“You saw me?” He seemed surprised.
“I thought I did. But then when I looked closer, you weren’t there.”
He touched his amulet. “I can stay hidden when I concentrate. It’s an ability I recently discovered. I can blend into the background of almost any room and become unnoticeable.”
“Because you’re a Shadow?”
He nodded. “I know I’m not very good at it yet, if you saw me when I didn’t want to be seen. I haven’t had much chance to practice.”
So even when he wore his amulet, Michael still could take on the consistency of a shadow if he wanted to. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“Why didn’t you say anything to me?” I asked.
“It was better for me to stay at a distance, ready to step in if necessary.” He shrugged. “It wasn’t ever necessary. But that’s how I knew you’d be at your friend Melinda’s tonight. When your father told me about the demon council’s request, I immediately knew where to find you.”
My throat felt thick. I wanted to be angry at him for not letting me know he was nearby, but I couldn’t summon the emotion. Michael had been here all week, when I’d been missing him. After I’d had to end things between us, he still stuck by me to make sure I was safe, trying to blend into the background like any good servant would.
The thought made me want to cry.
“Here we are,” Michael said after another minute passed in silence. He’d found the swirling gateway near some garbage cans behind a variety store. We hadn’t needed to use the magic from my dragon’s tear to find it this time. Michael’s amulet pulsed with soft green light in the darkness.
I touched his arm. “Thank you for watching out for me, Michael. Really.”
He nodded but didn’t meet my eyes. “It’s my duty, Princess.”
“I’m going,” I said firmly.
“No, Nikki, you’re not.”
“Yes, I am.” I could do this for hours. It had already been about ten minutes since Michael and I had arrived at the castle, only to be met by my father’s very stubborn opinion that I shouldn’t do what Queen Sephina wanted me to do.
“They can’t force this meeting,” he argued.
“But if I don’t go, the queen will be mad.”
“Then let her be mad.”
“I won’t let her hurt you.”
“Hurt me?” My father looked sharply at Michael. “What have you told my daughter about this?”
Michael had his hands clasped behind his back. “Only the truth, Your Majesty.”
His eyes flashed demon red. “I assign you one thing, to keep my daughter safe, and this is what you do? You convince her to go to the Underworld and put herself at risk?”
“Queen Sephina has assured her safety,” Michael said, with no weakness in his voice at the reprimand. “The greater risk is if she doesn’t go.”
“Greater risk to whom?”
“To you, Your Majesty, and you know it.”
My father looked shocked at that. “So this is what I get for allowing you so many freedoms here, more than the other servants? You’ve begun to think for yourself?”
“I’ve always thought for myself,” Michael said. “I just rarely expressed it out loud before. I know you hate the council, but denying them this request will make them angry. All the queen wants to do is meet Princess Nikki in person. I think if she does, it will be obvious to her and everyone there that the prophecy is false.”
“You
“I think Michael’s right,” I said as firmly as I could. “So you can argue with me all night or you can open up a gateway for us so I can go and get this over with.”
My father’s expression shadowed as he paced over toward the huge fireplace, which blazed so brightly it was almost blinding in the otherwise dark room. It was the only thing about the cold, dark castle I’d found that had any warmth or personality to it. I didn’t like to think that my father had been stuck here, never being able to leave, since before I was even born. It was like being in prison.
“I wish I could go with you,” he said finally.
“Me, too.” It was so warm in the room that I peeled off my winter coat and draped it over the back of the nearest chair.
His eyes rested on Michael for a second. “Please give my daughter and me a moment alone.”
“Of course, Your Majesty,” Michael replied after a brief hesitation. With a last glance at me, he turned and left the room.
“As you can see,” my father said after a moment, “despite what Michael is, I give him many freedoms here. He’s earned that much from me.”
As usual, that made me bristle, ready to defend Michael. “Because he’s a servant?”
“Yes, but also because he’s a … a Shadow.” He looked worried. “Other than visiting the human world recently, Michael has never left the Shadowlands. After his parents died, I promised to take care of him.”
“You knew his parents?”
He nodded. “I did. His mother and father died when he was less than a year old. It was shortly before I traveled to the human world and met your mother. My father didn’t approve of my taking a Shadow child under my protection, but he couldn’t change my mind.”
“You were stubborn,” I said.
His eyes caught mine, and there was an understanding there. He was just as stubborn as his daughter. “I suppose I was. But I knew what would happen if Michael stayed in the Underworld.”
“What?”
“He either would have been exterminated—”
“Exterminated?” I yelped.
“Shadows, especially males, are … regarded cautiously. There has been scattered evidence that they can pose a threat to demonkind if they choose to. Alternately, they are forced to become servants somewhere in the Underworld. If you think servants have a difficult life here, it is nothing compared to what I’ve witnessed elsewhere. Please believe me when I tell you it’s safer this way for him.”
So he was saying Michael was lucky to be here. And maybe he was right.
“Why would demons have Shadow servants if they’re dangerous?” I was still trying to make sense of what he’d said, coupled with what Rhys and Michael had said, about Shadows.
“Because Shadows can be specifically assigned through magic to a certain demon — much as I’ve done with you and Michael.” He sighed at the reminder of his unfortunate decision to pair me with a really hot eighteen-year- old guy with beautiful green eyes. “Most are highly obedient, very hard workers, and protective of their master. But other Shadows … well, others are different.”
“Different how?”
“Shadows are forbidden by law to use their abilities in front of demons. Most Shadows are completely unaware their own powers even exist, and it’s best it stays that way.” My father leaned against the edge of the large black table that still had the big crack through the middle of it from the last time I was here. Another thing we shared was our temper. “You told me Michael used his power to protect you just after you first met, correct?”
I remembered being attacked by a demon with a big knife and Michael stopping him by throwing a burst of energy, green like the color of his amulet, at the murderous thug. The use of power had drained Michael, and it had taken him a while to recover.
I just agreed, choosing not to mention Michael’s newfound ability to fade into the background if he wanted to.
My father’s expression became more serious. “I wasn’t even aware he knew of his powers. I’d never mentioned them to him in case they might cause problems. Though he did it to protect you, it’s still against the rules.”
“This place has a lot of stupid rules.”
