The Shadow Prince

“The old boy probably wouldn’t drink so much if he let himself get laid once in a while!” Bobby goes on guffawing, and I’m glad when a familiar face approaches the table.

“Marta, you’re here, too?” I ask.

“I was nearby,” she says. “Joe sends his apologies. He needs to attend to some business with Mr. Fitzgerald. I’ve been asked to escort you home.”

Normally, I might feel slighted by Joe, but I don’t argue with this change in plans. It’s nearly one thirty in the morning and I can feel the fatigue pulling at my bones. I’ve already scheduled a Skype-chat breakfast with my mom, followed by three hours of self-imposed singing practice in the morning, and then I’m supposed to meet with Tobin for lunch so I can tell him everything I’ve learned about Haden and the Lord family. It’s still not a lot, but I know he’ll be revving for an update.

I follow Marta sleepily to her Audi. It’s a long drive back to Olympus Hills and I’m not sure I’ll stay awake. “Who’s Mr. Fitzgerald?” I ask with a yawn as I get into the passenger seat. “I thought Joe was with Mr. Sunny.”

“Oh yes. Only Joe calls his manager Mr. Sunny—because of his ‘sunny disposition.’ He’s Mr. Fitzgerald to the rest of us.”

Chapter forty-one

HADEN

It is nearly dawn by the time I return to the house in Olympus Hills. I have been gone for nearly a day, but I am heady with music and emotion—like an Heir who’s imbibed too much nectar at a feast—and I don’t care. I bang into the kitchen, singing one of the many songs I have memorized during the night.

Someone is waiting for me, but it isn’t Dax, as I expect.

“Care to tell me where you’ve been?” Simon asks. He sits at the kitchen counter with a mug of his coffee. Based on the dregs left in the pot, he’s consumed quite a few cups while waiting for me.

“No.” I pick up an apple from the centerpiece on the table.

“Do you know where I was?” he asks.

“Nope.” I whistle a tune, heading for the stairs.

“I was at a friend’s restaurant opening. And the darnedest thing happened. Something that has never happened in all my years. My platinum card had a hold on it.”

I stop at the front of the stairs.

“You can imagine my surprise when I called the credit card company to clear things up and found out that somebody in my household put a fifty-eight-thousand-dollar expense on my card yesterday afternoon.”

I take a bite of the apple. I don’t realize how hungry I am until the sweetness touches my tongue. I look at Simon while I chew.

“Not that I’m not good for the money. Not that I don’t have the room in my account. They were just concerned. As was I. Do you know why I was concerned?”

I shake my head.

“Because someone in my charge didn’t come home last night and wasn’t answering his phone. I thought maybe this someone had decided to skip town. But you wouldn’t do that, would you? Skip town? Abandon your quest? Run away? Like a coward?”

I suddenly find it hard to swallow. “I am not a coward. And I didn’t run.”

“I know that now,” he says. “But you wouldn’t be the first to try. That’s one of the reasons I’m here. I almost came after you. That wouldn’t have been pleasant for anyone involved—just ask your friend Dax. However, luckily for you, I took a closer look at the charge on my account. What exactly was so fascinating at Pacific Coast Records that you felt compelled to spend nearly sixty thousand dollars on it?”

“Music.”

“Music?” Simon pours soy milk into his coffee and stirs it with a dainty spoon. “Sixty. Thousand. Dollars’. Worth of music?” He takes a sip and pulls a face like the milk has gone bad. “You know music is forbidden in the Underrealm?”

“Yes, but I’m only using it to get closer to Daphne. It’s part of my quest. Dax said it’s okay for Champions to bend the rules occasionally.…”

“I know what Dax says. He used the same argument on me when he convinced me to get you a spot in the program. I question whether it was wise.”

“It’s working. That’s where I was yesterday. I was with her.” At least part of the day.

“Do you know why music is forbidden?”

“Because it’s too human?”

“Because of the Traitor. Because of what he did. He used his music to manipulate the god of the Underrealm. To trick him, deceive him. To distract him so he could steal the Key to the underworld. To trap the Underlords down there. Your god would still be alive today if not for that man’s filthy manipulations.”

“That has nothing to do with my—”

“That’s what music is. It’s manipulation. It plays on your emotions. Makes you think and feel things that aren’t true. It distracts you.”

“I’m not distracted.”

“You sure? There’s sixty grand and a full day of unaccounted time that tells me differently. You stink of emotion.” He pushes his coffee cup away. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you were having second thoughts about your assignment.” He stares at me, his dark eyes boring into me.

“I’m not,” I say softly.

“You sure, boy? I’d hate to tell dear ole Papa Ren that his son is an even bigger disappointment than anyone imagined. Tell him not to keep that seat next to his throne warm for you. Tell him you’re just some nursling who can’t keep his head on straight around some skirt who can spin a couple of pretty little songs.”

“I’m sure.”

“Good.” Simon takes his cup and plate to the sink. He pulls on a pair of rubber gloves and turns on the water. “Just to make sure, I’m going to be keeping you on a tighter leash,” he says, taking a scrub brush the color of limes to his dishes. He cleans them with an intensity that makes me glad I am not a plate. “Under no circumstances are you allowed to leave Olympus Hills again. I have activated the GPS in your phone. I am to know where you are at all times. You will be home no later than midnight every night, and you will give me a full account of your daily doings. If I find that the music program is indeed becoming too distracting, I will terminate that arrangement immediately. You will have to find other avenues for getting close to your Boon. Less emotional ones. Do you understand me?”