The Phantom King (The Kings) (19 page)

Thanatos had turned and was facing Steven now, and the tension in the air between them was palpable.

“You don’t belong here, Lazarus,
”
Thanatos said.

“
A
re you absolutely positive about that
?” Steven asked
.
His tone had lowered and was laced with a calm certainty that she’d never heard him use before.
There was something different about him, something that Siobhan couldn’t put her finger on. He
was not only
as solid as he’d been before his death, he also seemed… taller?
She frowned.
It felt like his presence had become more powerful, his aura brighter. He was
more
there
than he’d ever been
, even in life
.

In front of her, Thanatos
seemed to notice something
about the former detective
as well. He hesitated, and his sparking gray gaze slid down Steven’s form, considering it with keen care.

Siobhan sidled around Thane, watching them both with abje
ct interest. Her heart hammered
and every neuron in her brain screamed for her to leave that mansion, but her body refused to listen. Her feet were heavy and her eyes were glued to the two men before her, both of whom were so strong, so very male, the entire living room was practically pulsing with testosterone.

“I can’t let you remain here, detective. I’m sorry. You were sent to my realm for a reason.”

“I’m sure I was,” Steven agreed. “But I was also sent back
here
.
” He paused, took a few casual steps as if to meet Thanatos somewhere in the middle of all of that electric tension, and added, “
Wasn’t I?”

Thanatos considered his words in silence. Siobhan held her breath.

“I’ll make you a deal, detective,” he finall
y said. “Come back with me now,
and
if you happen to pop
out again and zap right back here, then so be it. It will no longer be my problem.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that,” Steven replied with a shake of his head. He sounded just like Thanatos had when he’d refused to leave her front door. “The only thing keeping that demon from returning for Siobhan is my presence
here
.”

Thanatos’
gaze narrowed. He glanced over at Siobhan, his eyes catching and holding hers with brute force. “The demon
?
”

Siobhan cleared her throat. “The one who killed Steven.” She tore her gaze from the stranger’s, though it was decidedly difficult, and looked up at Steven. “The reason he hasn’t come back for me is because of you?” This was news to he
r as well.

But it made perfect sense. She’d been wondering why he hadn’t returned.

Steven seemed torn. “I hadn’t wanted to tell you. But he promised to return for you, and though I have no idea how or why, I know that by being here, my spirit is keeping him at bay.”

“Your
spirit
,” Thanatos said, returning his gaze to the former detective. “Is
looking curiously solid these days
.”

It was a statement of fact and a curiosity given voice, but since there didn’t seem to be any kind of response for the observation, everyone remained quiet.

Siobhan’s attention returned to what Steven had just said. Was he really keeping the demon away?
Was
that
why she was so afraid? Despite the roughness of his edges and the heady weight of his very presence, it really
was clear
to Siobhan
that Thanatos meant her no harm. He wasn’t here for her, he was here for Steven. So why was she so afraid
? U
nless what Steven was saying was true and the moment he disappeared, the demon would show
up and fry her to a crisp.

“Why is it after me?” she asked. She hadn’t meant to voice the question aloud, and as soon as she spoke it, she regretted it. For one thing, she didn’t want to remind Steven that he’d died because of her, however indirectly. And for another, she almost didn’t
want
to know why the demon was after her.

Thanatos
watched Siobhan, and she felt her own gaze returning to his. It was unnerving in a terribly delicious way to be studied so
carefully
by such a man. She wanted it to stop. And she really, really didn’t.

“Tell me about him,” he commanded softly.

Siobhan blinked. Whether he was speaking to her or Steven, she couldn’t tell. He was looking at her – but Steven was clearly more qualified to describe his attacker.

“He’s… he’s blonde,” she stammered, giving him the only detail she really knew.

“He had b
lue eyes
until he began attacking. T
hen t
hey were red,
” Steven picked up, stealing Thane’s attention and taking the weight of his gaze off of her at last.

Thane straightened. “Go on.”

