Reign Fall (11 page)

“It’s stupid that you can’t come through with me.” I still felt incredibly sullen about that.

“What if you come through anyway? It’s not like he’s here to stop you.” Michael studied the gateway. “If I try to go through without the king’s permission, it will kill me.”

I gaped at him. “You’re kidding.”

He shook his head. “Unless you have a dragon’s tear, you’re at the mercy of the gateways.” His lips thinned. “So I have to respect the king’s decision.”

“But you don’t like it.”

His expression darkened. “No, I don’t like it at all. I didn’t like it for the weeks I was forced to stay away from you, and I don’t like it now.”

This new info was enough to take my breath away.

He hadn’t forgotten about me. He’d wanted to see me. But he couldn’t.

He was basically stuck here unless my father gave him permission to leave. He couldn’t seek more information about Shadows, even if he wanted to. And he did.

I knew I had to help him in any way I could.

“I’m going to ask him,” I said. At Michael’s questioning look, I clarified, “
Rhys.
I’m going to ask Rhys to get the Shadow book.”

The tension in his face eased a little. “Thank you.”

I knew it had taken a lot for him to ask me to do this. He didn’t like Rhys and having to rely on him for information had to be hard to accept. And finding out more about Shadows might help ease my father’s mind about Michael as well. “It’s your reward for bossing me around during our training session.”

A smile tugged at his lips again. “If you think that was bossy, just wait till lesson number two.”

I looked up at him and our eyes locked. I remembered what it was like when he pressed me up against the wall. I’d come very close to kissing him then and making up for New Year’s Eve.

“Princess,” he began as I took hold of the edge of his sweatshirt and pulled him closer to me.

Closer and closer...

“Yes, Michael?”

He stepped back from me and looked at the gateway as he crossed his arms, his face stony and unreadable. “Have a safe trip back home.”

Way to ruin a moment, Shadow-boy.

I was confused by his swift shift in attitude. Intense and extremely kissable one moment, cool and aloof the next.

“No mistletoe,” I murmured, only half-joking. “I guess I’ll have to bring some with me next time.”

Then I walked through the gateway backwards, holding his gaze the whole time. I could have sworn I saw something in his eyes then—something that looked like pain and regret.

I had no idea why he’d look at me like that. And by the time I opened my mouth to ask him, I was already back home.

Considering that I hadn’t been in the Shadowlands very long, a couple of hours max, a lot had happened. And I had no idea how to process most of it. Meeting the boy in the halls of the castle was strange, although I hoped there was a good explanation for it. He didn’t seem threatening or dangerous. I think he’d just been messing around with me, although I had no idea why.

I mostly worried about Michael. I didn’t think he’d been affected by Jonas’s death like my father feared. He’d recovered and whatever power surge he’d experienced by consuming Jonas’s energy had since faded. He was fine now. Everything was fine.

Other than the fact that he hadn’t kissed me, even though I’d really wanted him to.

Next time. Definitely next time. Quite honestly, I didn’t think my inner Darkling would be able to hold back.

The gateway had let me out only a few blocks away from my street, which was nice.

Compared to the warmth and beauty of the castle’s courtyard, the bleak, cold, gray streets of Erin Heights were a return to reality.

Home sweet home,
I thought.

I walked up my driveway just as Mr. Crane was leaving, headed for his car in the driveway.

He shot a look over his shoulder toward the front door.

“Well, when you figure out what you’re looking for, Susan, you have my number.”

“You don’t have to be like that.” My mother crossed her arms. “I told you I’m sorry.”

“So am I.” Mr. Crane finally noticed that I was standing just a few feet away. He looked at me and the anger on his face faded away to a sheepish look. “Sorry, Nikki.”

“Everything okay?” I asked with concern.

“I thought so, but I guess I was wrong. Your mother,” he said, then hissed out a sigh. “She’s challenging.”

I couldn’t argue with him there.

Without another word, he got in his car and pulled out of the driveway. I finally glanced over at my mother, feeling uncomfortable about what I’d just witnessed.

She gave me a pinched look. “Welcome home, honey.”

