by Kristie Cook
I slapped my hand over my mouth, but my gasp was still audible. My body began to tremble as the bitch continued, filling me with anger.
“We believe the bombs caused extensive damage, but we will not be complacent. These creatures are difficult, nearly impossible to kill, as many people have learned when they tried to protect themselves from attack today. We will continue seeking out members of this most dangerous faction, called the Amadis, as an end to them will likely end all of the attacks. Beware if any of these non-human entities approach you and offer protection. None of them are safe, especially those claiming to be good, because they tell only lies. They will try to deceive you into welcoming them into your homes so they can kill you when you least expect it. We are most especially interested in locating this pair.”
The scene of the press conference disappeared from the screen, replaced by photos filling the entire space with two very familiar faces—Tristan’s and mine. And I couldn’t help it. The urge started in the pit of my belly and bubbled up my throat until it burst out of my mouth. I nearly doubled over with the giggles.
“She . . . can’t be . . . serious,” I gasped as I tried to regain control.
“They have assumed various aliases over the years,” the woman’s voice continued as our mugs remained on the screen, “but you will notice the woman is none other than A.K. Emerson, the internationally bestselling author who supposedly died two-and-a-half years ago while honeymooning with this man. They have both faked their deaths, proving their guilt. Emerson’s books, read by millions around the world, are about these exact same creatures who have murdered so many people today, on her orders. She must be found, and she must be stopped.”
“Looks to me like the shiela’s pretty serious, princess,” Jax said.
“I don’t even . . .” I shook my head as the giggles over the ridiculousness of it all died away. I let out one last laugh. “What the hell?”
“Dude, Alexis,” Owen said, turning in his seat to look at us, “you’re like Harry Potter. They just made you Public Enemy Number One.”
I rolled my eyes. My body still shook from the shock and absurdity, and a part of me still wanted to laugh. But another part of me wanted to fly into a rage. Control. Maintain control. Do not lose your temper. It took everything I had to hang on to it.
“She’s obviously working for the Daemoni.” Blossom gestured toward the woman on the screens. “She pronounced Amadis perfectly on her first try.”
“They’re using their best weapon,” Tristan said from beside me.
I nodded. “Lies and deceit. The Daemoni have effectively turned all humans against us. They didn’t have to transform the norms into vamps and shifters to build their army, after all.”
“That’s good for the norms’ souls,” Sheree piped up.
“True,” I said, “but not good for us. How are we going to fight the norms when we’re supposed to protect them?”
The question haunted me through what little remained of the night. I must have drifted off because when the nightmarish vision returned, the woman being shot by the Norman soldiers didn’t just look like me, but was me. I’d replaced Mom as their target.
I didn’t visit the cliffs the next morning. The bombing yesterday loosened my grip on the past and brought me fully into the present. I longed for guidance from Mom, Rina, and the rest of my ancestors more than ever, but enjoying my solitude on the side of a cliff while watching the sun rise felt like a luxury I couldn’t afford.
“I suppose it’s time to call my first council meeting,” I said to Tristan as I sat at Rina’s desk—my desk—sipping coffee and staring mindlessly at all of the newspapers spread out in front of me. Headlines screamed WAR and ATTACK and THEY’RE REAL! on the front pages. My face was plastered all over them, right next to Tristan’s.
The talking heads on television droned on with words that had been force-fed to them, speculating with each other about the ongoing supernatural attacks and the mysterious and very dangerous Amadis faction that had instigated it all.
“I’d say that’s a good idea,” Tristan replied from his seat on the couch by the fireplace. “You might want to wait until we get word from Solomon, though. He should be able to give us news straight from the U.N.”
God bless Solomon. I wouldn’t have blamed him if he’d been locked in his room, mourning Rina’s death as her life-mate, but he’d said he needed a distraction, so he returned to his post at the United Nations a few days ago. We hadn’t heard from him since everything went down yesterday, though.
“Good point. I suspect some of the council members need another day to help their areas recover, too.”
Tristan looked over at me. “Don’t expect them all to show up in person. A conference call will have to suffice.”
“That’s better anyway. I don’t want anyone leaving their regions.” I mentally called out to Char and asked her to give everyone a call and set it up, and then I stood and walked over to Tristan. My body purposely blocked his view of the television screen and CNN, which reported nothing new, but merely played scenes from yesterday on a continuous loop. He reached out to place his hands on my hips, but I didn’t budge when he tried to pull me to him. “In the meantime, we need to make sure they can’t attack us like that again.”
His gaze jumped up to my face, and he lifted an eyebrow. “Retaliation?”
I widened my eyes with mock innocence and placed my hand on my chest. “Amadis wouldn’t do such a thing!”
His eyes narrowed with skepticism. “But you would.”
My lips turned slightly in a half-smile, and I cocked my head. “And so would you.”
He didn’t argue with me. “What’s going on in that head of yours?”
“I think we can figure out where one of the Daemoni’s covens is. Several of their mind signatures went straight east when they left, and I saw this in one of their minds.” I shared with him a visual of some kind of residential compound outside a city comprised of modern buildings mixed with old Middle Eastern architecture and a bridge somewhat resembling the Golden Gate in San Francisco.
