King of Me (The King Trilogy #3)(36)
Author: Mimi Jean Pamfiloff

The woman closest to me frowned. “Why in the world would we do that?”

“Because he is my fate.”

“What you ask is impossible. To cast such a curse, you must have rage and hate for the person. We do not.”

I thought about it for a moment. “I do.” I had enough loathing and anger toward King, the evil version, to last a lifetime. Maybe an eternity.

The woman gave me an odd look, then glanced at the other three Seers and got the nods. When she looked back at me, she simply smiled, bent over, grabbed a small chunk of stone that had cracked off the corner of the bench, and then handed it to me.

“What am I supposed to do with this?” I asked.

“You must use an object that is from the earth, something that will endure the test of time as the anchor for the curse.”

Shit. I felt my blood pressure drop. This is the Artifact. History was repeating.

It doesn’t matter!

“Then what?” I glanced over my shoulder as the crowd roared wildly. King and Callias now fought, their swords clashing as they danced around each other like well-seasoned boxers waiting for the perfect punch.

The old woman shrugged. “You use your gifts to channel all of your pain, hate, and rage toward this man. Whatever injustice he has done to you, push it back to him. Then you cast your punishment.”

“You mean I just wish it? Are you sure?” I asked.

“The gods will decide the rest,” she said.

The crowd roared, and I glanced over my shoulder. King was on the ground.

No! Stone in hand, I rushed down the steps back toward the mass of bodies who’d now silenced. A pin could drop and be heard.

Now to the front and with a clear view, I watched in horror as Callias raised his sword to strike the blow.

I thought of the monster, of how his deceits and lies had changed me into someone I loathed. I thought about his disgusting hands on my body and the way he laughed so cruelly when I screamed. I thought of my rage over how he’d not saved Justin when I’d come to him for help. Then there was the pain I felt for my parents. I poured every ounce of anguish and despair into my words, willing them to make their home inside of King. “I curse you!” I screamed, the tears pouring from my raw face, momentarily halting Callias’s victory. “I curse you, King, to walk this earth in search of my forgiveness and love!”

King’s blue eyes met mine, and in that moment, I felt so hollow, yet so wholly connected to him. A gentle smile flickered across those beautiful, sensual lips, and time, once again, stood still.

“I’ll see you on the other side,” I whispered, not knowing if I spoke the truth, but knowing that this was my wish.

The sword came down, and I looked away. I didn’t need to see what came next. Instead, I looked up at the old Seer woman, my eyes pleading for her to tell me if I’d succeeded.

The woman’s dark eyes filled with pity, and she shook her head as if to say that she didn’t know.

I released the air in my lungs and sank to my knees, sobbing. The crowd howled with horror and disbelief. Their king was dead. And so was I, as far as I was concerned.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Unlike the time I’d spent with King—the man who felt more real to me than my own existence—the two days following his death were a strange surreal blur of utter agony. Random people came by and left flowers outside King’s chamber. Some came inside and laid them at the foot of his bed, where I stayed clutching that damned rock to my chest, weeping and praying he would appear before me, materializing from some dark shadow in the corner of the room.

He didn’t.

And every time my eyes searched for him in vain, the crack in my soul widened further. There wasn’t a place big enough on earth to hold the amount of heartache I felt.

Would he come back?

The only thought that brought me hope was knowing his absence didn’t necessarily indicate I’d failed. Once, King had explained how showing himself required a tremendous amount of energy and power—thus the reason for his sundial tattoo. But that fact didn’t guaranteed I would see King again, which is why I tried to make the bracelet work by channeling all of my energy into having it take me back to the hours before King’s death.

Nothing.

Maybe I needed strength to make it work, but my heart felt too broken to lift even a finger. I couldn’t stop crying.

On the third day, however, King’s sublime face, with those exquisite dark features, appeared like a mirage, luring me to sit up and climb out of my deep dark hole.

“You’re here,” I gasped. I jumped from the bed, threw my arms around his warm body, and pressed my mouth over his.

King quickly gripped my shoulders and pushed me away. “So you are the infamous Seer: Mia,” said the voice that sounded heavy, male, and melodic. But different somehow.

“King?”

His eyes, a familiar vibrant blue, were filled with sadness. “Callias,” he corrected.

I wanted to claw his face and rip out his heart. The man looked exactly like King, but he wasn’t.

“Leave,” I growled.

“I see that you miss him, too.”

“Miss him? Miss him?” I yelled. “You have no clue what I feel.”

Callias raised his palms. “I know what you must think of me.”

I pushed him hard, and likely not expecting it, he stumbled back despite his large size. “I think you are disgusting, evil, and a self-serving coward.”

For a moment, Callias appeared angry, but his rage quickly defused into amusement. He laughed into the air.

“What the hell is so funny?” I scowled.

“My brother said you were a wildcat in a woman’s skin, but I didn’t believe him.”

“King called me a cat?”

“Draco meant it as a compliment, I assure you.”

Hearing King called by his real name startled me. Maybe because it made him feel even more real to me.

“Why are you here?” I asked.

“I really don’t know, to be honest.”

“Maybe because your world is falling apart and everyone hates you for killing their beloved king?”

Rage filled his eyes. “I loved my brother. And think what you will, but executing him is the only thing he ever asked of me—begged of me. So yes, I did it. For him.”

“You should’ve said no.”

“Have you ever said no to him?” he seethed.

Yes, I had. “He didn’t listen to me.” I sat down and cupped my face.

“So you understand what I say.”