Reign Check by Michelle Rowen Page B

guys? “You never know.”
    “I have to get to my dance lesson in twenty minutes,” she said, glancing at her watch. “I have another one tomorrow afternoon, but do you think you can come by my house at about five o’clock so you can help me with the decorations? I should be finished with ballet by then.”
    I forced a smile. “I’ll be there.”
    “See you later,” she said. And then her attention shifted. “See you at the party tomorrow, Rhys.”
    “Bye, Melinda,” Rhys replied.
    She walked away down the hall, and I could have sworn she was swinging her hips a bit more than usual. Melinda could have any guy she wanted, and she’d absolutely decided it was going to be Rhys. Fabulous.
    “What do you want?” I asked Rhys, walking over to him. I didn’t even attempt to make it sound superfriendly.
    “I’m going now.”
    “Oh.” I tried to ignore the sudden pang I felt in my chest. The only one in the human world I could talk to about nonhuman subjects was leaving. “Going back to Faeryville already? Just like that? One week and you’ve got all the information you need?”
    “No, not leaving completely. I’m going to see the oracle. Right now.”
    Right now?
    I’d pretty much given up all hope that Rhys would tell me when he was going. I’d asked him daily in class when he was seeing the dragon. He’d either changed the subject or ignored me entirely.
    “Well?” he prompted after a moment. “Do you want to go with me or not?”
    I stared at him. “I thought you didn’t want me to come along.”
    “I don’t.”
    “Then why would you do this?”
    “Because if I ignore a chance to get to the bottom of your prophecy, I will have failed my people.”
    Despite myself, I couldn’t help but smile. “Are all nonhuman guys so serious all the time?”
    He frowned. “What do you mean?”
    “Michael …” Just saying his name made me miss him even more. It had been four long days since I’d last been with him, even though I’d imagined seeing him around the school a few times this week. “Well, he’s always serious. Not much with the joking around.”
    “Michael is your Shadow servant?”
    I flinched. “I guess you could call him that.”
    He raised an eyebrow. “If you want a jester to amuse you and tell funny stories, I suggest you look to someone other than a Shadow for that. And other than me, for that matter.”
    “That’s not what I’m saying. I mean, I’ve seen you smile and joke around a bit.”
    “I used to be that way. But being king doesn’t leave me a lot of time for having fun. Not anymore.”
    “So going to Melinda’s party tomorrow night is just … more stern and serious research?”
    He smiled at that, and it struck me then how rarely he smiled. Like Michael, he was much better looking when he did. “Humans are interesting creatures to observe in social situations.”
    I shook my head. “You so don’t sound sixteen.”
    “And how does someone who’s sixteen sound?”
    “Like me.” I grinned.
    His smile widened. “I’ll have to remember that.”
    Stop smiling, Nikki , I told myself. Rhys is not your friend . “So, uh, the oracle thing—”
    “I have an appointment scheduled in an hour. Are you coming with me?”
    I nodded. “I’m coming.”
    “Then let’s go.”
    No more questions, no more chitchat. It was time to get a second opinion about my prophecy. Maybe I could get it in writing, like a doctor’s note, to prove I wasn’t going to destroy anything or anyone anytime soon.
    “How are we going to get there?” I asked.
    “I have a car and chauffeur waiting out front.”
    He was very organized.
    “Thanks, Rhys. For … for taking me with you,” I said awkwardly.
    He gave a slight shrug. “You’re welcome. Just don’t tell my advisers about this. I don’t think they’d understand my motivation.”
    Was he breaking the rules by doing this? Rhys the rebel. Who knew? I felt a strange sense of gratitude toward the faery king for letting me tag