“Based on that skyline, it looks like the outskirts of Istanbul.”
I smiled. “I knew you’d know. If we get close enough, I can find their signatures again and pinpoint their location.”
He pulled me harder this time, into his lap. His strong arms embraced me, and I leaned my head against his shoulder. “And what do you plan to do, ma lykita? Convert them?”
I shrugged, not having considered that possibility. “Of course, if they want to, but that’s unlikely. Their minds were pure evil, and I want to get rid of them. Make sure they can never attack us like that again.”
“So retaliation.”
“Well, it’s not really retaliation if our goal is to defend ourselves, right? To prevent more people from being harmed or killed?”
“Alexis—”
I sat up and turned to look him in the eye. “We’re protecting our island and our people. We might be protecting norms, too, because if they’re bombing villages and colonies, Tristan, then they could be killing nearby norms, also.”
“Ma lykita—”
“If we can show our people that we can stop this coven, then they’ll see how they can stop the others. We owe it to the families who lost loved ones yesterday. To those who fear for their lives now.”
“Alexis, I’m not arguing with you. I agree.”
I drew back and stared at him. “You do?”
“Yes. And I think the others will, too.”
“Even if it’s not the Amadis way?”
“Everything else in the world has changed. We must, too.”
I nodded as Mom’s, Rina’s, and Cassandra’s words from yesterday morning came back to me. “Exactly. And we don’t have to kill them. We just need to flush them out and expose them for who they truly are. Including Lucas. We’re going to fight fire with fire. He’s not the only one who can use the media to sway the public.”
Tristan smiled, catchin
g on. “The world needs to know who the real Public Enemy Number One is.”
I pressed my lips together and stared at my hands twisting in my lap. “Do you honestly think this is a good idea? Or am I just being hot-headed as usual?”
“I think it’s a show of strength, which is necessary. Between the change in leadership, the attacks on the Normans, and the bombings of the Amadis, the Daemoni will think we’re weak and disorganized, trying to rebuild. They won’t be expecting this.”
I mulled over this and finally nodded, but couldn’t quite look up at him yet.
“You know I’m completely relying on you for this strategy stuff, right? Because I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. Everything comes from my gut instinct, but that usually leads me to doing stupid things.”
He lifted my chin, forcing me to look up at him. “I won’t let you do anything stupid, my love. I’m here for you. I’m by your side, as I’ve promised I would be.”
His eyes studied mine for a long moment, as though ensuring I understood and accepted.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
His mouth spread into a lovely grin. “Do you really think I’d let my wife look bad? How would that reflect on me?”
I chuckled and rolled my eyes, and then mentally called my team to my office to formulate our plan.
“Good idea, but not the part where you go, Alexis,” Charlotte said after we’d mapped it all out. “It’s too dangerous.”
My head jerked to the side to glare at her. “You know I’m not staying behind. You need my telepathy.”
“I have to agree it’s too dangerous,” Blossom said as she combed her fingers through her long, dark blond hair. My gaze shot to her now. She knew me better than to think I’d cower from a fight just because I was the matriarch. “Those sorcerers do a number on your head. It can’t be good for you.”
My glare softened with her concern for the headaches the sorcerers gave me.
“Then your telepathy won’t be any good anyway,” Vanessa added. “And since they seem to like your electrical power so much, they’ll drain your energy, too, making your whole self useless.”
I suppressed a frustrated growl. The sorcerers, the Daemoni’s most powerful mages, could pull energy from the world to boost their own magic. Kali had a special magnetism to my electrical powers, like vampires had to my blood, and she’d tried to drain me every chance she had. No doubt the other sorcerers would, too.
“I’m going,” I insisted as I stood up to my full height—which wasn’t much—and crossed my arms over my chest. “Stop ganging up on me.”
“Chances are low the sorcerers will even be there,” Tristan said. “They don’t play well with others.”
“Agreed,” Owen piped up. “I seriously doubt they’re shacking up with a coven of mages weaker than them. It’s not like they need the protection.”
Charlotte’s mouth twisted as she considered this, but she had to know the guys were right. She, and Blossom and Vanessa, too, also had to know their argument was futile.
“We’d better be prepared,” Char said as her way of giving in. “Vanessa, stay close to her. If someone gets a drain on her powers, you’ll have to break the connection.”
“Sure, I’ll get my ass fried. Again,” Vanessa grumbled, and I gave her a grateful smile.
“What if the island’s attacked again while we’re gone?” Sheree asked. “Char and Owen won’t be here to help with the shield.”
“Then that means we’ve failed,” I muttered. “The whole point is to keep them from attacking again.”
“Unless other mages come from somewhere else,” Vanessa said. “There are covens all over.”
I looked at Tristan. His eyes were already a little glazed as he considered the options to determine the best solution.
“We’ll be facing some powerful mages, even if the sorcerers aren’t with the coven,” he said after a moment. “We need Char and Owen with us.”
Owen gave a sharp nod. “Damn straight.”