Looked like Mr. Crane was not going to become husband number five after all. I could never predict these things.

I tentatively moved past her and into the house. “Trouble in paradise?”

“We were supposed to go out for dinner tonight, but...” She exhaled shakily as she closed and locked the door behind us. “Oh, I don’t know. I just feel like he was moving too fast for me.”

“He didn’t do anything bad to you, did he?” I said, feeling an immediate crackle of power run down my arms. Her last husband—the one who owned this house—had been an abusive jerk.

When I witnessed him hit her one night, I’d turned around and broken his arm. It was one of my first clues that I might be a
little
bit different from other kids.

Frankly, he should be glad that breaking his arm was all I did to him.

“Oh, no. Nothing like that. Nathan’s a good man, just not the right one for me.” I relaxed slightly. “I’m taking it that you two aren’t going out any more?”

“Afraid not. Too bad, really. He seemed perfect—good looking, nice, smart, good job, you two seemed to get along well, but...” She sighed. “Something was missing.”

“What?”

“I think
I
was. I’m not ready for a new relationship just yet. It’s too soon.” That was a surprise. My mother always had a boyfriend...or a husband. I wasn’t sure she could function without one, actually. Which sounded mean or an exaggeration, but trust me, after what I’d witnessed in sixteen years, it wasn’t far from the truth.

“You took your time getting home from school,” she said. “Were you out with Rhys?” I grimaced. My mother was under the mistaken impression that me and Rhys were dating.

Since it was more trouble to explain why we weren’t, I’d let it slide. “No, I had some extra studying to do after school.”

That
was
the truth.

She smiled. “My little bookworm. Okay, I’m ready to move on and put that unpleasantness with Nathan out of my mind. He’s better without me, quite honestly. He deserves a woman who will give him her undivided attention and unconditional love.”

“What kind of a man are you looking for?”

“I’m not looking for
any
man right now.”

“But if you were?” I remembered vividly what the boy at the castle had told me about how my parents met. I had no idea if it was true or not.

It hadn’t felt like a lie. Every part of me had sensed that it was the truth. And if so, that meant that kid really could read minds, and he knew way too much about my father’s personal life.

“Not sure about that,” she replied, opening the fridge in the kitchen. She pulled out a can of Coke for me and a bottle of wine for her, from which she poured a glass.

“Handsome?” I asked, cracking open the can. “And tall?” She grinned. “Both would be nice.”

“You’d like someone who is confident, smart, and can make you laugh?” She took a sip from her glass. “Now you’re talking.”

“How about someone that you might think is a real jerk in the beginning, maybe someone you don’t like at all...but then some crazy things happen and you get the chance to see that his being a jerk is mostly an act. That he’s deeper than that, that he’s actually really amazing. Like that?” Her face paled and her lips thinned. She took another sip of her wine. “Sounds complicated. Is that how Rhys was with you?”

“Well, sort of. But I wasn’t talking about him.” He was definitely a jerk and totally full of himself—but as a faery royal, I figured he came by it honestly. Plus, I wasn’t sold on Rhys being all that amazing.
Annoying
was more like it.

When she didn’t reply, I continued. “Is that how my father was? A jerk first and then you fell for him when you saw the real him underneath it all?” I couldn’t help myself. It must have been residual Darkling courage that made me ask it.

Her eyes shot to mine and widened a little. “Your father—he was...” She blinked and took another sip from her wine glass. More like a gulp. “He was complicated.”

“But you loved him anyway.”

That hard edge I was used to seeing in her eyes whenever this subject came up arrived right on schedule. “I was young and stupid.”

“You were seventeen. Almost eighteen.”

“Exactly. When you’re that young you don’t know what love really is. Everything seems more intense then, but it doesn’t mean it really is.”

“I totally disagree.”

“Of course you do,” she said with a sigh. “You’re sixteen.” I ignored that. “Did you try to find him when he disappeared?” She was being way more open on this subject than she’d ever been before. I was going to get as much information as I could while it lasted.

“Of course I did.”

“Because you were pregnant.”

