by Kristie Cook
“So, please,” I continued, softening my tone to more of a plea. “Let us go north. Blossom’s been working a spell, and together we felt Dorian north—at least north of us. We can keep trying until we find exactly where he is. We’ll convert souls along the way, I promise. But please let me do this. I’m useless to the Amadis without Dorian home, where he belongs, if only for a few more years.”
“I’m sorry, Alexis,” she said. “I can’t give that—hold on.”
She paused again, and I assumed someone on her end was speaking to her.
“Honey,” she said when she came back on the line, “Rina wants you to come here to the Island. Immediately.”
Crap. Crap, crap, crap. I must have pushed a little too far. “Is that really necessary?”
“She wants to speak with you in person.”
I rubbed my forehead, wishing my flash range reached a lot farther than a hundred miles at a time. But it didn’t, and going overseas to the Island meant traveling by plane. I didn’t have time to fly all the way to Greece. And who knew how much farther away from Dorian the trip would take me?
“Tell her I get it. My purpose and all that. I don’t think we should waste any more time, with everything going on.” Hopefully I showed enough agreement to placate them both.
“Alexis, you don’t deny Rina,” Mom said, her voice full of warning. “When the matriarch calls for your audience, you come.”
I frowned, thankful Mom couldn’t see me. “Is that what she’s doing? Because I really don’t need to hear her tell me everything you already have. Like I said, I get it. You two—and the rest of the Amadis—aren’t budging.”
“Come to the Island, Alexis,” Mom said more firmly. “You and your team. Rina wants a personal meeting with all of you, and she’s already sent the jet.”
“All of us?”
Mom paused again, and I assumed she spoke with Rina.
“Yes, all of you,” she confirmed when she returned. “When you’re done here, you’ll be starting on your mission. So you and Char ensure the safe house and the colony are settled and will be able to operate without you. I don’t know how long you’ll be gone.”
What? I didn’t understand them. A minute ago she told me to stay nearby to save those souls in our own backyard, and now they wanted us to fly halfway around the world and didn’t know when we’d be back? All of us tied up in this unnecessary trip?
“But—”
“Matriarch’s orders, Alexis. Don’t delay.”
Great. Freakin’ great. I hung up the phone, and once again, I wanted to hurl it across the room. Instead, I flopped backward onto Dorian’s bed and covered my face with my hands. How could Rina and Mom do this to me? To Dorian? How could they claim to love someone so much but then abandon him? How did I know they wouldn’t do the same to me or Tristan or anyone else? I thought I’d made a valid point—if your own loved ones couldn’t rely on you, how could anyone else? But apparently, the Amadis didn’t believe the same way. Or, at least, the matriarch didn’t foster that kind of culture. When I became matriarch, that would change.
“We’d better get going,” Tristan said. “We don’t want to leave the matriarch waiting, and she’s given us the jet, which could probably be used elsewhere.”
I pulled my hands away from my face to give him a dirty look. Was he as bad as them?
“The sooner we get this done and over with, the sooner we can get on track to find Dorian,” he added.
“We can keep trying the spell while we’re gone.” Blossom glanced around Dorian’s room. “His presence here really helped. I need to take something . . . .”
I sat up and lifted the blanket bunched in my hands. “How about this?” I pushed my face into it once again and inhaled. “It smells so much like him. He’s all over it.”
“A whole blanket is kind of awkward to carry around,” she said. “And I can’t flash with it if we need to.”
Oh, right. I pulled out my dagger and cut away two squares that could be folded and stuffed into a pocket—one for her and one for me. Then I stood and blew out a heavy breath.
“He has a room at Rina’s, too, so maybe we can try again there.” I handed her the piece of fabric. I stuck mine in the back pocket of my leathers and returned my dagger to its sheath. “I guess we get this done with. Another stupid lecture. You ever been to the Island, Blossom?”
Her face paled, and she shook her head. “Oh, no. Never. I don’t even know what to do.”
“Well, we’re going. All of us. Matriarch’s orders.” I let out a hollow chuckle. “This should be especially fun with Vanessa.”
