Deception (Axyl, #1)

Chapter Four

The chair that Oceania’s father was sprawled on swiveled this and that direction, and she could feel her father’s gaze on her. It made her uncomfortable, as it always had. She didn’t like remembering the things that he did to her when they were alone with each other, and no one knew about it either. Nor was she ready to share. Well, except for Claus. She had already told him since he was her best friend, and she trusted him with everything she kept locked away. They had always been there for each other. Oceania was glad to have someone like that in her life since she needed him when times got tough.

She could see a movement out of the corner of her eye as she gazed down at her feet, not meeting her father’s glance. The bald man applied pressure on his feet as he stood up, keeping his gaze on her blonde head. The silky tendrils of her hair swept down into her face as she gradually lifted her head, meeting the man’s eyes. She didn’t even like to look at him in the business suit, since she knew that nobody would look at him the same if they knew what he did to his daughter. She didn’t even know if they would believe her or not, since he was a man of power and equity.

“Oceania,” he said with a nod, his voice rumbling softly throughout the room. Oceania flinched at the sound, dropping her gaze back down to her feet. “I’m glad that you decided to come and visit me.” He started to walk over to his daughter, reaching out with his hand and pressed the soft pads of his fingers against her cheeks. “It’s been a while since we have last seen each other. I miss you.”

Oceania’s heart started pounding at that statement.

“I missed you, too, Father,” she told him, mumbling into her chest as she continued to avoid glancing up at him. She knew that he knew that she was lying, but she didn’t care at the moment. When they were home, he would probably give her some punishment to what she had lied about and that made her heart beat pick up to an even quicker pace. The spew in her stomach whirled around in her stomach. She swallowed when he had touched her, making the spew stir even more before she dared connect eyes with him. She gave him what he wanted in that small, pure room. It was equipped with sophisticated black furniture. The few people around her included her mother, of who had been watching the entire time, and some of her co-workers.

When she had been called into the Striker’s room, she wondered what this was about. As she remembered what she was here for, she became more curious as to what was happening and why she had been called. It wasn’t every day that she had gotten called down there, and it was only when her father had been bored and wanted to see her. But none of the times she had gone down to his office that other people were there, and it confused her greatly.

She furrowed her eyebrows together as she took another look around the room, scooting out of her father’s grip and over to the black leather couch that was sitting right beside a coffee table. “So what is this about, Father?” she asked, looking up at him with a tiny smile on her face. That smile was definitely and truly false, of course, but it wasn’t like he knew that.

The bald man smiled back at her, plopping himself back down in the revolving leather chair, keeping his eyes on her. “You’ve been assigned to another place, since your work at the destroyed house is done,” he told her with simplicity.

Oceania frowned, furrowing her brows together. She must have seen this coming, but usually when she was informed about this change, it wasn’t him the one telling her. Nor were any other shape-shifters and humans there. “Okay,” she complied, nodding up at him. “Why are you the one telling me, though? And why are all these other employees with me as I get told this?”

Her father stared at her, holding his dark gaze with her own bright blue one. “Because, Oceania,” he told her slowly, taking his time to lean back in the seat, “you’re going to go to the Palace.”