Reign Check

by Michelle Rowen

  “I do have another hellhound,” he said as he looked down at me. “Perhaps a short time locked in a room together might change your stubborn mind. But if Dimitri gets hungry, that’s fine, too—the dragon’s tear will shift to neutral when its owner dies, so I will be able to claim it for myself.”

  “I thought you said you didn’t want to kill me,” I managed.

  “No. I said my mother ensured your safety to your father.” He scratched his chin. “I’ll blame it on Elizabeth. Desmond will be furious. He might even break the Shadowlands barrier and wrench himself out of that castle to seek vengeance on her. See? It’s a win-win situation for me.”

  Once I got my breath back, I forced away the fear that swirled inside me and concentrated on changing to my Darkling form. It came on quickly and surprisingly easily, and I rose to my feet as the strength began to flow. My hands clenched and glowed with power.

  “Really?” Kieran said. “You think you can fight me?”

  Anger pushed past my fear. “I think I can try. I stopped Elizabeth when she wanted to kill me, but maybe she didn’t fill you in on all the unflattering details.”

  I did feel weakened and bruised from being tossed around like Kieran’s rag doll, but an energy ball quickly formed in my right palm, a baseball-sized globe of swirling red, orange, and yellow. Without hesitating, I threw it directly at the prince.

  But Kieran easily deflected it with a flick of his wrist. It exploded off to the side, leaving a black scorch mark on the smooth white floor.

  “I am much more powerful than Elizabeth,” he said. “She used her power in an attempt to gain love and acceptance—foolish needs that handicapped her. My power is meant for much greater things.”

  He came at me. I expected him to shift to demon form, but he remained in his human one. He grabbed my arms, then swept his leg under mine, knocking me to the floor. Then he pressed the hard sole of his shoe onto my throat so I couldn’t move. I struggled to breathe.

  He shook his head as if disappointed in me. “Sixteen-year-olds should stay in school and not get in my way. It’s very detrimental to their health.”

  I felt helpless and afraid, not just for myself but for Michael. If I couldn’t even save myself, how was I supposed to save him?

  Then I thought about my mother. She’d be so worried when I never made it home from Melinda’s party. I should have told her about my father when I had the chance, even if he didn’t want me to. I knew she’d accept the demon him, accept the demon half of me …

  No, I couldn’t let Kieran win. I gathered every remaining ounce of my power, but I knew with a dark, sinking feeling it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

  Then I heard a thud and Kieran whipped his head around. Kassandra stood behind him, in front of the now-open elevator doors. She held the statue of Queen Sephina in her hands—the statue she’d just used to whack him in the head.

  He frowned at her. “What do you think you’re—”

  “You’ve always had a really thick head, Kieran,” she said.

  She whacked him again. Harder. This time it worked. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground beside me. I scrambled away from him and looked up at Kassandra.

  She flexed her hand. The head of her mother’s statue had broken off and rolled over to rest next to her unconscious brother’s nose. “Ow. I think that hurt me more than it hurt him.”

  “Wh-what are you doing?” I managed. My throat throbbed from having Kieran’s boot clamped down on it.

  “Helping you,” she said.

  “Helping me?” I was confused and dizzy. “Why?”

  She rolled her eyes. “Just accept it, okay? Now do you want me to help you rescue your boyfriend, or what?”

  21

  Kassandra turned toward the elevator, then looked over her shoulder at me.

  “Are you coming?” she asked.

  With a last glance at Kieran, sprawled out on the floor of the council meeting room, I ran to the elevator and got in with her.

  “Just for the record?” she said. “It’s because I think this is romantic. You and the Shadow.”

  My mouth felt dry. “I never actually admitted to anything like that.”

  “You didn’t have to. It’s obvious to me what’s going on.”

  “Did you know what Kieran was planning to do?”

