Reign or Shine (25 page)

"I'm surprised you didn't destroy it," he said. "Obviously some part of you knew what you were doing was wrong, and you wanted the chance to fix this. Please, give it to me."

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She uncorked the bottle and held it to his lips. "It might be too late."

"We shal see." My father drank the antidote and closed his eyes.

I concentrated on staying in Darkling form and stood at the end of the bed, vigilant to whatever happened next. I didn't want to hope for a miracle, but that's

what I was praying for anyway. Elizabeth's hands were shaking as she placed the now-empty bottle on the bedside table.

For al I knew she could have just given him a ful dose of poison. If that was the case then I was afraid of what I would do to her. I wasn't ready to forgive.

Not yet. Probably not ever.

It took ten ful minutes before we could see any change in my father, and even then it was slow and subtle. My father's form began to change in the bed and become smal er, shifting slowly back to human. I went to his side to hold his hand, and after another five minutes he opened his eyes and looked up at

me.

"I'm so proud of you, Nikki," he said.

"Are you ..." I swal owed. "Are you going to be okay now?"

"The magic of the potion makers works very quickly," he said. "But the poison did a great deal of damage to me. It wil take some time for me to ful y

recover. But I think I'l eventual y be okay."

"I'm very glad to hear that," I said and smiled. "Because I
really
didn't want to be queen. Like,
at all."

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"I didn't think so."

My concentration had lapsed and I felt my Darkling slip away with the oh-so-pleasant sensation of a hundred Band-Aids being ripped off my brain simultaneously. I staggered, but Michael was there to catch me. I looked at him grateful y as I leaned against his solid form.

"I trusted you," my father said, and I realized he was speaking to Elizabeth. "And you betrayed me."

She didn't look at him. "I'm sorry."

"Your love for Kieran must be very great."

"I thought it was." She swal owed. "But perhaps Nikki is right. It's possible that he may have been using me."

"Do you real y think so?" my father asked calmly, but the edge of sarcasm in his voice made me realize that he was anything but calm. I noticed then that despite his human appearance his eyes were red again. "Let me ask you this, Elizabeth. Our father--did you kil him as wel ?"

She didn't answer for a very long time. "During my first visit to the Underworld I fel in love with Kieran, even though we were very young. Our father refused to let me go back to see him again. He was a horrible, cruel man. Kieran suggested that something could be done about it. He sent me the potion."

"You mean, the
poison,"
my father corrected. "Nikki, Michael, please help me get out of this bed." We supported him so he was able to swing his legs out and get to his feet. His chest was bare but he wore loose-fitting black pants.

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Elizabeth shied away from him as he approached. "You said that you'd forgive me and I could continue to live here."

"I did say that. But I've been rethinking my decision. What you've done is unforgivable, Elizabeth."

Her expression grew worried. "Maybe in time--"

He held up a hand that glowed red. "You've said enough. You kil ed our father, you tried to kil me, and you tried to kil my daughter."

"Darklings are unpredictable," she said. "They're dangerous."

"So, apparently, are sisters."

She breathed shakily. "What wil you do with me? Imprison me? Kil me?"

"I've considered those options."

Tears streamed down her cheeks. "Kieran wil be very angry if anything happens to me. He wil avenge me if you lock me away somewhere alone."

"Yes, wel ." His jaw tightened. "I wanted to spend these past years with the woman I loved instead of a solitary existence in this castle. But I would never wish the same fate on you." His eyes narrowed. "Let your prince deal with you. See if he stil loves you when you offer him nothing but your constant

presence."

"Desmond, please!"

"I'm banishing you to the far reaches of the Underworld. You wil never return to the Shadowlands." Her eyes widened. "No, you can't--" "Good-bye, Elizabeth." He thrust a hand at her and a

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red stream of power hit her chest before enveloping her. She screamed and in the very next instant had disappeared completely. The room crackled with power and it made the fine hair on my arms stand straight up.

