Reign Check (20 page)

I felt Michael move close enough to me that his fingers brushed reassuringly against mine.

::Don’t worry. It’s going to be okay.::

You sure about that?

::I know this must be strange for you, Princess, but it’ll be fine. I promise.::

He sounded so certain that I relaxed a little. Only a little. I wanted to lean against him for support, but I didn’t. I stood, straight as a column, as I waited for the demon council to call me over.

Kassandra turned. “So typical. They’re making you wait just so you sweat it out a bit more.”

“Who are these … these demons?” I asked.

“The one on the far right, that’s my mother—Queen Sephina,” she said, indicating the woman in the tallest chair, who basically looked like a grown-up version of Kassandra. She was, thankfully, in human form at the moment. Dark hair was piled on top of her head and threaded with gold and jewels that sparkled under the lights.

To our left, halfway between us and the table, was a three-foot-tall gold and white stone statue of the queen herself perched upon a marble pedestal. It was a perfect likeness.

“She’s the leader of the council,” Kassandra continued, “and whatever she says goes. She’s superpowerful; her magic is the strongest of any demon I know—except my father, of course. She’s got a soft spot for my brothers, especially Kieran, and gives him almost anything he wants.”

“
Almost
anything?”

“He isn’t allowed to go to the human world, and it’s something he’s always wanted. That’s where she draws the line. She’s afraid he’d get into major trouble there.”

I wondered what would happen if the queen decided to let him have free rein. Would she be able to force my father to open the barrier so the prince could pass through the Shadowlands to the worlds beyond? And, if so, what would happen then?

“How many brothers do you have?” I asked.

“Three. Two are traveling right now elsewhere in the Underworld—one’s on his honeymoon, actually. And you’ve already met Kieran.” She nodded toward the table.

Prince Kieran was seated to the queen’s left. His attention was fixed on me even though his mother was saying something to him. His light blue eyes glittered.

“I have.” I didn’t expand on that thought because if I did, it would sound like this:
I have and I hate his guts.

“Next to Kieran is Groden.” He was in demon form. Ashy red skin, glowing eyes, thick curved horns. Along his pointed right ear he wore a multitude of golden earrings and there was another one through his nose. “He’s usually drunk and mostly disorderly. He’s been on the council pretty much forever—since my grandmother was in charge. Rules and laws are his thing—he loves coming up with new ones. My mother thinks he’s annoying, but she can’t kick him out.”

“So he’s responsible for making the rules?” I thought about all the rules that had made life difficult for both me and my father. Stupid rules that, when broken, could lead to horrible and deadly punishments.

“He’s the one. The woman next to him is Florencia.” She was in human form and appeared middle-aged, with a skunklike streak of white hair in the middle of her shoulder-length dark locks. “She’s the one you have to watch out for. Groden makes up the rules, but she enforces them. A real by-the-books kind of demoness. Another interesting factoid about her is that she was supposed to marry your father years ago.”

That got my full attention. “Really?”

Kassandra nodded. “It was an arranged marriage. It was right before you were born, not that this was known until just this past week, of course. Anyway, rumor has it when King Desmond came back from his trip to the human world to take over the throne of the Shadowlands, he refused to marry Florencia, even though refusal of an arranged marriage is rare. I don’t think she’s ever forgiven him for that.” She paused. “Your father must have really been in love with your mother. I’ve heard he’s never even dated anyone since then.”

I swallowed hard. It only helped to cement what I already knew. “Really?”

“Really.”

This might be the reason for the icy-cold daggers Florencia was sending in my direction with her glare.

“She seems nice,” I said.

Kassandra snorted. “Yeah, as nice as my brother’s hellhound.”

“That was
Kieran’s
hellhound?”

“Yeah. But I think Fernando likes me better. Hard to tell with hellhounds. They do make great guardians, though.”

“I felt my power drain when it was near me earlier. I thought it was my imagination.”

“No, it’s a trait of hellhounds. They absorb the energy of any demon outside of the family they protect.”

“Only demons?”

“Yes. Or, I suppose, Darklings, too.”

Michael looked at me, his forehead furrowed.

