Мишель Роуэн - Reign Check

“Your opinion is noted, of course, Your Majesty,” Kieran said thinly. “But I’m afraid your objectivity in this matter is at question.”

My father ignored him and placed his hand gently against the side of my flushed face. “There is no part of you that is destructive, Nikki. I know that. You are so much like your mother, and she is a beautiful and truly good woman. She’d never hurt a fly.”

I nodded in full agreement. “She takes spiders outside in glass jars so she doesn’t have to kill them.”

He smiled and rested his hand protectively on my arm. “I don’t doubt it for a moment.”

I relaxed ever so slightly. He didn’t believe the prophecy, so of course I didn’t have to freak out about it. This was a major relief.

“Prophecies are taken very seriously by the council,” Kieran said. He leaned casually against the edge of the large black table.

“And what does the council propose to do about this?” my father asked evenly.

“That remains to be seen, based on my report,” he said. “It’s likely the next step will be for the princess to be presented to the council in person, and a decision will then be made regarding what to do about her.”

“That’s not going to happen.” My father kept his hand on my arm, as if shielding me from the prince. “You insisted you tell us this news in person. I now see that wasn’t entirely necessary, was it?”

“There are procedures to be followed,” Kieran said. “It’s a rule that information of this level must be given face-to-face.”

My father hissed out a breath, betraying the annoyance he’d been trying to hide until now. “You have delivered this news. I respectfully request that you leave my kingdom.”

“But there’s much more to discuss,” Kieran protested. “This is a highly volatile situation and one that needs to be handled immediately. A prophecy like this can’t simply be ignored. I need to ask the princess more questions about her intentions.”

“No. You’ve had your say. You’ve gauged our reactions. Now it’s time for you to leave. If there is anything else you wish to discuss, you may contact me by gazer.”

His hand began to glow with red light and he waved it toward the door, which turned from a normal entrance to a swirling gateway.

“You may return to the Underworld now, Prince Kieran,” he said.

Kieran’s gaze flicked to me and his head cocked slightly to the side. “Your daughter means a great deal to you, doesn’t she, King Desmond?”

“She does, indeed.”

“I understand why you’d wish to protect her, no matter the cost.” The prince’s eyes moved to Michael, who stood silently at an arm’s reach from me.

I glowered at the prince. How could a statement that sounded so friendly, so matter-of-fact, be so filled with malice?

Kieran gave us a forced smile. “This matter will be resolved. Denying the validity of the prophecy will only complicate things.”

“Please give my regards to Queen Sephina and Princess Kassandra.” My father’s words were clipped. There wasn’t any friendliness in his voice. In fact, I’d describe it as ice-cold.

“I’ll do that.” Kieran dipped his head in my direction. “Princess Nikki, I look forward to the next time we meet.”

Without another word, he walked through the gateway. It disappeared in a quick flash of light a moment after he did.

“I really don’t like that guy,” I said.

“Kieran is only a messenger,” my father said, walking past the table and toward the fireplace. “He has no real authority, here or anywhere else. That’s what makes him the way he is — desperate to please his mother and to show his existence actually matters.”

“Does it work?”

“I doubt it,” he said. “I’m sorry you had to experience that. It must have been a shock to you to hear what he had to say.”

“Not as shocking as you might think. I already knew there was a prophecy.”

His eyebrows went up. “How?”

I quickly told him about Rhys — his enrollment in the high school, his presence in my biology class, and finally his reason for being there — to find out more about the threat of Nikki Donovan, sixteen-year-old Darkling-o’-danger.

“Faeries are naturally curious and extremely protective of their own kind,” he replied after he’d processed it all. “And King Rhys, since the death of his parents, has been attempting to prove himself to his advisers and the rest of his kingdom.”

“He threatened the princess,” Michael said.

My father’s eyes clouded with anger. “He did?”

“Well … not in so many words,” I said quickly. “Seriously, I’m sure he’ll go away eventually. Especially when he realizes the prophecy about me is a false one. My main worry with him is that he’ll tell everyone at school my secret.”

I didn’t exactly know why I was defending Rhys, even in the slightest, but I guess I was. Did I feel sorry for him now that I knew he’d been forced to become king after his parents’ deaths? I did. How was I supposed to know whether that was hard for him? It was an assumption. I didn’t care who you were — human, demon, or faery — losing both your parents at any age would be a terrible thing. I couldn’t imagine how I’d feel if I lost my mom. And, since finding my father after all these years, I didn’t want to think about never seeing him again. The thought made a hard lump form in my throat.

There was silence in the meeting room for a moment. I finally looked up to see my father and Michael exchanging a glance.

“You said the prophecy is false, right?” I asked.

My father nodded. “I did say that.”

“So … why aren’t we celebrating?”

“Nikki, please sit down.”

The panicky feeling I’d had earlier began creeping back up on me. “You said it was false .”

He spread his hands. “And it probably is.”

“Probably?” My mouth felt dry. “You sounded so certain when you were talking to Kieran.”

“I feared what he might do otherwise.”

“So you think there’s a chance there’s some truth to it?” Michael asked.

My father took in a deep breath, his brow creased. “I honestly don’t know.”

That wasn’t very reassuring. “It’s not true. I don’t care what this crazy oracle guy says, there’s no way that I could ever destroy anything or anyone.”

“I know.” His eyes flashed. “Still, it is worrisome. Dragon oracles are rarely wrong when it comes to a prophecy this specific to an individual. And that Kieran said it was related on your birthday, the day you would have begun to manifest your half-demon powers, worries me even more.”

It couldn’t be true. That my father had just been lying to Kieran — faking him out — so he wouldn’t put me under arrest or something and drag me to some Underworld prison, and Wait a minute.

“Did you just say dragon oracle?” I asked.

He nodded. “Yes, of course. All oracles are dragons.”

“But not all dragons are oracles,” Michael added.

I pointed at my dragon’s tear bracelet. “Big, scaly, fire-breathing dragons.”

“Much like demons,” my father explained, “dragons are capable of shifting form when it suits them. But yes, they can be big, scaly, and fire-breathing if they choose to be.”

Brain exploding now. “ Okay. And they can make prophecies.”

“They see glimpses of the future and interpret them, then pass this information along to those whom the prophecy affects. They communicate when they have something … prophetic … to share that will affect demonkind, but they live wherever they please, be it the dark worlds or elsewhere. I know there are several living in the human world as we speak.”