Reign Fall by Michelle Rowen Page A

was on the tip of my tongue to tell him about the sketch, but I stopped myself. I guess a part of me was worried that all of this might be related—the sketch, Chris’s visions, my dream, my father’s suspicions about Michael. I was worried that if I said anything, it would just be used as more evidence that my father was right. And maybe another part of me, on some level, did worry that that drawing had been of Michael.
    But he would never hurt me. I knew he wouldn’t.
    Still, I didn’t say anything.
    Our eyes met and I nodded. “I’ll take it under advisement, coach.” Quickly, I changed out of the workout wear and back into my jeans and sweater and winter coat. I touched the rock in my pocket that the strange boy had given me to make sure it was still there. My father met us at the front entrance of the castle.
    “Michael will see you to the gateway,” he said.
    “Just to the gateway?” I asked.
    He raised an eyebrow at my immediate look of annoyance. “Do you have something to say, Nikki?”
    I opened my mouth to complain, but the fearless part of me that would have thrown the words out just to annoy and challenge my father had diminished. I didn’t feel like any more arguments.
    Not today.
    “Forget it,” I grumbled.
    “How did your training session go?” he asked pointedly.
    I knew what he was really asking me. If I’d found some secret about Michael’s grip on his dark side. I glanced briefly at Michael before returning my attention to my father. “It went fine. I don’t think there’s anything to worry about.”
    He nodded. “I’m very glad to hear that.”
    After we said good-bye, Michael walked me back across the gray, rocky ground to the field of grass. Waiting for us there was a swirling vortex in the shape of a door. While the ones formed in Erin Heights showed up when Michael—or anyone else—was there for a short trip, this one was specifically created by my father for yours truly.
    “It’s stupid that you can’t come through with me.” I still felt incredibly sullen about that.
    “What if you come through anyway? It’s not like he’s here to stop you.” Michael studied the gateway. “If I try to go through without the king’s permission, it will kill me.”
    I gaped at him. “You’re kidding.”
    He shook his head. “Unless you have a dragon’s tear, you’re at the mercy of the gateways.” His lips thinned. “So I have to respect the king’s decision.”
    “But you don’t like it.”
    His expression darkened. “No, I don’t like it at all. I didn’t like it for the weeks I was forced to stay away from you, and I don’t like it now.”
    This new info was enough to take my breath away.
    He hadn’t forgotten about me. He’d wanted to see me. But he couldn’t.
    He was basically stuck here unless my father gave him permission to leave. He couldn’t seek more information about Shadows, even if he wanted to. And he did.
    I knew I had to help him in any way I could.
    “I’m going to ask him,” I said. At Michael’s questioning look, I clarified, “ Rhys. I’m going to ask Rhys to get the Shadow book.”
    The tension in his face eased a little. “Thank you.”
    I knew it had taken a lot for him to ask me to do this. He didn’t like Rhys and having to rely on him for information had to be hard to accept. And finding out more about Shadows might help ease my father’s mind about Michael as well. “It’s your reward for bossing me around during our training session.”
    A smile tugged at his lips again. “If you think that was bossy, just wait till lesson number two.”
    I looked up at him and our eyes locked. I remembered what it was like when he pressed me up against the wall. I’d come very close to kissing him then and making up for New Year’s Eve.
    “Princess,” he began as I took hold of the edge of his sweatshirt and pulled him closer to me.
    Closer and closer...
    “Yes, Michael?”
    He stepped back from me and looked at the gateway as he