The Ten Club

  Teddi stayed with the elderly Seer woman, who we learned was named Ptolema, which meant “warlike.” Love it. Exactly what we need. A Seer who could fight. Everyone called her Lema or Aunt Lema, however. She was the matriarch of the island. Anyway, Lema decided to have Teddi focus on very specific gifts such as learning how to channel her powers to misdirect, make others feel fear for no apparent reason, and to see a face that wasn’t hers. Not easy for Teddi, who was the kind of Seer born with the extraordinary gift of healing. Funnily enough, her profession, prior to learning about her very unique past, was a psychologist. The first time I’d met her was at a clinic in Santa Barbara, where she’d been trying to treat a suicidal man who suffered from “delusions” of being cursed and the twin brother of the ancient king of Minoa. Joke was on her.

  Anyway, Lema knew what the future-Hagne was capable of because she’d been training her for years. This allowed Teddi to focus on skills that would give us a higher probability of getting out of that 10 Club party alive.

  As for me, I had no powers, so I could only help in other ways. Hand to hand. Or in 1400 BC, that meant sword fighting.

  “So I do like this?” I asked, lunging with a long dagger toward the olive tree trunk while the guard—yes, a Spiros who seemed inexplicably devoted to me—tirelessly tried to teach me the moves.

  “Yes. Plant your left foot firmly into the earth and lunge with your right hand. When your opponent shifts to your left, you keep your footing. Like this.” He showed me the dance, pretending to stab the bundle of reeds wrapped around the tree. From the scars on the bark, I guessed this was their state-of-the-art mortal combat training center.

  “Here goes.” I clumsily followed his moves.

  “No, no. Your weight is on the wrong foot.” He proceeded to correct me by jerking my shoulders from behind. Every stroke and move was a counter of sorts to keep the tip of the opponent’s blade away. You waited until the other person made a wrong dance move, giving you a clean shot at a vital organ.

  This is incredibly stupid. 10 Club members don’t duel with swords. All I really needed was to get my hands on a gun while Teddi took care of Hagne. Then we’d run like hell and hope to find some other way to end 10 Club. King had to have something else in that warehouse of his. We simply needed to get inside and not die.

  “You are not holding your sword correctly,” said King from a wide stone bench on the other side of the enclosed courtyard, where Arch slept in a basket, wrapped in a blanket. How long had King been sitting there?

  I looked away, ignoring how casually he sat next to his infant son, treating him like a stranger. How could King not know his own flesh and blood?

  I ignored him and went back to whacking the bundle of reeds tied to the tree.

  “Leave us,” King said to his guard before standing and strutting over like a giant peacock flashing his giant feathers. Only, King had his impressive muscular build, six-three height, and stunning blue eyes in lieu of feathers.

  He frowned at me with those feathers. “I have never seen such a poor student.” He turned and looked at the guard, whose feet seemed stuck to the dirt. “Why are you still here?”

  “No. Stay,” I said to the guard. “The king has better things to do with his time.”

  “The king gave you an order. Now leave.” King put his hand on the hilt of his sword at his side.

  The man gave me a conflicted look.

  “Do not look at her,” said King. “You answer to me.”

  “Uh…actually, no,” I cut in. “You made all of the Spiros loyal to me. You used some sort of spell.”

  King frowned. “You lie.”

  “Do I?” I looked at the guard. “Punch him. Punch your king.”

  The man raised his fist, and King caught it.

  The look on King’s face—tomato red, with a death stare in his blue eyes—was priceless.

  “Okay. Thank you,” I said, taking pity on the poor man, “you can go.”

  He dipped his head and scurried off.

  “Nice trick, you witch,” King growled.

  I knew that “witch” was not the real word he used, but that was how the tattoo on my wrist translated it. What King likely meant was that I wasn’t a good Seer. He believed I used my abilities for personal gain—greed and power. Evil.

  “Whatever,” I said. “I’m done trying to win you over.” I turned and went back to my practice, imagining Hagne coming at me in the room where Teddi and I had been hiding out. In my head it all seemed so simple: Take out Hagne. Run outside and keep running until we found a way to kill them. However, reality was far different. A million things could go wrong.

  “So you truly mean to go back to this place you came from,” King said.

  “Yes,” I panted.

  “Fighting with a child strapped to your back,” he said, his voice full of judgment.

  “And one in the oven,” I snapped. “Not like you left me with a whole hell of a lot of choices.”

  “You could stay here.”

  “Here?” I didn’t look at him.

  “Not on this island, of course. I meant you could stay in this time, though I do not believe you are truly from another era. This is impossible.”

  I huffed. “Stay here? Running around on the mainland in a time where unmarried women without family are made into slaves or raped and murdered? No, thank you. I’ll take my chances.”

  I stepped forward and poked a little spot in the reeds that I imagined was Hagne’s heart.

  “Woman, you do not stand a chance against a turnip. You hold the sword as if it were a wet fish you do not wish to touch.”

  They had turnips in this time? I had to get me some. My pregnancy cravings were really kicking in and I absolutely loved those dim sum turnip patties.

  My mouth began to salivate. “I don’t need to win a sword fight. I just need to run from a bloodbath. If I’m lucky, I’ll get a hold of a gun.”

