Shackled to the World: A Phantom Touched Novel

by Brutger, Stacey

  Shackled to the World

  A Phantom Touched Novel

  Stacey Brutger

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Chapter Sixteen

  Chapter Seventeen

  Chapter Eighteen

  Chapter Ninteen

  Chapter Twenty

  Chapter Twenty-one

  Chapter Twenty-two

  Chapter Twenty-three

  Chapter Twenty-four

  Chapter Twenty-five

  Chapter Twenty-six

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Other books by this author:

  YOU CAN ONLY CHEAT DEATH SO MANY TIMES BEFORE IT LAYS CLAIM TO YOUR SOUL.

  Annora thought the worst that could happen was behind her…until it’s discovered that her blood carries the cure to death. Now people will go to any extreme to get their hands on her. Instead of escaping her past, she ends up dragging her guys into hell with her.

  When one of her men is taken, her world comes crashing down. Her psychic connection to him is the only thing keeping him alive—barely. To get him back, she must turn herself over to the enemy, knowing she would be facing a lifetime of slavery.

  Determined not to go down without a fight, Annora and her men train for the coming war, taking risks that could cost them everything. She must embrace her phantom heritage if she is to have any hope of keeping her mates safe. The only problem…other phantoms would rather kill her than allow the secrets of their magic to become exposed.

  A Phantom Touched Novel: Book 2

  Meet the Pack: Annora, Camden, Xander, Mason, Logan and Edgar.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, character, places, and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form in any manner whatsoever without written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations for articles or reviews. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials.

  Copyright © 2020 Stacey Brutger

  Cover artist: Giusy Ame / Magicalcover.de

  Editor: Faith Freewoman (www.demonfordetails.com)

  Proofreader: Missy Stewart of Ms. Correct All's Editing and Proofreading Services

  All rights reserved.

  Chapter One

  One week later…

  “You can die just as easily as everyone else,” Eddie warned, seconds before he vanished.

  Annora resisted the urge to growl in frustration. They were at the stadium, teaching her how to fight and use her phantom abilities at the same time.

  And she was failing.

  In the last week, Eddie had taken it upon himself to train her—or more like punish her whenever she called him by that name, which she did frequently, since she knew it pissed him off. She refused to call him Edgar anymore, not when he lied to her about everything.

  Annora concentrated on locating him, able to feel the dark particles move through the air. She whirled and ducked when he appeared behind her, barely missing the fist aimed at her face, his knuckles grazing her cheek slightly when she didn’t move fast enough. Living as a ferret, watching her for years, had given him insight into how she moved and fought. He could anticipate what she would do even before she thought it. That insight, added to his lightning speed and reflexes, meant she barely landed any blows.

  Sweat coated her skin, matting her hair, and her head pounded from sustaining the hypervigilant focus she needed to survive the training session without ending up a bloody mess. But she refused to call it quits—not until she was strong enough to track down Logan and take him back.

  “If you want to survive long enough to rescue your friend, you’re going to have to learn to be faster.” Eddie scowled and crossed his arms, not even a strand of his black hair out of place. The afterworld glowed in his eyes, adding to his aura of displeasure.

  Annora scowled back. There was a ruthlessness to Edgar the others didn’t have when training her. He pushed her harder, knew how much damage her body could take, then demanded more.

  She glanced at the sideline where she kept her bag. Snug inside were the knives Logan left her. She’d been practicing with them every spare second, still able to feel the tiny nicks and cuts on her fingers from the long hours of working with the blades. She itched to use those knives on Eddie. She knew just the right way to cut a person to cause maximum pain, ways to make him bleed, ways to slow him down and take him out.

  Her uncle taught her many things while she was in his care—most of them how to torture, maim and kill.

  At night, when she let down her guard and couldn’t hold off sleep any longer, she relived the torture, struggling against her need to feel pain in order to feel alive. She relished the lick of pain as cold blades bit into her flesh, the way the lash of a whip landed against her back, the metal tips digging into her spine and shredding her muscles so badly standing was impossible.

  As if he knew she was close to breaking and taking all her pent-up rage out on him, Eddie held up his hands, palms out, and backed away.

  His nose was long and straight, his eyebrows full, his lips generous if a bit hard, and while he wasn’t as muscular as the other guys on the team, he was even more ruthless. The way he moved was different from humans, even different from shifters. There was an elegance to him, an effortless self-awareness that she envied.

  Her body ached, every inch of her covered with bruises and scrapes. The pain usually invigorated her, kept her going past her limits, the extra boost of adrenaline like a craving, but she was just too tired. She’d been warned to stay out of the afterworld for fear her presence would be noticed, but the darkness was like an addiction.

