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My heart bursts with longing and emotion I don’t know what to do with because as happy as I am to see him, there are differences in him that I can’t deny. He’s dressed all in black, head to toe, like the shadow king himself. He wears a dark cloak on his broad shoulders, and his gaze is sharp and cold as it runs over the woods all around us, as if he's searching for something he despises.
I want to go to him, but even I can see the danger in it. As much as every muscle in my body is aching to run to him, I wait. And watch. We all do. Searching for any sign that this is our Phantom. That there is something left inside of him outside of what the shard has done.
But there's no sign, just that cold look on his face. Just the strangest sense that this man is dangerous and different than the Phantom I love.
Oh God. Is he truly lost to us?This is worse than having him taken from me. This is the kind of aching pain I don’t know what to do with. I’m tired. I’m angry. And now my heart is broken.
But maybe I'm wrong.
The shard in his chest brightens beneath his dark clothes, illuminating his chest in a way that might have been beautiful at any other time. Instead, it's chilling.
If I ever get close enough, I’m going to yank it out and crush it in my hand. I'm going to destroy every last trace of it so that it can never hurt him again.
Phantom moves away from the Void, slowly, circling as if testing something I don't understand. And I watch him, my heart in my throat. If he gets far enough away from the Void, we'll jump on him. We'll bind him up and tear that shard out of him.
I look at the others.
Onyx gives me a subtle nod, and I feel relief flow through me. We're still all on the same page. Even though he isn't the Phantom we remember, they're still with me. They still want to try to save him.
But the closer Phantom comes to me, the brighter the light from the shard is. And I realize after a few moments that that's what he was testing. To see if we were there. To figure out what direction I'm in. And I don't know if I should be happy or afraid.
He nearly reaches the edge of the clearing. His gaze moves up and connects with mine, even though I'm not entirely sure he can see me. And yet, the look in his eyes... it frightens me.
My stomach sinks and a whimper falls from my lips. “Phantom.”
It’s nothing but a whisper, but he grins. It’s an evil grins that makes every hair on my body stand on end.
With one wave of his finger, trolls and rot monkeys pour from the Void. His voice, cold and cruel comes. "Find them! Kill them!"
Kill... us?
“Run!” Dusk commands beside me.
I know it’s the right thing to do, but I hesitate, my heart not being able to understand what my eyes have accepted. Dusk doesn't hesitate though; he pulls me beside him, half carrying me away. My men move as one around me, guiding me through the woods with their much larger bodies, trying to move faster than the creatures that hunt us.
If that’s even possible.
But my mind isn’t on the danger looming behind us. It’s on Phantom. On the look on his face. On the sound of his voice while he commanded his creatures to kill us.
Is there anything left of him?I feel tears tracking down my cheeks.
When a rot monkey wraps his fingers around my leg, Dusk lifts me like I weigh nothing at all, and then he zigs and zags through the forest. The trolls are no match for his speed, but the monkey are swinging from branch to branch overhead and for a minute I don't think we'll get away. But then we do.
The grave trolls roar in the distance. The monkeys shriek wildly in the trees far behind. But my men don't stop. Not until the forest quiets.
When we’re safe in one of our hideaway caves, they draw a boulder over the entrance and start a small fire. My gazes run over my men, and the tears keep flowing.
"Phantom," I manage.
"Is gone," Dusk says softly.
I look at Onyx, and he avoids my gaze.
Then I look at Rayne. The truth is in his eyes.
I wipe the tears angrily from my face. "Maybe he isn't himself right now, but if there's any chance to get him back, we have to try. No matter what it takes."
Rayne surprises me when he speaks. "Agreed." When the other two look at him, he shrugs. "I came back from the dead. If that's possible, saving him should be too."
"We just need a plan," I say.
"Alright?" Dusk says, and then everyone is looking at me.
We just need a plan...