  “No.” She grimaced. “I was mad at you for totally dismissing me upstairs in my mother’s quarters, you know. But I thought I’d follow to make sure you didn’t try anything crazy, that’s all.”

  I rubbed my bruised throat. I’d nearly died. I think I was in a little bit of shock. “I’m glad you did.”

  “Kieran wanted your bracelet?”

  “You knew that?”

  “It’s a guess.” She shook her head. “My brother is such a jerk sometimes.”

  “He tried to kill me.”

  “This really isn’t your day.”

  I swallowed. “Thanks for stopping him.”

  “I’ve felt like clobbering my brother over the head with something heavy for a while. This just gave me a good excuse.” She smiled at me. “So here you are, single-minded in your determination to save your Shadow boyfriend from the dank, nasty dungeon.” She paused. “Which actually is neither dank nor particularly nasty. It’s all glass and silver like the rest of this place. I helped with the design ideas.”

  I leaned against the side of the elevator, hoping to recover my strength quickly. “He’s not my boyfriend. It’s against the rules for a demon and a Shadow to be together.”

  “So what? Like I said, I think it’s kind of romantic … in a bizarrely inappropriate way.” She bit her bottom lip. “I fell for somebody inappropriate myself last year. A guard. When my mother and Kieran found out, they nearly had a conniption. She said he wasn’t good enough for a princess. I was stubborn and told her I didn’t care what she thought. We were … we were going to run off together, but she sent him away, and I’m never allowed to see him again. He’s now a guard for one of Hell’s dungeons. I have no idea which one—there are so many of them.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  Her expression had shadowed with what were apparently painful memories. “Yeah, me, too. So let’s just say I understand how you’re feeling. Really. And anything I can do to mess up either my brother’s or my mother’s life is major fun for me.”

  So Kassandra felt a bond with me due to us both liking guys who didn’t meet our families’ approval.

  “You’re really going to help me?” I asked hopefully.

  “We’re headed to the dungeon now, so that is the plan. But first you have to make me a promise.”

  I eyed her warily. “What?”

  She twisted a finger through her long dark hair. “If I ask a favor of you someday, I want you to say yes, no matter what it is.”

  “What favor?”

  She shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”

  “Okay, that’s vague. How can I agree to something like that? You could ask me to kill somebody or steal something or—”

  She sighed. “Fine. I promise that whatever I ask for, nobody will get hurt. Okay?”

  I let out a long shaky breath as I thought about it. “Then okay. You do this for me, and I’ll owe you one. Cross my heart.”

  “Good.” She smiled as the elevator came to a halt. “Here we are. Just follow my lead.”

  “But what are we—?”

  Before I could finish my question, the door opened to the dungeon level. As Kassandra had warned me, it wasn’t at all what I would have expected. It was bright and modern looking, with sheets of glass and silver walls. Kassandra walked off the elevator and quickly headed toward a glass desk.

  “Princess Kassandra,” the guard on the other side said with surprise. “What are you doing down here?”

  “I’m here about a prisoner,” she said confidently, as if she strolled down to the dungeon level on a daily basis.

  “Which one?”

  “The Shadow.”

  His expressi
on turned to shock. “Jonas? He isn’t allowed visitors, not even you, Princess. He’s much too dangerous.”

  “No, not him. The one who was brought here just now. Young, tall, dark hair. Killed my brother’s hellhound?”

  “Oh that Shadow.” The guard nodded. “What about him?”

  “I want him released and pardoned of all charges. He’s going to be my servant now.”

  “Kassandra—,” I began, but I stopped talking when she gave me a look that told me to shut my mouth.

  “Even though he’s officially your servant, Nikki, it doesn’t matter in the dungeon,” she explained to me. “Any connection like that vanishes between these walls. Therefore, it’s easiest to transfer him to me here.”

  Was that why I wasn’t able to talk to Michael telepathically after he was taken from the lobby? I was worried now. Kassandra could be playing me, trying to take Michael away for real.

