“No, I don’t think you do. I don’t think you
“What did I say?”
“About Michael being your friend and not your servant.”
“He is my friend.”
“Maybe so. But … how do I put this so you’ll understand? Kieran and the inhabitants of the dark worlds in general will not understand this manner of thinking. I know that our ways are different from yours, Nikki. But humans also have servants.”
“Not ones that serve against their will.”
“Michael isn’t being imprisoned here against his will.”
“No, but he doesn’t exactly have much of a choice, does he?” When he didn’t answer that, I continued. “Are you trying to tell me I’m not allowed to be his friend? Because then I think we have a problem.”
“Yes, it’s clear to me we have a problem.” My father stood up from the table so quickly and suddenly that his chair squeaked backward. The sound made me jump. I hadn’t realized how tense I was. He paced to the fireplace, and when he came back I realized something. My father was angry, but trying very hard to control it.
“What?” I asked, now uncertain.
“It’s against the rules, Nikki.”
“What is?”
“I assigned Michael specifically as your servant because I thought you’d feel more comfortable with him. He’s the only servant here who’s around your age.” He rubbed his forehead. “I wasn’t thinking. It was foolish of me, I see that now.”
“I don’t understand.”
“That’s the problem, but unfortunately not one that can be solved today.” He let out a strained breath. “I think you should go home now. Try to forget about the prophecy. Try to have a normal life. Take care of your mother and keep her safe.”
I stood up. “My mother should know about this, you know. About
His expression darkened. “No, Nikki.”
“No?” I’d gone from uncertain to frustrated to angry in no time flat. “Just like that? No discussion necessary?”
“That’s right.”
“She isn’t with anyone right now, you know. She broke up with the last guy because he was a jerk. And I also saw him hit her once.”
His eyes flashed red at that particular mental image. “Nikki …”
“She keeps meeting these creeps and hopes they’ll be the right guy for her, but it never works out. I know she still thinks of you. She was madly in love with you once, and I’m positive she still feels that way, even after everything that happened. And I think that you—”
“Nikki, stop!” He slammed his fist down on the table so hard that I heard a loud crack as it splintered down the middle.
I jumped back, and regarded him with wide eyes. He’d been so quiet, harboring more of a simmering anger, that I hadn’t realized it had grown to destructive levels — but, he was a demon, wasn’t he? I feared for a moment that he was furious with me, that I’d crossed some invisible line, said too much, pushed him too hard. I’d been upset and wanted to lash out.
So I lashed out at a really sore spot for him. Obviously I’d hit the mark.
“Let me try to put this in terms you’ll understand,” he said, his voice already quiet and controlled again. He blinked and his eyes returned to their usual hazel shade which matched my own. “What happened with your mother and myself was a mistake.”
I flinched.
He shook his head. “No, not because of you. Back then, I was young and foolish and willing to break the rules I’d grown up with simply out of rebellion. Because I hated my father and wanted to prove that he had no control over me. I was fully aware that I was forbidden to fall in love with a human. I just didn’t know what the consequences would be.”
I knew this already. “You had to come back here and take the throne. You were told my mom was dead so you never tried to contact her again.”
He waved a hand. “Yes, but that wasn’t the penalty for breaking the law. I didn’t realize it at the time, but being with Susan and ignoring the very strict and specific rules of the dark worlds meant that I was putting your mother’s life at risk.”
“Her life?”
“Yes. She never knew what I really was, and that was in her best interest. If she found out I was a demon, if I told her then or now out of some selfish need to be with her, she would be in grave peril. The most common punishment for breaking a law like this is death. Since I am royal, I might be pardoned. But your mother is not royal, and she would certainly be punished — the council would see to it.”
“They’d kill her?” It was barely a whisper.
“Yes.” His expression was stony.
This was why he didn’t want her to know about him. Because he was afraid she’d get hurt.
“But you’re king here,” I breathed. “Can’t you do something? Can’t you change things?”
“I am king, but the Shadowlands are only a small part of the dark worlds. They serve one solitary purpose — maintaining the barrier. In fact, my title holds very little weight with the council. Perhaps if I were to become more lax in my duties and let those who wish to pass through to the faery and human worlds at will, like Kieran, have their way, then my opinion might be more valued. But I know I can’t do that. My sense of duty makes me an outsider to them. I have no doubt that if they learned I had told your mother everything and drawn her into a world she never knew existed, I would be signing her death warrant. And I will never do that.”
I was trying to process everything. Make sense of it. Trying to find another answer. There had to be one, right?
“You need to know, Nikki,” he continued, “that the decisions I make regarding your mother, as well as those I make about Michael, are not to hurt them but to protect them. Even when those decisions may seem harsh or difficult to understand.” He looked at me very intensely. “You are my daughter. And even though I only had the privilege of meeting you very recently, I know you will make the right decisions. I don’t think you’d ever put anyone you care about at great risk if you knew you could protect them.”
He was being purposely vague, I thought, but there was no mistaking his meaning. Just by liking Michael as more than a servant, I was putting his life at risk because of the laws in the dark worlds.
Indignation rose inside me but quickly settled into a strange, sick feeling in the pit of my stomach.
“It’s not fair,” I said quietly.
“I know.”
The next moment, Michael entered the room carrying a metal tray with a pitcher and two silver goblets on it.
“Thank you, Michael,” my father said. “But I think it’s time for you to take my daughter back to the gateway so she can return to her normal life.”
Michael put the tray down on the table. “Yes, Your Majesty.”
Then my father looked at me, his eyes, so similar to mine, holding a shadow of the pain he felt inside. That he’d felt for nearly seventeen years since he’d been forced to leave my mother without a word of explanation. “I’ll send Michael to you when I have more news from the Underworld.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
“And please, Nikki, remember what I said.”
“I will.”
“Try not to worry about the prophecy. I don’t believe you’re capable of anything like that. There has to be another explanation, and I assure you I’ll find it.”
He said it with such conviction, such belief, I couldn’t feel anything but grateful to him. He was in a difficult position as king of the desolate and disrespected Shadowlands, someone who’d had to make tough decisions and
