"I understand. But don't wait too long. It's dangerous to wait now that you're sixteen."
My eyebrows went up at that and I shifted my focus from the entranceway of the dark, cavernous room to my aunt. "Dangerous?"
She nodded gravely. "I'm sure Desmond didn't go into specific details, but there's a very good reason why there hasn't been a Darkling in a thousand years. You've been very lucky that you haven't experienced any serious consequences."
I looked questioningly at her. "What are you talking about?"
She wrung her hands together and walked over to the table, before turning back to me. Her beautiful face was tense and worried. "Desmond had me look into the history of Darklings when he first began to sense you, and I found out some things. Things I didn't want to burden him with in his current condition."
"What kinds of things?"
She didn't speak for a moment. "No Darkling has ever lived past their eighteenth year. It's the human/demon mix. It's unstable. Those who have lived that long refrained from using any of their powers at all. It's the only way."
"You mean, if I don't take the potion and become completely human then I'm going to die?" I managed.
She pressed her lips together. "But you have the potion. You will take it, and you will forget about all of this."
"But. . but my father said that I was the heir. That if he died then I would become queen. He didn't say anything about this."
"That's because he doesn't know." She sighed. "If there was another way, believe me, I'd want to learn what it is. I don't want to be queen, you know. I don't want to never be able to leave this place, but it has to be done." She touched my shoulder tentatively. "Take the rest of the night and let it all sink in, if you wish. But tomorrow morning, drink the potion. Forget about all of this and live a happy, normal life, Nikki."
I nodded shakily. "Okay."
"But please remember one very important thing." "What's that?"
"In the meantime, don't allow your powers to manifest. At all. They're triggered by extreme emotions. Stress, anger, fear… I know you've had your share of all of that today, and I'm worried about you. Do you understand?"
I nodded again. "I understand."
"Good." She rubbed a tear away from my cheek with her thumb. "I will take care of your father, I promise. I'll make his last days as comfortable as possible. I know he was so happy to find out that you existed. And he was so happy to get the chance to meet you before the end. Please know that even in his demon form, your father cares about you and would never wish you harm in any way."
I blinked back more tears. "I'm glad I met him, too. I just wish I had more time."
"Me, too."
I hugged her and she smelled like warm jasmine. I felt something press against my collarbone and looked down.
"You have a vial, too?" I asked, glancing at the small blue bottle she wore around her neck on a chain.
She touched it lightly. "It's perfume-a gift from my inamorato… or what you might call my 'boyfriend.'" Her expression turned forlorn and wistful. "I'm hoping he'll want to visit me when I'm unable to leave this castle."
She led me out of the room and down the staircase to where Michael was waiting, his attention firmly fixed on the floor.
"Good-bye, Nikki. Be well." With a last squeeze of my hand, Elizabeth left to go deeper into the castle.
The doors opened up to let me out.
Michael didn't say anything. He simply walked outside. He led me over the gray stones that slowly turned to green grass. Where the dark, stormy skies above cleared away to beautiful blue. Where the forest leading into the faery realm stood before us, looking very innocent and not like the home of unfriendly, territorial faeries.
My head ached with everything I had learned swirling around inside. Seeing my father turn demon. Learning that he was going to die. Learning that I would die if I didn't drink the potion. Meeting Elizabeth. Learning that her fate was to never leave the castle again. Knowing I'd forget all of this as soon as I drank the potion.
I sucked in a breath and it sounded like a sob. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Michael looked over his shoulder at me. "What part?"
"All of it. About my father's health. About the dangers of being a Darkling. About all of that."
"I told you what I was supposed to tell you, Princess. I answered your questions."
I felt angry then. At him, at everything. "No, you didn't. I asked you to tell me who you were but you didn't say any-thing. I wish you would have told me the truth."
He shoved his hands into the pockets of his sweatshirt and kept trudging along toward a shimmering patch of light about fifty feet ahead of us-the gateway back to the human realm.
"I should have told you," he said. "I know that." "Yeah, you should have."
"Well, now you know. I'm a servant." He said it so bitterly and his eyes were still on the path ahead of him. He hadn't looked me directly in the eyes since we were in the castle. "You're a princess and I'm your servant. See? I can say it. It's not even that bad, actually."
"Michael-" "Princess, please. Let me take you home. It doesn't matter anyway. None of this matters. When you drink the potion you'll forget all about me and everything else." He'd reached the gateway. "No sewer this time. Not as traumatic, I promise."
I looked at the gateway. It was about the size of a regular door, but with rounded edges; a swirling kaleidoscope of color, but I could still see through it to the other side as if it were only a light film.
"Wait a minute-" "Follow me, Princess" He didn't say it out loud this time.
I bit my lip. Telepathy. I could hear him because I was a demon princess and he was the servant my father had assigned to me.
Right behind you, I thought telepathically, wondering if he could hear me as clearly as I could hear him.
Without another word or a glance at me, he walked directly through the gateway and disappeared.
I looked back over my shoulder at the castle in the distance. That scary castle I'd been so afraid to approach. And there was no doubt-it was scary and intimidating and so very strange. Everything about this had been unbelievable. But it was all true.
My eyes filled up, thinking I'd never see my father again. I'd wanted to hate him, I'd tried to hate him, but I couldn't. He was a good man. His demon form had scared me, but he'd said earlier that he was the same person underneath. That appearances meant nothing.
Now I believed it.
Qood'bye, Dad, I thought as a tear slipped down my cheek.
And then I walked through the gateway. My stomach lurched a bit and I had a moment of vertigo, but with the next step I was on the street where I lived.
Michael stood there with his arms crossed as he waited for me.
"Come on," he said. "I'll walk you to your house."
I shifted my focus to Michael. "Can I ask you a question?"
"Of course."