Chapter 2
2
K ai Iona was tired, hungry, and beyond angry at the outcome of tonight. Willow was a pawn once again, in a game with which she had nothing to do.
He couldn’t help but worry that she might be scared, or worse, emboldened to try to help Hollyn take on her father. It wasn’t that he didn’t think Willow was smart enough to take care of herself. She was one of the smartest and bravest kids he’d ever met. But he knew that Grigori wouldn’t hesitate to use her to get to Hollyn. It wouldn’t faze him to hurt Willow if it meant Hollyn would cave to his wishes. Kai couldn’t allow either of those things to happen.
Right now, though, he had to deal with the bullshit coming out of Akamu’s mouth.
“I am not your king. Get up off the ground.”
“You wear the symbol. You are the lost king of the Misu people.”
Lost king? Kai glanced downward. He couldn’t see the necklace resting on top of his shirt, but he could feel it. He was suddenly very aware of it. The necklace was the only thing he wore as a baby when his adoptive parents found him on a beach in Hawaii.
But, come on? Did a necklace show he was really a long lost king? The idea was laughable, really. Yet, he really didn’t know anything about the necklace. How could he rule any possibilities out at this point?
Growing tired of talking to the top of Akamu’s head, Kai crouched down and pulled the strange man up until they looked at each other.“How does a necklace prove I am this king your people apparently lost?”
“You wear it.”
“What if it belonged to someone else, but it was placed around my neck before I knew what was what?”
“Impossible.” Akamu sat up and smiled. “Try to take it off.”
Kai paused for a moment. In his entire life, he’d never taken the necklace off. It had been on him from the beginning, and he’d never had to worry about its size. It had always been the right size no matter how much he’d grown. Now that he thought about it, how had that happened?
He reached up and ran his fingers along the slick twine, but he couldn’t find a clasp. It had never occurred to him to try to remove it, and now he realized, he couldn’t have even if he’d tried.
“I’ve never thought about it before, but the necklace has been as much a part of me as a limb. It’s grown with me, and I’ve never taken it off even once. But, so what? How does this necklace make me a king?”
“I can’t really explain it. You have to see it for yourself.”
“What does that mean?”
“You must come with me to meet your people.”
Akamu’s words felt like a sucker punch to Kai. Your people. Kai’s mind felt like a racetrack of thoughts. What if he could finally learn who he was and where he came from? What if it were all nonsense spouted from a crazy guy they just met in a cave below?
And what about Willow?
“I can’t leave right now. We have to find the last piece of the amulet and save Willow.”
Akamu pointed at the necklace once more. “You are the king of the Misu people, which is why you wear that necklace. Only the one who wears that necklace can obtain the last piece of the broken amulet to make it whole.”
“How do you know this to be true?”
“Because the Misu are the guardians of the amulet. If you weren’t the king, you wouldn’t have been able to locate any part of it.”
Kai thought back to the first piece and how it had drawn him in with a song. And the second piece, he hadn’t told Hollyn, but somehow, it had physically pulled at him. He had been drawn to both pieces.
“And if I come with you, I’ll be able to get the third and final piece?”
Akamu thinned his lips and tilted his head to one side. “If you are the king, you will get the piece.”
The sound of the water below was distant once more. Kai felt certain he needed to go with Akamu, but he didn’t want to leave Willow in Grigori’s hands, and he certainly didn’t want to leave Hollyn.
Of course, if he got to their village or whatever and got the last piece of the amulet, then Hollyn and he could face Grigori stronger than ever. They could rescue Willow and free Hollyn’s aunt and mother, all while helping Hollyn defeat her father forever.
Kai turned to Hollyn. “I know leaving Willow in your father’s hands will feel like the wrong thing, but we’re so close to the last piece. With it, we can finish this for good. What do you say? Will you come with me, Hollyn?”
She worried her bottom lip, and for a brief moment, he worried she would leave him. Just the thought of that made his chest tighten like a fist. He barely remembered how to breathe as he waited for her answer. He wasn’t sure why it mattered so much to him, but it did. Then, she nodded her head slowly, and instant relief washed over him.
She looked at Alek and Nikita and said, “We are going to get Willow back, but we can’t do it without the protection of the amulet.”
Alek nodded. “You need to go with Kai. Nikita and I will go with Bertie. We’ll trail Grigori, and you send word when you have everything you need. Together, we’ll free everyone.”
With a new path opening up, Kai turned to Akamu and said, “Where are we going?”
Akamu’s forehead wrinkled as he asked, “For how long can you hold your breath?”