Tristan and I gathered a couple of things we could take with us, secured our home as best as possible, and then flashed to the safe house. With Vanessa and Sheree’s assistance, Charlotte had everything taken care of. The people she’d brought to the mansion with her were experienced converters, and since Sonya proved to be an easy patient, they were already discussing their first target in Fort Myers Beach.
“Don’t worry about a thing here,” Char said to me when my impatience and worry began to show. “They’re a good team. Everything’s taken care of.”
“It’s not that,” I said. “I’m glad they’re here. I just wish we were rushing off for other reasons than for a trip to the damn Island. And it’s my fault Rina’s being a pain.”
Charlotte’s brow shot up. “I’m sure she has her reasons for needing to see us. Remember to never underestimate her.”
Right. A lesson we learned with the Martin/Kali debacle. When we all thought Rina had lost her mind completely to the sorceress, she’d actually been setting up Kali’s downfall and Tristan’s acquittal.
Before we left, Tristan and I took a few minutes to be alone in the suite we’d been using.
“I hate this,” I told him as he pulled me into his arms. “I feel like we’re putting more miles between us and Dorian rather than fewer.”
“I do, too, ma lykita, but who knows where they’ve taken him? There’s a chance he could be in Europe or Asia, just as much as here. He could be anywhere by now.”
I let out a sigh. “You’re not making me feel any better.”
He leaned down and brushed a kiss across my lips. “Does that help?”
One corner of my mouth tugged slightly. “Maybe a little.”
“I’d offer a lot, but we’d better get going. The last thing we need to do right now is anger the matriarch.”
I nodded. “Right. We’ll do what we need to do to make them happy so we can get to work on our own plans.”
“While we’re there, do me a favor. In fact, as we move forward, do this for me, please.”
I eyed him with hesitation.
“Don’t do anything stupid,” he warned, not for the first time. I had a bad habit of doing stupid things like jumping into situations that were over my head. “You’re no good to anyone, especially Dorian, if you’re dead.”
I pressed my lips together and nodded again. “I promise I won’t be stupid.”
He pulled me tighter against him, and I leaned up on my toes for a long kiss that didn’t last long enough.
“We need to go,” he murmured, and I frowned. He caught my protruding lower lip between his teeth before delivering another kiss. “Let’s get this over with.”
He scooped up Sasha, whose wing had completely grown back, from the bed and deposited her into my arms before we left the suite. We found the rest of the team waiting for us in my office.
“Are we ready?” Charlotte asked. Blossom, Sheree, and Vanessa all nodded.
“Wait,” came an urgent voice from the foyer. Bree flew into my office and came to a halt, her golden eyes glancing around at everyone. “I need a minute with Alexis, please.”
“The jet’s waiting,” Charlotte said.
“I only need a moment,” the faerie insisted. “Tristan, you can stay, too.”
The others filed out, and Bree closed the door behind them.
“Take off your necklace,” she demande
d. I lifted a brow. “Sorry to be blunt, but the jet is waiting. For me, too. Ms. Katerina has summoned me as well. But first, just in case, I want to take care of something.”
“What do you need the necklace for?” Tristan asked as he took Sasha from my arms so I could unclasp the chain. He’d fixed it for me last night after Sonya/Kali had ripped it from my neck.
Bree ran a hand through her golden hair. “When I took you through the veil to go to Hades, Tristan, I wasn’t allowed to remain in the Otherworld, but they did allow me to stay temporarily. The Angels—”
“Did they tell you where Dorian is?” I broke in with excitement.
“No.” She frowned. “I’m sorry. It must not be my place to know. But they did say I’ll be meeting them again soon, so maybe . . . .” Her voice trailed off as she gave a noncommittal shrug, leaving me with little confidence they would help. “For now, though, they ordered me to take care of that stone of yours once and for all so we don’t have any more issues with it.”
I reached my hands behind my neck, but paused. “What does that mean? Take care of it?”