  “What is a gun?”

  “It’s a weapon. You hold it, and it shoots pieces of metal at very fast speeds. You know what?” I turned to face him, dropping the heavy long dagger to my side. “Why are you even here other than to distract me?” Being near him, seeing him like this—alive, breathing, shirtless and untainted by everything that was to come—wasn’t easy. Because this man was who I fell in love with. He loved his people. He worked hard to protect them. He was a good, good man with a strong but big heart. And, of course, there was that body covered only by a piece of red cloth around his waist, showing off his deep olive skin, bulging biceps, and chiseled pecs and abs. Whatever workout routine he had, the man looked powerful and sexier than sin. And those eyes… Breathtaking. Intense, acutely aware, and deep blue mixed with hints of turquoise green like the beautiful ocean around the island. His long black hair, which fell loose around his shoulders, only made his eyes look bluer.

  He made a grumble deep in his chest. “Turn around.”

  “Why?”

  “Must you always be so combative? Just turn, woman.”

  I glared at him, but begrudgingly did as he asked.

  “Good, now stand like this and hold the sword like that.” Pressing his warm hard body against my back, he kicked my legs apart and grabbed my hands, pushing the sword in my right hand out in front of me. The heat of him on my back, the feel of his cock against my ass, instantly made my blood flow faster. My body remembered him like it remembered the need to breathe. King had been the type of man who showed no mercy in the bedroom. He took control, he fucked hard, and he knew his way around a woman’s body. He always left me begging for more.

  My body igniting, I stepped forward, putting some air between us. “Thanks. Got it.” I glanced at him over my shoulder.

  He simply stood there with an intense, angry gaze. “I am merely trying to help you.”

  “Help me?” I tilted my head. “You are trying to help me.” I laughed. That was hysterical.

  “What is it that you find so humorous, woman?”

  “Nothing.” I sho
ok my head at my bare feet. I hadn’t come here with shoes, and since I’d been demoted to unwelcome invader from another land, they hadn’t offered to make me any. In any case, his refusal to accept who I was made it impossible to find a solution—a way to change events. We were stuck with going back and fighting 10 Club on our own. “Yeah. Thank you for ‘the help.’”

  He crossed his meaty arms over his bare chest. “I could’ve had you thrown into the ocean.”

  “A pregnant woman?” I didn’t believe a word of it. “You don’t have it in you, King. And you can stop the tough-guy act. I know you.”

  “Do you now?”

  “Better than I know myself.”

  “And tell me.” He bent down, shoving his face into mine. His breath was minty and made me want to kiss him for a taste. Did he have any clue how being near him like this pained me. It was a complete mind fuck to love him as much as I did and for him not to know me at all. “What is it you think you know?”

  I gazed into his sapphire blue eyes and sighed. “Your belief in being good and your loyalty to the people you love are everything to you. You’d rather die than betray them. You’re also a fighter. You refuse to give up.”

  “I think you speak in general terms that could apply to almost any man.”

  I shrugged. “I suppose. But I’ve never met anyone who refused to die or stay dead. Your stubbornness transcends the boundaries of space and time.”

  “Ah. You are referring to your little story about my cursed spirit walking the earth for thousands of years in search of you.”

  His glib tone didn’t sit well with me. “I don’t need this, King. I get it. You don’t believe me. And you don’t have to. History will find a way to play out.”

  He laughed. “Only, you claim I fall in love with you, something which is clearly impossible.”

  I couldn’t lie. His words stung. “That’s because you killed the version of me you fell in love with. You broke her. Now, if you don’t mind, this smarter, more serious version of myself has to figure out how to survive against the most powerful and demented bastards on the planet that you created. Thanks for that, by the way.”

  His eyes twitched with irritation. If I had to guess, I’d say he was debating throttling me or throwing me into that sinking boat again.

  “Brother, there you are.” A spitting image of King, wearing a dark blue cloth around his waist and his hair pulled back into a braid, walked into the courtyard. “I came as soon as I received the message from Lema. What has happened?”

  “Mack,” I whispered. I couldn’t help but stare. He looked so young and bright. He hadn’t been tortured and killed and broken by 10 Club. He was still just the king’s playboy brother, who lived a carefree life.

  “She should not have summoned you. This is no concern of yours,” King said.

  “Like hell it isn’t,” I grumbled.

  “Silence, or I will have your tongue removed,” King barked at me.

  I laughed. “Yeah, right. You’re too nice for that.”

  “Who is she?” Mack asked, only he went by his first name in this era. Callias. Callias Macarias Minos. Mack was short for Macarias.

  “Hi. I’m your sister-in-law, Mia. And your pregnant, grieving widow is with Lema. You should really go meet her.”

  Mack’s dark brows knitted together in confusion.

  King shook his head. “Do not pay her any attention. She is mad. And she is leaving.”

  “I’m not mad. You’re stubborn. And your brother deserves to hear the truth and make up his own mind. This affects him, too.”

  “No one asked you, Seer,” King barked. “Now leave, or I’ll have the guards carry you out.” His eyes locked with mine but then dropped down to my breasts for a moment and then to my lips. Yep. He’s still King. Feistiness still rang his bell.