::You lost your power?::

Only for a minute. It’s fine. I’ll just make sure I avoid Fernando for the rest of my visit here. I’m more of a cat person, anyway.

“Okay … uh, who’s the … the last one there?” I asked nervously. It was the council member I’d tried not to look directly at, since he, or she, was totally freaking me out. It didn’t look like a demon
or
a human. Even though it did look slightly humanoid, with arms and shoulders and a face, it also looked like a cockroach. Seriously.

A wave of repulsion washed through me.

“Oh, him?” Kassandra said casually. “That’s Beasley. He’s my father’s representative.”

“Your father?”

She nodded. “The king of Hell.”

My eyes widened. “Your father is the
king of Hell
?”

“He is. He’s got so many names that nobody knows what to call him, so most people just call him the king. I call him Daddy. Not that I ever get to see him, since he and Mom got divorced. She hates his guts. She’s not too fond of Beasley, either, but he’s actually really nice.”

Information overload was making me queasy. “If you say so.”

“Princess Nikki can approach the council now,” Kassandra’s mother called out sharply.

My hands started to shake, and I clasped them together. I could do this. I was brave. I wasn’t afraid. The queen had promised I would be safe. All they wanted was to meet me.

Just a meet and greet. Friendly. Happy. All was well with the worlds.

I put one foot in front of the other as I moved through the room. Michael kept pace with me.

“Nikki,” Kassandra called after us. “Servants aren’t permitted to approach the council. You need to have your Shadow wait back here with me.”

“No,” Michael said. “I won’t leave the princess’s side.”

He said it so definitively that she looked surprised. “You’re saying
no
to me? Nobody says no to me.”

His green eyes met mine. “I will do as Princess Nikki wishes, of course.”

“You’re staying with me,” I said without missing a beat. “That is what Princess Nikki wishes.”

A half smile appeared on his lips. “Good.”

“Fine, have it your way,” Kassandra said stiffly. “Well, good luck.”

I hoped I wouldn’t need it. Luck hadn’t exactly been much of a friend to me lately. I mean, look where I was.

17

“Your servant must wait at the back of the room,” were Queen Sephina’s first words to me, echoing what her daughter had said. She had a cool, commanding, and intimidating voice.

“I want him to stay here with me,” I said weakly, then forced myself to sound more confident. “In fact, I insist.”

Her lips thinned. “I see.”

Would that be enough to get me thrown in the dungeon for being rude? I really hoped not.

There was silence for a long, uncomfortable moment. All of the council members’ attention was fully on me. It was like back in grade six, when I had a part in the school musical and it was time for my solo. Only then did I realize I had horrible stage fright, making my singing voice sound a whole lot like I’d inhaled a balloon full of helium.

The cockroach’s antennae twitched as he stared at me through big, creepy black eyes. I made a mental note to bring along a large can of Raid if I ever had the misfortune of coming here again.

I waited for my inevitable punishment.

Nothing happened.

“Princess Nikki.” Kieran spoke up, glancing at the other council members. “We are pleased you agreed to meet with us today.”

“It’s … it’s my pleasure,” I lied. May as well be as nice as I could after putting my foot down about Michael staying next to me. This was about first impressions—or maybe second impressions—after all.

“We’ve been discussing you a great deal since news of your existence first reached us,” he said. “It was a shock to learn King Desmond had a half-human daughter all these years. From what I gather from Elizabeth, it was a shock to him as well.”

“It was. He had no idea I existed.”

“Has he been in contact with your human mother?” Florencia asked unpleasantly.

Such a simple question for such a touchy topic. One that could tilt this meeting to a very dark place if I handled it wrong. But there was no reason to lie about this.

“No,” I replied. “In fact, he insists I don’t tell her anything about him … or about the fact I’m half demon.”

“A wise decision.” Queen Sephina nodded. “So your mother was unaware that Desmond was a demon prince when they met?”

“She had no idea at all. And she never will.”

It hurt to say it out loud. Was I giving up hope that I could find a way for my mother and father to get back together? No. But right now I had to appear that I believed that to be a hundred percent true.

Florencia shook her head. “Such shameful behavior for all involved in this disgusting situation. It sickens me that Desmond would display such poor judgment. A human female? It’s no wonder the barrier exists. Otherwise, perhaps all demon males would run off to have romantic flings in the human world. I don’t care if Desmond was young at the time, it’s simply not acceptable.”

