'You saved my life.' My throat hurt as I said it, and when I looked up at him our eyes locked. 'You saved my life back there and it nearly killed you.'
His expression was firm. 'You shouldn't have stayed with me. You should have gone home.'
'You thought I was just going to leave you here? You were unconscious.' 'I recovered.'
I cleared my throat. 'I know I haven't exactly been all that nice to you-' 'You don't have to be nice to me,' he said firmly. 'I only did what was necessary to ensure your safety, Princess.'
I frowned. 'Please don't call me that.'
He didn't look angry or impatient with me, instead he looked concerned. 'I know this is a lot to grasp. I do. And so does your father. But it doesn't make any of what I've told you less true. You're the heir to the throne of the Shadow-lands. Since you're part human, you've been shielded from this knowledge and any potential danger until your sixteenth birthday.'
'Happy birthday to me,' I said absently.
'Your father doesn't know how your powers will manifest and he's very concerned about you. You have to come with me before it's too late.'
'How my powers will manifest?' I repeated, gaping at him. 'I don't really like those words.'
He bent over a bit and braced a hand against the wall behind him. The green of his pendant was still duller than normal. I could tell he wasn't feeling up to full strength yet. In fact, by the strained look on his face, I was surprised he was standing. I closed the distance between us and was about to touch him, but I stopped myself.
'Are you sure you're feeling okay?' I asked.
'I'll survive.' He attempted to straighten up a bit but failed. 'Forget about me for a minute. Your powers. . have you noticed anything?'
Powers? Maybe he was otherworldly in more ways than one, but I definitely wasn't. 'Other than a persistent headache, there's been nothing out of the ordinary in my life. Well, other than you.'
He actually grinned at that and looked up at me from his hunched-over position. He was even cuter when he smiled. I didn't think I'd seen that expression on him before.
'Nothing other than a headache?' he asked. 'You're sure?'
'No, nothing. I'm completely normal. I mean, do I look like a Darkling to you?' I held out my arms to either side of me.
Since I'd given permission, he took a step closer and looked at me, starting at my boots and working his way up slowly. Even though I was wearing winter clothes-a thick jacket, scarf, mittens, hat-I felt like I'd just showed up in a bikini and asked him to check me out. When his gaze finally reached my face, he lingered on my mouth for a long moment before meeting my eyes again.
'Not sure.' The words were a bit hoarse and he cleared his throat. 'I've never seen a Darkling before.'
He moved close enough to me that if I just moved my hand a little I'd be touching him. If I moved my mouth closer to his, I'd be. .
Oh, boy.
I backed away a little. 'The guy with the knife, he. . he called you 'Shadow.' What does that mean?'
Michael's expression clouded. 'It doesn't mean any-thing.'
Then he swayed on his feet and I thought he was going to fall down again, so I reached out and grabbed his arm. He leaned fully against me for a moment, enough for me to feel the heat from his body, before he pulled away.
'I don't think your boyfriend would approve,' he said. 'He doesn't exactly like me.'
'I'm not so sure that I like you,' I told him, wishing I was telling the truth. 'Besides, I doubt you're all that scared of Chris Sanders. You could just do that magic thing and knock him out.'
'I could do worse than that,' he said under his breath and then looked at me, almost guiltily. 'If he ever hurt you-' He frowned hard. 'Never mind. I guess I just don't like him.'
Even though he'd just indirectly threatened to kick my sort-of boyfriend's butt, I felt a surge of emotion fill me. What emotion it was, I wasn't entirely sure.
Michael's protective behavior was scary, but also oddly… exciting.
I was really hoping this crush I might be developing on the weirdest guy I'd ever met would leave as quickly as it had arrived. It was extremely distracting.
Michael was still hunched over a bit and had his back against the wall. His dark hair hung in his face as he studied the ground. 'I'm almost fully recovered. We really must go see your father, Princess.' 'It's Nikki.'
He breathed out. 'We still need to go, no matter what I call you.'
'I want to know who you are.' I took a step closer to him and was taken aback when he pressed harder against the wall.
'I told you already.'
'You said my father sent you.' I tried to piece it together. 'So that means you know him personally. Do you work with him?'
'Something like that.'
Then I had a terrible thought. 'Oh, my God. You're not going to tell me that you're my half brother, are you? Because that would be gross.'
The decidedly impure thoughts I'd started having about Michael would take on a whole other level of inappropriateness if that was the truth.
He looked confused for a moment, but then a glimmer lit up his eyes as he studied my expression. He raised a dark eyebrow. 'Why would that be gross?'
My cheeks blazed. I was sure they had to be fire-engine red by now.
Because I think you're completely hot, I thought. But of course I didn't say it out loud. I hadn't gone that crazy- yet.
'Never mind why,' I said, and then hesitated. 'But are you?'
He shook his head. 'Definitely not.' I let out a long sigh. 'Oh, good. I mean… whatever. Doesn't really matter.'
He eyed me curiously. 'Okay.'
My mind was churning. 'Were those your thoughts I heard this morning in the hallway?'
'Yes,' he said simply. 'With a little effort we should be able to communicate that way when in close proximity. .'
'Like now.'
I took a step back from him. 'Please don't do that.'
The corner of his mouth curved into a half smile, and then he glanced around the alleyway. 'It's not safe here. It'll take me a minute to find a gateway. We can be in the Shad-owlands and at your father's side shortly.'
I held up a hand. 'Whoa, there. Wait a minute. I don't remember agreeing to that.'
The grin faded. 'I don't understand why you're being so difficult. You want to understand what's going on, I can see that. This is the only way, and we're running out of time.'
'Why are we running out of time? It's been sixteen years. What's a little more time for me to wrap my head around this whole thing?'
'Do I have to remind you that somebody tried to kill you earlier?'
I stiffened at his sudden change in demeanor. 'But why can't you give me a few days to get used to all of this? My head feels like it's going to explode. I'm still trying to rationalize you telling me that my father's a demon.'
'He is.'
'See, that doesn't exactly make me want to see him. Demons are evil. They're. . well, demonic. And horrible.
