impossible to find, as well as where she made her home.”
“Those records are not for everyone’s eyes,” Kieran said. “It’s top secret, highly sensitive information that my mother, the queen, keeps under lock and key.”
“Okay,” I said. “So the last Darkling had a bit of an itchy trigger finger, or whatever. That was a long time ago, and it doesn’t have anything to do with me. Honestly, I don’t want to cause any trouble or hurt anyone, like, ever.”
“Of course you don’t.” My father nodded. “So, as you can see, Kieran, your visit here was a waste of your time and ours. There’s no indication that my daughter is any danger to you or your precious demon council now or any time in the future, and basing your facts on something that allegedly happened a millennium ago is ludicrous. I realize Queen Sephina has always kept a tight rein on her kingdom and her concern is not completely incomprehensible, but I assure you, worrying about Nikki in any way, shape, or form is wholly unnecessary.”
“I would normally agree with you one hundred percent, Your Majesty.” Kieran crossed his arms as he continued to study me. I swear, during this entire conversation, he hadn’t taken his attention away from me for more than a second. I felt as if I was being inspected like a blonde slab of beef.
“Normally?” I said. “So what’s the problem now?”
“The problem now, Princess Nikki, is not that there are rumors or legends about a past Darkling being troublesome — though this is, after all, what brought about the law forbidding humans and demons from procreating. It was in order to avoid creating a hybrid of the two species. Isn’t that right, Your Majesty?” He glanced meaningfully at my father.
“Kieran, stop mincing words and tell us what the issue really is,” my father said impatiently, ignoring the jab.
Before Kieran spoke another word I suddenly got a chill, a dark sense of foreboding. I looked at Michael and saw the same realization in his widening eyes.
::Princess, do you think this has to do with what King Rhys told you earlier?::
I inhaled sharply.
“There is a prophecy,” Kieran said, confirming what Michael and I were thinking. “It was revealed last week, on the very day Princess Nikki turned sixteen. At the time, it wasn’t known what it meant or who specifically it pertained to, but now it’s very clear to the council.”
“And what does this prophecy say?” my father asked sharply.
Kieran’s blue eyes tracked back to me. “That your daughter, the first Darkling born in a thousand years, will single-handedly destroy us all.”
Rhys had been right, after all. He wasn’t lying. There was a prophecy about me.
And it was a really sucky one.
“That’s completely crazy,” was the first thing I said after I found my voice again. “I’m going to destroy everyone? That doesn’t even make sense.”
Kieran’s intense gaze didn’t waver. “That is what the prophecy says.”
“I don’t care what it says. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve ever heard.”
“I agree,” my father said.
I stared at him. “You do?”
He nodded, and looked at Kieran. “Who related this prophecy?”
“The official palace oracle. One who has relayed prophecies for a hundred years to my mother and to her mother before her. He has never been wrong before and certainly never about something so specific or catastrophic.”
“Well, your oracle is wrong now.” My father dismissed him without missing a beat. “It’s clear to me this must be a false prophecy based on a thousand years of rumors and lies about Darklings.”
“Your opinion is noted, of course, Your Majesty,” Kieran said thinly. “But I’m afraid your objectivity in this matter is at question.”
My father ignored him and placed his hand gently against the side of my flushed face. “There is no part of you that is destructive, Nikki. I know that. You are so much like your mother, and she is a beautiful and truly good woman. She’d never hurt a fly.”
I nodded in full agreement. “She takes spiders outside in glass jars so she doesn’t have to kill them.”
He smiled and rested his hand protectively on my arm. “I don’t doubt it for a moment.”
I relaxed ever so slightly. He didn’t believe the prophecy, so of course I didn’t have to freak out about it. This was a major relief.
“Prophecies are taken very seriously by the council,” Kieran said. He leaned casually against the edge of the large black table.
“And what does the council propose to do about this?” my father asked evenly.
“That remains to be seen, based on my report,” he said. “It’s likely the next step will be for the princess to be presented to the council in person, and a decision will then be made regarding what to do about her.”
“That’s not going to happen.” My father kept his hand on my arm, as if shielding me from the prince. “You insisted you tell us this news in person. I now see that wasn’t entirely necessary, was it?”
“There are procedures to be followed,” Kieran said. “It’s a rule that information of this level must be given face-to-face.”
My father hissed out a breath, betraying the annoyance he’d been trying to hide until now. “You have delivered this news. I respectfully request that you leave my kingdom.”
“But there’s much more to discuss,” Kieran protested. “This is a highly volatile situation and one that needs to be handled immediately. A prophecy like this can’t simply be ignored. I need to ask the princess more questions about her intentions.”
“No. You’ve had your say. You’ve gauged our reactions. Now it’s time for you to leave. If there is anything else you wish to discuss, you may contact me by gazer.”
His hand began to glow with red light and he waved it toward the door, which turned from a normal entrance to a swirling gateway.
“You may return to the Underworld now, Prince Kieran,” he said.
Kieran’s gaze flicked to me and his head cocked slightly to the side. “Your daughter means a great deal to you, doesn’t she, King Desmond?”
“She does, indeed.”
“I understand why you’d wish to protect her, no matter the cost.” The prince’s eyes moved to Michael, who stood silently at an arm’s reach from me.
I glowered at the prince. How could a statement that sounded so friendly, so matter-of-fact, be so filled with malice?
Kieran gave us a forced smile. “This matter will be resolved. Denying the validity of the prophecy will only complicate things.”
“Please give my regards to Queen Sephina and Princess Kassandra.” My father’s words were clipped. There wasn’t any friendliness in his voice. In fact, I’d describe it as ice-cold.
“I’ll do that.” Kieran dipped his head in my direction. “Princess Nikki, I look forward to the next time we meet.”
Without another word, he walked through the gateway. It disappeared in a quick flash of light a moment after he did.
“I
“Kieran is only a messenger,” my father said, walking past the table and toward the fireplace. “He has no real authority, here or anywhere else. That’s what makes him the way he is — desperate to please his mother and to show his existence actually matters.”
“Does it work?”
“I doubt it,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to experience that. It must have been a shock to you to hear what he had to say.”
“Not as shocking as you might think. I already knew there was a prophecy.”
His eyebrows went up. “How?”
I quickly told him about Rhys — his enrollment in the high school, his presence in my biology class, and finally
