Reign Check

  “See?” she said. “You’re completely safe. Any closer and I might have lost a finger.”

  “That is oddly reassuring,” I said.

  “Please, come with me.” She turned and began walking away. Michael didn’t make any immediate move to follow her.

  “We can leave right now and go back to the Shadowlands,” he said, his worried gaze sweeping over my partial Darkling shift. He reached down to squeeze my hand. “Your father will be furious to know the council sent Elizabeth to meet us.”

  I concentrated for a moment and felt my horns and talons disappear. I was getting better at controlling my shifts. Practice makes perfect, after all.

  “No … let’s keep going. We’re here now. She can’t touch me.”

  “I really don’t like her.”

  “That makes two of us.”

  Despite my brave(ish) words, seeing Elizabeth with no warning had freaked me out. So I tried to focus on something, anything, else. As we tentatively followed Elizabeth at a safe distance, I craned my neck, looking at the tall buildings around us.

  If I didn’t know we were in the Underworld, I would swear it was New York City. Mom had taken me on a trip to visit her publisher there a couple years ago. This was similar, only I didn’t see any tour buses or big neon billboards, like in Times Square.

  There was one major difference, though. In New York, there were crowds of people and the streets were filled with traffic. There were sounds and smells—both good and bad—and an energy that infused the city from corner to corner.

  Here was none of that. No sirens, no traffic—no cars or taxis, either, parked or driving—no crowds. No one, seemingly, but the three of us. That such a large city was so silent and empty gave it an eerie ghost-town feel that sent a shiver through me.

  Where is everybody? I asked Michael telepathically.

  ::I don’t know. The Underworld is a very large place—bigger than anything you can imagine. I guess everyone’s really spread out. Doesn’t explain why it’s completely deserted, though. We can leave—::

  No, we’re staying. For now, anyway.

  Michael stayed close to me, keeping watch for potential threats. But there was nothing and no one other than Elizabeth, walking quickly on high heels that click-clacked along the sidewalk, the cloaklike blue dress she wore swishing around her slim legs.

  I remembered when I’d first met her—she’d seemed so nice, so helpful, so caring. My mom was an only child, like me, so the thought of finding not only my father but my aunt as well had been amazing to me.

  Unfortunately, she’d been one big lie wrapped in a beautiful blonde package. I think she’d single-handedly taught me the lesson not to trust anyone I met, or anything they said, before I got to know them better.

  We finally came to a building that seemed to be made entirely of gold, and it reached so far into the sky that I couldn’t even see the top of it.

  “Here we are,” Elizabeth announced. “The castle.”

  “This is a castle?” I said.

  She nodded. “Queen Sephina changes the appearance of the Underworld’s core frequently. All you see around you can change at her whim. Right now it’s a city. Six months ago this was forestland. A year ago it was a tropical island.”

  She changed her surroundings like she might change her outfit? “So she gets easily bored?”

  “Her daughter, Princess Kassandra, is the one who requests the changes when she visits. And”—Elizabeth sighed heavily—“what Kassandra wants, Kassandra gets.”

  That sounded interesting. Someone who made Elizabeth sigh with frustration and annoyance? I liked this Princess Kassandra person already.

  Despite my feet really wanting to rebel and head back through the gateway to where I knew it was safe, I followed Elizabeth and Michael through the huge glass doors at the front of the building. They led into an expansive lobby with white marble floors. The walls looked like mottled silver and reflected our shapes, without detail, as we walked through. To the left of the doors was a fountain, and a hundred feet in front of us were elevators.

  “Where is everybody?” I asked. My voice echoed off the metallic walls.

  “The council is upstairs right now.”

  “No, I mean … everyone else. Like, the people, or demons, who live in the Underworld. Outside was empty as well. Where are they?”

  “The Underworld is made up of many divisions, Nikki,” she explained patiently, as if this was something I should already know. “This particular one represents the kingdom—the core. For security reasons, only royals and our servants and guards are allowed here, unless we choose to invite others. So yes, it can seem a little underpopulated at times.”