“Wouldn’t miss it,” Charlotte agreed, and I glared at her again. She shrugged. “This is my job.”
“And mine, too,” I countered. She opened her mouth to argue, but then snapped it shut.
“Stubborn like your mother,” she groused, and for once, I accepted that remark.
“So we need to gather all the mages we can to the council hall and have them work together to keep Owen’s shield up,” Tristan said. “Blossom?”
She nodded. “I’ll stay here.”
Jax shifted his weight and rubbed his hand over his bald head as he stared at the floor. I didn’t have to read his mind to know his dilemma.
“Stay here in case Blossom and the others need you, Jax,” I said.
His eyes shot up to me with surprise, and I nodded. He gave me a grateful smile. He hadn’t wanted to choose between protecting me and protecting Blossom, but I didn’t see why he had to make that choice. Being near a city in the desert, this mission didn’t necessarily require the kinds of advantages a were-croc from the Australian Outback provided.
“Better hope the council doesn’t get a whiff of this plan,” Charlotte said once we’d finished going over everything. “Especially your part.”
“Times have changed,” I said. “We have, too, and they need to get used to it. Besides, with them, it’s better to ask forgiveness than permission.”
“You don’t need to ask anyone for permission or forgiveness,” she replied. “You just need to be prepared for some backlash.”
I snickered. The sass she’d just given to me was nothing compared to how the council, and probably many Amadis, would react, but that was okay. In fact, it was all part of my and Tristan’s overall plan.
I placed my hands on my hips, jutting one to the side as I looked at the faces of my team members. “I’ll say it right now, so it doesn’t come as a surprise at tomorrow’s meeting. You guys are my council members. There are some of Rina’s who I will keep, like Solomon. But anyone who gives me backlash for doing what I’m supposed to do—for protecting the Amadis and the Normans—and doesn’t like how I do it, well, then, I don’t need them. This is war, and we are going to fight, not stand around like a bunch of pussycats.” I paused as my gaze fell on the were-tiger, then quickly added, “No offense, Sheree.”
“None taken,” she said with a small smile.
“There may be casualties,” I continued. “God forbid, but we might actually have to kill people, and maybe not just Daemoni. Not when they have the norms turned against us.”
“This is no longer a gentleman’s war,” Tristan said from beside me, succinctly saying what I’d been trying to iterate. “The secrets are out. The norms are more involved in our war than they’d ever been before in the history of mankind. It’s going to be bloody, and it’s going to get very ugly.”
“And whether we like it or not, we’re going to get as bloody and ugly as we need to if it means stopping the Daemoni,” I said. “We will not let them take over this world.”
“Cheers to that.” Char pretended to lift a glass to us.
“You know you’re preaching to the choir?” Owen asked.
I nodded. “Yeah, well, tomorrow will be a different story, and we need to know our choir is going to back us up.”
After they all left to prepare for tonight’s covert mission, Tristan and I sat on the antique couch and stared at the fire in the hearth.
“Nice job today,” he said as his hand gripped and kneaded my shoulder. “You sounded like a real matriarch.”
I snorted. “Did I?”
He nodded. “You were good.”
“I’m glad you think so. I’m still not so sure.”
“Trust me. You were.” He gave my neck a gentle squeeze. “It looks like they were right.”
“Who?”
“Rina and Sophia. You are ready for this.”
I blew out a sigh. “Not exactly. I guess I just know how to put on a good show.”
“Fake it till you make it, if that
’s what you have to do.”
I leaned into his arms, and my voice fell softly. “I don’t even know how to fake it. I don’t know what I’m doing at all.”
He slid his hand down my arm and pulled me closer to him. “You need to trust yourself more . . . and me and the rest of your team. Your new council.”
I rested my head against his chest. “I do trust you. And them. But not so much myself.”
He brushed the hair away from my face and grasped my chin between his thumb and forefinger, lifting my head up to look at him. The gold in his eyes sparkled. “You’re making smart decisions, my love. Trust me. If we thought this was a bad idea, we’d tell you. We’d give you other perspectives and ideas to consider, like Char did. That’s our job more than ever now.”
His eyes held mine for a long moment until I nodded with understanding. Then he leaned in and pressed his luscious lips to mine. My anxieties trickled away as his kiss continued to calm me.
Chapter 4
A little after midnight, after making sure Dorian was asleep and Sasha was planted at his door as his protector, Tristan and I prepared to head out to meet the others on the cliff. We’d hoped to have plenty of time to search the area around Istanbul until we found the coven, using the cover of darkness to hide from any norms who might be awake. Then we’d execute our plan right before sunrise, when most of the Daemoni would be hunkering down for the day, and be back here before anyone on the island missed us. In the meantime, Blossom would ensure the media received our news release in time to hit Europe’s morning newscasts.
We ran into the first snag of our plan before we could even leave the mansion. Julia stood at the bottom of the stairs, her dark eyes narrowed with suspicion as Tristan and I descended. The vampire who’d loved my grandmother in more ways than one had made herself scarce since the funeral, staying away from the mansion and anything to do with leading the Amadis. I hadn’t decided yet what to do about her, so I’d let her mourn in peace.