I grabbed my potion bottle and squeezed. 'I don't have to do anything if I don't want to.'
'Princess, now is seriously not the time to be stubborn.' His expression softened as he looked into my eyes. We were talking so closely that we were nearly hugging. His arms were around my waist.
The castle doors opened up again and Michael moved a bit so he could look around the corner. When he turned back to me his expression was even more tense than before. 'It's Elizabeth's thug.'
'The one who tried to kill me?'
He nodded. 'She's sent him to find you. She must know you've already left the castle.' He pulled off his sweatshirt and wrapped it around my shoulders to keep me warm. 'Go. Run to the clearing and go through the gateway. I'll hold him off for as long as I can.'
'He's going to hurt you.'
He touched his amulet. 'Not if I hurt him first.'
'Michael. . you can't-' 'Am I interrupting?' a deep voice asked.
I slowly looked to the side to see the brute standing there, a smile curling up the corners of his mouth.
'Princess,' he said, 'it's time for you to come back inside. Elizabeth wishes to talk with you.'
'Just talk, huh?' I could barely breathe.
He grabbed for my arm but Michael pulled him away from me and pushed him up against the wall. The brute backhanded Michael across his face and he went spinning, but the moment the creep came at me again Michael grabbed him hard around his neck.
'Nikki!' He used my real name then. 'Go now. There's no time. Run!'
The thug was fighting to get Michael off him, and since he outweighed Michael by at least sixty pounds it wouldn't take long.
'Just go!' Michael yelled at me and his words finally broke through my shock.
Elizabeth wanted me dead. She'd poisoned her brother, more than likely her father as well, and I was the last thing standing in the way of what she wanted.
Fear trumped anger this time and, with a sob, I turned away from the castle and ran as fast as I could.
I ran until my bare feet began to bleed from stepping on the rocks; until I felt the cool grass under my feet and the temperature immediately warmed up as if by magic. I held my shoes by their straps in one hand and my little purse in the other and I ran faster than I'd ever run before. I tried not to think of Michael fighting to give me a chance to escape, but it was impossible. I had to get home where I could hide. I'd figure out what I had to do next once I was there.
'Stop!' A deep voice bellowed from behind me and I took a quick peek over my shoulder. It was the thug and he was running after me. What had happened to Michael? My heart twisted and I nearly tripped from losing my concentration. But I kept running.
The gateway shimmered and swirled its kaleidoscope of color as I made a beeline toward it, my heart drumming wildly in my chest.
But just before I reached it, the gateway. . disappeared.
One moment my escape route to the human realm was there in front of me and the next it was gone. I skidded to a halt, craning my neck from side to side, looking all around the grassy clearing.
Where did it go? How was I supposed to get back home without it?
I couldn't, that's how. It was impossible.
Elizabeth's henchman was still thundering across the field toward me and I only had a split second to figure out what I was going to do next.
Panic shot through my entire body and my head screamed out in pain. I welcomed it this time, though. Maybe I could bring out my Darkling. The creep hadn't fared so well against demon-me before.
But nothing happened. No sparkling sensations under my skin. No energy balls to throw to protect myself. No horns. Just plain old Nikki Donovan, barefoot, wearing Michael's dark blue sweatshirt over my borrowed lavender designer dress.
I didn't have time to think about why the gateway wasn't working, so instead, I did the only thing I could do.
I ran toward the forest leading to the faery realm.
The darkness enveloped me as I ran past the tree line and into the thick foliage. I ducked behind a tree and peered around the massive, green, mossy trunk. The demon thug, with knife in hand, had stopped at the clearing well before the forest and was now staring into it. He backed up a few feet. I waited, holding my breath.
Would I be able to hide in here? And for how long?
He didn't do anything for a few minutes except look at the forest, attempting to peer inside.
Why wasn't he chasing me in here?
I kept waiting, barely breathing, for a few more minutes, wondering desperately what he was going to do next. He looked confused, his large Neanderthallike forehead creased in concentration. He rubbed a hand over his stubble-covered head.
Qo away, I thought fiercely. Leave me alone.
Then, as if he'd heard my thoughts as readily as Michael could pick up my telepathy, he turned around and began walking back toward the castle.
I let out a deep breath I hadn't even realized I'd been holding. My hands were shaking so badly I had to press them against my sides or I'd end up dropping my shoes and purse. I closed my eyes and tried to calm down, but that seemed like an impossibility.
Everything had gone wrong. Why did I ask to come back to the Shadowlands? I should have just drunk the potion yesterday as soon as I'd gotten it, and then none of this would have happened.
But, no. That wasn't right, either. I would have been safe and I would have forgotten all about this, but it wouldn't have changed much. My father would still be poisoned and on the verge of death. My aunt would still be scheming to become queen, and what impact would that have on the worlds the Shadowlands protected in the first place? And Michael. .
Michael.
Was he okay? I wondered if that creep had hurt him or if he had managed to use his amulet for protection. And if so, had he used up all his power? Was he unconscious somewhere and completely helpless?
Michael! I channeled my thoughts telepathically. Are you there? Can you hear me?
There was no reply, only silence.
Could I turn Darkling if I focused hard enough? Even if I wasn't experiencing high emotion? Could I make myself change?
I thought about trying it but stopped myself. When I'd changed before, I'd only been in half-demon form for a few minutes before I shifted back to normal.
That wouldn't even be enough time to get back to the castle, let alone try to help anyone. And besides, just because Elizabeth was evil didn't mean that she'd been lying when she'd told me about Darklings dying from using their abilities.. It was still a risk I didn't want to take.
Not yet. Maybe soon, but not quite yet.
A sudden noise distracted me from my thoughts. There was a rustling sound close by. I tensed and listened hard, but there was nothing else.
Just my imagination.
Then I felt something warm nudge at my elbow and almost jumped right out of my skin. I looked down with horror, bracing myself for the worst, but then let out a long, shaky sigh of relief.
It was just a horse standing next to me in the lush forest backdrop.
A white horse. Pure white.
It looked slightly sparkly, actually.
And the sparkly white horse had a golden horn protruding from its forehead.
It wasn't a horse at all. I'd been nudged by a unicorn. A freaking unicorn.
I stared at it dumbly. I'd never seen a unicorn before. Mainly because, along with demons and faeries, I didn't know they actually existed. After the experiences I'd had, I half-expected it to bare long, sharp fangs and try to