She held out her hand and wiggled her fingers. “I’m going to make sure you can’t lose it again so easily—or that it can’t be taken from you. I’m going to make it permanently in your possession.”
Tristan and I exchanged a look, but he gave me a nod of consent. With a little trepidation, I dropped the pendant into Bree’s hand.
“Sorry about the artwork, Tristan,” she said as she twisted the red triangular stone out of the pendant he’d designed, then dropped the silver into his hand. “But this is a better way for Alexis to keep the stone.”
She then moved my leather jacket to the side and pulled the bustier down to expose the Amadis mark on the rise of my breast. Tristan and I traded another look as Bree cupped her hand over the mark and pressed the rock against my skin.
“Is this okay?” she asked.
Understanding now, I gave her my consent, then gasped as a warm tingle fluttered into my flesh, followed by the stone. After several heartbeats, Bree pulled her hand away and nodded her approval. The Angel stone hadn’t sunken down and hidden in my heart, as it had with Tristan when he was a little boy. Rather, it had embedded itself into my skin, a ruby-colored embellishment to my Amadis mark.
“Will my skin grow around it?” I asked, perplexed.
“No,” Bree said. “You want it exposed to do what it needs to do for Tristan. But now your connection will remain strong and steady, and no one can take it away ever again.”
Well. I would take this bit of goodness after all the bad in the past seven days that felt like seven lifetimes. If only we had time to try out the stone’s fertility qualities. But Tristan was right—the sooner we met Rina’s demands, the sooner we could begin the search for our son. And right now, Dorian was more important than the daughter we may never have. At least, in my eyes he was.
With that bit of business finished, we could finally set off. The Amadis jet had been waiting on us, and within two hours of hanging up with Mom, we were ready for takeoff.
“Ms. Alexis,” the pilot said before closing the cockpit door, “I suggest all of you find a seat for the duration and buckle your belts. We’ve been ordered to travel at warlock speed.”
“Warlock speed?” I asked.
“Yes. My co-pilot will be giving us a magical boost so we can cut the travel time in half.”
“Oh,” I said with mild surprise. I knew the Amadis jet kept a warlock on crew for safety reasons, but didn’t realize he could serve another purpose. At least Rina agreed we didn’t have time to waste. Which meant she really did have a good reason to see us in person—maybe more than to give my team and me a scolding about following orders and doing our duties? I could always hope.
Sheree and Blossom fidgeted in their seats for the entire trip, both of them nervous to go to the Island and possibly meet Rina. Although Mom hadn’t specifically said Rina wanted to talk to all of us, why else would she call my whole team? Probably to lecture them about keeping me on task. Making sure they understood what lay on the line if they followed my errant lead. And that dilemma caused most of their high-strung nerves—they wanted to go after Dorian as badly as I did, but hated the idea of defying the matriarch’s orders. In other words, they didn’t want to have to choose between Rina and me. Charlotte sat with them on the cream-colored leather sofa grouping, trying to calm them, but I couldn’t blame them for being a little edgy.
And Vanessa . . . the vamp wasn’t just nervous. Sitting in a row of seats by herself, she was downright frightened, wringing her hands and staring out the window with wide, glazed-over eyes. She trembled so hard, I was surprised she didn’t throw the whole jet off course or into a spin. Her fear was somewhat understandable—she’d done a lot of horrific things to the Amadis in the past—but she had to know by now that forgiveness had already been granted. Clemency was part of becoming Amadis.
So why was she so scared? Was I right to be suspicious? Had the last several days, or even months, been nothing but an act on her part? Were we taking our enemy right into the heart of the Amadis? With all of the betrayal lately, I couldn’t help but wonder. Especially after everything she’d put us through before and during her conversion.
Charlotte came over to the group of chairs where Tristan and I sat and slid into a seat across from us. She tapped her temple, and I tuned into her mind while burying my fingers into Sasha’s fur as the lykora slept on my lap.
“You should go talk to Vanessa,” she said. “She’s a wreck, and a jumpy vampire isn’t an asset. I’d do it, but she’s wary of me and seems to trust you.”
