Мишель Роуэн - Reign or Shine

I felt bitter hearing that. "I'm sorry if I find that hard to believe. After all, you haven't exactly been around for sixteen years."

He didn't say anything for a moment. "I'm sure your mother must have been terribly confused."

I felt tears prick at the backs of my eyes but I refused to cry. Why did I decide to come here? I wished there had been another solution to figuring everything out. "Confused doesn't even begin to cover it. I'd go more for heartbroken, angry, pissed off, mad as hell. Those would be a little more accurate than 'confused.' " Pain slid behind his eyes. "I never meant to hurt her. Or you."

I would have had a few more snappy comebacks to that- maybe something along the lines of 'deadbeat dads are a dime a dozen'-but all I felt was raw.

Besides, this wasn't a typical father/daughter reunion. I was in the middle of another dimension in a freaking demon castle. Sarcastic comments would have to take a backseat at the moment.

"Whatever," I said instead. "Can we talk about something else?"

"No, you need to know this, Nikki. Until two days ago, I didn't even know you existed. And I thought your mother was dead."

My mouth gaped at that. I turned to look at Michael standing in the shadows, maybe to have him confirm what my father had just said. His arms were crossed and his face expressionless except for a small frown.

I turned back to my father. "You didn't know I existed?"

He shook his head. "All those years ago, I was allowed to leave the Shadowlands for one month. I'd always wanted to go to the human realm. I thought of it as just a vacation from my normal existence, but when I saw your mother. ." He swallowed. "I fell instantly in love with her. I imagined bringing her back here to be my queen, but that wasn't going to happen."

I forced myself to breathe. "Why not?"

"I'd led her to believe I was just another student at her school, but I wanted to tell her the truth so badly. The day I was going to, I was summoned back here.

One moment I was in your world, and the next I was here, unable to leave the castle."

I tried to wrap my head around what he was saying. "But. . but couldn't you have sent a message to her?"

He pressed his lips together, his expression showing the pain he felt inside. "I tried. As soon as I could, I sent some-one to find her-much like I sent Michael to find you-and when he returned I learned that Susan had been killed in a car accident. I mourned her for a very long time. I felt that if I'd been with her she might have been okay, but instead she was gone and I had no reason to try to make contact with the human realm again. I wanted to forget, or try to forget, as much as I could."

I blinked rapidly. "But she wasn't dead. I don't think she's ever been in a car accident."

"I took my scout's word as truth. However, two days ago, on your birthday, your Darkling magic became active. Since you are my daughter I could sense it, sense you, even between dimensions. I knew if you existed, then I had been lied to about your mother." His voice caught on the words and he took a moment to compose himself. "If I would have had any reason to believe that Susan was alive or that you existed, I never would have turned my back on you. Please believe me, Nikki."

And I did. I believed him. He wasn't lying, he wasn't just trying to make things better between us. He hadn't known that I existed. All this time when I thought he'd consciously abandoned us, he simply hadn't known.

A tear slipped down my cheek. "But. . who would make you come back here and not let you leave?"

"My father," he said bitterly. "The time had nearly come for me to become the king of the Shadowlands. My father was near death. ." He sighed heavily.

"He had no patience for romantic notions, especially those involving a human such as your mother. The world and his duties were always black and white to him."

I looked at Michael again. He hadn't shared with me this little piece of rather important information. Then again, I hadn't exactly asked. And even if he'd told me then, when I wasn't ready to accept all of this, I'm positive I wouldn't have believed him.

"You had no idea I existed?" I knew I'd asked the question before, but it was still hard to accept.

"Not until you turned sixteen. Before that your human side was dominant. I had no sense of you at all. But now it's different." He paused. "How. . how is your mother?"

I thought of Mom and all the trouble she'd been through raising me all by herself. The extra jobs she'd taken before she got her first novel published, and even now- she worked so hard to help me, to help us, even when there was a new husband around.

"She's good." I licked my dry lips. "She got married a couple of months ago."

His expression shifted and he looked down at the table-top. "I'm glad to hear that she's found happiness for herself."

Happiness might be a bit of an exaggeration after that little kitchen scene earlier tonight. Also the fact that she'd been married three times before. But I decided against going into any detail about my mom's messed-up love life.

"Now," he said, "we must focus on you, Nikki. Your Darkling powers-have they appeared at all?"

I let out a shaky breath. "A little." I told him about breaking Robert's arm, although not the circumstances surrounding it. I also mentioned my red eyes.

He took it all in. "Has there been anything else?"

"Not so far."

He looked relieved. "This is very good. I was afraid that it may have come over you uncontrollably. Especially in the midst of other humans, this wouldn't be a good thing for many reasons."

I had to agree with him there. If there was a remote possibility I'd turn into something out of a horror movie, then that was definitely something I wanted to avoid. To say the least.

"So you don't think anything else will happen to me?" I asked tentatively.

"It is possible, and you must be prepared for anything. That's why I'm glad you're wearing the dragon's tear bracelet."

I looked at it and touched the teardrop-shaped crystal. "Now you're probably going to tell me that it's from a real dragon, aren't you?"

"Yes, it is. Dragons are descended from the same line as demons."

My eyes widened. "I was kidding, actually." A small smile appeared on his lips. "But I'm not." "Dragons," I said. "Big, fire-breathing, reptilian beasts with wings?"

"Some of them." His smile grew larger. "But don't worry. Dragons live at the other edge of the Underworld and beyond, not here. However, since you are demon royalty you would have nothing to fear-they would sense who you are and do no harm to you. In fact, they would be willing to do your bidding if you asked them nicely enough." He frowned when he saw the look of shock on my pale face. "Michael, could you get Nikki a glass of water, please? There's a pitcher on the table behind you."

A few moments later, a silver goblet appeared before me. I took it and Michael's fingers brushed against mine. I think he'd done it on purpose to remind me that he was there, nearby. His touch made a very pleasant shiver go up my arm, but when I looked up at him he'd already moved away from the table.

I drank a shaky sip of the water while I took a moment to process my information overload.

Demons, faeries, and dragons.

Oh, boy.

"This is too much," I said finally.

My father's expression grew serious again. "I know that."

"But maybe I can get used to it. I mean, I don't feel too different. If I can control things then maybe it will be okay." I took another sip of water. "Michael can help me. I can go home and come back here sometimes to visit. After time goes by I'm sure everything will start to make sense to me."

My father looked down at the table again, and then he stood up, the chair squeaking across the floor. He paced over to the entranceway and then back.