by Kristie Cook
Tristan and I sat on the leather sofa next to her, and we both leaned forward on the edge of the seat. The hairs on the nape of my neck prickled with curiosity. Not about the new addition to my team. I knew she’d send Julia to watch over us and ensure we followed the Amadis rules and stuck to the mission. Charlotte had prepared me for this possibility during our flight over. I didn’t like it—I didn’t like Julia—but arguing about her would be futile, and we had more important things to discuss. Especially now that Rina had mentioned messages.
“Like what things? What kinds of messages?” From the Angels, maybe? Were they going to help us get Dorian?
Rina’s mahogany brown eyes scanned my face with consideration. “You, for example, need to believe Vanessa is trustworthy.”
My shoulders deflated, and I sunk back against the sofa. “Do you believe she is?”
“I have assessed her. We spent much time together. Yes, I believe she is.” She flattened her hands against her thighs and tilted her head. “No, I do not only believe. I know she is.”
“A message from the Angels?” Tristan asked. “Because they might be the only ones who will convince your granddaughter here.”
Not the message I’d hoped for, but Tristan was right—their confirmation about Vanessa would have been comforting.
“No, not from the Angels. A message is not necessary. Vanessa is fully converted. You have done a very fine job, Alexis.”
With all of my prior insecurities, Rina must have thought I doubted my own conversion abilities. She didn’t know how complicated Vanessa’s situation was, with her involvement with Owen, the traitor, and all.
“I know it all, dear, but I also know what is in her heart and in her soul. I feel it so completely, I have sent her into the village for enhancements—her own leather gear, enchanted weapons, and a supply of mage blood suited to her particular needs.”
“And you think that’s a good idea?” I asked, pretty skeptical myself. If Vanessa was pulling one over on us, the last thing I needed was her powered up with mage blood.
“I do. If she is to guard you, she will have every advantage we can possibly give her. I also have spent time with Blossom, and now she is with your mother and Charlotte, taking a—what do you call it? A crash course?—heavy training in conversions.”
“That’s great, but it’s not Blossom I’m worried about,” I muttered.
“You do not need to worry about Vanessa, either. Just as you accept Tristan for the man he is now, you must accept Vanessa for who she is now, not then.”
Of course she was right, and I really wanted to. Life would be a bit easier if I knew Vanessa was definitely on our side. But there were still too many questions in my mind, regardless of what Rina said.
“Your family has grown again,” Rina said. “Embrace it, darling. Family is very special.”
I twisted in my seat to face her more fully and leaned toward her. “It is special. All family is. Including our sons.”
Rina’s mouth formed a scowl as she looked away from me and to the flames dancing in the hearth. Did she really think we could avoid the subject? Or maybe she’d only been waiting for me to bring it up. A moment passed before her gaze returned to me.
“The Amadis is our family, Alexis,” she said. “We are called a matriarchal society because I—like my predecessors—am a mother to our people. They are all my children, and I love them as though they are. I must care for all of them. As will you some day.”
So I’d been summoned here for a lecture after all. I’d hoped I might be able to convince her to let me look for Dorian while we built our army so we wouldn’t have to be secretive about it, but she had nothing more to say than what Mom had already told me. I had a duty. There would be no changing her mind. I had to go with Tristan’s scheme and say what needed to be said so we could be on our way.
I reached for Tristan’s hand and squeezed it. I pulled on his strength, needing it to give me the composure I required.
“I know. I already do love them like family.” Which wasn’t a lie. I did love the Amadis people. “I will do what it takes to protect them.”
“Including those who are not part of us yet. Those taken by the enemy.”
“Yes,” I agreed sincerely. After all, I did want to help the innocents. “And I’ll build our army. My team and I will.”
Rina nodded with approval. “Very good, darling. Doing so is as paramount to our survival as is your having a daughter.”
“Tristan and I will work on that as well,” I said automatically. If we have the time . . . Of course, we’d make time. We had to, not only for the Amadis, but also for our own relationship.
“Oh, I am sure you will,” my grandmother said with a small smile.
“So see? You had nothing to worry about.” I bit my tongue about what a waste of time this trip had been. Although, Vanessa and Blossom were benefitting, so maybe it wasn’t a complete waste.
“Alexis,” she said, her voice quieter than before, “I do understand where your heart is. I understand the conflict you feel.”
Now it was my turn to look away and study the flames. Did she understand? Did she really have any idea? At least when she lost Noah, she’d thought him dead. His soul safe. She didn’t have to worry about what evil things were being done to her son, what kind of beast they were turning him into, because she had no idea the Daemoni even existed. She didn’t have a clue what I was going through right now.
“I would have done anything for my son, Noah, if I had known he was still alive,” she continued. “However, I had not known. I thought he had passed with his father in the bakery fire. I had already mourned his loss decades before I learned he still lived.”
“And when you found out?” My eyes swung to her to study her face.
“Of course, I wanted to save him right away. As soon as I learned the truth about the Amadis and the Daemoni, about us, I thought he could be the first soul I saved.” She let out a sigh pregnant with grief. “But I realized quickly the cause was already lost.”
