” Michael said.

::I’ll be back as soon as I can, Princess.::

I could hear his concern etched into the telepathic message. I watched him leave the room.

My father watched me watch him leave the room.

“Nikki,” he began, “about Michael—”

“You said he wasn’t going to be a servant anymore,” I said, surprised at how sharply and forcefully I’d spoken the sentence.

I could tell I’d surprised him. “I know. But I shouldn’t have said that to you or him. I was weakened and not thinking straight at the time.”