  “You could say that.” I glanced at Michael.

  “Although, it’s much more populated than the Shadowlands.” Elizabeth shook her head and laughed. “Honestly, I don’t know what my brother does to fill his years there other than read from that massive library of his, chat with his servants, and walk the halls of that boring castle. At least I was able to come and go at my leisure. And since his magic is all used up by maintaining the barrier, he can’t even use it to change his surroundings to something more interesting.

  “Oh, I’m sorry,” I said as the anger rose inside me. “Are we politely chatting about my father? The one you tried to poison so you could take over his throne?”

  Her laughter died away and she cleared her throat. “Yes, well, I guess there’s no need to drum up the past, is there?”

  The look she gave me was filled with extreme hatred for me—since I’d basically ruined her master plan of taking over the Shadowlands and letting her boyfriend Kieran have an all-access pass to the human and faery worlds.

  There was an edge of fear there, too, and I didn’t think it just had to do with the prophecy that may or may not be true about me. I’d proven the last time I saw my aunt that my power as a Darkling was bigger than hers as a demon. She hadn’t liked being defeated, especially by a sixteen-year-old.

  Even now, standing ten feet away from her, power began to move along my arm and into my right hand. I instinctively wanted to protect myself against somebody who’d tried to hurt me and my father. She’d taken Michael’s amulet away and nearly killed him as well. To say Elizabeth and I would never be good buddies was putting it mildly.

  “You said the council is upstairs?” Michael asked, as if trying to divert my thoughts from ones of zapping my aunt into the next dimension. Literally.

  “They are.” She walked over toward the fountain, sat on the edge of it, and dipped her hand into the shallow water.

  “Princess Nikki has arrived,” she said. After a moment, she nodded. “Very well.”

  It was a gazer. A big one. I guess it worked similar to an intercom.

  Cell phones were easier in my honest opinion. Way more portable than a magical pool of water.

  “They’ll see you now.” Elizabeth got up and walked toward the elevator.

  My breath caught in my chest. Just like that. No preparation time. No nothing. I had to meet with the demon council. I looked at Michael for support.

  He shrugged at me.

  Yeah. Real helpful.

  Elizabeth glanced over her shoulder, and a smile snaked across her face. “Oh, it looks like Fernando is coming to say hello.”

  “Who’s Fernando?” I asked.

  “Princess—” Michael’s voice sounded strained. “Do not move.”

  “What?”

  I suddenly heard the sound of scratching on the marble floor, a sound that got closer and closer, along with something like wet, slobbery breaths. Then a low, throaty, threatening growl. I turned to my right slowly, very slowly, to see the scariest thing I’d ever seen in my entire life.

  It was big, the size of a full-grown lion. Its lips curled back from long, razor-sharp yellow teeth. Its fur was coarse and black and its eyes were glowing demon red. Its long swishing tail had a sharp point to it, like an arrowhead.

  “Don’t worry, he’s very
friendly,” Elizabeth said evenly.

  Michael’s hand clamped down on my wrist, tight enough to hurt, but he didn’t move, either.

  I seriously was going to pass out.

  My Darkling power—the energy and magic I’d had at the ready a moment ago to defend myself against Elizabeth—suddenly vanished. Where did it go? I felt completely helpless to defend myself.

  Whatever this monster was, had it drained me of my power? Just like that?

  The monster continued to growl at me as it got close enough to sniff my shaking hand. Tendrils of smoke wafted from its nose and a steady stream of drool dripped from its jowls.

  Elizabeth said this thing was friendly? Didn’t seem that friendly to me. Actually, it looked hungry.

  “Hey … Fernando,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady. “Nice puppy.”

  “Puppy?” Michael managed. “That thing’s a hellhound. I thought they were extinct.”

  I gulped. “Nice, uh, hellhound. Who’s a cute hellhound? You are! Yes, you are!”

