Lord King (The King)

I laughed. “Sure. Right.”

King cranked the engine, and the car purred to life. “Next time you speak with your sisters, kindly inform them there’s not a chance in hell I’ll be their lord. I don’t give a fuck if they find a way to come back and reestablish themselves in the world. They can find another leader.”

My skin began to tingle. And not in a good way. It was as if some part of me, which was connected to my “sisters,” was not happy with what King just said.

“So are you ready to kill some very bad people, little Seer?”

I narrowed my eyes at the beautiful man behind the wheel pulling into traffic. “I need to stop by my hotel and grab my stuff.” I was still damp and cold. And this was not the outfit I wanted to wear when I watched Victor Escorcia take his last breath.

A valid point. “He does not deserve such a lovely vision comforting him as I choke the life from his body,” King muttered.

I stared for a moment, wondering if he was being sarcastic. But he wasn’t. Serious as a heart attack.

And speaking of hearts, mine did a little flutter.

Pathetic. One nice word from King, and I was going all warm and gooey inside. I needed to let go of my feelings for him. If only I knew why I was so attached, I might find a way to break his spell over me.

CHAPTER FOUR

Jeans and a plain red T-shirt. That was what Victor would see on my body as King took his life. He’d also witness my big fat smile.

Maybe I was being vindictive, but what Victor stole couldn’t be paid back with his death. Victor’s actions had left a gaping, festering hole in my and my dad’s lives. He robbed the world of my mom, a person who spent every Sunday reading to people in hospice care. She gave blood once a month and saved up every winter to buy coats just for donation. She was good people.

Meanwhile, Victor lived like royalty on his yacht in Miami. I knew because I’d stalked him online a few times and contemplated paying him a visit long before I met King.

Back then, I was never brave enough to go after Victor. Now I’d tear his head off given the chance. Especially after King told me—and my dad confirmed—that Victor actually showed up drunk to our house one day when I was still little and offered my dad money. “Compensation” for our loss. Victor also offered to take me off my dad’s hands—best schools, best clothes, a life of luxury.

Bullshit. I knew what sort of monster Victor was. He would not have taken care of me. Raped, beaten, killed, yes. Luckily, my dad loved me and told Victor to fuck off. But why did I get the impression that I wasn’t the first or the last little girl Victor attempted to acquire for his sick fantasies?

“Yes, you are quite fortunate your father did not fall for Victor’s tricks,” King said as we settled into his private jet—one of many, I guessed. This particular plane had leather seats that faced each other. Awkward.

“Victor would have made you his pet,” King added.

“I don’t even want to think about it.” Especially the part about you protecting that nasty fucker.

“I did what I must to protect my family. So I believed.” Seated across from me, King stared over my head toward the cockpit, his mind somewhere else.

Probably with Mia.

A pang of jealousy speared my heart. “Well, awesome you, because my family paid the price.” Had Victor gone to jail the first time he broke the law, my life would have been very different.

“I am aware.” King still refrained from looking at me. “And when you have lived for three thousand years, witnessing the cruelty, violence, and evil of men, then come see me.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Sir.” The pilot came up behind me. He was some private contractor. “We’re cleared for departure.”

King gave him a nod and then lowered his eyes, hitting me with his ice-cold gaze. “The world is full of Victors and always has been. Always will be. There is nothing I can do to change that.”

“I understand, but—”

“But nothing, Jeni,” he spat. “You know nothing other than the few decades you’ve been alive. You were not around before Jesus, electricity, and guns, when people killed with rocks and bare hands simply because they felt like it. You have never witnessed entire tribes wiped out—women raped, children split in half to extract their beating hearts, the men slowly cooked alive—because another group wanted to appease their gods. I have lived through the Bronze Age, the Dark Ages, and the Industrial Revolution. I was there for the Spanish Inquisition, the European discovery of your continent, and the first man on the moon. I have seen empires rise and fall—Egyptians, Maya, Romans, and Vikings. I have seen the worst this world has to offer, and I have seen it again and again and again. You are a child. You believe laws will protect you, that people will protect you.