Reign Check

“Very well.” His gaze moved down to my wrist. “I want your dragon’s tear.”

I automatically slapped a hand over the bracelet and took a step back from him. “Forget it.”

“You have no idea what you have there. It’s wasted on your simple half-human mind. If you give it to me, freely, then the power will be mine.”

“Give it to you freely?”

“Yes.” His smile held. “A dragon’s tear must be handed on to its next owner freely for its power to properly transfer. It cannot be stolen, because then its magic will become dormant. Your father gave it freely to you, and now I want you to give it freely to me.”

“So you can do what with it?”

“I want to be able to travel among worlds with ease.”

I inhaled sharply. “And why would you want to do that?”

“Just because.”

No, not just because. I’d seen Kieran’s eyes light up when Beasley mentioned the possibility of secret gateways during the meeting. He’d wanted Elizabeth to take over the throne of the Shadowlands so he could be given permission to travel to the human and faery worlds whenever he wanted.

“I don’t know you very well, Kieran, but I get the feeling that you’re not happy being only a prince.”

“Whatever do you mean?” he asked innocently.

“Maybe you think you’re stuck here, while your mother is the queen of the Underworld and your father is the king of Hell. What does that leave you? Endless days of plotting and planning, while they’re the ones with all the power. Not to mention, now you’re stuck putting up with Elizabeth all the time.”

“Elizabeth is a growing nuisance,” he said grimly. “Your father not only punished her with banishment to the Underworld, but he punished me as well.”

“I think, and this is just a guess, that you want my bracelet so you can go to the human world and take over. So you can be, like, the king there.” It sounded ludicrous as my jumbled thought turned into words, but Kieran’s expression of surprise only confirmed it as the truth.

“Is that what you think?” he asked.

I nodded.

“And would that be so bad?” he countered. “The human world is in disrepair. They fight among themselves and have for millennia, with their separate countries and policies. They have been slowly and steadily destroying their precious resources — the water, the air, the wildlife. Their world is dying a little more every year. They need someone like me to help make things right again.”

I laughed. Despite everything, I couldn’t help myself. “Prince Kieran, the savior of humankind.”

His eyes flashed red. “Don’t mock me.”

“So, okay, you go to the human world and you become the king. What if anyone opposes this idea?”

“I will exterminate them,” he said simply.

I stifled a gasp of shock. “I want to leave now.”

“And you’ll give me your bracelet?”

I looked at him as if he was crazy. Pretty sure he was. “Uh, no. So not going to happen.”

He was silent for a moment. “And what about your Shadow?”

“What about him?”

“He will be executed. It normally takes a few months before the punishment is administered to one imprisoned in the Underworld dungeon. This is much more time than it would take if he was placed in one of Hell’s dungeons — they’re more efficient in dealing with prisoners there. However, I will make sure your Shadow has only hours left here.”

My skin felt cold and clammy. “You can’t do that.”

“No?” He raised a black eyebrow. “I listened in on your conversation with Kassandra and my mother just now through a one-way gazer. You’re desperate to find a way to have your … Michael … released, and yet no one will help you. But I can help you, Nikki. I have something you want and you have something I want. We can make a trade.”

Trade my bracelet for Michael’s freedom?

The dragon’s tear had helped me locate a gateway to the Shadowlands the other day. It helped me change and maintain my form as well as focus my power and strength when I concentrated on it. Kassandra thought it could do much more than that. Was it really possible for the bearer of the bracelet to easily teleport from world to world?

If so, it would give Kieran exactly what he was looking for — a chance to travel to the human world as simply as stepping into another room. All without being forced to ask my father for permission to travel beyond the Shadowlands.

Michael was in the dungeon right now, out of my telepathic range. Was he scared? Angry? Did he think I’d already left him behind? Did he know that he had only hours to live unless I could find a way to release him?

I twisted the bracelet, feeling the cool crystal tear beneath my fingertips. It never seemed to warm to my body temperature just by wearing it — it grew hot only when it was used.

Had my father slayed this dragon in self-defense? Or had he gone out in search of a dragon to kill for the sport of it? It made a big difference to me. I didn’t like the idea that he’d hunt down a magical, immortal creature just to end up with a small crystallized piece of power that could ultimately fall into the wrong hands.

Kieran tapped his foot as he impatiently waited for my reply. The sound of his hard-soled black boots echoed off the smooth floor and metallic walls.

“Is there something else, anything else, I can trade for Michael’s freedom?” I asked quietly.

“No,” he said without hesitation.

I felt the sting of tears because I knew then I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give Kieran the bracelet. It was a horrible realization, but I felt the heavy truth in it.

If I gave him the bracelet, I knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that many humans would die because of that decision. If I didn’t give him the bracelet, only one person would have to die.

I wanted to be selfish and hand over the piece of jewelry, but I knew I couldn’t. Kieran could never have it.

I’m so sorry, Michael.

Kieran must have seen the answer in my tear-filled eyes because he shook his head. “Wrong decision, Princess.”

“But what if I—”

I couldn’t even finish the sentence. Kieran grabbed my throat and slammed me into the support beam behind me. It knocked my breath away.

“You’re making a grave mistake. Even if I can’t have your bracelet, I’ll still find a way to enter the human world. Now that I know there are concealed gateways, I need only to locate them. It may take a bit longer than I’d hoped, but I’ll find them. So you see, not handing over that dragon’s tear is ultimately a futile, meaningless act. You could get something that you want right now. I guess your Shadow doesn’t mean as much to you as I thought he did.”

“Let go … of … me,” I managed, clawing at his hand, but it didn’t make a difference. He held me up effortlessly, off the ground, to show me just how strong he was.

At least until I sliced my newly formed talons into his arm, drawing blood so dark it looked black — demon blood. He yelped out in pain and released me. I fell to the ground, choking and sputtering, but forced myself up as quickly as I could, my hands clenched, ready for a fight.

“You’re the one who heard the prophecy about me first, right?” I said. “Aren’t you afraid it’s true?”

“Oh, please.” Kieran grabbed the front of my sweater tightly. “You think you’re that important, little girl? You’re not.”

I hadn’t expected that reaction. “What?”

“The palace’s dragon oracle won’t let me get close enough to kill him and procure myself one of those precious tears you have, but his family is still vulnerable. He was willing to do whatever he had to in order to protect them, even manufacture a false prophecy and shield it from other nosy oracles.”

“So the prophecy was a lie. I knew it.”