The phantom, p.27
The Phantom, page 27
Every piece of furniture except the bed and her wardrobe had been demolished. Holes littered the walls. Panels had been ripped out of the floor. Someone had thrown a nasty temper mantrum.
“Lyla,” he croaked, sitting up and reaching for her. “Forgive me. Please. I loathed the thought of harming you, but I wished to knock out some of your competition. I chose the route that involved no contact.”
She scrambled off the mattress, standing on a pile of debris, and whirled to face him, pointing an accusing finger. “I don’t care about the pain. I told you I understood, and I meant it. But you didn’t just torture me for the tournament. You did it for answers.” The questions he’d asked... Do you still hate...the firstone...faked desire... “That is beyond reprehensible for anyone, but especially the Astra who marked me with stardust. I am so—”
“I’m sorry!” he interjected. Shame etched his expression as his shoulders rolled in. “It is reprehensible, and I hate myself for it. If I could go back...”
“—turned on right now. I thought I told you to stop being so sexy.”
He opened his mouth. Closed it. Opened. Closed. Blinked. “You meant those words. Your eyes remained blue. I don’t understand.”
What confused him? Seemed so obvious to her. “You could have asked me about anything, and you chose desire. You are so obsessed with me, Roux.” She twirled a lock of hair around her finger. Finally he’d had a chance to learn about Erebus. The strengths and weaknesses of her competitors. Something, anything, to advance his task. Instead, he’d cared more about Blythe’s feelings for him.
And oh, wow, she’d known it, but she hadn’t known it known it until that moment. The truth gutted her. How much this male must need her.
“I mean it. You are absolutely wrecked,” she whispered, awed.
He squeezed his lids shut for a moment. “I don’t think I’ll ever understand you.” A pause. A heavy sigh. “I found the dagger, Lyla.” Agony coated the words. “You hid it from me.”
“What are you talking about?” She wracked her brain, but came up empty on offenses. “I didn’t hide anything from you.”
“Lyla.” Another croak. He flashed to his backpack, dug inside, and withdrew the firstone dagger. Extending his arm to offer the weapon, he admitted, “I found it under the mattress.”
Wait. It was the same dagger and sheath Erebus had given her. And okay, yeah, she did look pretty guilty. But come on! “Okay, now I’m kind of insulted. As if I would really be dumb enough to stash a critical piece of revenge in such an obvious location.”
A frown pulled at the corners of his mouth.
“Penelope obviously framed me,” she continued, “because I most certainly did not find the blade when I toured the castle.” Wait again. Different realizations clicked. A light dawned. “Okay, I get it now. You found it last night, just before the celebration dinner.” The reason he’d treated her so poorly and left her alone all night.
The frown vanished, leaving remorse in its place. He bowed his head, and her stomach flipped. Roux, in a position of contrition...
“Explain your withdrawn behavior before that,” she said, her voice a bit shaky.
Again, his shoulders rolled in. “The jewel. It remains firmly entrenched. I haven’t known what to think. The female who purred for me so sweetly still hates me so fiercely.”
The vulnerability he currently displayed, yeah, it got to her. An urge to soothe him sparked. “There’s no denying the appearance of my guilt. I did promise to murder you when you least expected it.”
His tension only heightened. “I also know of your meeting with Carrigan and Lucca.” He covered his eyes. “I spied on you.”
“Okay. So? That was a smart move on your part. That’s what any warlord worth his salt is supposed to do with someone suspected of plotting against him.” She would have done the same. “I’m only mad I didn’t sense you. And maybe a little more turned on.” No wonder she’d chosen this male as a second consort.
He was just so cunning and ruthless. Ferocious to the extreme. More so than she’d ever realized.
His hand dropped, but his head shot up. He stared at her as if she were some strange creature in a zoo.
“So you heard their offer,” she pointed out, ready to be done with the particulars so they could get to the good stuff. “They’ll provide a way off Ation if I keep the harpy alive somehow.”