“Tall,” Steven continued. “Around our height.”

Siobhan realized then that Steven and the stranger were nearly head to head, toe to toe. Their builds were similar as well. Both were
incredibly good looking men, b
ut
Thane did something to Siobhan’s insides that Steven never had – and she’d barely met the man.

“
He had
powers much like Siobhan’s
,” Steven said
, looking at her. A worried and slightly guilty expression came across his face. “He b
lew the door off
its hinges with
a single
spoken
word
.”

Siobhan felt a fury build inside of her. “
I’ve never done anything like that in my life!”

“No,” said Steven. “But you could.”

The fury intensified
. “
How would you know?
” She looked from Steven to Thanatos, who was watching her in silence, the swirling silver of his eyes taking
everything in.

She turned her attention back to Steven
.
“And w
hy didn’t you tell me
about
this, Steven?” she demanded. “How could you not mention something like this to me?
The fact that he was a
magic user like I am? That’s… t
hat’s….
”
Essential
, she thought.

And so wrong.
What did it mean? Did it mean that the demon was actually just a warlock? That someone like her and not a fire-breathin
g monster had been evil enough to utterly destroy
her ex-boyfriend?

“And that’s why I didn’t tell you,” Steven said quietly.
“
Never
would I equate you with the beast that killed me, Siobhan. But I knew you would feel differently. You’re the most head strong woman I’ve ever met.” He shook his head, ran a hand through his blonde hair, and looked so very real, so very
not
dead in that moment, Siobhan temporarily forgot he’d ever been killed.

He went on. “I also knew that if I gave you any information at all about the killer, you would stop waiting around for him to show up and go after him yourself.”

Siobhan’s mouth opened.

And then shut again. She blinked. She shifted her weight to her other foot. And then she exhaled sharply.

He was right.

“Admit it,” he said. “You’d have been out of here the moment I turned my back. And believe me when I tell you that you do not want to go up against this man, Siobhan.
“He’ll eat you for breakfast.”

“I’m guessing that’s exactly what he has in mind,” Thanatos cut in. His deep voice was so unexpected in the tension of their conversation, it was instantly
entrapping. It was also soothing
,
like a salve on the raw edge of her fear.

She looked at him. Steven looked at him. They both waited.

“
Your demon is an Akyri.
”

Chapter
Thirteen

“I actually can’t bel
ieve I didn’t realize it before,
”
said Thane
.

“An
Akyri
….” Siobhan whispered. The demons who fed off of magic – magic like hers. “That’s why it was here. It wanted my magic.”

“You know about Akyri?” Thane
asked.

Siobhan bit her lip, wondered how much she should tell
the man, and then said, “Steven called you the Phantom King. Why?”

Now it was obviously his turn to
wonder how much information should be shared
. But he must have been more willing to come clean with her than she was with him because he said, “It’s what I am. I rule the Anime plane, a world where the spirits of those who have died wrongful deaths are sent. Over the years,
these
spirits have been called many things, one of them ‘phantoms.’ Hence, my title.”

He watched her as she tried to digest the information, but there was just too much of it and she’d barely begun to process how many years he must have been talking about when he said, “Now tell me what you know.”

She blinked. “What?”

“About the Akyri,” he continued.
He’d given her his full attention, his body turned toward her now, his eyes burning a hole through her.

Steven, for his part, remained where h
e was in front of the door.
She chanc
ed a glance in his direction. He was watching her as well, and
he looked
a little surprised. The fact that she knew about the Akyri
was news to him too.

Siobhan took a deep breath, ran a hand through her hair, and winced when it caught
on a knot. Then she
told them everything. She told them about her childhood, how she’d hidden what she was from those around her, and about the Akyri she’d met over the years.

By the time
she was finished,
they’d turned on the hallway and living room lights and she was
sitting on the love seat in the living room, her hands in her lap. Across from her,
Thane
was leaning against the side of the couch
, his arms crossed over his chest.
Steven stood in the archway that led to the kitchen and had his hands on his hips.