  “You’re sure about this?” I asked her pointedly.

  She grinned. “Everything’s going to be fine.”

  I had no choice but to trust her. That was a scary thought.

  The guard frowned at us. “Maybe I should contact the queen and see if this is okay. After what happened to the hellhound, that Shadow has proven he could be just as dangerous as Jonas.”

  Oh no. He couldn’t contact Queen Sephina. She’d never approve this.

  “Are you questioning my authority here?” Kassandra snapped.

  The guard blanched. “No, I’m just saying—”

  “What you should be saying is ‘Yes, Princess, whatever you say, Princess.’ You will follow my royal orders as clearly as you follow my mother’s. Now I suggest you don’t get me angry. Release the Shadow to me right now and don’t waste another minute of my valuable time.”

  He stood up quickly. “Yes, Princess. Follow me.”

  “That’s better.”

  Being a spoiled brat seemed to have some advantages. I could learn a few lessons from Kassandra on how to get what I wanted when I wanted it.

  Kassandra tugged on my hand and I looked at her.

  “Say as little as possible,” she whispered. “And just keep playing along, okay?”

  I nodded.

  We trailed behind the guard through two locked sets of doors that led to the main dungeon area. We walked past room after room, each fronted by a thick glass wall that clearly showed the interior of the cells. Many were empty, but others contained a prisoner—some of whom were in human form, some in demon form, and some who looked more monstrously akin to Beasley’s physical appearance. I didn’t look too closely at the latter. I already had a full schedule of nightmares to look forward to in the weeks to come, thanks to this little field trip to the Underworld.

  Finally we came to Michael’s cell. He stood at the glass wall, his eyes widening as he watched our approach. My heart drummed wildly, and I felt relieved that he seemed unharmed. His eyes were still gray, his amulet still dull. He hadn’t recovered yet from using his power.

  “Princess,” he said. His voice was clearly audible, even from behind the thick glass separating us.

  I didn’t say anything. I fought to keep my expression neutral.

  Michael, can you hear me? I sent telepathically.

  He just looked at me searchingly, his right hand held up to the glass between us, and didn’t reply. Kassandra had been right. Our princess-servant connection was gone while we were in the dungeon.

  This had to go as smoothly and as quickly as possible. The moment Kieran came to, he wasn’t going to be a happy demon prince.

  “You’re sure about this, Princess Kassandra?” the guard asked, then flinched at the glare he received. “Just checking.”

  “Yes, I’m sure. The Shadow’s very … interesting, don’t you think? He’ll make a nice addition to my personal staff.” Kassandra fixed a cool smile on her lips. She moved toward the glass and looked closely at Michael. Now that she knew he wasn’t only a servant to me, her curiosity had obviously been piqued.

  “What’s happening?” Michael asked with concern, his attention focused on me. His forehead furrowed as if he was concentrating on sending me a telepathic message, but of course I didn’t hear it, and I couldn’t explain to him verbally what was going on.

  “What’s happening is, this is your lucky day.” Kassandra tapped the glass between them. “Nikki has decided you’re too much trouble for her, so she’s giving you to me. You’ll be my servant now, Shadow.” She grinned. “My mother is totally going to freak over this.”

  She was good. Very believable. I wondered if they had drama class in her demon boarding school. A part of me, though, still had trouble believing she was only faking this. If she was serious about using this opportunity to take Michael away from me, I didn’t care if the prophecy was a lie or not. Destructo would be my new middle name.

  “She’s giving me to you?” Michael repeated with disbelief. “Princess, is this true?”

  “Yes, it’s true,” I said simply, trying very hard to play along and not say anything that would get us in any more trouble.

  “Why?” There was a catch in his voice that almost undid me.

  He really believed this? Without a moment’s doubt, he believed I would give him away to somebody else, as though he were a trading card I’d put up on eBay for the highest bidder?

  Had I given Michael that much doubt about how I felt?

