Lord King (The King)

He placed his hands on his hips. “I can’t think straight. I need fresh air.”

King walked back across the room toward the open window and inhaled slowly, and I could see the fog lifting from his face, that vibrant alertness returning to his pale gray eyes.

“Why are you in your bra?” King asked.

“My shirt got dirty.” While you were dry humping me in a pool of your own blood. I couldn’t think of anything worse than that. “Who cares? The bigger question is what are we going to do?”

“About what?”

“Ariadna. Your daughter. She changes everything if she’s like her mother. Is she? I mean, will she be?”

“In what way?”

“Time travel? Because I can only think of one reason the Seers would go through all this trouble to bring Ariadna back, and it’s not for her to stay here and help you fix things.”

King tilted back his head of thick dark hair and groaned.

He got it now. He’d connected the same damned dots I had.

“I’m right, aren’t I?” I said. “She can make sure you never meet Mia, that you marry that Hagne woman and take your intended place as Lord of the Seers three thousand years ago.”

“Yes.” King groaned. “Which means Ariadna can’t be born, yet I could never bring myself to harm her. Nor would I allow anyone else to.”

Phew. I knew King had his dark side, but for a second there, he’d scared me. “What do we do? Because if that’s the Seers’ plan, all this goes away someday. You, me, Mia, Arch, and even Ariadna.”

He stared at the floor for a long moment, his strong jaw pulsing with tension. “I will have to train her and educate her myself—make sure she does not carry out their wishes. There is no other choice. It would be what Mia would want anyway.”

Part of me, a big part, rejoiced. I finally got my wish. King wouldn’t leave. Not yet. The other part of me felt, well, as expected. He wouldn’t be staying for me. “Are you sure this is what you want? I mean, I could raise her on my own—”

“You cannot train another Seer. You yourself are far too new at this, and Ariadna will be more powerful than you. I will see to her raising. You need not worry.”

I felt wounded. “Of course I’m worried. She’s mine.”

“If what you say is true, then she is my daughter. Mine and Mia’s. You are merely the baby’s vessel.”

“Baby? What baby?” A shirtless Ansin appeared in the doorway, his black hair disheveled.

“Who the fuck are you?” King asked.

The energy spiked in the room. Was it King on the defensive? Ansin? Both?

Ansin dipped his head. “I’m the man who’s going to kill you, Ansin Bastuli at your service.”

“The third and final member.” King smiled. “You’re much younger than I remember.”

“What can I say? You cleaned up Ten Club, and I went shopping. Found lots of very interesting items in the members’ arsenals.”

So Ansin used to look older?

Ansin continued, “But my most prize possession has your name on it, King.” Ansin patted the knife on his belt. I’d never really taken a good look, but the black handle had an intricate silver circle. I was beginning to think it wasn’t an ordinary knife. He’d used it to sneak up on both Victor and Sage. Both were powerful and didn’t put up a fight.

King chuckled and shook his head. “You are just as cocky as I remember. I’ll be sure to have it noted on your headstone.”

A dark shadow zipped across the room, heading straight at Ansin, who ducked. I’d seen that thing kill before. Not one person ever saw it coming. Ansin had.

Ansin unsheathed his knife and charged at King. Ansin flew back, hitting the wall, King’s shadow swirled around his head, and Ansin swiped at it with his knife. The shadow moved away, and Ansin got to his feet to take another run at King.

“Wait! No.” I stepped between him and King. “Ansin, we had a deal.”

“I agreed to save him from Sage,” Ansin said, his eyes filled with hate and venom. “I never said I wouldn’t kill him after.”

“It was implied,” I argued, my words coming out fast, “and you’re free to disagree with that, but if you touch him, I won’t marry you. I won’t have your kids.” I wasn’t going to anyway, but he didn’t know that.

“What’s this?” King growled.

“Nothing,” I explained. “I had to make a deal with him.”

“Only agreements between club members stand,” King spat at Ansin. “You know that. And if you’d like to kill me, be my guest, but you’ll be very disappointed.”

“Ten Club no longer exists,” Ansin threw out. “And yes, I’d very much like to take your life. How about now? Is now good for you?”

King said casually, “I am sorry to inform you that it is your day to die. Not mine.” That shadow took another swipe at Ansin, who ran his knife at it.