  But instead of being charmed by my awkward puppy love, the monster growled again and moved to block our path to the elevator. Elizabeth waited nearby with an amused expression on her face at my fear of the Underworld castle’s family pet.

  “He won’t hurt you,” she said. “Just walk toward me.”

  Was she serious? Or was she trying to get her revenge by letting this thing rip out my throat?

  What do you know about hellhounds? I asked Michael telepathically.

  ::They’re just as dangerous as they look.::

  That’s what I was afraid of.

  “Fernando!” another voice called out. “There you are!”

  Out of the corner of my eye I saw someone approach us, making a beeline to the beast. It was a pretty girl who looked around my age, with wavy waist-length dark hair, vivid blue eyes, and pale porcelain skin. She wore a short black skirt and a flowy white blouse. When she got to the hellhound, she fearlessly grabbed one of its pointed batlike ears and tugged.

  “Leave them alone. Bad boy.” She pointed in the direction she’d come from. “Shoo!”

  I half-expected the monster to attack her, but it didn’t. Instead, its growl turned into a whine and it padded out of the lobby without another red-eyed glare in my direction.

  She’d saved me. I’d been a few seconds away from becoming half-demon kibble, I just knew it.

  “Thank you,” I managed, my voice sounding strained.

  “Not a problem,” she said. “You’re Princess Nikki, right?”

  “Yeah. But just Nikki is fine.”

  She grinned. “Then you can call me just Kassandra.”

  “Kassandra,” Elizabeth said. “You’ll have a chance to talk to Nikki after she meets with the council. I need to take her upstairs now.”

  Kassandra rolled her eyes, her smile remaining exactly where it was. “I’ll handle it, Elizabeth.”

  Elizabeth looked confused. “You’ll handle what, dear?”

  “I’ll take Nikki upstairs. You can leave us now.”

  “But—”

  “I honestly can’t believe Kieran sent you to meet Nikki when I could have come instead. He’s so unbelievably thoughtless.” She looked at me and seemed a bit embarrassed. “My brother’s always been a serious pain.”

  “Kieran’s your brother?” I asked with surprise.

  She nodded. “Unfortunately.”

  “So you’re the princess here,” I said, stating the obvious. Another demon princess, just like me. Although I didn’t think Kassandra was anything like me if she had to live here, if Kieran was her sibling, and if she was able to boss around hellhounds as easily as if they were troublesome Chihuahuas.

  “I am. That’s why I’m so excited you’re here. I’ve been dying to meet you.”

  Elizabeth cleared her throat. “Kieran wanted me to help out today.”

  “No, Elizabeth,” Kassandra said patiently. “Kieran is simply trying to keep you busy so you stay out of his hair. Leave. Now. Or I’ll tell my mother you didn’t follow a direct order from me, and you know what’ll happen then.”

  “Fine, have it your way,” Elizabeth snapped, and with a glare Kassandra didn’t see, my aunt walked out of the lobby and disappeared through a set of doors to my far left.

  Interesting. Elizabeth had to take orders from someone my age. I liked the sound of that. Then again, Elizabeth had said Kassandra gets what she wants when she wants it, right? In this case, she was a very helpful asset.

  Kassandra shook her head. “Of all the places she could have been banished to it had to be here. I really cannot stand your aunt. Neither can my brother, for that matter. These days, he tries to be anywhere she’s not.”

  “Sorry to hear that.”

  “No, you’re not.”

  “No, maybe I’m not.”

  Kassandra looked about ready to burst with excitement. “I can’t tell you how great it is to have you here. How long are you staying?”

  “As soon as the meeting’s done, I’m leaving.” I wrung my hands, feeling some serious stage fright at the prospect of being presented to the council.

  Her smile deflated. “Really? I’d hoped to show you around a bit. Can’t you stay longer than that?”

  I glanced at Michael, who silently stood close to me, but not too close, carefully observing my conversation with the Underworld’s demon princess. “Well … maybe a bit. Like, a tiny bit.”

  I had to admit, the thought of hanging out with her, getting to know her, appealed to me. She might be able to give me some tips.

