Elizabeth had said that she received her perfume from her boyfriend. Had Kieran really forgotten? Maybe she had more than one boyfriend? She was a beautiful woman, so it was entirely possible. I hoped I hadn't ruined anything by mentioning it to Kieran.
Then again, after my very short conversation with the handsome Kieran, I figured Elizabeth would be better off without him. I did not like the way he leered at me. I mean, the guy had to be at least thirty years old-and that was assuming that demons aged at the same rate humans did.
Creepy.
And what was all that about Elizabeth wanting to be queen? I mean, I understood that she'd accepted the inevitable, but the way Kieran said it, it sounded like she was actually looking forward to it. What was that all about?
I started to wonder what was taking Elizabeth so long, so I left the room to look for her, feeling uncomfortable being in the room with the gazer any longer. I headed along the hallway to the end where it turned to the right and kept following it until I saw Elizabeth go into a room up ahead. When I got to the doorway, I saw that she had a tray with a jug of water and a silver goblet. She poured a few drops from her small perfume bottle into the jug and then stirred the contents with a large silver-handled spoon.
'Elizabeth?' I said out loud.
She turned to look at me with wide eyes. 'Nikki! You startled me.' 'Sorry.'
'I was about to come back for you.' 'What is that?' I asked, pointing at the jug. 'I thought that was perfume you wore around your neck.'
She touched the blue bottle and I noticed her hand was shaking a little. 'This. . no, this is medicine. It's to help with Desmond's pain. A few drops will ease his suffering. My perfume is in another bottle.' She smiled. 'They all look very similar, don't they?'
I studied the vial skeptically. They did look similar. Really similar. 'Could be Gatorade for all I know.'
She tilted her head to the side. 'What is Gatorade?'
'It's a drink. You can get it in the blue flavor if you want.'
She smiled. 'The human world is a fascinating place, isn't it?'
'Depends on the day, really.'
'Indeed.' She picked up the tray. 'I'm ready. We can go see your father now if you wish.' I swallowed. 'Okay.'
She left the room. I followed her through the mazelike hallways. I braced myself to hear another cry of pain, but there was only silence.
I tried to remain calm and not overthink things, but my brief conversation with Kieran had deeply confused me. I had a hard time concentrating on anything else.
'I have never given her perfume before.'
It was probably nothing, of course. It was also probably nothing that Elizabeth's perfume vial looked exactly the same as the container of my father's pain meds. My aunt was a kind woman who was looking after her dying brother. She was sacrificing her freedom to become queen because she felt it was her duty. She didn't even want to be queen.
Who would want to be trapped in this castle without the opportunity of leaving?
But still. Something felt off to me.
'It's all she speaks of.' Kieran's words echoed in my mind.
'Desmond,' my aunt said as she entered my father's room. Michael stood at the far side against the wall, silent. He looked at me and he smiled a little-just enough for me to see. 'Nikki is here with me.'
'Yes,' a deep voice replied. 'I sensed that she had returned.'
My father, in full demon form, lay on a huge canopied bed in the middle of the room. He raised his head a little to look at me and I saw his eyes flash red.
'Nikki.' His voice was weak. 'You shouldn't have returned. I didn't want you to see me like this again. Please don't be afraid.'
My heart clenched and I went directly to his side. This time, unlike last night when his demon form had taken me by surprise and scared me deeply, I could see him more clearly. He had coal black skin and a ridged forehead with large, curved horns protruding from his temples. His cheekbones and chin were sharp and angular. The tips of his ears came to a point and his eyes were catlike and glowed with dull red light in the dimness of the room.
The room was a bit different from the others I'd seen. While I could tell that it still had black stone walls and floors, it had a few more personal touches.
Colorful draperies and beautifully detailed paintings covered the walls. The scenes depicted seemed to be those of my world: waterfalls, sunsets, and beautiful meadows. In a frame among the other paintings there was an oil painting of a smiling woman who looked remarkably like my mother. It was dim in there, lit by a few torches.
My father was covered by a blanket, but his large, heavily muscled bare arms lay on top. The skin looked leathery, similar to the wings that extended from his back, folded in on themselves so I could barely see them now. His hands were clenched over his stomach as if he expected to be racked with pain at any moment.
I wanted to tell him about my Darkling form. How I'd shifted completely and was still okay. How maybe I was the exception-that maybe I wasn't at risk of dying early like the others had. But I still didn't know for sure. I didn't want to worry him or Elizabeth, so I held my tongue.
Elizabeth, who wanted to take the throne. According to her boyfriend, that is.
I reached out and put my hand on top of my father's, and the skin did feel leathery, but smooth and warm. He looked up at me with surprise.
'I had to see you again,' I said.
'Why?' he asked hoarsely.
'Because you're my father.'
His currently hairless brows drew together. 'Nikki. . you have to go home and be happy. Be with your mother. Take care of her for me. Please forget about all of this. It's for the best.'
'Your father is right,' Elizabeth said.
Her voice made me tense.
I watched her warily as she put the tray on a bedside table and then poured water mixed with the medicine into the goblet and brought it to my father's lips.
'Drink this, Desmond. It will help.'
He did. I waited for her to mention the medicine, but she didn't say a word. My father didn't give any indication that he tasted anything other than water.
Did he know that there was pain medication in his water? She'd been taking care of him for a while, so I guessed it would be expected.
But why had she jumped when I caught her mixing it into the water earlier? Why had her hand been shaking?
'Thank you,' he said when he was done. 'I'm so lucky to have had you near me ever since this horrible illness began, Elizabeth.'
She stroked his forehead. 'I wouldn't have it any other way.'
'Elizabeth returned to the castle before you got sick?' I asked.
'Yes,' my father said. 'I don't know what I would have done without her.'
Elizabeth squeezed his hand. 'I only wish I could ease your pain, brother.'
His attention returned to me and he looked at the vial I wore on the chain around my neck. 'Why haven't you drunk the potion yet? I thought it was what you wanted.'
'I wanted to see you again.'
He managed a very small smile at that. 'Even when I'm stuck in this form?'
I nodded. His demon form was a fearsome thing, and at first glance anyone would assume that he was a monster, but I now knew that he wasn't. As he'd said to me yesterday, he was the same man underneath, no
