Page 74 of Dark Alliance
“If Cass hadn’t acted, he’d be dead.”
“Perhaps,” he replied. “We’ll never know, though. But listen, no matter what danger is on the horizon, no matter who threatens us or who’s foolish enough to come after us, I meant what I said. Nobody will get close to you, Daphne. I’ll never allow that. Together, we’re stronger, more prepared, and more resilient. Can you see that? We can face anything together. We can overcome any challenges that come our way.”
“You sure do have a lot of confidence in us.” I smiled.
He paused, cocking his head slightly, before replying, “I do, and do you know why?”
“Why?”
“Because I trust my intuition, and it tells me we are unstoppable, Daphne. Together, there's nothing we can’t accomplish.”
I sighed as he pulled me toward him. I lay beside him, and he gathered me into his arms, being careful of his wounds. Once I was settled, I rested my head on his chest, savoring the strong beat of his heart. My shoulders relaxed, and the tension drained from my body with a heavy sigh. He tightened his arms around me, holding me close for a long moment before saying anything else.
My heart filled with emotion for this wonderful man. I felt immense gratitude that we had met, connected, and overcome the stubbornness that kept us apart.
He whispered in my ear, his voice a calm, confident flow that settled into my mind once and for all. “No matter what comes next, baby, we face it together.”
“Always.” I nodded, closing my eyes and taking a deep breath for the first time in hours, comforted by the security and depth of my connection with Thal.
Swimming in that tender, powerful moment, I fully trusted our intertwined fates. I’d never been more ready and hopeful to embrace the promising path we’d chosen together, despite lingering uncertainties.
As I drifted off to sleep against his chest, listening to the steady, rhythmic thump of his heart, a stray thought chilled me. Zeno had seen his ghost come back to life. A man like that didn't just move on. He was going to be more dangerous than ever, and now that he knew Cassandra was alive, his leash on me was the only thing he had left to prove he was still a king.
He had lost his city and his ward, and the only thing left for him to reclaim was the power to destroy. The storm wasn't over, only gathering enough wind to level everything we’d built.
Twenty-Two
THE GILDED CAGE IS OPEN
DAPHNE
One week later, Las Vegas felt like a different city.
The neon lights still buzzed, and tourists still poured their life savings into the slots, but the air was clearer. Across the monitors throughout Thal’s penthouse, the news was a constant scroll of Rhea Konstantinou’s downfall. Her assets were being liquidated, her top lieutenants were turning state's evidence, and the woman herself was a ghost, rumored to be hiding in a villa in South America, stripped of the power that had once made her the queen of the desert.
She was alive, but she was broken. In this city, being broken was worse than being dead.
I looked over at Thal, standing by the floor-to-ceiling windows. He leaned on a sleek carbon-fiber cane, his jaw tight as he stared at the Strip. he was still healing, the stitches in his side a constant reminder of the price we’d paid, but there was a newgravity to him. He was now a casino mogul and the man who had survived the fire.
“It’s time,” I said, my voice steady enough to cut glass.
I caught my reflection in the monitor’s black screen. I wasn't wearing Zeno’s gold or Thal’s silk today. I was wearing a black suit tailored with sharp, lethal lines that meant business. It wasn't a dress but armor, and I looked like a woman who had survived a massacre and emerged holding the bill.
Thal turned, his eyes softening the moment they fell on me. “You don't have to do this, Daphne. We can just leave. The jet is ready.”
“I do,” I replied, walking over to him and resting my hand on his chest, feeling the steady, rhythmic beat of his heart. “I can’t start a new chapter while the old one still has its hands around my throat. I need to go back to the Olympus one last time. Zeno told me you just made my leash out of silk, Thal. I need to show him I’m the one holding the shears now.”
Thal nodded, his possessive streak warring with his respect for my autonomy. He chose respect. “I’ll be in the car. Ten minutes. If you’re not out by eleven, I’m coming in with the heavy artillery.”
“Five minutes is all I need.”
The Olympus felt different. The guards at the door, men who had watched me grow up, didn't meet my gaze. They stepped aside as if I were a queen returning to a throne I’d already abdicated.
I didn't take the private elevator. I walked across the casino floor, listening to the chime of the machines and feeling the weight of the years I’d spent here. When I reached Zeno’s office, the heavy oak doors were already open.
Zeno sat at his desk, but he wasn't looking at his ledgers. He was staring at a small, charred photograph, one I’d never seen before. He looked older. The King of Olympus had gray at his temples that hadn't been there a month ago.
“You’re late,” he said, his voice a hollow echo of its former authority.
