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)
My heart dropped to my stomach. “What are we going to do?”
“He had the tablet in his jacket.” Ansin produced a small rectangular stone, about the size of a postcard, with symbols on it.
“How’s that going to help?”
“I recognize it. The object used to belong to King. I’m guessing Niko lifted it from his collection.”
“What are you proposing?” I asked.
Ansin didn’t answer. Instead he walked over to the window and stared out at the deep blue ocean.
“Ansin!”
He spoke calmly with a hint of defeat in his voice, or perhaps regret. “King was the man who could find anything or anyone. For a price, of course.”
My blood pressure dropped. He couldn’t mean what he was saying. “You want to pull King back from the dead?”
“I hoped it wouldn’t come to this, but I do not see another option.” Ansin just stared out at the ocean.
“He’ll kill us, not help us.” King had fought hard for the right to die in order to be reunited with Mia and Arch.
“It is a risk worth taking. Wouldn’t you agree?” he said.
“Of course I do, but—”
“We won’t know the outcome until we try.” He turned to face me.
My heart pounded in my chest like a loud drum. “You killed him. You’d really bring him back?”
“For you. Yes.”
I didn’t know what to say. Ansin hated King. Not that I understood why, but he did. “Ansin, you have to be honest with me. What do you want for this?”
Without batting an eyelash, he said, “You’ll owe me. And some day, I will call in my favor. But if you double-cross me again, Jeni, be forewarned, I will not let it slide next time.”
I nodded. I wasn’t in a position to say no.
“And I’m still holding you to your original word,” he added. “You must make good on our first deal.”
There it was, the moment I always knew was coming. He’d had no intention of letting me out of our arrangement. Ansin had been waiting patiently for the opportune moment to back me into a corner.
“Fine. Okay.” I’d do anything to get Draco back. I’d even spend eternity with Ansin.
“Fine okay what? I want to hear you say it, Jeni.”
“Marriage. Children. Whatever you want.”
Ansin bowed his head in acceptance. “All right then. Let us go get your King back.”
King was never mine. I wished it weren’t true, but it was.
Ansin turned toward the kitchen. “And, Jeni, be on your guard. King will try to kill you the moment he sees you.”
“Because he’ll be upset about being brought back.” I would be pissed off, too.
“No. Because you murdered his family.”
A lump formed in my throat. “You don’t honestly believe that.”
Ansin laughed. “Hell yes, I do.”
CHAPTER NINE
I didn’t know why Ansin was convinced that I’d been this Hagne nightmare in another life, but I didn’t give a crap. There was way too much to unpack right now, including the fact we were going to bring King back from the dead.
Christ, I have a bad feeling about this.
More immediate, however, I had to digest what Ansin had done to Niko Spiros here in the basement. There was so much blood on his face that the man was unrecognizable.
How could Ansin do this to another living person?
Get off your high horse, I told myself. I would’ve done worse to Niko if I believed he’d harmed my baby or knew his whereabouts. So maybe Ansin had been right all along, because I sure as hell had no interest in treating anyone fairly right now. Only one thing mattered. My child. Also, not becoming an accomplice to murder.
“Does he need a doctor?” I asked, staring at the large man tied to a chair.
“The wounds are superficial. He’ll be fine.” Ansin smacked Niko on the arm. “Wontcha, buddy.”
Niko groaned out what I assumed was a string of Greek swear words.
Ansin pointed to a small wooden table underneath the dangling bulb hanging from the damp ceiling. This basement had so much bad energy, I could feel it oozing from the slimy green walls. I didn’t want to know what King had done down here.
“All right, Niko,” Ansin said. “Since you have been such a good sport, and I believe you did not take Jeni’s baby, I’m going to keep my part of the bargain and give you the blood of a king.”
Niko mumbled something.
“You are wrong, my friend,” Ansin said to him. “I am very familiar with this object. Did you know it was unearthed in the very spot where they say Saint Peter died on the cross? The tablet is rumored to contain some of his blood, thus giving it an ability to reach beyond this plane of existence.”
Wait. What?
Ansin pulled his dagger from his belt. “The catch is that the spirit we resurrect needs a place to go. A vessel, if you will. Otherwise, it cannot stay here. Nothing to anchor to.”