Wow. Twenty-five years. He had been sitting at the bottom of the ocean before I was born. “Then one day, Hurricane Mia—named the same as your wife—came through and washed you to shore, right in front of my jobsite.”
He nodded.
How the hell was I supposed to believe any of this wasn’t being controlled by something greater? The events were too orchestrated, too timely, too perfect.
My mind churned, searching for explanations.
King said that Seers never truly died, that their souls remained anchored to the earth. It was all foreign territory to me, but maybe it was possible that they’d created the hurricane. Hell, it was even named after his late wife.
“Are you sure Mia crossed over?” I asked.
“Yes.”
My brain worked overtime, trying to connect the pieces—the hurricane, the pull I felt toward King, my desire to help him make things right, and my inexplicable feelings. I wanted him. I wanted to help him any way I could, even if it pained me.
I raked my fingers through my hair. Could King be wrong about Mia leaving? Maybe what I felt was her—her pushing me from beyond the grave to help him. Maybe she’s the one who protected me from Randall, not death. If she was behind all this, it would explain a lot.
King shot a distressed look my way. I knew he could hear my thoughts.
“Am I right?” I stood, hovering over him in his seat. “Am I?”
“I wish you were, but no. Mia is gone.”
“But there’s something you’re not telling me. I can feel it.”
“I am far too fucking old to tell you everything!” he yelled, losing his patience. “But it comes down to this: You either trust me or you do not. You want your father back or you do not. If the answer is yes to both, then the goal remains unchanged. End Ten Club. End me.”
His words were sobering. I knew he was right. Even if my theory was correct, it didn’t change a thing. I still wanted to help him kill these people, and I still needed to get my poor dad back.
King and I deplaned without speaking further, and the same older man who’d driven us a few days before greeted us at the airport. Niko, I thought his name was.
Either way, after we pulled up to the house from hell, Niko opened King’s door. King turned to him and whispered something.
The man smiled and bowed with appreciation. “Thank you. It has been an honor, sir.”
As the car pulled away, I asked, “What was that all about?”
“Tying up a few loose ends, Miss Arnold. That is all.” King headed for the front door. Man on a mission.
“Meaning?” I trailed behind.
“I fired him and his entire family. Can we move on now?”
“But he looked happy…” My voiced faded off. King said the Spiros were bound to him somehow. That was over now.
The realization hit hard. King’s long life was really coming to an end. The irony was that the moment he walked into my life felt like a beginning. A new path. A new world. But for him, it was the end of a long journey.
What was the saying? The end is just another beginning. But in my case, the beginning was just another end. His end.
We turned toward each other, locking eyes on the porch. I mentally reached for him, hoping with all my heart he’d let me in and I’d find a way out—some other solution he’d overlooked.
“No, Miss Arnold,” he said, “what you are hoping for is a way to convince me to stay here. With you.” He took my hand. The warmth of his skin made my heart ache. This was our last day together, and I wasn’t ready to let go.
“But you must.” He gently squeezed my hand. “Have faith, my little Seer. All dark roads eventually lead to light.”
I shook my head at him. Fuck you and your metaphors. I pulled my hand away. “All I’m asking for is a little more time. A month, a week, a day. Just…” I shook my head, “don’t go. Don’t make me kill you. I’m not ready to be alone with all this.” This being a new world I hadn’t come to understand yet.
He inhaled slowly, his broad chest rising beneath the white dress shirt. “I am truly sorry, Jeni, but our journey must end here.” He glanced up at the massive house. “Best you accept it.”
I didn’t know if I could.
“You are stronger than you think,” he said. “If you have doubts, simply remind yourself how an ancient, powerful Minoan king put his faith in you after everything else in this world failed him. Even himself.”
Minoan. I had a degree in history. I happened to love it. Off the top of my head, I knew they were one of the first established cultures of ancient Greece, but they mysteriously disappeared. No one really knew too much about them.