I chuckled to myself at the irony. Well, I don’t trust her. I don’t know if I ever can completely.
“Then what’s she doing here? Trust is necessary for us to succeed.”
We don’t have anywhere else to put her.
“Maybe you should leave her on the Amadis Island, then. Let the Island—”
Absolutely not. I wouldn’t dare.
Char let out a sigh. “I feel the Amadis in her and not a trace of Daemoni.”
I looked out the window at the dark ocean below us. I still don’t trust her.
“Alexis.” Charlotte paused until I returned my gaze to her. “You need to talk to her as much for yourself as for her.”
I glanced over at Vanessa, somewhat content to see the normally cocky vamp looking frightened. We’d been through so much together, and her hatred of Lucas and the Daemoni had felt very real, especially while we were struggling to escape Hades. We’d worked well as a team, and I had trusted her. Until we came home to a nightmare. Tristan and I had thought her desire to convert had been a trick, but we’d let Owen convince us otherwise. But now I couldn’t trust Owen. So maybe Tristan and I had been right in the beginning. I didn’t say this to Char, though.
I don’t think a little fear is a bad thing for her, I said instead. If anything, it’s humbling her, which she needs before she sees Rina. And I’ll feel a lot better after Rina assesses her.
Charlotte pursed her lips, but nodded. “I’ll be ready to throw a shield, but I think if Vanessa does anything, it’ll be more out of nerves than malice. As surprised as I am, I personally can’t deny what I feel from her.”
I wondered if she’d feel the same if she knew Vanessa’s amorous feelings for Owen . . . and that Owen had possibly felt the same about the vamp. But it wasn’t my place to tell her. Besides, I didn’t need to add any more drama to my already battered team. Even if Rina declared Vanessa clean of all evil, we had enough problems. No need to create more.
I closed my eyes, done with the subject of Vanessa and wanting to focus on my son instead. My heart ached with the pain of missing Dorian, but the ire swelled again, which was good. I needed that fire to remain fed because if it died, my heart would go cold and die with it, leaving only ashes of memories to blow away in the wind.
Mom met us at the runway although it was nearly midnight here, and swallowed me in a hug a
s soon as I stepped off the plane and onto the Amadis Island. The Island itself gave me a burst of positive energy I desperately needed, along with Mom’s love. I clung to her small body, happy to see her even under the circumstances. Even with her coldhearted demands of me. After all, I hadn’t seen her for nearly a year.
“We have a very short time and much to accomplish,” Mom said when she pulled away from me and eyed the rest of my team in the darkness. I didn’t know why Rina had insisted on us leaving so quickly when we’d arrive here in the middle of the night. “The matriarch has been anxiously waiting for your arrival. Come with me.”
Chapter 7
We followed Mom’s flash to the other end of the Amadis Island and into the matriarch’s mansion, where fires in the hearths and torches in the wall sconces threw an eerie dance of light and shadow onto the walls and everyone’s faces. Vanessa’s eyes bounced around wildly, her body tense as a tightly coiled spring ready to burst free. But if she’d truly had anything to worry about, she wouldn’t have come off the plane. Actually, she wouldn’t have stepped foot on the jet in the first place, because both the plane and the Island were shielded, meaning she had no escape. So either she was letting her guilt get the best of her—or she’d signed up for a suicide mission, knowing she’d die here if she attempted anything.
We stood in the grand foyer where the staircase swept upwards to the second and third floors, and Mom turned to look at us. Her focus fell on Vanessa.
“The matriarch wants to see you first,” she said to the vampire before looking at the rest of us. “You may wait in the sitting room. I’ll be back in a moment.”
Vanessa’s gaze found me, her eyes wide. “Is she going to do that mind-spying thing you can both do?”
I shrugged. Probably, but if you have nothing to hide, there’s nothing to worry about. Right?
Her eyes tightened, and her lips pursed. “It’s like letting her peer into my soul.”
If you’re truly converted like everyone believes, including yourself, then your soul is wiped clean.
She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. My memories are still there.”