Page 102 of Shackled to the World
Until she got to his eyes.
Pure ruthlessness stared back from those black pools. No hint of color was revealed in their dark depths, like he’d swallowed the afterworld. She tore her eyes away, checking the room, but he was alone. She wasn’t sure that was much better than if he’d brought an army.
He could easily kill her without any other phantoms being the wiser.
“Hello, Daxion. I would say this was a pleasure, but I detest lying.” She didn’t bother smiling at the man who was her father. Though her mother was the complete opposite of him in personality, she could easily imagine her slight, petite mother, who never had a hair out of place, standing next to him.
That’s where the comparisons ended.
Her mother loved and laughed and lived to help others. This man, the way he looked down his nose at her, would be content to cut her throat without blinking if she dared get in his way.
“What do you want?” It chilled her to see him study her with curiosity. She’d take his disdain, or no emotion at all, over that.
“You’re causing quite a stir.” He sauntered toward her, unbuttoned his tailored coat and sat, resting his arm along the back of the couch…revealing two small blades tucked into his jacket. “I decided to investigate.”
He was so calm and collected, not a hint of emotion marred his expression. She didn’t make the mistake of thinking him cold and unfeeling. She’d met enough men in her life to know that psychopaths came in all flavors and could strike at any time.
Instead of provoking him, she took a seat opposite. “What do you want to know?”
He pursed his lips, clearly not liking her taking control of the conversation. “You seem completely unaware of the phantom realm and your place in it. You’re upsetting the balance.”
Annora widened her eyes, going for the innocent look. “Whatever do you mean?”
He cocked his head like a curious bird, the afterworld clinging him, ready to yank him out of danger if he came under attack. Annora kept her hands on her knees, making no sudden moves, very conscious of those shiny blades easily within his reach.
“Phantoms have a very precarious place in the world. We don’t share our magic with others. Imagine if the world discovered eternal youth. What if no one ever died or had to face the consequences for their actions?”
Annora grimaced, recognizing the truth of what he was saying.
The world would descend into chaos.
“So you go about killing anyone who challenges…your way of life?” Annora frowned and leaned forward. “But what if phantoms don’t deserve that type of power either?”
His smile was sharp and lethal when he leaned forward to match her pose. “We have checks and balances to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
“Explain.” Annora should be thrilled to finally meet her father and talk with him. Unfortunately, the creep vibes coming off him erased any pretense of fatherly love or devotion. She didn’t need to be told that she shouldn’t get too close to him for fear he would turn on her and ordered her tossed in a dungeon just as graciously as he smiled.
“Most phantoms live in a delicate balance. Too much of the darkness will poison us and not enough will slowly starve us to death. Imagine if everyone had access to it. The well of power would shrink, putting our way of life and our people in jeopardy.” He shrugged, not the least bit perturbed. “No one has complete control over the darkness. Only the very strongest can spend any time there without losing themselves to it.”
His eyes dropped to her neck, and the first hint of true emotions entered his eyes—awe mixed with wonder, not to mention a huge dose of greed and anger. “Where did you get that?”
Annora didn’t dare take her eyes off him. She reached up, her fingers tangling in the chain around her neck, and she curled her hand around the coin that dangled and spun in the air. “A friend gave it to me. He thought I would need protection.”
She refused to acknowledge that it was his brother.
Only after she tucked the coin back into her shirt did Daxion seem to shake himself out of his stupor.
“Hand it over.” He shot to his feet, and thrust out his hand, glowering down at her. Blackness seeped from him and crept across the floor toward her, the inkiness almost sinister in the way it moved, like it was prepared to take the necklace from her. “Now! Or I’ll make you regret it.”
Before she had a chance to respond, Edgar appeared behind him, Sadie’s sword in his hand, the tip pointed at her father’s neck. “Step away from her. Now.”
Death gleamed in Edgar’s eyes, his gaze narrowed on his former mentor as if barely resisting the urge to swing the sword and sever his head from his body. Daxion stiffened and backed off, glaring daggers at them both.
Annora kicked out at the hovering fog, watching it curl up in the air before dissipating harmlessly back into the afterworld.
“Alcott…you managed to survive, I see. Pity.” Daxion lifted his hands in surrender, clearly knowing the other phantom was more than capable of following through on his threat.
“No thanks to you.” Edgar moved to stand in front of her. “And not on my own.”