“Yes. I heard. But what do you mean, turned on? I betrayed you, Lyla.”
“No, you acted intelligently, Rue. I’d given you no reason to trust me. In fact, I would have been disappointed in you and questioned your mental capabilities if you’d trusted me. Then I would have had to question my own mental capabilities for finding you sexy.”
His mouth opened and closed again. Hope lived, died, and was resurrected in his eyes. “You seek pleasure from me?”
“I’m demanding it, as requested.” She dipped her gaze over his body and licked her lips. “I think we can both agree that after putting me through all that pain, you owe me pleasure. Soooo much.”
Suddenly, he materialized directly in front of her. He cupped her cheeks and—cursed, then jumped backward, severing contact. His features contorted. “There’s something else you should know.” Hands fisted, he stared down at his booted feet.
Ugh. What else could there possibly be?
“There’s a chance I...absorbed Laban. That he is one of the prisoners you heard screaming in my head.”
“Oh.”
His gaze lifted, meeting hers, projecting hope, fear, regret. “And that is the reason you have come to believe I am your consort.”
The words hit her like a punch to the gut. Laban...trapped inside Roux... Her desire for the Astra an illusion born of a deception... No. Just no. “That can’t be right.” But...it kind of made sense and proved Erebus had lied that day in the forest.
What if Roux was right?
Widowhood had been different for Blythe compared to other harpies. The familiarity in the beginning. The desire to keep living after a consort’s death. The lack of repeated hallucinations. Craving—claiming—another male.
Shock punched her again and again, leaving her cold, shaken, and yes, heartbroken. What did this mean for Blythe and the Astra? For Laban? For Isla?
“I haven’t seen or spoken to him,” Roux continued, braced for a blow. “I’ve hunted for him without success. Until we have a face-to-face, I won’t know for sure.”
“I’ll go back in,” she rushed out. “I’ll find him.” And if she got trapped inside the warrior, like before? A risk she must take. To think that she’d abandoned Isla, ventured to a prison realm, and repeatedly fought for a chance to kill the male who might be playing host to her daughter’s father... Blythe nearly vomited. “We need to know the truth.”
He offered no reaction at first. No emotion, his expression under strict control. Then he nodded. A clipped bob of his chin.
“Momma, Momma! I did it! I’m here!”
The familiar voice hit her ears, a riotous mix of joy and horror bombarding her. Please be a hallucination. A memory. Something! Heart thudding, she spun. No, no hallucination. She could do nothing but watch, eyes widening, horror amplifying, as little Isla flew across the room and jumped in her arms.
27
THE COMPLICATION
Roux could barely believe his eyes. Blythe’s child. Here in Ation. The complications this presented... The danger.
More pallid by the second, the harphantom met his gaze, her baby blues vulnerable and wounded. Inside him, muscles clenched on bones. Only moments ago, she’d blown his mind. Not the least bit upset over his behavior during the torture session but charmed. And now that she knew his suspicions concerning Laban? How would she treat Roux? Deep down, he knew the revelation had changed everything—for them both.
He rubbed a fist into his too-tight chest. Most of his life, he’d felt as if he lived in the shadow of someone else. As if he were Mars, but not Mars. Blythe, Roux’s gravita, was supposed to belong to him and only him, and he might have to share her with another male?
Whose name would she scream in bed?
“Whatever happens,” he vowed, lifting his chin, “I will protect the girl with my life.” As though she were his own. In a way, she was, yes? “No harm shall befall her.” Roux would stop at nothing to keep his word. No matter how the harphantom felt about him. No matter what she decided to do regarding their situation.
The assurance helped alleviate some of her fears; bit by bit, her color returned. Inhaling deeply, she set the small girl on her feet, crouched, and cupped her cheeks. “How long have you been here, love?”
“I just got here.” Isla cast her gaze to Roux and smirked. “Told you I’d see you soon.”