“I didn’t know I was pregnant until a few weeks later. But yes, of course I looked for him. I searched...you don’t know how long. I never found him.” My heart wrenched at seeing the pain on her face. I didn’t want her to have to relive that pain, but I wanted the truth. “If you met him again, what would you do?” She let out a slow breath and looked at me straight on. “I wouldn’t care. It was so long ago, Nikki, that I’m over it. Over him. Time has moved on. I’m not that naïve seventeen-year-old girl anymore. And Desmond...well, I don’t know where he is. All I know is that he broke my heart, and it mended a great deal stronger than it was before.” She said it so firmly that it hurt me. She was serious. She was long over him and had moved on. If she felt anything now, it was just a gnawing sense of betrayal and anger.

“I’m sorry.” It was all I could think of to say.

And I was sorry. I wished things could be different in so many ways. But continuing to prod at her about this was only going to lead to two things—misery for both of us, and by the look of that rapidly emptying bottle, a cranky mother with a big hangover.

“It’s okay, honey.” She ran a hand through her long dark hair as if tidying it. “Everything happens for a reason. And there’s always a silver lining. Right now my silver lining is my new book. I’m really starting to get into it. Best hero I’ve written in ages.” Her smile returned. “He’s really sexy.”

I started to leave the kitchen. “Great. Hope it sells a ton of copies. Another vampire?”

“No. I was inspired to write something a little different this time. And I had this dream, a really vivid dream about my new hero. He’s a demon.”

I froze at the doorway and slowly looked back at her over my shoulder. I almost dropped my can of Coke. “Wait. A demon?”

Her smile grew bigger. “I know, it sounds crazy, doesn’t it? A demon as the hero of a romance novel. But why shouldn’t I try a demon? They’re the ultimate bad boy. Readers love alpha heroes.”

My mouth was dry. “And you say you dreamed about him first?” She nodded. “I can barely remember anything from the dream. All I know is that he’s trapped in a big, scary castle somewhere, far, far away. He wishes he could get back to his soul mate that he lost a long time ago, but there are so many obstacles in his way. It was just the spark of an idea, but it’s really blossoming for me on the page. I think I’ll head up to my office and write a few more pages tonight.”

Without another word, she breezed past me, wine glass in hand, and went up the stairs. I just stared after her in shock.

My mother was having dreams of a demon hero stuck in a scary castle, unable to return to the woman he loves.

Was it just a coincidence?

No, I didn’t think so either.

o0o

Later that night, I fell asleep almost immediately—no nightmares, thankfully. I think finally seeing Michael and that he seemed fine and sane and not dark and scary at all had eased my subconscious. Also, I think I was exhausted from my training session with him.

I hadn’t forgotten what I’d promised to do for him, either.

I got to biology early on Friday morning and sat down at my desk. Mr. Crane entered the room, cast a look in my direction, and his shoulders immediately tensed.

Not a good sign. I really hoped he wasn’t going to take out his romantic woes on me or my grades. I felt bad for the guy, though. I didn’t think there was anything wrong with him. Another month, another year, he might even have been perfect for my mother.

Not as perfect as my father, but definitely in the running.

Shortly before the bell rang, Rhys entered the room and took his time coming to sit down next to me at our shared desk.

“Morning,” I said.

He leaned forward and rested his head on his hand. “Really?”

“What?”

“That sounded almost like friendliness, Princess.”

I forced a smile. “Please don’t call me that here.”

He shrugged. “Sorry, I forgot.”

“No you didn’t. You just use my title to annoy me.”

He rolled his eyes. “You know me so well. I exist to annoy you.” The rest of the students filed into class.

“Can you do that privacy thing?” I asked, eyeing them warily. I didn’t want anyone to overhear us. “I need to talk to you.”

“Are you flirting with me today?” He gave me a grin I immediately wanted to wipe off his face. “Privacy? Just the two of us? I’m flattered.”

“Not flirting.” I tried to control my rising anger, but he really pushed my buttons. “I need your help with something.”

There was a short pause before the voices all around me muted. Privacy bubble activated.

“Do tell,” Rhys said.

“So you’re willing to help me?”

“Depends what you need.”

“Information.”

“About what?”