The Phantom King (The Kings) (30 page)

After all, she’d gone several decades without using the potent power within her to hurt another person.
Knowing how often people tempted violence, that could only mean she really cared about humanity. She
wouldn’t have been so upset about the unfairness of Purgatory if she didn’t.

And so
Thane went for the jugular, hitting her where it counted. Before she could object, he said,
“Marius has sworn to come after you. As long as you remain here, you’re not only endangering yourself, but everyone around you.”

Siobhan paused mid-breath. She closed her mouth, looked up at Roman, glanced over her shoulder t
oward the door through which the
guards had disappeared, and then turned back around to face Thane again.

He saved her from having to admit he was right. “Please come back with me, Siobhan. I promise to make you comfortable until the other kings and I have dealt with Marius.”

He had yet to tell her about the chess pi
ece resting in his jacket
.
He touched it now as he slipped his hand into his pocket and it rolled beneath his touch. He had yet to tell her
about the dreams he’d
had about her before they’d met
.

He
was being rushed through this,
through what were probably the most important moments in his existence, and for that he wanted to take fate out behind the tool shed and beat the fucking crap out of it.

“Tell me about it,” said Roman suddenly from where he still stood leaning against one of the book shelves, his arms crossed over his chest. Thane looked up and their eyes met.
Silent understanding passed between them. Roman had
gone through the same thing with Evelynne, his
own
queen.

Beside him, Siobhan leaned to one side and eyed Roman with a mixture of confusion and a hint of the anger she was
probably
actual
ly feeling toward
Thane. “Tell you about what?” she asked.

“Nothing,” Thane said. He reached out, gently grasped her by the chin, and turned her head back to face him. He caught her eyes with his and a thrill of electric warmth rushed through him.

It felt good to touch
her like this. It felt
powerful
.
A rush of adrenaline went through him, a thrill of something like anticipation and, f
or the thousandth time since meeting her, he
was tempted to touch so much more.

“We’re going back to my realm,” he told her, his tone
deep and personal and determined.

But Siobhan wasn’t the kind of woman
who liked
being bossed around. She jerked out of his grip and shoved to her feet. She only swayed a little, most likely dizzy from the sudden change in positions and from the alcohol in her system. Her brown gaze narrowed, lightening to amber. “
I’m not going anywhere
with you, Phantom King,” she said, her own tone just as determined as his had been.

Thane
waited, holding his breath.
He sensed the
battle coming like a rumble on the train tracks.
Across the room, the Vampire King looked on with quiet interest.

“If
you’re right and this Akyri really is coming for me,
” Siobhan continued, “
then far be it from me to pose a danger to anyone around me.”

Thane noticed the slight glow to her fingertips
. Her eyes were growing lighter, almost yellow now.

“
So I’ll leave
,” she said. “B
ut not to that barren wastelan
d you call a realm.
If Marius wants me, he can have me. I’ll track the fuck
er down myself and rip his goddamn head
off.”

Thane froze.
A shock went through him –
one of
fear, anger,
and
admiration
. He was afraid to lose her, he was afraid for her life, and he was afraid of the confrontation that was looming on their horizon. He was angry that she was bringing this on, that she wouldn’t listen to reason, and that she wanted to face off with a man like Marius without his help. But amidst these harsh, demanding emotions was a hint of respect. He admired her for facing her problems head-on. He didn’t want to admit it.

But he did.

“You’re a brave woman,” said Roman.
“I’ll give you that.”
Thane and Siobhan both turned to look at him. He remained where he was, leaning casually against the books behind him, his arms still crossed over his chest. “But how exactly do you think you’ll face a man like the Akyri King?” He waited, pausing for just
a moment before he added, “Will you use
your magic?”

Siobhan looked ready to reply with an affirmative right away, but a half-second later, the reality of what he’d just said hit her. She couldn’t fight Marius with magic. He would simply absorb it all
and it would make him stronger, not weaker
. In fact,
that was probably what Marius wante
d most in the world right now:  F
or the young Siobhan Ashdown to use her magic on him.

“I…” she hesitated, swallowing hard. “Well, I….”

Roman s
aved her from further uncertainty
. “
Anyone else in the world, you might have a chance against. Well, any
one save Thanatos
,” he added, shooting Thane a sharp
, very slightly amused
glance
before he straightened, coming off of the shelves and slipping his hands into his suit pockets
. “But Marius will use everything you have against you and you will lose.”
He moved around his desk,
his gaze on
the rug under his shoes
as if he were contemplating something.
“
This much
, I can promise you.”

Siobhan bit her lip and closed her eyes, her frustration palpable. “Then what the hell am I supposed to do?”

“Come with me,” Thane told her, drawing her attention back to him. He caught her now gold gaze and held it. “Come back to
where I know you’ll be
safe,” he reiterated, and because he couldn’t help it, he cupped her soft, beautiful face in his palm and slowly rubbed his thumb along her cheek bone.
She felt like heaven in his hand.

Her large
eye
s glossed over.

He smiled
. “And let’s just take it from there.”

Chapter
Twenty

“What will happen with Steven?” Siobhan asked after she finally nodded and Thane prepared to open a portal for them both back to Purgatory. The question brought him up short.
He glanced at Roman and their eyes met.

When the four of them – the three kings and Lazarus – had faced off against the Akyri King, Steven Lazarus hadn’t felt like just another outsider. He hadn’t felt like a former detective or even a mere half-Aky
ri. He’d felt like a vital part
of their formation. Like family.

Thane had n
o idea how else to describe it, and he didn’t trust himself to try to relay the feeling
out loud
. But from the look Roman was giving him just then, it was clear that he was not the only one who’d felt that way.

When Marius disappeared and left the four of them there together, Steven Lazarus had been the first to take his leave
….

“Is Siobhan safe?” the Akyri
had asked
, his eyes fading from red to purple and back to their natural blue.

Thane
had
nodded.

“Mak
e certain it stays that way,” Steven had
said. And then he
’d
stepped back. “There is something I need to do.” He
’d
turned away, and as if he’d been absorbing magic and re-casting it his entire life
instead of learning he was an Akyri al
l of an hour
ago
, he
actually
transported out of the destroyed mansion.
Zap
– he was gone.

No on
e questioned where he’d gone
.
He’d left a lingering impression
, but t
he other three
were shell shocked and angry and not at all looking forward to the tasks ahead.
Roman
had
informed them that they would need
to call a meeting of the Kings,
and
they’d all
transported away as well.

“
I don’t know,” Thane said now. He turned back to Siobhan. “He was uninjured in the fight
and he left when it was over
. But I have a feeling we’ll be seeing more of him.”

She seemed satisfied with that, as she nodded. Thane bid his
silent
farewell to Roman and raised his right hand toward the door that led from the study into the next room. A portal swirled to life.

He and Siobhan stepped through
.

The darkness that always greeted him
within the
portal
s
felt strange
this time. Siobhan was directly behind him, but
the unaccountable oddness in the portal’s make-up
forced him to reach back and take hold of her a
rm
.
She was surprised by the action but didn’t pull away. He glanced at her, a wavy, rather insubstantial form through the miasma of portal darkness. He could just make out her features;
she was glancing
around them, clearly agitated and uncertain.

She
could sense the strangeness
too.

Ahead of him, something wavered
as if it were being stretched too taut,
and he had the sensation of
more
air ripping within the tear he had
already created.

His initial instinct was to step
through
the way he’d come
and shove Siobhan
back into Roman’
s study b
ehind him. But he knew better. S
uch movement was impossible within a portal. It would be like fo
rcing a bird to fly backwards; t
he laws of supernatural physics didn’t work that way.