Chapter Twenty-Nine

I sat at the small table in the French café where I'd first seen Piper up close. So much had happened since I'd woken up.

For real this time. My own mother's doing.

She said she had fought for years to break me free, but King and Mia had refused, and there was no getting past the Spiroses. Jeni's husband, Ansin, had pushed back, too, until he finally gave in and got involved. With his people, the Bastuli, behind them, Jeni was finally given access to the basement where I'd been asleep for thirty years.

King, who feared what would happen if I woke, fought tooth and nail to stop Jeni at first, but the Bastuli were the only ones who could stand against the Seers in the afterlife. It wasn't wise to make enemies of them.

In the end, they all agreed to give Jeni one opportunity to save me. So she wrote a new story in the Book of Memories. And while I remained asleep, King observed inside my head, watching what I would do if given a choice. Even after my family had stabbed me in the back and I lost the woman I loved, I had not become what they feared. I'd changed my fate even after being convinced it was impossible.

I owed it to Piper, of course, but therein lay the question. If she was the reason I chose a different path, what would happen in real life? Piper had been part of another dream. I missed her and loved her, but it wasn't real.

"I told you, Draco," my mother had said, "I only retold the story I saw when you were a baby. It was the future, exactly as I saw it playing out. I simply left the ending up to you."

"How can you be so sure this new path will lead me to make the right choice again?" Because I was not about to repeat certain mistakes, while other events in my dreams would never take place. For example, King would not attempt to kill me. Therefore, I would not take his powers. I would not be looking for answers about my past or meet with Ten Club. Most of all, I was no longer filled with rage or bitterness. Everything would be different.

She had smiled. "Draco, haven't you learned anything? The ending is up to you, and now you know exactly what kind of man you are." Good. I was good. Just like Piper had said.

The café door chimed, and two women entered. One of them had on a floral pink scarf, overalls, and low-top Converse. Her dirty-blonde hair hung in a beautiful mess around her oval face. And her hazel eyes were bloodshot, like she'd been crying all night.

Her friend Conni sat across from her and began rattling on about some man named Steve. But then it happened. Piper looked up at me, and our eyes locked.

Like a warm spike to the heart, I felt the connection, the unavoidable intertwining of our souls.

Unable to stop myself from smiling and laughing with happiness—so as not to alarm her—I got up and left. I had no intention of repeating the future my mother had shared, except for the part where I was my own man, in love with a good woman.

Piper

Sitting at the kitchen table, I was typing up comments on a student's paper when the doorbell rang. It hadn't been an easy few days, but there was work to do, and at least Leo had finally come home from his night of blowing off steam.

"Leo! You got that?" A moment passed, but I didn't hear him respond. "Leo? Honey?"

The doorbell rang again.

I got up and walked down the main hall. I passed Leo's study, finding him snoring away on his sofa.

"Okay." I shut the door and went to see who was out front.

I peeked through the sidelight. In this neighborhood, we had our fair share of everything—political activists, charity workers, and crazy people who wanted to talk about aliens.

On the porch was a man with thick black hair stylishly cut just above his ears. He was tall—maybe six two or three—with broad shoulders. His outfit, an expensive dark suit, said he had money and power and wasn't afraid to show them off. His eyes were a piercing pale gray, and he was breathtakingly handsome.

Oh! I've seen him before. The café!

I unlocked the door and opened it, wondering what he wanted. "Can I help you?"

"Hello. Apologies for the intrusion, but a family member used to own this home, and I was wondering if you are interested in selling. It has some sentimental value for my family." He tilted his head, his gray eyes twinkling.

What a happy man. Must be very successful.

"Getting there," he said.

"Sorry?"

"Nothing." He smiled. "I was about to ask if we've met before. You look very familiar."

"I saw you at that French café this morning." And I'd probably stared too long. Like now, I couldn't take my eyes off him. "I'm sorry, though. We aren't thinking of selling, but…could I get your number? I've been trying to learn as much as I can about the house and would love to hear what you know."

He reached into his pocket and produced a business card. "I have extensive records. We can set up a time this week."

I couldn't stop smiling at the guy. I felt like I knew him from somewhere besides the café. "I'll give you a call, then. I'm Piper, by the way."

I held out my hand, and we shook. Tingles exploded up my arm.

Wow. What was that?

He dipped his head. "You have a lovely afternoon, Piper." He turned and walked away.

I shut the door, feeling my chest glow. That had felt insanely intense. Who was that guy?

I glanced down at the card in my hand. "Draco. Hmm. Cute name." And he was a collector of rare Minoan artifacts.

Minoan?That was my specialty. What were the odds?

King

I knew I would not be welcomed back by Mia or my family yet, but angry or not, she did not have the power to keep me away. Even if she did, she could not stay angry forever.

I found her sitting on our favorite beach, staring out across the waves. Behind her, the glorious palace built in my honor, with large white pillars, stood like an unmovable fortress in time.

"I told you not to come back," she said, not bothering to look at me.

"I only came for a quick visit. I missed you and Arch. I missed everyone." My entire family, including my brother, Mack, were here.

Mia's head whipped in my direction. "A visit?" she snapped.

I nodded. "I still have unfinished business, but it will not take long."

I sat next to her in the sand, taking her soft hand. "And when I do return, I give you permission to send me to hell, though I am fairly certain it will look exactly like this—you pissed off and giving me the cold shoulder, when I know how much you love me."

Mia growled, "What happened to spending eternity paying for your sins?"

"I decided to pay another way—by training Draco."

"Training him? Are you crazy?"

"Ten Club has not gone away, and the Seers must still be dealt with."

"So you're teaming up with him? When will you learn, King?" She shook her head in disgust.

"I am showing Draco how to use his gifts so that he may take them out. It is my only choice if I wish to come back here and find peace. If you'll have me."

I put my arm around her, and she stifled a smile.

See, she can't stay mad forever.

"It was pretty nice of you to let him prove himself," Mia said.

So she had been watching. I knew she would not be able to resist.

"Draco's mother, Jeni, gets all the credit. She's stubborn. Like you." And while Draco owed his change of fate to Piper, our decision to free him would only help his odds. Stepping in now, albeit late, did not erase our actions, but it was the beginning of making amends.

"So what's left to do with Draco?" Mia asked.

"He will round up any objects with power Ten Club possesses and destroy them. First, I must help him practice his Seer gifts so he knows where to look. After that, he will begin dismantling everything they've built, brick by brick. As for the Seers, the plan is to shut them out for good, starting with any places where they have access to the living world. I'll need your help with that."

Mia smiled and shook her head. "Fine. I'll help. But what about Piper? How will Draco protect her through all this?"

I shrugged. "I have a feeling she can handle herself. She is strong, like you." Also, I had not kept just one object from my arsenal hidden in that house. There had been two. One was a ring I had given to Mia while she'd been alive. She'd stopped wearing it at one point for reasons of her own, but it protected the wearer from death.

Was it wrong to gift Draco such a powerful object? Maybe. But my son had a long and dangerous road ahead. The ring would give him peace of mind to do what came next.

"Stop with the compliments," Mia said. "And you're not out of the woods yet. But you can start by making love to me."

"Such a horrible punishment." I leaned toward her and kissed her. I just hoped she'd be as forgiving when she found out we needed to burn down her Victorian. She loved that house.