Why?
I thought.
Because he didn’t want to marry a sourpuss like you when he came back?

I felt Michael eyeing me. Had I projected that thought telepathically, or were my thoughts written all over my face? The latter, I figured. Sending telepathic messages to him actually took more effort than just thinking. I tried to keep my face as pleasantly expressionless as I could.

“Florencia,” Queen Sephina said with a warning edge. “Please, mind yourself. Princess Nikki is our guest here and will be treated with respect. That respect extends to her father as well. King Desmond will be dealt with another day.”

“Of course.” Florencia lowered her head in a small bow. “My apologies to the queen and to the princess.”

“What do you mean, he’ll be dealt with?” I asked cautiously.

The queen gave me a slight smile. “It is we who are asking the questions today, not you.”

“But …” It would be better if I said nothing, but one of the main reasons I was here today was to make sure my father was safe. “It happened a long time ago, and there’s no reason it should be held against him anymore. It was no big deal.”

“No big deal?” Florencia sputtered. “He broke the rules forbidding a demon to be with a human—and the result was a Darkling child prophesied to destroy us all. He’s lucky we haven’t thrown him in the dungeon retroactively for his crimes.”

“Rules,” Groden piped up, scratching his cheek with the sharp black talon on his index finger. “I believe there should be a rule for anyone who dares to wear blue on a Wednesday. It’s simply not right.” Without waiting for a reply, he scribbled something down on a piece of parchment in front of him with a feathered quill. “Or purple on a Thursday.
Blecch
. Punishable by one year in the dungeon.”

The gigantic cockroach appeared to have no opinion so far but continued to study me through large glassy black eyes. I wondered if he could actually talk, or if staring creepily was his chosen mode of communication.

“King Desmond made a very poor decision,” Kieran said coolly. “While in the human world, he was lucky he wasn’t discovered to be a demon. He could have come face-to-face with a slayer. Then what would have happened when the former king died? Elizabeth would have been forced to take the throne at the same age you are now, Princess.”

I glared at him. Wouldn’t he have loved that? Then he would have gotten what he wanted seventeen years ago instead of having to wait to find a break in the barrier. It was almost funny.

However, the talk of “slayers” did keep me from laughing out loud.

“Slayer?” I said, trying to play dumb. “What’s that?”

Kieran rolled his eyes. “Exactly what it sounds like, of course. There is a secret society of humans who lull themselves into a false sense of security by training to kill any demon who might dare to enter their precious light world. In certain families, the firstborn children are believed to have special abilities from birth to help them become slayers of our kind. The tradition and supposed power is a mystery, but we believe it originated in the Middle Ages, when humans went on their quests and crusades. But with the Shadowlands barrier intact, I would imagine they’ve been very bored for a very long time. All that training and no opportunity to slay anything.” His lips twisted. “It is a dream of mine to come face-to-face with one of these slayers. I think it would be a great deal of fun.”

It was a lot of information to take in all at once. So Melinda was the firstborn child of a family that had a long demon-slaying history?

“Kieran, please. That’s quite enough.” Queen Sephina folded her hands on the tabletop.

He jutted his bottom lip out in a pout at being reprimanded. “But Mother—”

“Kieran,” she snapped. “Enough talk of the human world. Your whining grows more tiresome with every year that passes.”

He slouched and looked away.

I wanted to save it as a Kodak moment. If only I’d brought my camera.

Queen Sephina sighed. “Princess Nikki, we are a very understanding council. We see the shades of gray when others might only see black and white. What your father did was wrong, especially since he was aware of the rules. At the time he was a stubborn and impulsive young man. I know he’s changed greatly over the years and has taken his duty as king of the Shadowlands very seriously. However, I do believe, had he been given the choice, he would have chosen to remain in the human world with your mother—”

Florencia let out an annoyed
harrumph
.

“—and this decision would have not only put humans at risk but also exposed the existence of certain gateways of the demon worlds to this slaying society Kieran speaks of.”

“So these slayers,” I said, trying to get it clear in my head. “They know demons definitely exist?”