I sucked in a breath. I'd never seen anything quite like that before--both the disappearance of my aunt and the rage in my father's face which quickly faded now that she was gone.

My father let out a long sigh. "I'm sorry it had to end that way." He turned to me. "And I'm sorry you had to witness that."

I hugged him then. Tightly. "Is it mean that I was hoping you weren't just going to forgive her after what she did?"

"I didn't want to lie to her, but I was desperate to get that antidote." He sighed. "I cared for my sister. She had me completely fooled. I stil can't believe what she tried to do."

I glanced at Michael, who stood to the side, his eyes on the ground. My father looked at him as wel .

"Thank you, Michael, for your help," my father said. "You may leave us now."

"Yes, Your Majesty." I went to Michael's side and stopped him before he took a step. "He risked his life to help you and that's al he gets? A 'thanks for your help you can leave

now'?"

My father looked confused. "I don't understand."

I felt mad, then. After the rol er coaster of emotions I'd just been on, from scared to relieved to happy, now I was fal ing straight down the steep hil into mad. "That's the problem. You don't understand."

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"It's fine, Princess," Michael said.

"No, it's not." I turned back to my father. "Before, you said that he was free. That he didn't have to be a servant anymore."

"I did say that." My father blinked. "And I stand by it. If you wish to leave the castle, Michael, I won't stop you."

Michael didn't say anything for a moment. "I have nowhere else to go."

"You are also welcome to stay," my father said. "I wil need help to regain my strength and to summon the rest of my servants back."

He nodded. "Then I'l stay. Thank you, Your Majesty."

"But not as a servant," I said.

They both looked at me.

"He real y helped us," I continued. "He protected me. If it wasn't for him, Elizabeth would be picking out her new crown right now."

"Nikki," my father began, "while I appreciate al that Michael has done, he is a Shadow. And Shadows are servants. That's just the way it is."

"Doesn't have to be."

His mouth twitched into a smal grin. "Two days with knowledge of this world and she's al ready to change the politics here. But things that have existed for mil ennia cannot be changed in two days."

"But you'l make an exception for Michael," I persisted.

His smile faded as his expression darkened. "If I didn't know better I'd say that there was something between you.

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But that would be forbidden. Humans and demons are not supposed to become romantical y involved and neither are Shadows and demons."

"We're not . . . like that," I said, my face flushing.

He looked at me sternly. "That is good to hear."

Is that really true?
I sent the thought to Michael.
What he said?

::Yes. It's forbidden for Shadows and demons--or
half demons
--to be together.::
So the kiss last night?
::Forbidden. Very, very forbidden.:: Sounds like a play I had to read in English class, I thought. ::What play is that?:: Never mind.

"So you being with my mom was forbidden," I said after a moment, looking directly at my father. "But you did it anyway."

"I was young and foolish and wil ing to break the rules no matter the consequences." He pul ed on a black robe and tied the sash at the front. "As you

know, the consequences for me were very severe."

Right. He'd been summoned here against his wil and never al owed to leave--then told my mother had died. That was a severe consequence. But even if

they hadn't gotten involved, he stil would have been summoned back here. It hadn't been a direct punishment for breaking the rules. Just a nasty coincidence.

"Do you want me to tel my mother about al of this when I go home?" I asked. "She should know the truth 263

after so long. And maybe I could bring her here to see you."

His face went ashy. He glanced off in the direction of the framed painting of my mother. "No, Nikki. You can't tel her. She won't understand."

"I didn't understand in the beginning, but I do now."

He shook his head. "It's best she never knows the truth and continues to think I left her al those years ago. As you said, she's moved on and found happiness. I don't want to do anything to ruin that for her."

I wasn't sure those had been my exact words. In fact, I was sure they weren't. My mother
wasn't
happy. She'd searched for love for years and come up with

four lousy marriages, and I was including Robert the supreme creep in that number. Maybe if she knew my father stil loved her-- because I knew he stil

did, I could see it in his eyes--that might change. "But--"

"Please, Nikki. For me. Say nothing to her about any of this."

