by Kristie Cook
“Do you know what love is?” I asked her.
“Nona loves me,” she said in a small voice. “I love her.”
I nodded. “Good. Think about that love.”
I delivered more Amadis power at her for several moments. Her body stiffened at first and trembled in mid-air, but it eventually slackened, even under Tristan’s power. He slowly lowered his hand, and she dropped to the ground in a heap. Nona struggled in Julia’s arms, wanting to comfort her charge, but Julia refused to let her go. Lilith lifted her face, streaked with tears and dirt, but so much like Dorian’s. My heart finally responded.
I looked at Tristan, a small smile tugging at the corners of my mouth as I started toward Lilith to give her more direct Amadis power. Everything would be okay, just as I’d hoped. We already had the next daughter, and she would eventually be fit to lead. She had at least a hundred years, after all, to learn the Amadis ways, to overcome the Daemoni within her and become a true Amadis. She only needed our help.
Tristan’s face twisted in horror. It’s okay, I told him. She’ll be okay. We’ll all be okay now.
“Alexis,” he shouted, looking past me. “Focus!”
Uh-oh. I spun back toward Lilith in time to see her springing to her feet. She crouched, one hand on the ground. She reared her head and curled her lip to bare her teeth. Her eyes glowed red. She became a monster once again.
Then she lunged at me.
Julia shouted something incomprehensible and flew our way, a murderous look in her eye.
“NOOO!” I screamed.
I threw myself in front of Lilith. Julia’s stone body collided with mine, knocking me to the ground. My head slammed against a rock with a deafening crack, and stars shot across my vision. My eyes rolled up to see Julia’s arms wrapped tightly around Lilith, both of them still as statues. Tristan stood over me, his hand facing them.
“You threaten a council member?” Julia seethed.
“You harmed an Amadis daughter and are about to kill another?” Tristan shot back.
“This is not—”
I didn’t hear the end of her statement, distracted by the voice in my head.
“Perfect,” thought the traitor. “This ended perfectly.”
A tree branch snapped in the woods behind us. I rolled over and peered into the trees, catching a glimpse of movement. I pushed myself to my knees. The world tilted, then settled. Forcing myself to focus, I finally made out a cloaked figure half-hidden behind a palmetto tree. I tried to stand up. I lifted my left hand in defense. But as I struggled to my feet, before I could shoot electricity, a flash of blue light flew at me and drove into my chest like a double-edged sword.
My heart exploded.
Ice shot through my veins.
All I could think about was the Ang’dora and how that pain felt nothing like this.
I screamed.
Then all went silent and dark.
Chapter 20
I came to with a gasp and bright light blinded me. When my gaze focused, it rested on Dorian and Sasha sitting on a bed next to me. Dorian’s eyes grew huge.
“Mimi,” he called as he bounced on the bed. “Mimi, she’s awake! Mom’s awake!”
I tried to sit up, to get my bearings, but I didn’t have a chance.
“Oh, thank God,” Mom breathed, gathering me in her arms and holding me tightly. “I was so worried.”
As she held me, my eyes drank in the familiar surroundings. We sat on the bed in my suite. But not in Tristan’s and my bedroom on Sanibel Island. This bed had stone pillars at the corners and a gossamer canopy. Somehow, I’d been brought to our suite in the matriarch’s mansion.
Mom pulled away, and her eyes scanned my face from forehead to chin. “Are you okay?”
I blinked in confusion, then remembered the explosive pain before I blacked out. I felt no discomfort now, though.
“Yeah. Fine. But why am I here? How’d I even get here?”
“You were really sick,” Dorian said before Mom could answer. “You’ve been sleeping for three whole days!”
“Three days?” I echoed with disbelief. Then I looked around the room again and felt out with my mind for Tristan, but didn’t find his signature. Why wasn’t he here? Of course I hadn’t actually been sick, but whatever was wrong, if I’d been out of it for three days, he should have been here, waiting for me to wake up. Healing me, if anything.
