Page 103 of Shackled to the World
Daxion lifted his brows at her, his curiosity sharpening as he looked back and forth between them. “Ah, I see.”
“Annora—touch the seal on the room. Your men are locked out, but your touch should be able to key them into the house.” Edgar didn’t lower his sword or take his attention away from Daxion for even a millisecond.
Although Annora wasn’t sure she wanted more volatile emotions in the mix, she trusted her men. If her father thought to harm them, she would destroy him. She walked over to the glass wall and placed her hand against the cool surface.
The dark particles whisked up to lick at her hands in welcome, obeying her without hesitation.
She felt the instant the guys entered. They were silent, each of them entering at different points to clear the house.
They reached the living room in under a minute.
Daxion didn’t say anything, studying each of the guys with shrewd eyes, before turning toward her. Without speaking, he lifted his arm, unbuttoned his sleeve, and rolled it up. Imprinted on his wrist was a raven in midflight. The black lines were faded, the wings a little molten.
“I used to be mated like you.” He brushed his fingers along the symbol and shook his head at the folly. “More than five centuries ago arranged alliances were the norm. It allowed families to merge power during the wars. When humans began to persecute shifters and witches, we fought alongside them, only we ended up taking the brunt of the damage in battle.
“We lost many. After the wars, we withdrew from the outside world. To keep ourselves safe, we allowed everyone to believe we’d perished. It was only after the wars that we became aware of how dangerous it was to bind two phantoms together.”
He turned his back toward the room and stared out the darkened window at something only he could see, his hands on his hips. Camden and Xander crept deeper into the room, while Logan and Mason moved into position on either side of her.
When Daxion started speaking again, everyone froze. “I lost my mate in the war, only she didn’t die when she went into the banished lands. Our connection bound her to me, giving her enough power to survive in the dead zone. Since then we’ve banned the barbaric practice so we won’t make the same mistake twice. That coin you wear is the only way for a phantom to enter and leave the dead zone unscathed. The only way I can get my wife back.”
He turned toward her, his gaze beseeching. “Your mother was helping me find an alternative way into the deadly realm. We managed to create the coin as a type of portal, but something went horribly wrong. We lost the coin, and your mother vanished.”
“Annora, you can’t believe a thing he says.” Edgar took a step back to stand at her side. He rested a hand on her shoulder and squeezed hard enough to hurt. “He manipulates the truth to get what he wants. If he hasn’t already tried to take the coin, it’s because it has to be given freely or the magic won’t transfer. You—”
“I’m not stupid.” Annora reached up and patted his hand. Edgar searched her face, relaxing when he saw she believed him.
Oh, she had no doubt what Daxion said was true, but the facts were twisted to suit him. Her mother hadn’t trusted him for a reason and gave up everything to go into hiding. It was a lesson she wouldn’t soon forget. “What is this dead zone?”
Daxion’s eyes flashed toward Edgar in surprise before addressing her. “When phantoms die, we don’t just rot like humans. Our spirits are sent to the banished realm. Reapers often roam there from the dead zone, consuming the souls of the weak. The strong fight back and often turned into reapers themselves. No one survives long unscathed.”
Annora was appalled at the choice—either die or turn into a reaper. Horror clawed down her spine when she saw the truth of what he really wanted. “When your mate died in the war, it was because you killed her. She chose to become a reaper to get her revenge. You don’t want to save her, you need to kill her to sever the connection between you so you can finally be free. She’s draining you faster than you can replenish your powers.”
Everything began to fall into place. “You tricked my mother into helping you—possibly made her believe you loved her. It’s the only way you could have gotten her to willingly participate in your scheme.” She turned toward Daxion in time to see his face harden, all artifice gone, leaving behind the cold man who first entered the room.
“My mother wasn’t a fool. She was a very powerful witch in her own right. She discovered the truth, the real reason you wanted the coin, and used her magic to keep it out of your hands before she gave it to Valen.” She saw a muscle jump in Daxion’s jaw and knew she was right. “In order to keep the coin away from you, he vanished into your dead zone.”
“Valen followed me on one of my trips to visit your mother, the impetuous boy,” he huffed in exasperation. “The fool fell in love with her, ruining months of careful planning. He couldn’t mind his own damned business. When he learned the coin could open a portal to the other realms, he took it for himself. He always craved my power. Unfortunately, he wasn’t strong enough to control it.”
Annora cocked her head, recalling the image of Valen…his kind eyes, his genuine worry and concern about her safety.
He offered her the coin he gave his life to acquire in order to protect her from his brother.
It wouldn’t surprise her one bit to learn he was the one who helped her mother make the grimoire for her, infusing it with his own magic, another layer of protection to keep her hidden.
“I think it was the other way around.” Annora cocked her head as she studied Daxion. “You were the one who was jealous.”
Daxion scowled and began to pace, his face so forbidding she could practically feel the air in the room cringe away from him. “He didn’t understand what we could’ve achieved. With the coin, we can raise an army of undead and taken our rightful place at the head of the supernatural world.”
He stopped and put his hands on the hilts of his weapons, as if he could go back in time and kill them both. “Instead, Valen took the coin and entered the dead zone to keep your mother safe. I lost track of him there. When I returned to confront your mother and get her to create another coin, she was already gone. Imagine my surprise when I learned she created a half-spawn like you, one who could pass between realms and thrive.”
He gave her a nasty smile. “In the end, she did exactly what I wanted her to do. I have no need of the coin, not if I have you.”
Annora rose to her feet, her chin lifted in defiance, not the least bit frightened. She’d gone through worse and survived. She wasn’t about to allow herself to become that frightened girl again. “And you think I’d help you?”
“Maybe not willingly.” Daxion laughed, a cackle that sent chills down her spine. “But as a half-breed, your kind has no legal standing in my world. The only way you’ll survive is if I publicly claim you.”
He stalked toward her, ignoring the sword pointed at him and grabbed her chin in a cruel grip. “If I don’t vouch for you, phantom soldiers will hunt you and your men down and kill you one by one. The only way for you to survive is to become my pet, a slave to do my bidding.”
