Chapter Twenty-One

The taxi let us out in front of a gorgeous aqua-colored beach house with white trim and plantation shutters, tucked into a lush green hill overlooking the turquoise bay below. It was breathtaking, but I couldn't get over how it looked like such a normal house. Okay, not normal. It was a million-dollar home with a million-dollar view, but it wasn't the sort of structure I'd look at and think, Wow. The mom of the anti-Christ lives here.

"Piper…" Draco growled.

"Sorry. You know what I mean."

"Whatever happens, you let me do the talking. Understand? And any sign of trouble, you run. I'll meet you back at the hotel."

"Are you planning to brawl?" I asked.

"I have no plans other than asking questions." He marched up to the stained-glass front door, still looking elegant in his suit despite having gone head-to-head with the supernatural shadow of his dead father. Draco's hair was a little messy, but that was it.

I stayed ten steps back on the walkway, next to a cluster of bird-of-paradise. Whoever cared for this garden knew their stuff.

He rang the bell, and the door opened. A man appeared in biker boots with longish dark hair and scars covering his face. He had dark eyes with golden rings around the irises. He looks dangerous.

"Who the hell are you?" the man snarled at Draco.

"I am looking for Jeni. Is she here?"

"Again, who the fuck are you?"

"Friend of the family," Draco replied.

The man narrowed his eyes, and Draco just stood there with his back straight, all the confidence in the world.

The man squinted, like he was concentrating or trying to see something on Draco's face. "Exactly which family are you a friend of?"

"I think you know, Ansin. You are Bastuli, yes?" said Draco.

The man, Ansin, took a small step back. "How did you know that?"

"The Seers were once healers like the Bastuli. I recognize your energy—it is like meeting a distant cousin."

The man took another step back, his scarred face turning sheet white. "You're a Seer. You're…"

"Draco. Yes, I am. Now where is my mother?" Draco snarled.

Ansin froze. "I will not let you hurt her."

"I merely want answers," Draco said. "For now."

Ansin continued staring, like he didn't give a rat's ass about what Draco said; he didn't believe him.

Draco straightened his tie. "You are very powerful, Ansin. I can feel it. But I am stronger, which is why I can hear your thoughts. For example, you already know I am capable of syphoning off your powers."

Wait.Draco had mentioned something about absorbing King's power, but he could do it to anyone? That was dangerous.

Draco continued, "You fear I am here to kill my mother. However, if that were the case, I would do it without saying a single word, and you would be unable to stop me. So tell me where Jeni is before I change my mind about being here to talk."

Shit. Shit.Draco did not look happy. Even from this angle—staring at his back—I could see his shoulders tensing. He looked like a human volcano about to explode.

"Draco! What are you doing?" I barked. "This isn't the way to—"

"Piper," Draco snarled, "you will be quiet and not interfere. Or there will be consequences. Do you understand?"

Was he serious? Or was this a ploy to scare this Ansin man? I kept my mouth shut.

Ansin replied, "You are wrong about me fearing you, Draco. I may not be able to stop you on my own, but the Bastuli are never alone."

I looked over my shoulder and then the other. So he was in some sort of mafia?

Ansin looked at me with unguarded hate. "Fuck you."

"Wow. Okay." I tried to avoid eye contact. I guessed the mafia reference was a big slap to the Bastuli, whoever they were. Also, fucking shit, I was tired of my brain feeling like a public park. Here, ride on my swing. Go down my slide. Come on in, everybody!

"Ignore her," Draco said. "And tell me where my…never mind. She is on the beach."

Draco must've picked Ansin's brain.

He turned and sailed past me. I followed.

"What's happening?" I asked.

He ignored me and kept going.

"Do not go near her," Ansin called out, coming after us. "I will not let you do this!"

"I will do whatever the hell I please." Draco took a turn down the hill, walking along the edge of the street. With his long legs and wide stride, I had to jog to keep up.

"You're not going to do anything to her, right?" I said to him. "You told me that wasn't why you were here."

"Stay out of it, Piper," Draco commanded.

"You told me not to. You said I have to stop you if you go off the rails." Not that I knew how.

Draco stopped and turned abruptly to face me, a wordless struggle in his eyes.

I stopped walking, too. "Please don't make me do this," I whispered.

The Ansin man stayed two yards away, listening in.

"The moment he realized who I was, he saw a monster. Just where do you think he got that idea?"

Draco's mother. "I know you're pissed off, but don't make any assumptions." I glanced at the Ansin man. "He seems like the type who thinks everyone is shit."

The man didn't acknowledge my words.

I continued, "Let's just come back later, when you've had a chance to cool off."

"I'm not giving her a chance to run." Draco continued walking down toward the beach.

"Jeni, he is here," said Ansin, who was now on his phone. "No. You must hide!" he yelled.

From the gist of his conversation, I gathered that Draco's mother was staying put.

Well, this should get interesting.Draco was finally going to get his answers, but the voice in my head was screaming now. I had to look for my window to ensure Draco followed the correct path. And whatever was about to happen, I couldn't let Draco harm his mother.

Ansin continued arguing on his phone.

"Hey! Are you coming or not?" I barked.

Ansin gave me a look, possibly surprised I was urging him to come.

I waited for a second, then ran to catch up to Draco.

Oh God. Oh God.This was it. The tipping point.

First, Draco had been abandoned by his parents. Then he'd discovered the most violent, sick people on the planet had been waiting for him to lead their global takeover. Later, his father had tried to kill him. Twice.

It only made sense that if meeting his mother went the same way as everything else had, Draco just might turn into the monster everyone claimed he'd be. A man could only be told he was the devil so many times before he started to believe it.

Draco

Would my mother look like the woman from my dreams, just as my father had? For every element the dream potion's magic got right, there were fifty it got wrong. I was not loved or wanted by any of the people I'd met. They feared me or wished to use me. Even Piper was beginning to turn, lying and attempting to hide the deceitful thoughts in her head.

Was she now scheming with the Seers? Maybe someone else had gotten to her. Nevertheless, I felt her struggling to remain loyal, but it was merely a question of time before she decided I was too powerful to exist.

The irony was that I still meant what I said. I could never kill her.

I removed my jacket and walked onto the beach. It wasn't overflowing with tourists, but there were people everywhere.

A woman with salt-and-pepper hair, standing ankle-deep in the shallow waves, immediately caught my attention. She was short, maybe five two or three, with a slender frame. She had her back to me.

I focused my thoughts on her and was immediately hit with a wave of intense emotions—fear, sadness, regret.

It had to be her.

I walked up, keeping my distance from the water.

"Jeni," I said.

She slowly turned, revealing a set of teary brown eyes.

"Draco, it's good to see you again."

I felt the hollow ache in her heart. She had missed me.

"I only have one question," I said. "Why didn't you just kill me instead?"