King for a Day (The King Trilogy #2)(56)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

“I think you’ve lost your mind.”

I pointed at him. “Yep! That’s right! So have you. And I’ll tell you what else: there’s no way in hell I’ll ever trust you or lift a finger for you. You took everything from me, King.” He might as well just kill me right then and there and end his goddamned curse. In fact, why didn’t he? I was the last Seer. He could have his peace right now with one flick of his wrist.

“Do not be ridiculous, Mia. I do not wish to kill you, and I meant it.” King looked up toward the ceiling, then back at me. “I will use the Artifact to bring back your brother.”

Huh? “You’re not making any sense.”

“The Artifact will give back one life. Just one.”

“Any life?” Then I assumed he wanted to bring back Hagne so he could get his revenge and kill her all over again.

“No. You are mistaken, Mia. I forgave Hagne a long time ago.”

“You expect me to believe that you’ve given up the one thing you’ve been after all these years?” I asked, not buying a word of it.

“She was mad from all her witchery. She made my brother mad, too. What I wanted was another chance. I wanted to take back what was stolen from me. However, if the curse is lifted, and I do not take the life the Artifact offers me, I will die. That’s good enough for me.”

“You’re joking.” I blinked. “Now you expect me to believe that you want to die? And you gave up getting revenge on Hagne? And that you’d let Justin come back in your place?” He was madder than me if he thought I’d buy that story.

“Yes. That is exactly right. I’ve been alive, Mia, for over three thousand years. I have finally made my peace with my demons. I am ready to sacrifice everything I’ve worked for and give you back your brother. All you need to give in return is redemption.”

Redemption?

He nodded. “But the redemption must be genuine. You must know everything—my sins, my demons, my goodness. Otherwise, the Artifact will not work.”

Holy crap. He’d been trying to show me who he truly was, just hoping I might still see something worth caring for? Some kernel of goodness? Something to…

“You’re asking me to…love you?” He was mad. Mad.

“I suppose I am.”

Oh Lord. I gasped and covered my mouth. I finally understood his insistence to have me read his journal and see his memories. All along, he’d wanted me to see the truth, the evil, the horrors of his existence, so that I might understand and accept him anyway. Scars, beauty, pain, and all.

“You killed my brother!”

“No,” he said calmly, “Vaughn killed your brother. And your brother made his own choices, free from any influence of mine.”

“Bullshit! If I hadn’t been locked up in that basement, I would never have convinced Vaughn the truth about the Artifact.”

“If your brother hadn’t made a deal with the devil and tried to steal his woman, he would never have been in that situation to begin with.”

Yes, Justin’s choices had set the wheels in motion for everything, including my meeting King. But that didn’t mean Justin deserved to die.

“No. Of course not,” he said, once again reading my thoughts. “But do you not see?” He stepped in a bit closer. “Justin finding the Artifact. Vaughn being the catalyst for the events that led you, the key, to finding me. It was all meant to be.”

Was it really? Because I couldn’t believe that this horror was my destiny. Or Justin’s.

“Mia.” King slipped his hand to the back of my neck and stared down at me. “Please.”

I paused to think it over, but I couldn’t do it. I only saw the man who’d done terrible things to the people I loved. I saw only the pain he’d caused me.

Yes, a part of me also now understood him, too. I’d walked a mile in his shoes. I now understood how easily, given the right circumstances, one’s soul could be corrupted. Hell, I’d plotted to kill two people! And now, I was dead set on making at least one of those lives end.

“I’m asking for a simple trade. Your love for Justin’s life. It is the only way, Mia, for everything to be set right again, for everyone to get back what was taken.”

I gazed into those cold, gray eyes, searching for the right answer, but the only one that came to me was one of hate. I filled my lungs with ocean air and gritted my teeth. For Justin. For Justin. For—

No, Mia. This needs to end. And even if you brought Justin back, he’d only suffer. Because I wouldn’t be able to bring back Jamie or that baby. Justin would only come back as the madman filled with grief he was when he’d left. Yes, perhaps with time, he might heal, but it was a moot point; I could never give King the redemption he needed.

“I’m sorry,” I said. “I can’t forgive you. I can’t give you redemption. I can only offer hate.” You’ve destroyed the one thing I loved most in this world, and you destroyed who I am. There is no coming back for me, and there’ll be no coming back for you. You are not my king. I will never be your queen. You are nothing to me.

King’s cold eyes didn’t flinch. He said nothing.

I walked out of that place, feeling his eyes on me every step of the way. But I ignored him. He was invisible to me now. And there was no going back.

EPILOGUE

A few days later, I’d been through paperwork hell, but I’d made it. Back to San Francisco, back to my parents, and back to face the bottomless pit of anguish that awaited me. Oddly enough, I’d cherished those days—the calm before the storm. The time alone had given me the space to reflect on the events, on King, and on the change that had occurred inside my heart. Where light once existed, only darkness reigned. Where hope once flourished, despair lived. But unlike King, I knew I still had a chance at redemption. If I could somehow manage to let go of my hate, my need to punish Vaughn, my wounds might heal with time. And so might those of my parents. I hoped. Because when I arrived at their home, the look on their faces told me that someone had already shared the tragic news—Justin was gone—and they might never recover.

I rushed to my mother and father, who sat on their couch, surrounded by Becca, her mother, and my aunt and uncle from Los Angeles who we barely ever saw apart from holidays.

“What’s going on?” I asked, but already knew.

Everyone’s heads snapped up.

“Mia, where have you been?” Becca asked.