Lord King (The King)

He turned his head and stared deep into my eyes. “What aren’t you telling me, Seer?”

“My name is Jeni.” Same name you groaned into my ear when you were comi—

“Enough,” he snarled.

I smiled coolly. I enjoyed getting under his skin, especially now that we were on an even playing field when it came to what went on inside each other’s heads. One could even argue I had a leg up. I could hide things.

“Which is why I will ask you once again, Jeni; what are you keeping from me?”

My mind quickly shuffled. The real secret was in my belly, but I could never tell him. “It’s no secret. You’re just not ready to hear it yet,” I lied, hoping he’d think my thoughts had something to do with the Seers’ plans for him.

King narrowed those hypnotic pale eyes. “I do not like your kind, Jeni. And I like your games even less.”

“Why, King? Why do you hate Seers? Is it because you couldn’t tame us? Is it because the ancient ones refused to be your obedient slaves?”

“Seers killed my family.”

That part I completely got. “But this started a long time ago, right? What happened? How did they all die to begin with? Why did you bring a bunch of them back from the dead?” He must’ve known it wouldn’t end well.

“It is a long story; however, not all of the women were disappointed about returning. It was only a handful.”

“So some were actually glad to be raised from the dead to work for you?”

“One in particular insisted upon it. She believed her place was at my side.”

So I wasn’t the first Seer to have a thing for the enigma known as King. “But then why kill them all after their attempted takeover of Ten Club? Why not just remove the ones who moved against you?”

“I no longer required their services, and frankly, I was not in the mood to ascertain if any were worth keeping. I simply wished to dismantle Ten Club—something I promised my wife I would do long ago.”

The Seers had told me about this. They said he’d lied to Mia and told her Ten Club no longer existed, but he’d been running it behind her back. She found out and left him. King tried to make things right so he could get her back, but that was when everything went to shit. The Seers found out King was about to pull the plug and send them back to Seer-land, but then they decided they wanted to rule the most violent group of individuals on the planet.

That was another piece I didn’t understand. I’d been given the impression my kind wasn’t violent.

“Were you not just begging me to let you kill Victor Escorcia five minutes ago?” King asked, listening in on my head chatter.

“Good point.”

“Seers are human beings, Jeni. No different than anyone else except for their abilities. They must choose which path they take in life.”

So, basically, if I wanted to turn into a raging psycho-bitch and kill anyone I pleased, I could?

“I never said there weren’t consequences for your choices,” King added. “Seers have laws, and they punish those who break them.”

Why hadn’t anyone told me this? “What laws?”

“Best you ask them. I would not wish to incorrectly inform you. Also, I was never one for rules. I have always been more of the breaking type.”

Yes, I know. King did what he wanted when he wanted. That defiant strength was what attracted me to him even when I loathed him for his sometimes reckless ways.

“I am not the reckless man you think me, Jeni.” He exhaled slowly. “Now, I have entertained your questions, and we have work to do. Are you going to answer my question?” What are you hiding? He stared expectantly.

This again. I had to tell him something. Anything but the truth. “Uh, well, I’m not really sure it’s a secret; I just don’t have all the information. The Seers are planning their return.”

He cocked a dark silky brow. “Are they now? And how will they manage this?”

I shrugged. I wasn’t exactly sure. I only knew they expected King to lead them, which was insane. Why would they want the person who murdered them to be their “lord,” as they called him?

“Because I am still their king,” he said. “And they want things made right—the king and his Seers shaping the world.”

“But you guys have so much bad blood between you.”

“Yes, and had I not veered down the path I ultimately took, things would have resulted differently. For them. For me. For the world.”

“So they think you have some sort of unfulfilled obligation,” I concluded.

“Something like that,” he replied in his usual dismissive tone like he couldn’t give two fucks about any of this. He just wanted to get back to Mia and Arch.

“You understand me well,” he said.