He should have listened. Something he’d learned: when a harpy threatened you, believe her. “That you did. But how did you know where to find me?”
“Yes,” Blythe said with an enthusiastic nod. “How did you know? For that matter, how did you get here? Did anyone hurt you when you arrived? If they gave you even the smallest scratch, Momma will do murder.”
Isla rolled her eyes. “No one hurt me, ’cause I’m superpowerful. And Grandpa Bus is the one who told me ’bout seeing Roux. He visited me after we left the Astra’s body, and he asked me a whole lotta questions ’bout him. But he didn’t open the door for me until today.”
“Grandpa Bus—” Blythe sucked air between her teeth.
“Erebus,” she and Roux hissed in unison. Their gazes met. They nodded stiffly. Because they both understood. They were a team against the evil one right now.
“What questions did he ask you about Roux, honey?”
“Hang on, I gotta remember, ’cause there were tons.” The little girl thought things over for a minute, then brightened. “Oh! He asked what I heard and saw while I was trapped inside the Astra. If I’d learned any of his secrets. What I think of him. If I’d like to kill him forever dead, and if so, how did I plan to do it.” A hard glint entered her mismatched eyes. “If I wanted Roux to be my new daddy.”
He went stiff all over. Will rip out the Dark One’s organs two at a time.
“And what did you tell...Bus?” Blythe asked with a strangled tone.
“I didn’t tell him nothing, promise.” Isla spread her arms, all Why don’t you know this already?, reminding him of her mother. “He was a stranger back then, and smart kids never talk to strangers. We rip out their intestines. Right, Momma?”
“That’s right, sweetheart.” The harpy offered her daughter a wobbly smile of approval. “Did you ever speak with—” she drew in a deep breath “—Grandpa Bus before the Astra invasion?”
“Nope. Only after.” The little girl glanced between Roux and her mother, the first sign of concern falling over her features. “Am I in trouble for coming here? Are you and Roux friends now?”
“You are not in trouble. But I need you to help me understand everything that’s happened while I’ve been gone, okay?” Blythe reassured. The girl relaxed, but Roux grew stiffer. His gravita had avoided the question about being friends. Something he realized he craved more desperately than her body. “What else has Bus said to you?”
Isla chewed on her bottom lip. “Well, a few days ago he visited and told me how you were in so, so much danger but he could save you if he could get a message to you. I told him I’d deliver it, because I knew I could do a better job than anyone.”
Dread curled in Roux’s stomach as he awaited the response.
“I—I see.” Blythe licked her lips. “What message did he have for me?”
“Well, he told me to tell you that the Phoenix and the harpy are big ole liars. That they have a ’genda of their own.”
A lie meant to confuse Roux? Or the truth...to confuse him? Had the pair actually found a way off the realm?
Frowning, Isla scratched her temple. “What’s a ’genda?”
“It’s a personal plan.” Blythe slid her fingers down her daughter’s arms to clasp her small hands. “Did Bus say anything else?”
“Yep. He told me you guys are wrong ’bout some stuff, but that was okay, because he’s gonna prove the truth as soon as you get home. He’s real excited ’bout it, too.”
So, either they were right or, yeah, they were wrong. Roux scrubbed a hand over his face. He hated Erebus Phantom with every fiber of his being. The only good thing the male had ever done was contribute to the conception of his daughters.
Once again, the color drained from the harphantom’s cheeks. “Anything else?” she croaked.
“Nope. That’s it, I think.” The little girl scanned the destroyed room and gaped with amazement. “Can I break something, too, or do only adults get to do it?”
“Break whatever you want, love.”
As Isla skipped off, laughing, picking up pieces of wood and glass to smash into walls, Blythe straightened and approached Roux. The urge to wrap his arms around her nearly overpowered him, but his thoughts stopped him. Would she derive comfort from Roux or Laban? And the little girl might not be ready to know her mother had chosen a new consort.
Isla might not ever be ready.
