Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 52864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 52864 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 264(@200wpm)___ 211(@250wpm)___ 176(@300wpm)
I shut the door, feeling my chest glow. That had felt insanely intense. Who was that guy?
I glanced down at the card in my hand. “Draco. Hmm. Cute name.” And he was a collector of rare Minoan artifacts.
Minoan? That was my specialty. What were the odds?
King
I knew I would not be welcomed back by Mia or my family yet, but angry or not, she did not have the power to keep me away. Even if she did, she could not stay angry forever.
I found her sitting on our favorite beach, staring out across the waves. Behind her, the glorious palace built in my honor, with large white pillars, stood like an unmovable fortress in time.
“I told you not to come back,” she said, not bothering to look at me.
“I only came for a quick visit. I missed you and Arch. I missed everyone.” My entire family, including my brother, Mack, were here.
Mia’s head whipped in my direction. “A visit?” she snapped.
I nodded. “I still have unfinished business, but it will not take long.”
I sat next to her in the sand, taking her soft hand. “And when I do return, I give you permission to send me to hell, though I am fairly certain it will look exactly like this—you pissed off and giving me the cold shoulder, when I know how much you love me.”
Mia growled, “What happened to spending eternity paying for your sins?”
“I decided to pay another way—by training Draco.”
“Training him? Are you crazy?”
“Ten Club has not gone away, and the Seers must still be dealt with.”
“So you’re teaming up with him? When will you learn, King?” She shook her head in disgust.
“I am showing Draco how to use his gifts so that he may take them out. It is my only choice if I wish to come back here and find peace. If you’ll have me.”
I put my arm around her, and she stifled a smile.
See, she can’t stay mad forever.
“It was pretty nice of you to let him prove himself,” Mia said.
So she had been watching. I knew she would not be able to resist.
“Draco’s mother, Jeni, gets all the credit. She’s stubborn. Like you.” And while Draco owed his change of fate to Piper, our decision to free him would only help his odds. Stepping in now, albeit late, did not erase our actions, but it was the beginning of making amends.
“So what’s left to do with Draco?” Mia asked.
“He will round up any objects with power Ten Club possesses and destroy them. First, I must help him practice his Seer gifts so he knows where to look. After that, he will begin dismantling everything they’ve built, brick by brick. As for the Seers, the plan is to shut them out for good, starting with any places where they have access to the living world. I’ll need your help with that.”
Mia smiled and shook her head. “Fine. I’ll help. But what about Piper? How will Draco protect her through all this?”
I shrugged. “I have a feeling she can handle herself. She is strong, like you.” Also, I had not kept just one object from my arsenal hidden in that house. There had been two. One was a ring I had given to Mia while she’d been alive. She’d stopped wearing it at one point for reasons of her own, but it protected the wearer from death.
Was it wrong to gift Draco such a powerful object? Maybe. But my son had a long and dangerous road ahead. The ring would give him peace of mind to do what came next.
“Stop with the compliments,” Mia said. “And you’re not out of the woods yet. But you can start by making love to me.”
“Such a horrible punishment.” I leaned toward her and kissed her. I just hoped she’d be as forgiving when she found out we needed to burn down her Victorian. She loved that house.
EPILOGUE
Piper
One year later
It was amazing how my life had changed in twelve short months. One day, I see this beautiful man at a café, and the next he’s knocking on my door. A week later, I’d broken up with Leo after reading some texts on his phone.
The asshole had been cheating on me. With a client!
Honestly, it stung, but then I felt grateful. I hadn’t wasted a life on him. No kids. No marriage. Just a house we shared ownership of. Which, oddly, burned to the ground a month after our split. I’d been away visiting family, thankfully, but it had been the weirdest thing because they’d said it started in the basement, and there’d been nothing down there. Anyway, Leo and I paid off the mortgage and went our separate ways.
After that, I started spending more and more time with Draco, and while I tried not to fall in love so quickly, it happened anyway. He was amazing in every way. Smart, kind, and incredibly good in bed. Incredibly wealthy, too, though I didn’t care about that. He was honest and good and passionate about life.