Then I was nothing.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
I opened my eyes and found myself staggering on my parents’ doorstep in San Francisco, Arch screaming bloody murder in my arms. At first I just wanted him to be quiet so my mind could rise above the pain or the fact I was spitting up blood. But it was his screaming that got my mother running to the front door.
“Jesus Christ,” she yelled, scooping up Arch and leaning into me before I fell over. “Honey, call 9-1-1!” she yelled over her shoulder. “What happened, Mia. Can you speak?” She helped me land softly on the wooden porch.
“Punctured lung,” I croaked.
“Oh, God. Oh, God. How did this happen?”
I didn’t have an explanation, so I just said, “Is King here?”
“King? Who’s King, sweetie?”
My heart crashed into a cold brick wall. I wanted to cry but could do little more than moan and writhe on the ground, trying to keep the oxygen flowing.
He’s not here. He didn’t make it. All the hope inside me drained away. For a moment, one stupid lousy moment, I had believed he would keep his word and we might start over.
“Why are you and Arch in those strange clothes?” my mother asked, her blue eyes filled with confusion. “I’m sorry. Don’t talk. Don’t talk.” She shook her head.
My father came running out. “They’re on their way.” Luckily the hospital was little more than three blocks over.
Might not matter. I felt my vision blacking out, but I refused to let Hagne win this round. She might be the reason that King and I were once again robbed of another chance, but she would not be the reason this body stopped breathing or that I lost my sweet little Ariadna. I refused.
“Mom,” I whispered, “tell them I’m pregnant.” The paramedics needed to know in case I blacked out, which I didn’t.
They arrived within minutes, and I stayed awake for the entire ride to the hospital. I stayed awake while they tried to clear my lungs and I felt my life slipping away.
But as they placed a mask over my mouth, I saw him—King’s dark shadow looming behind the doctors and nurses frantically trying to keep me alive.
His ghost.
I smiled at him, thinking that in a way, maybe he’d kept his promise. His spirit stuck around, waiting for me to die.
“Don’t give up,” I heard him whisper.
I blinked, and he was gone.
“Hurry! She’s going,” was the last thing I heard before the anesthesia took hold.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
I woke up alone in a blurry fog, but the empty coffee cup on the bedside table told me my father or mother wasn’t far.
My body in excruciating pain, I tried to take a full breath. I felt like I’d been beaten, put back together, and beaten up again. Then I noticed the tubes running from my nose and mouth. I immediately started to claw at my face, setting off a beeping sound, followed by a woman’s voice telling me to stay still. It didn’t take long for her to remove the crap in my throat.
“You had a lot of fluid in your lungs, but the bleeding has stopped,” the nurse said.
“Arch,” I whispered.
“I’m not sure, but your mother will be right back. She went for more coffee.”
“My baby?”
The nurse pointed to the monitor, which I then realized was hooked up to my stomach. “Steady as a rock.”
If it didn’t hurt so much, I would’ve sighed with relief.
My mind quickly went to the moments before my return home and of King pleading with me to have faith.
What went wrong? Why wasn’t he here?
Maybe he’d come to his senses. After all, I’d begged him not to do it.
“Mia,” my mother’s voice rang through the room, instantly calming me, “oh, honey. It’s so nice to see you awake. They said it would take days.” She still wore her pajamas and had her blonde hair in a little ponytail. Her blue eyes, same color as mine, were bloodshot from crying.
“King. Are you sure he’s not here?” I said in a raspy voice.
“Honey, I don’t know anyone named King. What happened to you?”
“I don’t remember,” I lied.
“Well, the police were here and the doctors were asking all sorts of questions. They said you looked like you were cut from the inside out.”
Teddi had only been able to heal the outside. I’m sure that confused the hell out of the doctors, but frankly who gave a shit? I was alive, and that meant Ariadna would be all right.
Just as I thought that, I felt a tiny flutter in my lower stomach.
There you are, sweetie. Mommy’s so glad you’re okay.
“Is Arch okay?” I asked with a labored breath.
“He’s fussy after all of the tests the doctors did to make sure he wasn’t injured, too. But everything’s fine. He’s with your father.”
“Aren’t you going to ask about me?” A deep, dark voice filled the room.
I looked behind my mother, and there, standing in an elegant black suit, was King.
My eyes teared up until my fear kicked in. I couldn’t see his colors. I couldn’t see if he was alive or good or bad.
I simply stared at him, waiting for him to say something.
“Would you mind giving me a moment alone with my wife?” he asked.
“I told you to call me Mom. But of course. I’ll be right outside.” My mother flashed a consoling smile and left.
King waited patiently for her to be out of earshot and then took a seat. “So, am I to assume that you know everything now?” There was a smugness to his smile.
I made a little nod.
“And you remember who I am, who I really am?” he asked.
I nodded again.
“I admit, after three thousand years, I expected a bit more excitement, Mia.”
“But…but…” I didn’t want to ask. My heart couldn’t take any bad news.
Guessing my question, he whispered proudly, “Yes. I am alive.”
