Мишель Роуэн - Reign Check

“So the prophecy was a lie. I knew it.”

He shrugged. “It could easily be true. The last Darkling was a dangerous creature that nearly fulfilled a prophecy much like this one. But you’re not so tough, are you?” He shoved me hard and I went flying backward, hitting the beam again. I think I lost consciousness for a minute. I wasn’t sure. The world alternately darkened and sparkled all around me as I gulped mouthfuls of oxygen.

“I do have another hellhound,” he said as he looked down at me. “Perhaps a short time locked in a room together might change your stubborn mind. But if Dimitri gets hungry, that’s fine, too — the dragon’s tear will shift to neutral when its owner dies, so I will be able to claim it for myself.”

“I thought you said you didn’t want to kill me,” I managed.

“No. I said my mother ensured your safety to your father.” He scratched his chin. “I’ll blame it on Elizabeth. Desmond will be furious. He might even break the Shadowlands barrier and wrench himself out of that castle to seek vengeance on her. See? It’s a win-win situation for me.”

Once I got my breath back, I forced away the fear that swirled inside me and concentrated on changing to my Darkling form. It came on quickly and surprisingly easily, and I rose to my feet as the strength began to flow. My hands clenched and glowed with power.

“Really?” Kieran said. “You think you can fight me?”

Anger pushed past my fear. “I think I can try. I stopped Elizabeth when she wanted to kill me, but maybe she didn’t fill you in on all the unflattering details.”

I did feel weakened and bruised from being tossed around like Kieran’s rag doll, but an energy ball quickly formed in my right palm, a baseball-sized globe of swirling red, orange, and yellow. Without hesitating, I threw it directly at the prince.

But Kieran easily deflected it with a flick of his wrist. It exploded off to the side, leaving a black scorch mark on the smooth white floor.

“I am much more powerful than Elizabeth,” he said. “She used her power in an attempt to gain love and acceptance — foolish needs that handicapped her. My power is meant for much greater things.”

He came at me. I expected him to shift to demon form, but he remained in his human one. He grabbed my arms, then swept his leg under mine, knocking me to the floor. Then he pressed the hard sole of his shoe onto my throat so I couldn’t move. I struggled to breathe.

He shook his head as if disappointed in me. “Sixteen-year-olds should stay in school and not get in my way. It’s very detrimental to their health.”

I felt helpless and afraid, not just for myself but for Michael. If I couldn’t even save myself, how was I supposed to save him?

Then I thought about my mother. She’d be so worried when I never made it home from Melinda’s party. I should have told her about my father when I had the chance, even if he didn’t want me to. I knew she’d accept the demon him, accept the demon half of me …

No, I couldn’t let Kieran win. I gathered every remaining ounce of my power, but I knew with a dark, sinking feeling it wouldn’t be nearly enough.

Then I heard a thud and Kieran whipped his head around. Kassandra stood behind him, in front of the now-open elevator doors. She held the statue of Queen Sephina in her hands — the statue she’d just used to whack him in the head.

He frowned at her. “What do you think you’re—”

“You’ve always had a really thick head, Kieran,” she said.

She whacked him again. Harder. This time it worked. His eyes rolled back and he fell to the ground beside me. I scrambled away from him and looked up at Kassandra.

She flexed her hand. The head of her mother’s statue had broken off and rolled over to rest next to her unconscious brother’s nose. “Ow. I think that hurt me more than it hurt him.”

“Wh-what are you doing?” I managed. My throat throbbed from having Kieran’s boot clamped down on it.

“Helping you,” she said.

“Helping me?” I was confused and dizzy. “Why?”

She rolled her eyes. “Just accept it, okay? Now do you want me to help you rescue your boyfriend, or what?”

Kassandra turned toward the elevator, then looked over her shoulder at me.

“Are you coming?” she asked.

With a last glance at Kieran, sprawled out on the floor of the council meeting room, I ran to the elevator and got in with her.

“Just for the record?” she said. “It’s because I think this is romantic. You and the Shadow.”

My mouth felt dry. “I never actually admitted to anything like that.”

“You didn’t have to. It’s obvious to me what’s going on.”

“Did you know what Kieran was planning to do?”

“No.” She grimaced. “I was mad at you for totally dismissing me upstairs in my mother’s quarters, you know. But I thought I’d follow to make sure you didn’t try anything crazy, that’s all.”

I rubbed my bruised throat. I’d nearly died. I think I was in a little bit of shock. “I’m glad you did.”

“Kieran wanted your bracelet?”

“You knew that?”

“It’s a guess.” She shook her head. “My brother is such a jerk sometimes.”

“He tried to kill me.”

“This really isn’t your day.”

I swallowed. “Thanks for stopping him.”

“I’ve felt like clobbering my brother over the head with something heavy for a while. This just gave me a good excuse.” She smiled at me. “So here you are, single-minded in your determination to save your Shadow boyfriend from the dank, nasty dungeon.” She paused. “Which actually is neither dank nor particularly nasty. It’s all glass and silver like the rest of this place. I helped with the design ideas.”

I leaned against the side of the elevator, hoping to recover my strength quickly. “He’s not my boyfriend. It’s against the rules for a demon and a Shadow to be together.”

“So what? Like I said, I think it’s kind of romantic … in a bizarrely inappropriate way.” She bit her bottom lip. “I fell for somebody inappropriate myself last year. A guard. When my mother and Kieran found out, they nearly had a conniption. She said he wasn’t good enough for a princess. I was stubborn and told her I didn’t care what she thought. We were … we were going to run off together, but she sent him away, and I’m never allowed to see him again. He’s now a guard for one of Hell’s dungeons. I have no idea which one — there are so many of them.”

“I’m sorry.”

Her expression had shadowed with what were apparently painful memories. “Yeah, me, too. So let’s just say I understand how you’re feeling. Really. And anything I can do to mess up either my brother’s or my mother’s life is major fun for me.”

So Kassandra felt a bond with me due to us both liking guys who didn’t meet our families’ approval.

“You’re really going to help me?” I asked hopefully.

“We’re headed to the dungeon now, so that is the plan. But first you have to make me a promise.”

I eyed her warily. “What?”

She twisted a finger through her long dark hair. “If I ask a favor of you someday, I want you to say yes, no matter what it is.”

“What favor?”

She shrugged. “I don’t know yet.”

“Okay, that’s vague. How can I agree to something like that? You could ask me to kill somebody or steal something or—”

She sighed. “Fine. I promise that whatever I ask for, nobody will get hurt. Okay?”

I let out a long shaky breath as I thought about it. “Then okay. You do this for me, and I’ll owe you one. Cross my heart.”

“Good.” She smiled as the elevator came to a halt. “Here we are. Just follow my lead.”