  Between breaking up with him and kissing Rhys, I couldn’t really blame him.

  “Lots of reasons,” I finally replied. “Your major tendency to get into trouble. Lurking around my school and not bothering to tell me. Breaking the rules. It’s too dangerous to keep you as a servant. You should be thanking me. If I didn’t do this, you’d be executed for killing that hellhound.”

  “I see.”

  He was angry, too. I could hear it in his voice and see it in his eyes as he glared through the glass barrier at me. It was a strange relief that he wasn’t just taking this news without any glimmer of emotion. It meant he cared. About me. About himself. I was glad he was mad.

  “Let’s go,” the guard said sharply. He had a handheld electronic device and he punched something into it that popped open the glass door to Michael’s cell. “Princess Kassandra wants you pardoned so she can put you to work. I’ll make sure you’re pardoned, but if you get in any more trouble, I’ll personally eliminate you, Shadow. I’ve had enough of your kind lately.”

  There was no time to waste. I began walking out of the dungeon, following the guard. Michael was behind me and Kassandra behind him. Had Kieran woken up yet? How much time did we have to get to the gateway?

  I felt Michael’s eyes on me, disappointed and confused about why I’d so easily given him away to someone I’d just met. I was desperate to tell him everything, but it would have to wait a couple more minutes.

  “You there!” someone shouted from a cell as we passed. We were only a few steps from the locked door leading to the front of the dungeon where the elevators were. “Stop.”

  I turned to see a man with his hands pressed up against the glass wall of his cell. He was tall and had green eyes, dark hair, and a full beard.

  “I’ve been waiting for you,” he said. “I knew you’d come.”

  A chill went down my arms at the way he said it. “Who, me?”

  He grinned to show off white teeth. “No. Him.”

  He was looking at Michael.

  “You’ve been waiting for me?” Michael asked suspiciously.

  “Yes.”

  “Who are you?”

  “Someone who knew your father.” The man stroked a hand over his chest, over his amulet, nearly identical to Michael’s.

  I inhaled sharply. It was the other Shadow—the one who’d killed Rhys’s parents. I felt a sliver of fear.

  “Keep quiet, Jonas,” the guard said. “You’ve caused enough trouble.”

  Why weren’t we walking? The guard was still fiddling with his handheld device. I tried the first door leading toward the eleva
tors, but it was locked.

  “Can we get this opened?” I asked.

  The guard nodded. “Just a sec. I need to finish this pardon before we’ll be able to pass through with the Shadow. Next time, please call ahead.”

  Michael shook his head. “I think you have me confused with someone else. My father died a long time ago.”

  “Yes, he did. He was murdered because he refused to be a slave to demonkind. And look at you.” Jonas’s eyes narrowed. “He’d be ashamed that his only son has accepted that fate without a fight.”

  “How do you even know who I am?”

  “Because you look exactly like your father. You’re from a strong line, a royal line, one that was exterminated because of that strength. You could lead us out of this slavery, out of this treatment at the hands of demons. They took away our land and they took away our freedom, and they slaughtered the ones who wouldn’t comply, both then and now. How can you sit back and not want to do something about that?”

  The guard rapped on the glass and looked at Kassandra. “See what we have to put up with down here, Princess? But this glass is strong enough to hold anyone, so don’t worry.”

  “Do I look worried?” she replied. “Just hurry up.”

  “Yes, Princess.”

  Jonas’s gaze moved to Michael’s grayish amulet. “Looks like you’ve used your power recently. That’s a good start. But do you know how to replenish your energy now and become even stronger than you were before? I bet you don’t even know half of what you can really do.”

  “Why did you kill the king and queen of the faery realm?” I asked.

  His green eyes moved to me. “Because the opportunity presented itself. And because I needed to come here to this dungeon and wait until this moment arrived. I’ve been waiting for you, Michael.”

  “You know my name?”

  “Of course.”