Total pages in book: 56
Estimated words: 53433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 53433 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 267(@200wpm)___ 214(@250wpm)___ 178(@300wpm)
“The man who has been searching for the blood of a true king is Niko Spiros.”
I knew that name. “He was King’s chauffeur back in San Francisco.”
“Yes. And his family, the Spiroses, were once the servants and guards for the Minoses. Thousands of years they served their bloodline.”
I knew that, too. From what I understood, King had released them of their obligation to serve him. “Why does Niko want to bring King back?”
“Apparently, when King freed them from the curse that compelled the Spiroses to serve him, he wasn’t specific enough.”
“Meaning?”
“King released them from serving him. He did not release them from serving his bloodline.”
It took a minute to process. “So now they have to serve Draco?”
“Yes. And Niko would like to bring King back in order to rectify the situation. King must undo the curse.”
All this time, Ansin knew about this and never told me? This was big. Because if Niko Spiros wanted to break his family’s ties to the Minoses, then why not take the easy way out? Kill the last of King’s bloodline instead of resurrecting him.
“Did they fucking hurt Draco? Did they take him?” I was about to lose my dinner, a sandwich I had on the plane.
“The thought crossed my mind, though, if that were their plan, they would have done it already. Niko is still looking to bring King back to life in hopes King will fix things, which indicates they do not have Draco.”
“But killing Draco could still be their backup plan.”
Ansin nodded. “It is possible they are behind Draco’s disappearance and that their plan hit a snag.”
“Snag?” My heart thumped away, a million frantic beats per second.
“If they paid someone to take him, that someone may have decided to play hardball.”
“I’ll kill them.” If anyone hurt my child, there was no place on earth they’d be safe from me.
“Jeni, these are all just theories. You must remain calm.”
“Calm? I want answers! I want to know where the fuck my baby is!” I yelled.
The more unhinged I got, the calmer Ansin became. “First, I will ascertain if the Spiroses had anything to do with it.”
“How will we know?”
“I have my ways. In the meantime, you must attempt to make contact with the Seers. Find out if they are behind it, as you suspect.”
“How? You haven’t told me how, Ansin.” I was tired of these games.
“This property is the site where the Seers once held their sacred meetings. They still do, in their afterlife.”
“So how’s being here going to connect me to them?”
“Come with me.”
I followed Ansin through the opulent home filled with modern-looking furniture, bright colorful artwork, and white marble floors. Ansin knew his way around, so I assumed he’d been here before. Probably during some sick Ten Club tea party or sex-slave swap.
We passed a stone statue of a man in a toga, tucked into an alcove along the hallway.
“Fucking Romans.” Ansin scowled at it.
We went up the marble staircase and entered the master bedroom. It was beyond anything I’d ever seen before—murals of gods riding chariots, stone pillars, a sunken steaming tub in the center, and a balcony overlooking the ocean.
“This is incredible,” I said.
“Do not let the opulence fool you.” Ansin faced me. “This is your training ground. The home is built over land that is filled with pain, death, love, and history.”
“And what do you expect me to do?”
“You will walk from room to room and use your gifts to see the moments playing out.”
“How?”
“You will become the pain. You will open your mind to the history. You will do it by drawing on the powers from the other Seers.”
“There are no other Seers.”
“Not now, but they were here. Try to think of time as place. And here, in this house, there are many places where the Seers gathered. Their power is concentrated. Once you become accustomed to drawing from them, you will do it again outside the walls. When you’re done, you will use your gift and their energy to heal.”
“You mean to search for Draco, right?” That was why I was here, wanting to confront the Seers. I wanted to find out if they had anything to do with taking him, but also what was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I see?
“Yes,” he replied. “That as well.”
“But this could take days, weeks, months. We don’t have that kind of time.” My child was out there, and as the minutes ticked by, I grew more worried that whoever had him was going to harm him.
“You have two hours until Niko Spiros arrives,” Ansin said. “If he had something to do with Draco’s abduction, I will do my best to get it out of him, but it may not work.”
“Are you going to torture him?”
Ansin didn’t react to my comment. “What I am trying to say is that our best bet of finding your son is you.”