  As if noticing she was reaching the end of her endurance, Xander spoke from the sidelines, striding toward them, his long, muscular legs eating up the distance. “That’s enough for the day.”

  The man was big and rugged and intimidating as fuck. His black hair was buzzed short on the back and sides, leaving the silvery, frosted tips on top to sweep over his forehead. Stubble covered his jaw, giving him a dissolute look that made him sexy as hell.

  As he came to a stop between them, she wasn’t sure whether he was protecting her or Eddie. Annora leaned over, bracing her hands on her knees, finding the ground suddenly fascinating as she panted to catch her breath. While she marveled at the way the men were trying to take care of her, she also found it annoying.

  She could train more.

  She needed to do more.

  “Not yet. I need—”

  “You need to get ready for school.” Xander turned slowly to face her, his sharp teal eyes narrowed dangerously, pinning her in place. “We agreed to help you train, but only if you promised to listen to our advice. If you fall behind in your studies, they will expel you. What use would you be to Logan if you’re gone?”

  Annora wanted to protest that getting Logan out alive was more important than some stupid classes, but the guys refused to budge on the issue. Since arguing would be a waste of breath, s
he stomped over to the sidelines, struggling to control her fury. Ever since Logan was taken, the fury had been getting worse.

  Escalating.

  Close to raging out of control.

  Collecting her bag, she headed for the shower, trying to shove all her hurt and anger into a box to keep the uncontrolled fury from spreading.

  Tried, but nothing seemed to work.

  The rage just continued to grow.

  She was tempted to reach for the afterworld and skip home, but Eddie’s warning that she could be tracked made her hesitate. She didn’t really give a shit if her father or the others located her, but she couldn’t risk getting killed, not until after she rescued Logan.

  She wouldn’t allow anything to get in the way of her mission.

  She was in and out of the shower within minutes, her hair still dripping as she headed toward the tunnels, then cursed when she found both Xander and Eddie waiting for her.

  Crap.

  She glared, then spun and marched away from them down the darkened tunnels.

  She suppressed a sigh, hating that she never had more than a few minutes alone to sort out her thoughts. She got that the guys were afraid something would happen to her, but they didn’t seem to understand that she’d spent her whole life alone and being around people was draining.

  Although, truth be told, being near the guys usually calmed the anxiety that raged inside her.

  Now, ever since Logan was taken, there was an awkwardness between her and the guys, a distance that made her ache every time she saw them.

  They hovered, fretted, but kept their distance.

  She missed their touches, missed their joking. Now they treated her like one of the walking wounded, and she felt isolated, and more alone than ever.

  It was as if they could finally see just how damaged she was and were waiting for her to snap.

  But she was stronger than that.

  She didn’t have the luxury of falling apart, not when her psychotic uncle still had Logan in his not-so-loving care.

  As she walked down the tunnel, both guys pushed away from the wall, so focused on her it was like the other didn’t exist. Water dripped from their hair like they’d shoved their heads under the faucet instead of showering, no doubt worried she’d escape their watchful eyes.

  She almost snorted at the absurdity.

  Even though the guys restrained themselves from killing Eddie, they made it obvious that they didn’t consider him one of the team.

  Actually, she was shocked they even allowed him to stay, but maybe it was better to keep the devil where they could watch him.

  They were afraid Eddie would disappear with her.

  She wouldn’t put it past the asshat either.

  He wasn’t known for his truthfulness.

  “I want you to pull on the afterworld to heal yourself.” Eddie glared at the bruises on her arms.

  “I thought you wanted her to avoid going into the afterworld.” Xander studied the other man suspiciously, taking her safety seriously.

  “Draw on it, not enter.” Eddie snapped, clearly annoyed at the other guys for hovering around them all the time. “Only the strongest phantoms can even enter the afterworld. While her bloodlines help, Annora’s strong enough to enter in her own right, a survival instinct that has saved her life over the years.”

  A muscle ticked in Eddie’s jaw, and she could tell he was remembering the times he’d come to her rescue, as well as the many times when he couldn’t.

  “While I was trapped in the afterworld,” Eddie continued, “I was able to cloak her and keep the others from discovering her presence.” The sharp angles of his face softened when he looked at her, pure joy and possessiveness shining from his fathomless blue eyes. “The more often she enters the afterworld without me there to shield her, the easier it will be for the others to find her.”

  As they exited the stadium and entered the quad, Eddie scanned the area. He pursed his lips, his expression hardening, probably still pissed that she refused to leave with him. She would not abandon her men.

  But right now Eddie’s jaw had that strong, stubborn look she was beginning to recognize. “Eddie—”

  “Edgar,” he growled, and turned his glare on her, as if he knew she used the other form of his name to put distance between them.

  Annora dropped her gaze first, but she refused to feel guilty about feeling betrayed.