“Yes. Those who are aware keep the existence of the dark worlds, as well as the faery realm, a secret from others of their kind. It’s the best way. Should they happen to discover or create a gateway here, it would be extremely unpleasant for all involved. It is my duty to protect the Underworld from any unpleasantness like this. Desmond understands this now—that one’s royal duty must precede all else.”

Anger ignited inside me at her dismissive attitude toward my father’s pain.

“I think Desmond should be executed for breaking such an important rule,” Florencia stated bluntly. “A
human
woman. I still cannot believe it.”

“No, he shouldn’t,” I snapped at her, then clamped my mouth shut at her surprised look.

My anger turned quickly to fear. Did Florencia have the power to punish me? Kassandra had warned that she was the enforcer of rules. Hell hath no fury like a demoness scorned.

Queen Sephina sighed. “And after his execution, then what? The power of the Shadowlands would shift to his half-human daughter, confining her within the castle walls until her own death. As one raised in the human world since birth, she would not make an adequate queen.”

While I didn’t want to take the throne—in fact, it was the last thing I wanted—I did bristle a little at the accusation that I’d suck at it. Just because I was half human didn’t mean I wouldn’t try my very best.

Groden cleared his throat. “There is also the ever-looming threat of the prophecy. Would it, perhaps, be vengeance for her father’s execution that triggers the Darkling to destroy us all?” He eyed me and Michael uneasily, breathing hard enough that the gold ring through his nose bounced. “I propose a rule that no Darkling shall ever become queen. Punishable by beheading!”

He scribbled this down on his parchment.

Queen Sephina rolled her eyes. “Unfortunately, such a thing cannot be governed by law, Groden. She is Desmond’s heir by blood.”

“So what?”

She looked slightly exasperated with this debate. “Royal blood cannot be challenged. Princess Nikki is heir to the Shadowlands throne for as long as she lives and breathes. The prophecy changes nothing when it comes to this matter.”

“I think the prophecy is a lie,” I said.

Five sets of eyes widened and tracked to me. Florencia gasped out loud.

“You wish to challenge the prophecy?” Queen Sephina asked.

“I …” I licked my dry lips. I hadn’t exactly expected such a dramatic reaction. I hadn’t even known I was going to say that until I did. “Well, yes. I challenge it. I’m … I’m here to prove that it can’t be true. I have no intention of destroying anything or anyone.”

“Intentions are different from future actions,” Kieran said. “You can’t predict what will happen based on how you feel at this particular moment. Besides, the prophecy was related directly to me. It is true. I would swear on my own life and the life of my mother.”

The queen patted his arm. “Of course, my son. The palace oracle has never been wrong before.”

I bit my lip, finding the direction of this “meeting” to be stomach-churningly bad. I opened my mouth to say something else.

::Princess,:: Michael projected to me before I spoke. ::Let them discuss among themselves. Don’t give them a reason to extend this any longer than it has to be.::

He was telling me to stop attempting to put my foot in my mouth. The less said, the better. This was only a meet and greet.

Got it.

Sephina leaned back in her chair. “I wish to see your Darkling form.”

I gulped. “Now?”

“Yes.”

Again, performance anxiety crawled through me. “I can normally change form when I’m feeling emotional”—I had that covered, but I still felt weakened from being in that hellhound’s drooling, power-draining presence—“but right now … uh, I’m not sure if I can.”

“Then let me help you.” Queen Sephina’s eyes glowed red, and I felt a wave of magic flow over me. I gasped as all my muscles tensed, my limbs tingling with the force of her pulling my Darkling form out from inside me.

The change was fast and shockingly painful. The sides of my head burned as my horns appeared. My talons grew. My muscles became leaner and firmer. My black wings tore right through the back of my red sweater as if it wasn’t any stronger than tissue paper. My hair grew longer, thicker, and changed to a bright, fiery red I could see from the corner of my eye. When I traced my tongue over my teeth, I confirmed that I sported sharp canines, like a vampire might have. And now that I was aware of its existence—yes, I also definitely felt a tail. Yikes.

“This is your Darkling form?” Kieran raised an eyebrow, his gaze sweeping the length of me. “You look much the same as before, only now you are more beautiful.”