“But-but how?”
He lifted his hand and showed me his pinky ring. It had a diamond set into a solid gold band.
“Ohmygod,” I whispered. “How did you get that?”
“Teddi gave it to me. And she sends her love. She also wrote you a ridiculous amount of letters, which I preserved for you. At least I hope so. It was not easy making wax-lined jars in 1400 BC.”
That was when I noticed his blue, blue eyes. Ohmygod. He is alive. Tears of utter relief flooded my vision. Not only was he alive, but he did not seem like a complete wicked bastard.
He continued, “There is much to tell you, much that happened along the journey, but none of that is important right now. What matters is we are together, you are safe, and the children are safe.”
“Are we really married?” I whispered. He’d said “wife” when he’d entered the room just now.
“The old Seer woman was right. The events aligned in such a way that enabled our paths to cross without any contradictions to the past.” He leaned in and stroked my forehead. “We met a little over two years ago, and we’ve been married for almost as long. You had Arch about three months ago and got pregnant again almost right away. Guess my sperm is really strong.” He leaned back and crossed his arms over his chest proudly.
“So I never knew who you really were?”
He slowly shook his head. “I have thoroughly enjoyed getting to know you, Mia, the one who lived before she went back in time to see me.”
My head couldn’t easily make sense of this all. If we’d really changed history, I suppose that meant the Mia he’d been with up until now had lived a completely different life. A happy life free from the past I’d endured. So she kind of went away when I came back. This is such a trip. I’d have to dive into that mind fuck of a mess later.
“Is 10 Club gone?” I asked.
“I promised you I would fix all this, didn’t I?”
“Yes, but—”
“But nothing. You rest and heal, and I will tell you
everything when you’re ready.” He took my hand and kissed it. “Simply know that you are safe now.”
So we did it? We really did it? 10 Club was gone. King was a man and with me. My babies were okay. I just couldn’t believe it. After so much hardship and pain, was it possible for my life to really end up in a perfect place?
Part of me didn’t dare hope; I’d been let down so many times. The other part of me wanted to tap-dance. I deserved a happy ending. We deserved a happy ending. We’d fought like hell for it.
“Jesus, Mia! Mom says you were stabbed? What the hell?” From the doorway, a set of blue gray eyes gazed at me with irritation.
“Justin?” No. It couldn’t be. “You’re alive?”
Justin looked at King. “Did she hit her head?”
“It’s the painkillers. She’s a bit out of it,” King replied.
Justin came around the other side of the bed, and all I could do was stare in wonder at my dead brother who was no longer dead. He was as beautiful as ever with his sandy blonde hair and dimples and boyish smile.
My heart leapt into my throat, triggering a little hiccup cry as I tried to breathe.
“Leave it to you, Mia, to make drama the day before I leave for Mexico,” Justin said with a smirk. “Now I’ll have to delay and—”
“Me-Mexico?”
He frowned. “I’m heading up my first dig. Remember? You really did take a beating. Was it a car that hit you?”
“So-something like that,” I replied.
Justin’s cell rang, and he grabbed it from his pocket. “One second. It’s one of the guys on my crew.” Justin stepped over by the doorway and began chatting about some lost equipment.
I looked at King, feeling terrified. “You can’t let him go.”
He smiled with the world’s cockiest grin. “Mia, it’s perfectly safe.” He gave me a knowing look. “This I promise. Nothing that will lead to his death, and I am funding his expedition. I made sure everything would be as I promised.”
I couldn’t believe this.
He continued, “I had a very long time to think through my game plan. Now please get some rest. You and I have some getting to know each other, and I need to take you on our first date. Again.” He chuckled. “This is going to take some getting used to.”
“I don’t ever think I will.” Every wish I’d ever had was now a reality.
He reached out and ran his thumb along my bottom lip, beaming. “We have all the time in the world, my beautiful Mia.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Two weeks later, my body was on the road to recovery, though it would take time to be back to my old breathing self. Draco, as I would now have to get used to calling him, sat with me each day for a few hours, telling me everything that had happened over the last three thousand years. Holy hell, it was a lot. And he’d only given me the short version.
He said that after I left Minoa, things changed for him. He began to question his purpose, his role, and his entire life. It hadn’t been easy for him to accept that he would have such a negative impact on the world when it contradicted who he believed he was—a king who deeply cared about his people.
“The truth was difficult to swallow,” he’d said, “but once I accepted it, I realized I could choose who I wanted to become. You’d given me the gift of owning my fate.”
So he set off to find himself, leaving Teddi and Mack and his people behind. He said he traveled to China and to South America and anywhere he could get to by boat, by horse, or on foot. “I stayed away from the Arctic, though. Too damned cold and thermal clothing did not exist, as you well know. But I went everywhere else.”
I couldn’t begin to imagine seeing the world at a time when people lived so isolated from each other. I imagined he’d run into a few unwelcoming, very scary people and his ring came in handy a few times.
“What happened to Teddi and Mack?”