But he wasn’t, and we were on Amadis Island. Which meant only one thing.
“Where’s Tristan?” I asked, my voice lilting with panic.
Mom frowned. So did Dorian. His eyes filled with tears. Oh, no. They really took him!
“He’s even sicker, Mom,” Dorian said, his lip trembling. “He’s in the hospital, and they won’t let me see him. Uncle Owen, too.”
My stomach knotted with the lies they’d told Dorian. “Mom? What’s going on?”
Mom looked at Dorian and back at me. She couldn’t talk with him around. I pulled him into my arms.
“Little man, I need to talk to Mimi for a minute, and then I need to take a bath. You and Sasha go to your room and play, okay?”
He sighed, and his shoulders sank, making it obvious he didn’t want to leave my side. I couldn’t blame him, not when Tristan, Owen, and I, the three people closest to him besides Mom, had been out of commission for several days.
“Actually, Dorian,” Mom said, “Ophelia probably has lunch ready for you, and then she’s taking you out to the beach.”
“Okay,” Dorian said with no enthusiasm at all. He skulked out of the room with Sasha at his side. My heart squeezed painfully, and I wanted to tell him to stay with me. Because that’s what I wanted more than anything—for him to stay with me forever. But something was really wrong.
“What’s going on?” I asked Mom again when I sensed Dorian had moved out of earshot.
Mom closed her eyes and rubbed her temples. She exhaled a sigh. “Everything. So many things, I don’t know where to start, and I don’t know it all. I’ve kept myself sequestered in here with you to keep out of the influence of the council again. I didn’t want to forget anything so I could tell you.”
“Okay,” I said, the knot in my stomach pulling tighter. “Let’s start with Tristan. Where the hell is he? They have him, don’t they?”
Mom dropped her hands into her lap and opened her eyes. They filled with a deep sadness. “Honey, he’s . . . yes . . . they’re holding him prisoner.”
I sprang to my feet, looking around wildly for . . . something. Answers, I supposed. Or Tristan himself. “Why? Because we don’t have a daughter yet? Don’t they—”
An image of Lilith in Julia’s arms and Tristan holding them under his power flashed across my vision. The vampire’s words echoed in my mind: “You threaten a council member?” But after that . . . my mind drew a big blank.
“What happened out there? Do you know? All I remem—”
Mom jumped up and grabbed my hands. “What? What do you remember, Alexis? There are so many different versions about it. My sense is still blocked, so I can’t feel the truth at all.”
I stared past her, at the wall, as the memories flooded my mind. “I remember . . . chaos. The girl attacked us, but . . . I thought there was hope for her and tried to help her. Then Julia flew at us, nearly knocking me unconscious, and Tristan stopped her, but she already had Lilith in her arms, ready to kill her. Then there was the traitor—the one I’d heard here on the island. Only her mind, though. I never saw her. I did see someone hiding in the woods, but couldn’t see their face. And . . . that’s it. That’s all I remember.” I returned my gaze to Mom, and an array of emotions played across her face. “Why? What’s everyone else saying?”
“Julia’s accusing Tristan of attacking her, a council member, and attempting to kill the next Amadis daughter. If the girl doesn’t make it . . .”
My breath caught. “What do you mean? What happened to her?”
“She’s been unconscious this whole time, like you, but she’s muc
h weaker. It doesn’t look good.”
“My daughter . . .” I breathed, my eyes stinging and my throat tightening. I hadn’t known her as a daughter, and now I might not ever have that chance.
Mom squeezed my hands. “Honey, we’re not sure she’s your daughter. It’s practically impossible. Rina and I were at the birth.”
“But Rina does know! She had a secret, and this is it. She kept her from us because of her powerful Daemoni blood.”
Mom frowned. “I understand that makes sense. But there are so many things that don’t make sense. They’re testing the girl’s physical and magical qualities right now, to determine lineage.”