I gasped. “He’s lost his soul? Given it over to the Daemoni?”
Rina’s eyes moistened, and her gaze dropped to her hands as she folded them in her lap. “I do not know for sure. He has kept himself secluded for nearly a century now. But I know the Otherworld requires balance. I know now—and I knew then—my Noah was no longer my son. I had and still have Sophia. The Daemoni have Noah. And there is absolutely nothing we can do to change that.”
I wanted to argue the point, and feeling me tense against him, Tristan squeezed my hand, warning me not to. But it took all of my control to hold back. Not only could we change things if we discovered how to break the curse, but more urgently, my son’s situation was completely different. Besides the fact that he’d been stolen, not summoned, his being taken didn’t do anything for balance, especially since we didn’t have a daughter. And there was something we could do about Dorian. Maybe we couldn’t rescue Noah or the other sons—not yet anyway—but there was still hope for our son.
Saying any of this remained pointless, though, and I had to keep my promise to Tristan. We’d obviously never convince her to allow us to search for Dorian. She probably brought up the subject of Noah as a way for me to see we had such a tragedy in common, and I needed to suck it up like my ancestors did and move on. If she and the council believed I’d actually give in so easily, though, they were sadly mistaken. Because my whole heart told me not to—not to give up on Dorian, not to let him go. Not yet. It wasn’t his time. First with Tristan, second with me, and then with Dorian, change had come to the world of the Amadis and the Daemoni, and the Amadis needed to change with it. They should have learned this already with everything going on, but if I had to be the one to show them that things could be different, starting with Dorian, then I would.
“I had believed there was nothing we can do for all of these years,” Rina continued. “But I believe it no longer. Something can be done. We have our duty, and we cannot stray from it, but I believe
there is some way we can serve our sons. There is something happening to them. I do not know the specifics, but I believe we must act. And we start with Dorian.”
My gaze shot to her eyes as my pulse sped with surprise. “Are you saying . . . ?”
I couldn’t finish the thought, scared I’d misinterpreted her meaning. Trying not to let my hope soar too high that she was actually giving her blessing to our plan, I braced myself. Tristan’s hand squeezed my thigh in anticipation as we both leaned forward, hanging on her every word.
Her lips danced, and the smile showed in her eyes, piercing through the cloud of sadness. “It would be a lovely miracle if you could save all the sons. Including my Noah.”
Chapter 9
Whoa. My hand flew to my mouth. I hadn’t been expecting that kind of a blessing.
“Do you think we can break the curse?” I asked, my voice full of both confusion and disbelief.
Rina tilted her head. “I cannot tell you that. I cannot even confirm the curse exists. But I do believe we can help the Summoned in some way. My intelligence team has noticed they, as well as many of their offspring, have gone missing in the last several months. Some may have disappeared as long as a year ago or more.”
“Wait. How many brothers are still alive?” I asked.
“Oh, darling, they live much longer than we do,” Rina said. “I know of at least six brothers, but when Tristan first came to us, he said there are more who have been in hiding. Perhaps all of them, back to Andronika’s son. Is that so, Tristan?”
“I’d heard rumors, but never confirmed it myself,” he clarified. “I don’t think Lucas even knows. When I was still with them, though, I knew of at least nine who were still alive.”
My jaw dropped. “And they’re all missing?”
“The ones we know about, yes,” Rina said. “As well as some of their descendants.”
Wow. I hadn’t realized there were so many.
“What do you mean by missing?” Tristan asked as he settled against the back of the couch, his leathers squeaking against the leather cushion. “As in none of our people have seen them? Or as in they’ve disappeared from the face of the earth and not even the Daemoni know where they are?”
“Our people have not seen them anywhere in some time. They have tried to force Daemoni to talk, but have learned nothing, and our new converts also say they do not know anything. Including Vanessa.”
“So either the Daemoni don’t care, or Lucas is keeping it under wraps,” Tristan said.
“Correct,” Rina agreed.
“Do you think they’re dead?” I asked. “Did they kill them?”
Rina shook her head. “No, I do not sense their deaths. My instinct tells me they are in trouble, however. And I believe we can help them. You can help them.”
“And you think their taking Dorian has something to do with it?” Tristan asked.
“I do not know for certain, but I believe it may be related.”
I tapped my fingers on my chin. “But we still don’t know if it’s Lucas or Kali who has Dorian. Could they have them all?”
Rina didn’t answer me, but her head tilted the other way. A moment later, the door to her office opened, and Mom entered. Rina nodded at her, Mom closed and locked the door, and came over to join us. I asked my question again, thinking Rina had been mentally distracted by Mom, but it was Mom who answered.
“Our people are still trying to find out more information,” Mom said, “but no, right now, we don’t know if it’s Lucas or Kali. My sense tells me it’s both, but my sense isn’t always reliable when it comes to Kali.”
“Which may be why you can’t sense Dorian, either,” Tristan suggested. “If she has him.”
“Or it may be because there’s a powerful cloak on him, which could be done by any strong warlock,” Mom said.
“Like Owen,” I muttered.
“It’s possible,” Mom agreed as her gaze dropped to study something on the floor.
