Reign Check

high heels.

No problem.

Melinda looked perplexed by this exchange. “He’s acting strange. What was that all about?”

“I have absolutely no idea,” I lied.

“Aren’t you two together anymore?”

“Anymore? Were we together in the first place?”

“You went to the dance together.”

“So?” I tried to look innocent. It was difficult. “Does that mean I have to marry him or something?”

She finally smiled again. “Yeah, you have to marry him. Didn’t you know that? Going to Winter Formal means you’re automatically engaged.”

I couldn’t help but snort a little at that. “Then we’re in serious trouble.”

She sighed. “It’s too bad. I thought you and Chris would be perfect together. Are you interested in somebody else?”

I looked at her cautiously. “Why? Are you going to play Cupid again?”

“Depends on who you pick.”

“Nobody comes to mind.”

Yet another secret I couldn’t share with Melinda — or anyone else — was that I did have a boyfriend.

Michael didn’t go to school here. He also wasn’t exactly what you’d call a normal boyfriend. In fact, he was about as nonnormal as you could get. He wasn’t a human. Or a demon. He was a Shadow, and he lived in my father’s castle. Shadows were enslaved to demons and had been practically forever. It was ridiculous and outdated. From what I’d seen, the Shadowlands were seriously like something out of Medieval Times dinner theater. Only no jousting. Or turkey drumsticks.

Demons and Shadows were forbidden to be together as anything other than master and servant. Also ridiculous.

And get this: my father had originally assigned Michael to be my personal servant. But I didn’t think of him that way at all. Plus, since Michael put his life on the line to help defeat my aunt late last Friday night, I’d made my father promise Michael wouldn’t have to be a servant anymore. That was the last time I’d seen either of them.

It was all complicated enough to give me a big fat headache when I thought about it for too long. I rubbed my temples and finally opened my locker so I could unload my backpack and grab my books for the first class of the day — biology. I had it on fairly good authority that today was dissect-a-frog day. I was looking forward to that disgusting prospect only a little more than my now-inevitable conversation with Chris.

“So your party’s definitely on, huh?” I asked, trying to concentrate on something else.

Melinda nodded as she stuck her head back into her locker. “Saturday night starting at eight.” She hesitated. “Chris is coming. Is that going to be a problem?”

“A problem? No, of course not.”

Sure it was.

I was finding it difficult not to obsess about Chris. He was going to be a big problem. Would he tell anyone what he’d seen? Would anyone believe him? And if so, what would happen then? Would I be able to deal with it?

Yes, of course I would. I’d battled my evil aunt, who wanted to kill me. I could deal with Chris knowing my secret.

Still, my head began to throb even worse.

I knew I had to keep on top of my emotions. Since I was a Darkling — half human, half demon — all this power had built up inside me since I turned sixteen, just waiting for a chance to burst free. And when your inner demon wants to burst free, it’s not a pretty sight. Trust me on that.

I looked at the little mirror on my locker door and gasped. Thanks to my stress about Chris, my eyes had turned red — full red with black slits for pupils, like a cat’s eyes. And they were glowing.

No. Not here.

I couldn’t change into my Darkling form right here in the middle of the school hallway. I suddenly pictured screaming, panicked students running in every direction trying to escape from me. Yelling and pointing at the monster with the big leather wings wearing jeans and a hot pink V-neck sweater.

Relax, I told myself. Everything’s okay.

“Can you come over earlier on Saturday and help me set things up?” Melinda’s voice echoed inside her locker.

“Yeah … sure. No biggie.” I squeezed my eyes shut and attempted to breathe normally. I tried to think happy thoughts.

I thought about Michael.

Dark hair, green eyes, a rarely seen but amazing smile.

Michael’s lips. Michael kissing me.

Okay, I started to feel calmer. Happier.

I opened my eyes and looked in the mirror again, relieved to see they had returned to their usual hazel color. I pulled my long blonde hair back and tucked it behind my ears. After quickly applying a little lip gloss from the zippered pocket of my backpack, I was all ready to go to my first class.

I could do this. Everything was fine.

I repeated it over and over in my head.

Everything is going to be fine. Chris is my only problem this week, and I can totally deal with him.

“I guess I’ll see you at lunch,” I said.

“Oh my God.” Melinda grabbed my arm. “Nikki, there he is.”

“There who is?”

“The exchange student.” She bit her bottom lip, her attention focused behind me. “So hot. I could die.”

I turned to look and my mouth dropped open.

Melinda was right — the new guy was really good-looking.

He was tall and cute with short chestnut brown hair. He had dark brown eyes. I wasn’t close enough to see the color at the moment, but I knew they were dark brown.

How did I know? Because I’d already met the new student Melinda was excited about.

His name was Rhys. He was sixteen years old. But like me, he wasn’t all that normal.

Believe it or not, he was the king of the faery realm. The forest that bordered the Shadowlands led directly into his kingdom.

And he knew I was a demon princess.

Had I thought Chris was my only problem at the moment?

Um … wrong. So very wrong.

The last time I’d seen Rhys, only a couple of days ago, he’d mentioned a fascination with visiting the human world someday. He’d never been here before. He brought it up during the same conversation when he’d threatened to kill me with a very sharp sword.

Out of the corner of my eye I could see Melinda’s smile fade. “That’s weird. Do you already know him, Nikki?”

“I … uh …” I clamped my mouth shut before I said anything that might get me into more trouble than I was already in.

Despite his death threat the last time we’d been face-to-face, the sixteen-year-old faery king was currently waving at me.

“Weird” didn’t even begin to cover it.

2

“Never seen him before in my life,” I said to Melinda after I found my voice. “Maybe he’s waving at you.”

“Oooh, you think?” Surprisingly, this hadn’t occurred to her.

“Absolutely.” My throat felt dry.

“We’ll definitely talk later,” she said with a grin. “Gotta go. See you at lunch.”