I sighed. This wasn't the right time, I got that. Maybe someday, but not now. "Okay, if you say so."

He frowned very hard. "I wil give what you said about Michael some thought. I suppose, in the meantime, I am wil ing to hold true to my promise to free

him from his regular servant status but al ow him to stay on here at the castle as a ... a paid employee. Would that be better?"

I looked at Michael.
Is that okay with you? I mean, it's not perfect, but it's better than nothing.

He smiled. ::It's a start.::

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I approached my father. "Thank you."

"Wil you visit me again?" he asked.

"On a regular basis. I'm stil a Darkling, after al , and I do have these powers to deal with. These potential y dangerous and destructive powers, according to several sources. And it's not like I can just talk to anyone about them." I hesitated. "But I don't know how to find a gateway without Michael always being

there." He touched the crystal on my bracelet. "Concentrate and you'l find one. This wil lead the way for you. Practice wil make it easier." He placed his hand

against the side of my face. "You should probably go home now or your mother wil be worried."

I threw my arms around him and hugged him tightly. I'd always imagined what my father would be like--a good-for-nothing creep who'd left my mother when

she was pregnant and vulnerable. But he wasn't like that at al . He was nothing I'd ever expected him to be.

He was a demon king who ruled over another dimension. Who held back the evil from the Underworld and Hel so my world would be safe from harm.

He was fairly awesome, actual y.

"Please take care of yourself," I said. "Like, regular exercise, good diet. You need to live for a very long time."

He laughed. "That's right. You didn't drink the potion after al , did you? You're stil my heir. If it's any consolation, demons are known to live for a very, very

long time."

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"Stil . An apple a day can't hurt." "I wil keep that in mind." He touched my shoulder. "I'l see you again, Nikki. Soon."

I nodded and wiped away a tear. "Definitely." 266

A little while later Michael and I left the castle and headed back toward the grassy area. I saw my discarded shoes and purse and picked them up, taking a moment to put the strappy heels back on. I'd had a scratch on my shoulder from Elizabeth's talons, but it had disappeared when I'd turned back to

human again. A quick inspection of my dress confirmed that, other than a smal grass stain on the bottom hem, it was miraculously undamaged.

I thought I'd had trouble dealing with Elizabeth's wrath? I didn't want to have to face my mother's for ruining her Versace dress. Talk about demonic.

Michael was quiet on our way to the gateway, which was shimmering where it had been before. I wondered if he was thinking about his new status at the castle. I didn't know if it would change anything, but I hoped that my father would start treating him with a bit more respect. It was the very least that he

deserved.

I couldn't believe that only a couple of days ago I'd seen him across the cafeteria watching me and had been scared by him. Then again, staring at somebody for ten minutes

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without saying anything
was
a bit strange. Also, fol owing them into a park after dark wasn't the best way to make a good first impression, either. But I'd

long since forgiven him for our rocky start.

"Hey, are you okay?" I asked when we reached the gateway.

He nodded, and raised his gaze to mine. His eyes were vibrant green again, even more so in the bright light of the clearing. "I'm fine. Here . . ." He peeled

off his sweatshirt and draped it over my shoulders. "It's going to be cold back there. Come on."

He walked through the gateway and I fol owed him. There was the sudden lurch, the sensation of vertigo, and then I was back home on the dark, chil y street where my house was. I knew I'd left the dance at about eight thirty, and I figured I'd been in the Shadowlands for a few hours at least. It had to be

around midnight. The same time I would have been coming home from Winter Formal if it had been just a regular night.

When we got to my house, we stopped by the maple tree and I looked at him. "Tel me what's wrong."

He shook his head. "I've been thinking about what your father said. He reminded me about the rules. Al this time I've been thinking that you're the princess and I'm just a servant. I forgot about the bigger problem."

"The Shadow/demon thing?"