together.
I waited as my heart drummed loudly.
He blinked. 'Everything changed.'
I inhaled sharply. 'What does that mean?'
'It means I don't want you to take the potion and forget about me. It means even though I know who I am and who you are I still want to kiss you again right now. So badly.' His mouth was close to mine and he stroked my back-to-blonde hair off my face. 'But I can't.'
He pulled back and reached down the front of his shirt to pull his amulet out. Only then did I realize he'd had it tucked inside his shirt before.
'Why not?'
'Because your father wanted me to protect you, and that's what I'm going to do.' He turned and looked away. 'That's why you have to drink the potion.
When you do that, you'll be safe.'
It was silent then between us as I thought about everything Michael had just told me. Why did this have to be so hard?
'You said my father only has hours left,' I said. He nodded gravely. 'I want to see him.'
'I already told you that's not a very good idea.'
'I heard you. But I don't care. I want you to take me to him and Elizabeth again. Please.'
'Princess. Please, drink the potion now. It's for your own protection.'
'No.'
His gaze snapped to mine. 'No?'
I set my jaw. 'That's right. I know everybody wants me to drink it, and I'm going to, eventually. But I want to see my father first, or else I'll refuse to drink it at all. I want to go back to the Shadowlands to see him one last time. Please help me do that.'
'You'd put yourself at personal risk to make this happen?'
I crossed my arms. 'Looks like.' 'And if I still refuse?'
I slowly let out a shaky breath. 'My father said that you were supposed to do as I asked. Isn't that true?'
He grimaced. I hated having to remind him of his servant status. I didn't think of him that way-not even slightly. But I needed him to take me back without arguing. Even though commanding him to do it made me feel sick inside.
'Of course it's true, Princess.' He looked away. 'If you order me to take you back, then there is nothing I can do but take you.'
I forced myself not to cry. 'Then I order you to take me back to the Shadowlands.'
'Very well.' He nodded slowly. 'We should leave immediately.'
'I need five minutes first. I have to go inside and say good-bye to my friends or they'll be worried about me.'
He didn't look directly at me. 'I'll wait here.'
Heavy-hearted, I stopped at the limo first and retrieved my purse through the opening where the door had blown off. I'd placed the potion bottle inside it since I couldn't hide it under the low neckline of my dress. I went inside the school, and into the gym. I'd already said good-bye to Melinda earlier so that wasn't actually my main reason for going back.
Instead, I went to the bathroom and stared at my now-disheveled reflection in the mirror over the sinks. At least I didn't see any remaining traces of Darkling. I'd fully turned Darkling twice-three times if you counted what happened to Robert-and I was still alive, still breathing. Maybe Elizabeth was wrong. Maybe I was different from the other Darklings she'd researched.
I tried to smooth my now-messy updo back into place. I splashed cold water on my face and touched up what little of my makeup was left as best as I could. I dug into my purse to get my lipstick and my fingers grazed the bottle of potion. I pulled it out and looked at it for a long moment, a million possibilities racing through my mind.
If I drank it everything would be normal again.
But what was normal anymore?
Michael didn't want me to drink it but he said I had to. Sounded exactly how I felt about it, too. Didn't want to, but had to.
I was so sick of being told what I had to do. It was usually the exact opposite of what I wanted to do.
I stared at my reflection for a couple more minutes, trying to will something deep inside of me to the surface. Courage, inner strength, serenity, something that would help me to do what I knew then, without a shadow of a doubt, I had to do.
After another minute, I left the bathroom and walked to the punch bowl to get a glass of the fruity beverage. Drinking it made me feel momentarily better. I hadn't realized how thirsty I was. I looked down into the bowl as the orange slices swam on top, and I tried to collect my thoughts. I wanted to get rid of the feeling of dread that swirled violently in my head-not unlike the dark storm clouds beginning to circle over the school, threatening snow.
A storm was brewing and I was headed right toward it.
But no one seemed to notice but me.
I seriously wished I'd taken a coat to the dance. Little did I know I'd be walking through Erin Heights in a spaghetti-strapped silk dress and bare legs in the middle of December. Luckily, it wasn't snowing yet, but I was still chilled to the bone.
Michael noticed I was shivering and immediately gave me his hooded sweatshirt to wear. Otherwise he was quiet.
'Thank you,' I said, zipping it up over my dress. I still felt horrible that I had ordered him around. 'Look. . I'm sorry about this. Really.'
'Forget it,' he said quietly.
But I didn't want to forget. That was one of the reasons I was going back to the Shadowlands. I was sure there had to be a way for everything to work out without taking the potion.
I knew I'd made some potentially questionable decisions. I just hoped it would all work out for the best.
'Do me a favor, though?' he asked after another minute. 'Don't tell Elizabeth you've turned Darkling. It will… it will worry her too much.'
He was right about that. I wouldn't tell her. But she was the resident expert on Darklings. I had to talk to her and get more of an idea of what I was up against.
Besides, if she was willing to be queen and I didn't want the position, why couldn't it be left at that? A decision rather than an uncontrollable selection process that couldn't be changed?
I looked at Michael. I could tell that he was trying to sense where we could find another gateway. His amulet pulsed with dim light.
'My father told me that if Shadows still ruled the Shadowlands you'd be a prince,' I said. 'Is that true?' I wasn't sure where the question came from, but I had to ask.
He kept his eyes on the sidewalk ahead of him. 'Yeah. But they don't and I'm not, so it doesn't really matter, does it?' His amulet flared with green light. He turned right once we entered the downtown area. 'Here's where we want to go.'
Behind the convenience store where Mom usually picked up milk and scratch-and-win lottery tickets, Michael took hold of a large Dumpster and pulled it away from the wall an inch or two. Behind it I could see a dull glow.
'That's a gateway?' I asked.
He nodded. 'They're well hidden in the human realm and they shift regularly. We wouldn't want just anyone
