“It is a fantasy, Seer, a myth perpetuated by your foolish Hollywood movies. And if you doubt me, take two steps outside your precious reality. The true nature of man is still alive and well. Drug cartels, gangs, human trafficking, tribal genocide, dictatorships. That is reality, woman. People do not change. Evil never goes away. Power, corruption, and greed are the sickness of every generation, of every culture, of every tribe.
“The only thing that can protect you is being deadlier and more powerful than everyone else. And just where the fuck do you think you learn to be like that, Seer? At church? Or perhaps in those history books you spent four years of your life studying?” He leaned in. “If you truly wish to survive, you must surround yourself with the worst of the worst, Jeni. The most treacherous, violent, despicable human beings, and you must learn what they do and how they do it. And then you must be better at it than they are. You must outsmart them, obtain better weapons, and sell your fucking soul to the fucking devil for powers that will keep them in their place—fearing you, two steps behind you, or under your foot, gasping for air.”
My mouth flapped for several moments. Even if I didn’t entirely agree, his words felt like a hard slap of cold truth. I’d been alive for a little over two decades, and up until a few weeks ago, I still believed that when people died, they stayed dead. I believed that while the system wasn’t perfect, justice existed. I thought humanity was making strides toward a better place. As a history major in college, I often reveled in the magnitude of mankind’s progress.
Now I was learning it was all an illusion. The world was just as dangerous as ever. Only bigger and messier. Evolution on steroids.
“A well-placed observation,” King said. “Except that the word evolution implies change is permanent, like a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. No going back. Mankind has not evolved. It is still made up of two kinds of people: those who wish to be good, and those who will always seek to take power for themselves. The latter never rest. Which is why you must never stop protecting what’s yours in this world. Turn your head for one moment, and I guarantee the Victors will be ready. Spears out. Cocks out. Chains ready.”
I’d just been given a lesson from a living piece of history, and I wasn’t sure if I liked what he’d said.
“The sooner you accept the facts, the better off you’ll be,” King said bluntly. “In time, you will discover there is very little goodness in the world, and when you find it, you will sacrifice anything to protect it, even if it means becoming the devil to rule the demons. That is why I started Ten Club.”
The plane’s engines revved for takeoff, and I turned my head to stare out the window at the overcast sky. I knew he was right. The baby growing inside me would be one of the good things I would fight tooth and nail for.
I pushed away my thought, not wanting to tip King off.
“Tip me off about what?” he asked.
Fuck. Fuck. I quickly switched gears, diverting my thoughts to something that wasn’t a secret. I thought about how much I wanted him and how much I hated the fact he was going to leave me. I never asked to discover what I was. I never asked to meet him. I never wanted any of it.
“You are a peculiar woman, Jeni Arnold.”
“Why?”
“I have spent my existence seeking power. I have fought, bartered, killed, and paid dearly for every ounce of it. But you?” He chuckled with disapproval. “Destiny has served it to you on a silver platter, yet you complain.”
“I’m not complaining.”
“Aren’t you?” He narrowed his eyes.
Okay. I guessed I was. Anything to keep my mind away from my secret.
He added, “Perhaps you wish to go back to being the girl I met, who allowed everyone to treat her like a doormat.”
Never.
“Then start embracing your powers. You are going to need them,” he said.
King claimed I needed to protect myself. Okay. How? So far, my Seer gift made me a human lie detector. Not exactly lethal. Also, nothing like King’s shadow, which was deadlier than any weapon I’d ever seen. It could rip a person to pieces, pluck out their eyes, and crush their hearts in the blink of an eye. And it had come to my aid several times.
“What happens if you move on before I’m ready?” I asked. “I’ll be a Seer without a way to defend myself.”
“Life is full of challenges, Seer. Better get used to it.” King leaned back and shut his eyes while I fixated on his beautiful face. Part of me still couldn’t believe he was as old as he said. He looked to be in his early thirties, nowhere near ready to die.