A hundred-thousand thoughts and emotions swirled through me. The grief, however, didn’t consume me. Not like it would if Dorian had been unconscious for this long. The worry encompassed the feeling of sadness when a young child, any young child, was in grave danger combined with the loss of hope—hope for the Amadis. Regardless of the test results, Lilith would never be able to lead the Amadis. Tristan and I had failed them again. He’d been—
“Tristan didn’t do it, Mom! He protected her. Julia was the one . . . Wait. If they don’t know yet that she’s ours, how can Julia accuse Tristan of doing anything to the next daughter?”
“She argues that it seemed a strong enough possibility so whether or not it’s true, he intended to kill the next daughter. She’s claiming he’s the traitor.”
“This is absolutely ridiculous! It’s Julia. Julia and her creepy sidekick who’s too afraid to show her face. Let me guess. No one has a clue about this other person, right?”
Mom shook her head. “No. There’s no proof Julia is working with anyone and no proof Julia did anything wrong.”
“But she attacked me. And her argument about the next daughter can be turned around against her. She had the girl trapped in her arms! And explain who the hell knocked me out.”
Mom blew out a heavy breath. “Here’s the story as I’ve pieced it together. Julia had called Martin the night before and told him about your plans. He agreed with Rina that Julia should accompany you and told her he would try to get out there in time, if he could. It took him a while to find you, and when he finally did, he said Daemoni were encroaching. You—” Her breath hitched, and she swallowed before continuing, sounding as though tears filled her voice. “You were hit by dark magic—that’s why you were out for so long. A Daemoni warlock’s spell. I . . . I was so worried.”
“Mom.” I tightened my grip on her hands. “I’m okay now. It’s okay.”
She sniffed and then nodded, but still not behaving like herself, she threw her arms around me and cried. “What would I do if I lost you, Alexis? Nothing else—”
“I love you, too.” I patted her back, feeling at a loss of what to do. Even at her worst moments of distress, Mom had never acted like this. “But can you please tell me the rest?”
She sat up, wiped her eyes, and cleared her throat. “Right. Well, Martin fought the Daemoni off until they disappeared. By the time he got to the clearing, you—” She sniffled again and took a deep breath, blowing it out slowly as if releasing the concern once and for all. “You, Owen, the were-croc, and the little girl were on the ground, and Julia and Tristan were in a stand-off. Martin diffused the situation, and then Owen came to. They were able to get you all to the airport, where Char and I met them with Dorian, and we took the Amadis jet here.” She flipped her hand in the air. “By then, Julia had enough of the council convinced about Tristan, and they took him into custody as soon as we landed on the island. I’ve been in here with you ever since, and Char’s been bringing me updates.”
I exhaled a sharp breath I hadn’t realized I’d been holding and sat hard on the edge of the bed. “What about the old woman?”
“She tells the same story as Tristan—and now you—but no one will listen to her. Nobody feels she’s Amadis. It’s strange, actually, as if she’s a witch with no allegiance to either side.”
“I don’t know that she’s a witch,” I muttered. “She doesn’t have a mage’s mind signature. Not exactly, anyway.”
“Then you see what I mean. She’s not quite right . . . so no one trusts her. She’s being held, too.”
“Did she say anything about Lilith? Explain her?”
“Like I said, no one trusts her to listen to her, but she won’t talk right now anyway. I think she’s just an old, confused woman who doesn’t really understand what’s going on, what she’s been put into the middle of. She’s grieving, too. They won’t let her near the girl.”
“And Jax? The were-croc?”
“I think Martin let him go. He didn’t witness anything useful, and Rina didn’t find anything suspicious in his thoughts. They had no reason to believe he was a part of any conspiracy. He only wanted to help you.”
Whew. I liked Jax and would have hated hearing he’d been part of setting us up, which, obviously, we had been. He didn’t deserve to be dragged into this farce.
Convinced I had enough grasp of the situation, I stood up and pulled on my leather gear, which lay clean and folded neatly at the foot of my bed, the only clothes in sight.
“What are you doing?” Mom asked.