Rina’s eyes drifted over to the fireplace again, but she seemed to be farther away, her voice distant. “Nothing breaks the heart more than the betrayal of those we trust most. But we cannot permit such pain to consume us. Others’ actions and decisions cannot break us unless we allow it, which we must never do. We must forgive, and we must heal. We must learn to open our hearts and love again. Otherwise, our souls will become as dark as theirs.”
Was she saying Owen had allowed himself to be broken? That his soul had become as dark as that of the sorceress he once despised? Such sadness filled Rina’s voice, I didn’t think she only spoke of Owen’s heart, but of ours as well. And not only of his decisions, but of others before him. He hadn’t been the first Amadis to abandon ship, and each time someone did, her heart must have truly broken.
“They are like my children, so each time is like losing Noah all over again,” Rina said, apparently listening to my thoughts. She returned her focus to us and lifted her voice. “We must move on, however. There are many who need our love and attention. Sophia, please brief them. You understand and can explain the technology better than I, no?”
Mom nodded. “As I told you on the phone, the Normans are on edge and with good reason. The Daemoni are doing all they can to instigate war. They’re hoping for World War III, if they can pull it off.”
“And all of the Norman politicians are in Lucas’s pocket?” Tristan asked. “He just has to tell them to move, I assume.”
“No, not all,” Mom answered. “Many yes, hoping to be protected by Lucas when all hell breaks loose. We have a few who actually take our advice as well. But most Normans are leery of the Daemoni and of us. They don’t trust anyone who’s not completely human, and they’re working together to figure out how to eliminate all of us. Alexis, you and Vanessa already experienced the silver ammunition when they caught you in Alaska?”
“But silver’s only good against the Daemoni,” I said. “I mean, getting shot didn’t exactly tickle, but it won’t incapacitate us like it will the Daemoni.”
“Except for the few in higher power positions and certain departments, the Normans don’t know that,” Mom said. “They’re still testing, trying to figure things out. In fact, civilian Normans don’t know we even exist—yet—and most of those in lower positions or smaller governments have only heard rumors.”
“We need to try to keep those rumors unproven,” Rina said. I looked at her with my brows pushed together, not sure I understood.
“We need to protect our secrecy as long as possible,” Mom clarified. “The Daemoni have technically broken our treaty of secrecy by not only telling some of these power-hungry Normans about us, but Lucas has convinced them we’re the dangerous ones. If such a rumor spreads to the masses, we could be in big trouble. For now, however, we still have our secrets, and we need to keep it that way.”
“We also have our relationships to manage,” Rina added. “We have worked hard over many years to build rapport with those authorities who are willing. We do not want to jeopardize losing those liaisons.”
Tristan stretched his arm over the back of the couch as he studied Rina, then Mom. “We appreciate the information—” he looked over at me with a glint in his eye, knowing how I hated politics “—at least, I do—but why are you telling us this? Does it have something to do with Dorian and the Summoned brothers?”
“It’s information we’ll be sharing with all of the Amadis,” Mom said, “but you and your team really need to understand the danger out there because you’ll be traveling so much.”
I cocked my head. “Where exactly are we going? Do you know something?”
“I sense Dorian, and maybe the others, in America. I believe on the East Coast, and if Blossom’s spell is working right, north of Florida. Unfortunately, this is the best information we have at this time.”
“So we start in Florida or Georgia and work our way north,” Tristan said. “Hopefully Blossom’s spell will keep us on a path.”
“There’s a problem, though. You probably shou
ldn’t flash,” Mom said.
“What?” I sputtered, thinking I heard her wrong. “Why not? What are we supposed to do?”
How could we do covert operations and free ourselves from danger if we couldn’t make a fast escape?
“The Normans are testing new technology, and not only weapons, but things like force fields that can stop a flash. In fact, they’ve created invisible walls even they can’t pass through, supposedly to protect their own people.”
“Like the wall on the Canadian border?” Tristan asked.
“Yes,” Mom said. “And there are others. Smaller contraptions with an electromagnetic field that interferes with the magic that allows us to flash. They’re basically traps—making us appear out of nowhere right where they want us. A few of our own have been caught with these. Even some of the smallest counties and cities are trying these to find proof of the rumors. Others are putting up your standard checkpoints, but not for drunk drivers. They’re looking for non-humans. These are becoming really popular in the United States right now.”
“Wow. Checkpoints and traps in the U.S.? How far off are we from a military state?”
“Not as far as you think,” Mom deadpanned although I’d meant it rhetorically.
The Daemoni were definitely taking things to a new level, and the norms were feeding right out of their hands. I hoped Rina had plans for stepping us up, too, or we’d never win this war.
“And if you get caught, any of you,” Mom continued, “you must be very careful in how you handle the situation.”
She seemed to be directing this especially at me, but Tristan caught on to her meaning before I did.
“We have to keep our calm and work with them,” he said.
“Correct,” Mom replied. “We don’t want to prove the Daemoni right that we’re dangerous. We don’t want to expose our secrets if we don’t have to. We need to be cooperative.”
“You must protect the relationships we have, as well,” Rina added. “Please take all precautions to do so.”