  “You’re all stressed about the prophecy?” she asked.

  “Big-time stressed.”

  “I think it’s really cool, actually. I wish I had a prophecy about me. This place is boredom central and finally something is happening that’s got everyone excited.” She glanced at Michael, her gaze resting for a moment on his amulet, and her eyebrow went up. “You’re a Shadow?”

  He looked at me but didn’t say anything in reply.

  “His name is Michael,” I said.

  “Your servant.”

  I pressed my lips together. “Well, I guess you could—”

  “I wish I had a Shadow servant. My mother won’t let me have one, but they’re way cooler than the demon ones. Demons can be so cranky and demanding. I’ve heard Shadows are extremely obedient, not that they have any choice. Once they’re assigned to you, they’re compelled to follow your orders no matter what. Is it like that for you?”

  I cringed. “Well … I don’t know. I … I guess so.”

  More evidence that Shadows had no control over their own lives. I’d compelled Michael to follow my wishes once before, and it was only because I had no other choice. I would never order him around on a regular basis.

  She started to walk a slow circle around him. Michael didn’t look the least bit comfortable under her close scrutiny. “Is it true you can speak to your assigned Shadow telepathically? That would be so handy.”

  ::You don’t have to tell her anything.:: Michael projected to me.

  She seems nice enough, I sent back. Although, I don’t like how she’s looking at you.

  ::Like I’m a trained rat in a cage?::

  She doesn’t know any better. It’s kind of sad, actually. For her.

  “Telepathy, huh?” I said aloud, playing innocent. “Really? Never heard of that. But it would be kind of handy.”

  “That’s too bad.” She looked disappointed. “Oh, well. Some rumors are true, some aren’t. I’d still like a Shadow of my own one day.”

  Michael’s expression soured. ::She’s a spoiled brat. Actually, this attitude is what I expected from you before we met and you showed me differently. Like she owns the world and everyone in it.::

  I’ll tell her you think so.

  His brows immediately knitted together with concern. ::I don’t think that would be a good idea, Princess.::

  Then it’s good that I’m totally kidding.

  “So, Kassandra …
you live here?” I thought it might be a good idea to change the subject.

  “I go to school north of here, but I’m on break right now.”

  “You go to school?” I don’t know why I was surprised by that. Demon teenagers needed an education, too.

  She nodded. “It’s a boarding school, which means I don’t have to live here very much. Classes are a pain but there are loads of other students to hang around with.” She sighed. “Being here feels like a punishment. Nobody to talk to, nobody to hang out with. But I go back in a week. Can’t wait. You go to school, too?”

  “High school.”

  “That’s in the human world, right? So you go to school with a bunch of humans?”

  “Mostly.”

  “Mostly?”

  “Well.” I cleared my throat. “Right now the king of the faery realm is going there, too, which cuts down on the human-only class list.”

  “King Rhys?” she said immediately.

  I nodded. “That’s the one.”

  Her expression grew grave. “His parents were murdered two months ago.”

  My heart ached again for Rhys’s loss. “I didn’t know it was that recent.”

  “It happened right here in the castle.”

  I looked around and felt a sense of foreboding. “How did it happen?”

  “The king and queen came here for a meeting with my mother,” Kassandra continued. “There’s a lot of bad blood between faeries and demons—it goes way back. I studied it in my history class, but I never really paid much attention to it. Anyway, my mom wanted to mend things and maybe move toward a new and bright future of peace between the worlds. So they arrived and they were attacked and killed right in the lobby before the guards could do anything but drag the murderer away and throw him in the dungeon. That’s where he is right now.” She pointed at the ground and, despite the grim story, she grinned. “It’s kind of exciting, isn’t it?”

  I looked at the spotless white marble floor and felt a bit sick. “There’s a dungeon down there?”

  “Yup. The castle sits directly on top of it. It’s a small one compared to those in Hell, but don’t worry, the prisoners are kept tightly locked up at all times.”