“Going to see Tristan, of course, and getting him out of there. He doesn’t belong in jail. If anything, Julia does.”
Mom’s eyes flew to the door and back to me. “You’ll see him soon. His trial’s this afternoon.”
“What? Already? Then I definitely need to see him first.” I moved for the front room of the suite.
Mom shook her head and looked again at the door. Her eyes tightened, and I could tell she tried to communicate with me. I opened my mind to her. “They’re guarding us.”
Then I’ll flash. Where is he?
A vision of the corridor under the Council Hall popped into her mind. “Third on the right. But wait.”
“You need to rest, honey, before the trial,” she said aloud as she leaned over and appeared to pick something up off the floor. Her thumb moved and my dagger appeared in her hand. I tucked it into my belt and made it invisible again, thought thank you, and flashed.
Someone apparently had shielded the Council Hall because I didn’t appear inside the dark cellar as expected. Instead, I showed up right outside the door at the top of the stairs in the rear of the building. A guard—a Were in human form—blocked the doorway. He didn’t bow.
“No visitors,” he said curtly as I stepped toward the door.
“Do you forget my authority?” I demanded as haughtily as I could muster.
“Until I have further orders, you have no authority. Sorry, Ms. Alexis, but I can’t let you in.”
I flexed my left hand, preparing to show him I did have authority, but then Mom popped by my side, and we both looked at her with surprise.
She shrugged. “Thought I could help out.”
The guard and I both smiled, each of us under a different impression of whom she planned to help. Mom placed her hand on the guard’s arm while talking to him in hushed tones. She nodded her head slowly a few times, and he started nodding his, too.
“Yes, Ms. Sophia, a nap’s a good idea,” he said. “I didn’t get any sleep last night.”
He slid down the wall until he landed on his rump. His eyes began to droop close. Mom jerked her head at the door.
“More will be here soon for the trial,” she thought. “Make it quick.”
I rushed through the door and hurdled the entire flight of steps, landing at the bottom with a jolt. I ran to the third cell on the right, surprised to see the heavy wooden door wide open. But metal bars still kept me out. Tristan stood on the other side, his hands pressing at the space between the bars, but unable to go through it. Something blocked him from reaching out. I leaned against the bars and pushed my own arms through the openings—nothing stopped me from going in.
“Tristan,” I half-breathed, half-cried as I caressed his beautiful, but tired looking face.
“Ma lykita,” he said, his voice full of
relief. “You’re okay.”
“We have to get you out of here.”
He shook his head. “Magic blocks me from even passing my hands through, so I can’t use my powers. But it’s fine. We’ll deal with this their way.”
“But their way is wrong. They’re all screwed up. You know what will happen.”
“I do.” His jaw tightened, making the muscle jump. “But there’s a reason for it all, my love. Whatever happens, it’s meant to be.”
“Not if they’re doing it on their own or . . . with the wrong influence.”
“There’s nothing we can do, Lex. We have to trust them. In the end, they’ll do what’s right.”
Trust them? Ha! “You mean trust them to split us up? Because you know that’s what they’ll do. They want to get rid of you. This is all the traitor’s doing, Tristan. There’s nothing right about it.”
“Lexi,” he said, his voice lower yet still firm. He took my hands in his and pulled them to his soft lips. “Lexi, my love, none of it matters. We have to remain loyal. We have to do what’s best for the Amadis. This is the best—”
“What? Separating us is not what’s best. It’s the absolute worst! I can’t do that again, Tristan.”
He pursed his lips together. “If it comes to that, you have to, Lex. It’s your responsibility and if you do it—and you are strong enough—you can bring the Amadis back together. You have to live your duty and your purpose. Even if it means without me.” He paused for a long moment. When he spoke again, his voice came out bleaker than I’d ever heard it before. “What we have . . .” He stopped again and swallowed hard. “What we have, Alexis . . . it’s not real.”
My eyes bugged with incredulity. Had the crazies overtaken him, too? “What the hell are you talking about? How can you say that?”