King had shifted his tall frame in his seat when I’d asked that question. And despite looking uncomfortable as hell, he was still the most beautiful man I’d ever seen. This version of him, without the haunted past, had a levity and charm about him I never could’ve imagined. He was still King—arrogant, confident, and smart—but the menacing vibe was gone. Completely. I couldn’t stop drinking him in every time he came by to sit with me in the hospital.
As for Mack and Teddi, King told the story like this: “When I finally returned to the island, they were old. They had six children, ten grandchildren, and two great-grandchildren.”
“But you hadn’t aged.”
With nostalgia in his eyes, he shook his head. “I stayed with Mack until his last breath. He told me how grateful he was for having such a wonderful life. I truly believe he lived as he’d been destined to. A beloved king, husband, and father. When he died, he was surrounded by everyone he loved, including Teddi, who died shortly after.”
The image of them dying brought tears to my eyes, but the thought of them living out their lives together made me happier than hell. “I wish I could’ve been there.”
King cleared his throat. “Teddi made me promise to bring you the letters she wrote on handmade paper. She said it would make you feel like you hadn’t missed out on anything.”
That had made me smile. She’d wanted us to be close even though thousands of years separated us.
“Right after that, about the time their oldest son, Marias, took over as king, the Seers warned of a volcanic eruption, and everyone began planning to leave Crete and resettle elsewhere. I told them about the places I’d gone and seen, the people I’d met. The world was fairly uninhabited, so they had their pick of new homes.”
“Where did they go?”
“They went to what is now known as Cyprus. It took them two years to move everyone, but they did it. A good thing. Less than a year later, there was an eruption on Santorini that would’ve killed everyone.”
Amazing. If war hadn’t wiped them out, the volcano would’ve. “You really did change history.” I wondered what the impact was on the world now that Seers weren’t extinct and 10 Club was gone. Evil people still existed and always would, of course, but at least the good guys would have a fighting chance. A fair fight.
King then explained that after Mack died and everyone he knew was gone, it had been a dark period of his life. He’d thought about taking off the ring and letting go, but the thought of seeing us again, of keeping his promise to me, gave him motivation to keep going. I wanted to ask if he’d found company—lovers, friends, other people—to pass the time with, but I realized he would tell me what he needed to share—what he thought was right. There were things I just didn’t need to know.
“So how did you and I meet?” I asked.
“Teddi had told me the year you were born but did not know your exact birthday. She also knew you were from San Francisco. So I moved here around the turn of the century. I started a shipping business, importing spices, art, and furniture from around the world. And I waited. Then one day, I saw you crossing the street with your mother. You were just a little girl, but I recognized you right away.”
“Ewww…you pervert.”
He’d laughed at that. “It was a bit strange to see a five-year-old and say, ‘Hey, there goes my wife.’ However, I had waited this long, I could wait another twenty years. So I kept tabs on you but stayed away, not planning to attempt to meet you until your twenty-fifth birthday—which was your age when we met. But then one day, right before your birthday, you walked into my shop, looking for a gift for your brother. After that, I couldn’t stay away. The way you looked at me—it was like you knew me, but you didn’t.”
“Now you know how I felt when I went to see you in Crete.”
“Exactly. But I also knew that at some point, the past would catch up with us and that one day, you would become the woman I met three thousand years ago. Regardless, I fell in love with you. I knew I would still love you even after you changed.”
“How’s that working out for you?”
He shr
ugged. “You’re okay.”
I laughed. “Oh, I see how it is.” But honestly, I knew this had to be strange for him. It was for me, too. We felt connected but didn’t truly know each other. “So no 10 Club. No curses. No dead people being brought back to life to enslave the masses?”
“Afraid not. But I do have a business to run, and I’ve been neglecting things for weeks. Let’s get you home and then I must leave for a few days. There’s a collection of china and crystal in Italy I must inspect. The dealer will only hold it for me another few days before he sells the collection off to someone else.”
“You’re really an antiquities dealer?”
“I know a lot about old things.” He smiled, and it lit up my heart. “So, are you ready to begin our new life?”
My words stuck in my throat. It seemed impossible to feel so happy. “You have no idea.”
After I checked out of the hospital, Draco took me by my parents’ house to retrieve Arch, who looked plump, happy, and spoiled rotten. Goat milk and barley were not on the menu, so I’m sure that added to his sunny disposition.
Justin had already left for Mexico, but promised to be back in a few weeks for a visit. I couldn’t wait to soak him up. It was a dream come true. All of it. My life complete.
We pulled up to the house, a renovated blue Victorian, and it was no surprise that it was on the same spot where King once had his creepy modern palace overlooking the Golden Gate Bridge. I had not told him this detail, but fate seemed to have repeated in some aspects. I didn’t care. This house looked warm and cheerful with bright red roses in the front garden and colorful paint—purples and greens—around the base of the turrets and under the eaves.
King pulled the black Mercedes SUV—his car, also not a surprise—into the driveway, and I just sat there staring up at the fairytale house.
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