  “Callias,” I said, looking at King, “your brother is a giant horse’s ass.”

  “What’s a horse?” Mack asked.

  “Never mind.” I walked over to retrieve Arch. He’d be awake soon and would want to eat, so I had to go prepare our food in the kitchen—really a room with a few pots, utensils, and a fire. King’s house slaves let us cook in there since they were afraid of us and Lema warned everyone to be kind. The Seers carried a lot of weight around here.

  As I picked up Arch, I heard Mack and King beginning to bicker. Mack insisted King explain why a strange woman with golden hair was on their island, and King tried to brush him off. Then the two started really going at it.

  I hoped Mack didn’t back down. At the very least, he had to meet Teddi. Maybe he would believe our story and persuade King to try to find a new path forward. For them, for us, for their people.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  I spent the rest of the afternoon with Arch while Teddi stayed with Lema, who gave her a coveted spit tat and taught her how to be a Seer that could do more than simply heal. The slaves in the kitchen were already worried about what they’d heard: Their people would go to war and disappear if King didn’t listen to me. They also asked about Teddi. Was it true she could heal? When I’d replied yes, they gasped. “She must be a favorite of the gods. Why is our king shunning her? We will be punished.”

  Ha. Take that, King. Your people think you’re a bonehead for being mean to us.

  Teddi ran into our room, where I sat on a crudely made burlap blanket, playing peekaboo with Arch. “Mia! Ohmygod. I met him. I met him!”

  “Who?” From her excitement I would’ve guessed Elvis, something not so entirely impossible given all of the craziness we were encountering.

  “Mack! Oh god. He’s so…different. But he’s still him. He recognized me right away.”

  I stood up and propped Arch onto my hip. “He remembers you?”

  “He couldn’t take his eyes off me and just kept saying, ‘I know you. I know you.’ It completely freaked him the hell out, and he ran away. Maybe it’s our connection and my Seer gift—they’re somehow helping him see what I see.” Her wide green eyes teared up.

  “Are you okay?” I put my free hand on her arm.

  “Yes.” She scrubbed her face with her hands. “No. I miss him, Mia. I miss him so much, and seeing him just now…” She dropped her arms and shook her head rapidly, blowing out a breath to shake it off. “I’m okay. I just didn’t realize how much I’d bottled up since he died.” She looked at me. “I feel like this was supposed to happen, Mia. I was supposed to come here and find him again and get the chance to do it all over. No curses. No 10 Club. Just…us.”

  “So you want to stay here?” I asked Teddi.

  “Lema told me if I do, it could help change the course for the Minoans. I’m a new element to the equation.”

  “What about Hagne? She’s in love with Mack and engaged to King. She’ll come after you one way or another.”

  Teddi shook her head. “The elders already decided to disobey King. They will kill her and I will be offered as a replacement to her family.”

  “You really think that’s going to work? People are not interchangeable.”

  “They’re Seers. They don’t think like we do. They answer to a higher power, and to them, it’s all about balancing out the elements that rule their world. And they talk to their dead ancestors on a regular basis, which is very disturbing. Especially as a psychologist.”

  “I still don’t understand how this all works out. I mean, if Mack never gets caught up in the Hagne drama, then he never goes to Mexico to meet you.”

  Teddi slowly moved her head from side to side. “Lema says if I stay, the events will realign somehow. It has to, because I’m here, aren’t I?”

  Ah, the old “fate doesn’t like contradictions” argument that Lema had made to King.

  “What about your parents?” They were alive and retired in Arizona somewhere.

  “I think that my parents would want me to be happy. That’s all they ever wanted.”

  I looked into her big green eyes. She looked so damned happy, and I didn’t want to rob her of that,
but things were not so simple. “I know you want to be with Mack, but King won’t let me stay and I can’t fight 10 Club alone.”

  “I know,” she said triumphantly, “and that’s why you’re going to go back with King.”

  I nearly choked on my tongue. “Sorry?”

  “You, Arch, King. You all return.”

  Another King substitute-impersonator plan? “It would never work, and even it if could, King would never leave his people. Never.”

  “What if he doesn’t have the choice?”

  “You mean kidnap him? Oh. That would be an excellent choice. I could listen to him yell at me for the next fifty years until I grow old and die.”

  “I’m not kidding, Mia. Think about how that would change things.”

  “If he left, who will rule here?”

  “Mack. I’ll help him. The Seers will help him. There will be no brotherly duel. No war. And the Seers will live.”

  “It’s too risky, Teddi. We have absolutely no idea what I’ll be facing when I get back.” Then there was the issue of not having King’s cooperation. He’d be pissed. And in shock.

  She grabbed my shoulder. “No. You’re missing the point. If King stays here without a commitment to change things, then history will likely repeat. Maybe the war will start because the Seers kill Hagne without King’s approval. Or maybe King gets into a conflict some other way and still ends up cursed. We don’t know. But if you take him with you, and I stay here to live out my days and help these people, we could avoid every horrible thing that ever happened. King won’t become cursed. The 10 Club won’t ever be created. It all goes away.”