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He covered my hand with his own. “Don’t worry yourself over it, my queen. It’s one of many pasts. I’ve had several that were hard, and to be brutally honest, I appreciate every one. They shaped me into a better fighter, a better killer, than when I grew up content with no challenges. Violence and darkness hone by body and mind, they drive me, and when I awaken and find you, I know I have the skills I need to serve you in the best way I can.”
I wound my fingers through his. “So how did you survive that life and end up here?”
Zayn shrugged, his eyes fixed on me. “I ran errands and spied on people. They were easy activities for a teenage boy. As I got older, I started dealing drugs and became an enforcer for some bad people. One night, I was involved in an armed robbery with three other men. It went wrong, and a police officer was killed—not by me.” He added the last part quickly. “But we were overpowered. West showed up and managed to get me out. I had no idea who he was, but it seemed preferable to spending time in jail, so I went with him. I was drunk and high. He let me sleep it off before he forced me to awaken.”
I stared at him then looked over to the door where I knew West was. “He can force you?”
“Yes. Only him. None of us can do it. As the high priest, if the need is great and you need to be protected, then he can awaken any of us, though it’s a shock—much like when you found the necklace.”
I raised my hand to my throat at his words, remembering the almost painful, deafening sensation when the memories had flooded through my soul and mind.
Zayn squeezed my fingers and glanced over at Wesley, who was snoring quietly. “It’s what happened to Wesley.”
I followed his gaze. “Really?”
“Yes. When we showed up at the camp and couldn’t find you, West sensed him nearby. We dragged him out of his tent, and he had no idea who any of us were. Then West forced him to awaken. He really had no idea who you were, and as soon as he remembered and became coherent, he was distraught that he had put you in danger.”
“He really had no idea when he met me? It was all a coincidence?” I asked, looking back at Zayn.
“Oh, none of it is coincidence, my lady. This whole existence we have is manipulated by one of the greatest of gods. We are placed nearby and where we are needed. He was supposed to be there, I imagine, so that when you arrived and awoke yourself, you would have someone close by. Someone you could trust. I only tell you this because out of all of us, except perhaps West, you seem to be avoiding him.”
I looked back over at Wesley. His glasses had slipped in his sleep, and I had a strange urge to take them off so he would be more comfortable. Zayn was right of course. Although it hadn’t been entirely conscious, now that I thought about it, I had avoided talking to Wesley. When everything had kicked off, I had felt like he’d betrayed me in some way by not telling me anything. Now that I knew he’d known nothing either, I felt really guilty. I took a breath, resolving to make it up to him when he woke up. He’d only ever been totally sweet to me and hadn’t deserved my treating him like that.
I looked back at Zayn and smiled at him. “For someone supposedly so dark and dangerous, you see a lot.”
He released my fingers and leaned back against his seat. “Always know your enemy.”
“Am I your enemy?” I asked.
“You are my reason for being, shining one, but I must know your and our weaknesses if I am to protect us all from those that mean us harm.”
I cocked my head. “Hey, Zayn, how about I talk to my father when we get home and I get him to make you the boss?”
He frowned. “West is your high priest, my queen.”
“I think you’d do a better job. All he does is yell at me and order me around.”
Zayn smiled. “Replacing West would be a huge mistake. Remember, we’ve all done this before, and you might not remember yet how he has served you in the past, but we do. And although it’s different bodies, different names, different places, and different times, when it comes down to it, we’re all the same people every single time, and he knows how to handle you. He knows what you need.”
“How to handle me?” I repeated indignantly.
Zayn grinned. “You may be a powerful goddess, my love, but everyone needs someone who will call them on their shit.”
My mouth dropped open, and he laughed.I shook my head, grinning. “You’re a piece of work.”
“You have no idea, my queen.”
Three
TORY
“Grounded!Youaregroundedforever. You are so grounded that even if your kids have kids, they will be grounded! Not that you’ll ever have any kids with the way you are going, and you won’t because you can’t get married because you’re grounded!”
I bit my lip and stayed quiet. This was always my father’s way. He’d yell loudly, letting all his emotions out, and then he’d calm down. I kind of worked the same way. My mother, however, was silent, which meant she was really angry. I wasn’t sure I’d ever seen them this angry though. I noticed West and Jack standing silently at the side of the room. Since West had filled my father in on the gist of what had happened in trying to track me down, leaving out the whole goddess/vampire/temple full of soul eating demons part, they’d stepped back and just left me to deal with the fallout.
“How could you do this? You humiliated Lord Northbrook by refusing his son in front of our whole social circle, and then a couple of weeks later, you disappeared and you didn’t even take your protection with you!”
“Well, to be fair, I didn’t think they’d come.”