“I knew Erebus was pure evil,” she whispered, “but I didn’t realize the depths of his depravity until now. To send a child into Ation...to use her against us...” Rage simmered in her quiet tone.
Us, she’d said. “We will get her home.” No matter what measures they must take. “Let’s talk about what will happen tomorrow. When the tournament ends, you’ll be crowned the winner.”
“Obviously.”
“You need to kill the Phoenix and the harpy. They are a hazard we cannot afford.”
“Now hold up.”
He didn’t. “No doubt the royal council plans to attack you the moment you claim the royal title. I’ll deal with them. In fact, I’m greatly looking forward to it. You must only ensure the girl’s safety. When the last female is dead, I’ll flash topside to cut a hole into the atmosphere.”
“By hole do you mean door?” she asked. “Either way, I plan to stay by your side.”
“It’s a door, but it’s also far more. I’ll be cutting through planes and dimensions, and if you are nearby, you could be maimed. Once the process is completed, I’ll walk through the opening, if I can, and explore where it leads. When I know it’s secure, I’ll return and—”
“Uh, that’s silly,” Isla interjected, rejoining them. “I’ll just open a regular door, and we’ll all go through together. I mean, it’ll probably take me a second. Two tops.”
Both he and Blythe gaped at her.
Mother crouched before daughter once again. “You know how to open a portal between two worlds, sweetheart?”
“Well, yeah.” Isla spread her arms. “I watched Grandpa Bus do it. How hard can it be?”
“Ah. I see.” Blythe offered a too-bright, encouraging smile. “While I adore your ambition, and I’m so very proud of your confidence, no one can leave this land through an ordinary portal. There’s always an invisible block.”
“My door won’t be ordinary. Duh.” The little girl hiked a thumb at her chest. “I’m superpowerful. A goddess! I can do anything. Grandpa Bus told me so.”
Roux ground his teeth. Had the god filled her head with praise simply to convince her to venture here and save her mother? How disappointed would she be when she failed? And she would. He wasn’t even sure his idea would work. But he had a second and third option to try. If he required a fourth, he’d come up with a fourth.
“I’m a goddess, too, sweetheart,” Blythe responded, “and I can do a lot of things. But I can’t open a doorway out of here.”
“Don’t worry. I can show you how.” Isla smiled with pure innocence. “I promised I’d wait till you won the crown. Are you really gonna be a queen, Momma? Does that mean I’ll be a princess? Because I really, really want to be a princess. So bad!”
The harpy cast Roux a help me look before peering past him and frowning. “Sunset comes. You should go. The wraiths are waiting.”
He checked his internal clock and blinked with astonishment. She wasn’t wrong. Yet, somehow, he himself had lost track of the seconds. “I’ll return as quickly as I can.”
To his surprise, she straightened and took his hand to give him a comforting squeeze. He squeezed back, wishing he could kiss her. Needing a kiss. Desperate for it. But under no circumstances did he want her using him to kiss Laban. He’d lived in another’s shadow his entire life. Always second place. Never more than a clone.
Tensing, he flashed to the island. As always, Penelope awaited him at the door of the palace, wearing a new piece of lingerie. Only difference was, she offered no smile before leading him inside.
“I know how you like to get this done,” she said, “so, let’s get this done.”
“Pouting because you’re soon to lose your meal tickets?”
“You assume I don’t already have a plan to ensure you and your female remain?” She humphed. “How you insult me, darling.”
“I know you already have a plan. I also know that plan will go nowhere.”
“We’ll see.”
In the ballroom, the army of wraiths stood in a line. No longer did they resemble haggard skeletons with hair. No, with their newfound energy, they’d chosen to don beautiful skins, like their queen. They ranged in color from the palest white to the darkest black.
After what Erebus had done... After Penelope’s actions—planting the firstone dagger under the bed to incriminate Blythe—the cauldron of hatred inside of Roux refilled, already bubbling over. He knew the wraith was responsible for the blade. Should have guessed from the start, but lust had made him stupid.
