Total pages in book: 118
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110080 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 550(@200wpm)___ 440(@250wpm)___ 367(@300wpm)
Despite the sharpness of his tone, his words placated her, and she nodded. “The woman you saw during the battle did, in fact, possess you. I can confirm that. She is a phantom like me.”
In his veins, blood froze. No. No! His shields were not so feeble.
Phantoms were mystically created by Erebus, the god the Astra battled for the blessing. Usually. But Taliyah was Erebus’s biological daughter and unlike any phantom they’d ever encountered.
Taliyah wasn’t done, either. “Here’s the thing. She probably possessed her daughter first. Meaning, yes, you’re carrying both mom and child inside your body. Knowing Blythe, she hoped you’d whisk them both to safety, where they could exit without your knowledge.”
Finally, his obsession had a name. Blythe. “The little girl. Yes. I saw her. Then she disappeared, and she appeared. The woman. But I stopped. I was swinging, but I stopped. I would never hurt a child. But by then, the two were already gone. Then the darkness came.” His brow furrowed. “If they remain inside me, why do I not sense them?”
“They’re buried too deep. At least, that’s what my niece told me when she took over your body and spoke to me.”
What! The child had overtaken him? He opened his mouth, a curse poised at the end of his tongue. Then the rest of her admission caught his attention. Niece. That meant Blythe was more than a phantom. She was Taliyah’s sister, a harphantom, and a daughter of Erebus. Enemy!
“No big deal,” Taliyah interjected with a breezy inflection. “Nope! Not another word from you. Just let your shields down, and I’ll draw them out.”
No big deal? Seething, he crossed his arms over his chest. “Lower my shields for a phantom?” Any phantom? Never. Surely he wasn’t so foolish. This might be a trick, after all.
Her expression hardened. “Do it willingly, or I’ll make you do it by force. One way or another, I’m getting my girls out. No, you know what? You don’t get to think about this, and you don’t get to fight it. Kneel.”
He laughed without humor. “I will not.”
“I wear your Commander’s stardust. I’m his wife and his gravita. I’m also acting harpy General, as well as the granddaughter of Chaos. You will show me the honor owed to me. Kneel.”
Again, he ground his teeth. That she’d echoed his earlier thoughts...
The stardust was a problem. Astra produced it for a fated mate and no other...and Taliyah indeed wore the glittery powder on every inch of visible skin. She was the first to do so, though Roc had wed twenty others before her. But problem or not...
Even as Roux worked his jaw, he slowly lowered to his knees.
“Good boy. Now, this might sting a bit.” Chin up and shoulders back, Taliyah eased closer... He tensed, his muscles like rock. Her body ceased moving just before contact, yet her spirit kept coming, slipping into him.
Electric pulses raced along his synapses, sharper than the pangs, and he stiffened. Pressure built in his torso. Then, he heard Taliyah whisper inside his head. “Blythe. Isla. I’m here. Follow my light and reach for me. I’ll do everything else. Isla, help your mother. Blythe, you’ll both be safe, I swear it. I’m not sure what you’ve witnessed, but you have my word the Astra won’t hurt any of us.”
For the second time, black dots wove through Roux’s vision. Moderating his inhalations, he held steady. Finally, the pressure eased and the dots dulled. Taliyah succeeded, extracting Blythe from the confines of his spirit and the young one from the confines of hers. At first, the General worked with invisible beings. Then the pair solidified, becoming visible to Roux as well.
His tension instantly mounted. The daughter sank into unconsciousness while the mother fought to awaken. The most incredible scent wafted from one or both, and he wondered how he’d missed the intoxicating mix of honeysuckle and roses the day of the invasion.
As he drank in the sight of his dark-haired beauty, various words streaked through his mind. Exquisite. Phantom. Enemy. Want. Mine!
Want? His? Roux didn’t...he couldn’t...no. Impossible. And yet, parts of him warmed, soon growing hot. Hotter.
Sizzling.
Suddenly, he was gnashing his molars, emitting a low growl, and huffing his breaths, as if he’d sprinted across three galaxies.
The beauty slit her lids and leveled pale blue irises on him. Wrong. Pale blue no longer. Black flooded their depths. Hatred all but iced her skin, and it—she—captivated him.
What if he burned hot enough to melt her?
“Enjoy your last days,” she rasped for his ears alone. “I’m coming for you.”
3
THE BEGINNING
Present day
Blythe stabbed her target in the gut. Twice. A one-two punch with her favorite daggers. Merciless, she spun and rammed her combat boot into the underside of his chin. Upon impact, a blade ejected from the boot’s toe, slicing into his mouth.
The life-size dummy with steel rods for bones seemed to smirk at her. That all you got?