Blakeshire (Insight #9)(70)
“There is a point.”
“Enlighten me.”
“If you do not know about the seven, then you will not understand. And I don’t have time to be nursemaid to you. You will be dead before the week is out.”
“Thanks for the heads-up. I don’t need a nursemaid or your drama.”
“Drama?” He let the word roll off the half of the lip he still had. “I did not cause this strife. If I was left alone, there would be no drama.”
“Call me crazy, but tormenting an entire dimension and traumatizing a little boy invokes drama.”
“Is that what Drake told you?”
“I don’t listen when he speaks, so I couldn’t tell you. But I have eyes. This place sucks, and you don’t become as angry as Drake is if you were not tortured in some way.”
“Anger is his line.”
Line? Was that what they called their reigns? Was Drake born of one that was ruled by anger? That memory of peppermint teased my senses, and for some reason my cousin Draven came to mind as well. Maybe that was it, maybe that was why my cousin and Drake were slated to this curse: the other six kings had found fault with their king—they were tormenting that king by tempting his line of followers. If that were true, though, why had no one mentioned that? Why was everyone so focused on this one dimension? This drama seemed far too massive and aged for one dimension to bear the brunt of it.
“Line of what?”
He chuckled. “And we thought you were a threat.”
“Who’s we? The Seven?”
“Six.”
I nodded once as he clearly confirmed my math: six against one.
“Trust me when I tell you that I am here by mistake. You already have a green-eyed girl to annoy.”
“That, I do,” he hissed.
“Did she do this to you?” I asked as I gave him another once over.
“She had help.”
“Ah, the love triangle.”
“The spells.”
“Oh, so you are a witch, king, and a ghost—sure you don’t have an identity crisis?”
“Amusing.”
“Just saying.”
“I am a king above all. I have a duty to fulfill.”
Now, that statement reflected his dying thoughts or illusions. Our own personal arrogance always surfaces in our darkest hour, and if you led a life of torment, that arrogance always reared its ugly head at the moment of death.
“What duty was given to you?” It was a bleak comment, but it seemed to slice into him. He went rigid for an instant.
“It matters not.”
“Sure it does. I doubt Landen and Willow decided to give you hell for the sake of avoiding boredom.”
“You inquire too much,” he scoffed.
I needed to back off before this took a nasty turn for the worst.
“Passionately curious.”
“Passionately obsessive.”
“That, I am,” I said with a wide grin.
“Well, child, you are too far off course to understand my path.”
“Your course is not mine to understand.”
That one eye of his appraised me once more. “You. You are more than meets the eye. Worth salvaging. I would stand with you. Therefore, I will tell you that Xavier is plotting to frame you. The first piece was set in place tonight.”
“Must have missed that memo.”
“Memo?”
“Sarcasm. Do you speak sarcasm? It’s a rather fun language.”
“I do not.”
“Right. So your sense of humor is missing, too.”
The perplexed stare in his one eye was near humorous. “You do not inquire why or how he will end you?”
“That is his business. I’m just making the best of a bad situation.”
“By diving into waters that you have no business in.”
“By facing fear.”
“Watch your words. You are looking into the eyes of fear.”
“Eye. You’re missing one.”
He narrowed his one eye at me, but it was playful enough for me not to put my guard up. “Xavier rules shock, and we all are aware that he never reveals his intentions completely; therefore, he may very well be plotting to take us all down.” He glanced over me. “That is far more concerning to me than any triangle that is fighting me.” After a moment, he spoke again. “The King of Obsession will kill you to save you from Xavier.”
“Do kings not realize that there are better ways to get a girl’s attention?”
He leered. “Why would he change his play now?” His eye focused on me. “That is what he has done in each of your lives. The others believe that he is protecting himself, but I know better. I saw how he looked at you today.”
So whoever this was had seen me; the question was, did I see them?
I raised my hands to tell him I was clueless. That just made him laugh again.
“Blind fate—I never have understood how humans withstand that,” he grumbled.
“Maybe because when you jack with fate you end up looking like you?”
“Not amused.”
“Your eye smiled.”
He moved his head from side to side in dismay. “I have warned you of your death. You can fight if you wish. It matters not to me.”