  He was the one in the wrong.

  He lied to her for years, pretending to be a ferret. She’d poured out her secrets to him, her hopes and fears, without once suspecting he was anything more than an animal.

  She refused to feel bad for treating him as a stranger. Every time he looked at her with intimate knowledge in his eyes, she couldn’t forget.

  “What would happen if they found her?” Xander interrupted her musings, completely ignoring Eddie’s grumpy behavior.

  “They will either take her to her father to pass judgment on her or they will kill her outright.” The massive frown on his face sent the few students up and about at the butt crack of dawn scurrying in all directions. “With her power, it’s unlikely they would want her dead right away. At least not until they can figure out whether she can be…useful.”

  Annora snorted. “You mean controlled. A virtual slave to do their bidding.”

  Eddie merely shrugged, ignoring her comment. “Unless her father finds her first.”

  He glanced back at her, his blue eyes apologetic. “Daxion is a powerful man. He’ll only see her as a half-breed, a mistake, and an embarrassment. He’ll use any and all means possible to make sure she’s never found.”

  Xander and Eddie continued the conversation, their voices a low rumble, but she couldn’t get over his comment.

  Oh, not about her father wanting her dead.

  What shocked her was her mother must have known.

  It explained so much—why they kept moving around when Annora was younger. Her mother had been trying to keep her safe the only way she knew how.

  “Daxion?” She murmured, not caring that she was interrupting them.

  Eddie lingered close to her, automatically matching his stride to hers. “It’s the name of the ruling house, a family name that invokes both respect and fear.”

  She marveled at finally knowing her last name but quickly rejected it. Her mother was right. It was better not to accept anything from her father. She would stick with Greenwood.

  “You’re not surprised your father wants to kill you.” Xander captured her hand, engulfing it in the warmth of his grip.

  Her thoughts scattered at the contact, loving the warmth of him against her cold fingers. Xander was big and gruff, the perfect soldier, but he was always so gentle with her. The scent of fresh sea breeze wrapped around him, tantalizing her senses, as if his gryphon had flexed his wings and wrapped them around her in a protective cocoon. His beard was cropped close to his face, hiding most of his expression, but his eyes gave him away.

  He was worried.

  About her.

  Xander’s father was much like her own. While hers craved power, his was a jealous tyrant. She leaned against Xander, soaking up the silent comfort he offered. “Mother warned me not to search for him. Ever. I think she was afraid.”

  Memories of the many times they left in the middle of the night, often abandoning their belongings, came to her mind.

  Maybe afraid was too tame a word.

  “You won’t be able to hide forever,” Eddie interrupted. He didn’t appear jealous of their closeness, more like he was craving that same intimacy.

  “You need more training in how to stay out of the afterworld, how to use your powers to keep yourself hidden.” He edged closer to her, glaring at anyone who looked at her too long. “Tonight we’ll practice drawing on your powers without relying on slipping into the afterworld. Only when you’re strong enough will we train you how to keep yourself hidden.”

  “You were stuck in the afterworld.” Xander tucked her closer and narrowed his
eyes at the other man. “How do you expect to protect her when you couldn’t even protect yourself?”

  Eddie stopped and glared at Xander, as if ready to flash both of them to the afterworld to duke it out. “With phantoms, family means everything. I refused to bow to their demands. The only way to escape was the afterworld.”

  But Annora was already shaking her head. “But you got stuck.”

  His eyes dropped to meet hers, and his face softened. When he took a step forward to touch her, she retreated, her back smacking into Xander, who pulled her close. Eddie stopped dead, hurt flashing across his face seconds before his expression went blank, his hand falling to his side.

  “Not stuck, more like finding the doors locked behind me.” The corners of his mouth kicked up. “That’s when I discovered you. You called to me in a way that I couldn’t refuse. I stopped seeking a way out and stayed to help you.”

  Annora didn’t understand, shifting uncomfortably and crossing her arms in front of her. “You think I’m your mate.”

  “No.” Eddie shook his head, his smile softening. “I know you’re my mate.”

  “Why return now?” Xander wrapped his arm around her middle, pulling her closer, his voice laden with suspicion.

  Eddie noted the gesture, but instead of being perturbed, he shrugged. “She needed me.”

  As if that explained everything.

  She must have snorted, and Eddie’s face lost all humor.

  “I would protect you with my life.” He leaned closer, until he was in her face, daring her to deny it. “I’m the only one standing in the way of you having all your choices taken from you. Phantoms aren’t like shifters or vampires or witches. You never leave the family. You do as you’re told or you suffer dearly for your disobedience. I didn’t agree with that way of life. I was a complication they needed to eradicate, so I banished myself to the nothingness of the afterworld before they could break me to their will.”