by Kristie Cook
“Alexis! Dorian!” he yelled again, panic filling his voice now.
A wail ripped from my insides, my only answer. My back arched up like a cat’s and then down as more pain exploded from my spine. Panting, I fought to catch my breath. The pain rolled away again, and I rocked back on my heels and pressed my palms to my thighs to stand. My entire body ached, and I felt like a two-ton weight was strapped to my back.
“Alexis!” Tristan’s voice came closer, yet still muffled and distant. “Dorian!”
“Here,” I called out to him. He finally ran into what remained of the rotunda, hurdling over the piles of rubble that had once been the domed roof. The sky lightened above us with dawn, illuminating his fretful face, bruised and battered, as were his arms.
“Dorian! Alexis!” he yelled again as his eyes darted around the demolished building.
“I’m right here,” I repeated, trying to yell louder. “I’m okay!”
Sort of. I was sure I would be after my body healed whatever back injury I’d suffered. It seemed to be already on its way.
Tristan’s gaze swept everywhere but failed to land on me. Instead, it fell on the pile of marble and stone at my feet.
“Oh, no. Oh, fuck. Alexis!” He lifted a boulder and threw it to the side. “God, no. Please no.”
“What are you doing? What’s wrong?” The fear and anguish in his voice scared the hell out of me.
He threw off another chunk of stone and boomed out, “NOOOO!”
The desperate sound broke me. Tears streamed down my face, and I didn’t know why. Dorian had flown away. Right? Wherever he’d gone, I was positive that he couldn’t possibly be buried under this pile. So what did Tristan see that had him so devastated? It couldn’t be what he thought. I wanted to hold him and hug him and tell him it would be okay. But I couldn’t move, and he couldn’t hear me. And then I looked away from his desperate yet lovely face and down at what he had found. My breath caught in my throat.
Legs with familiar boots pinned under another slab of marble. A midsection soaking in a pool of blood. A small, pale hand.
Tristan lifted the last two pieces and threw them to the side. He bent down in an unusually disgraceful way, slipped in the blood, and fell next to her. His whole body trembling, he slid his arms under her, wrapped them around her torso, and pulled her limp body to his chest, one hand against the back of her head, holding her tightly.
I shook my head in denial at the sight, straightening up as I tried to make sense of it all. Movement behind me made me jump and spin on my heel. Whatever had been back there disappeared, but something white moved behind me once more. I spun again, but every time I moved, it did, too. I looked over my shoulder, turning in place, but it remained in my peripheral vision. Realizing I acted like a puppy chasing its tail, I stopped. The movement behind me ceased, too.
But in front of me stood three women, looking all angel-like with their huge wings lifted and spread as though they were about to take flight. I grinned at first, happy to see Mom, Rina, and Cassandra, but almost immediately my smile faltered, and then slid away. Behind them, in the distance, standing with other people in a white mist that faded in and out, were Winston, Stefan, and Solomon. I shook my head, not understanding, and my gaze came back to Mom. My heart stuttered and tilted as I glanced at her wings, and my brow furrowed as I looked over my shoulder again. Now I knew what I’d seen moving before. As though appreciating the acknowledgement of their existence, my own wings lifted from my back and spread wide.
What the hell? I thought but didn’t dare to voice.
I noticed the clean freshness of the air for the first time and inhaled its clear, crisp scent. It didn’t match the scene of fire and destruction surrounding us. My frown deepened as I looked at my wings again, then at my mom and my grandmother, and then at my sobbing husband.
“Tristan,” I breathed, falling to my knees and trying to reach out for him, but unable to touch him, to comfort him.
He rocked back and forth, holding her body close with the most devastating and heart-wrenching expression I’d ever seen. Her chestnut colored hair spilled over his hand and arm as he clutched her to his chest as though if he let go, he’d fall completely apart.
“Alexis, my love,” he sobbed. “Don’t leave me, ma lykita.”
“Never,” I cried. “I’m here, Tristan. Always with you.”
His voice broke into a howl filled with a pain unlike anything I’d ever heard, sending wracks of grief all the way through my soul, shattering it into tiny shards. I lunged for him, needing to hold him, to return his embrace, to tell him I loved him, but I couldn’t push through to him, no matter how hard I tried or how many times I threw myself at him.
A hand landed on my shoulder, stilling me, and squeezed. “Alexis.”
I shook my head. “No.”
“Honey.”
“NO!” I yelled at her.
This could not be happening. I could not be watching my husband, my soul mate, my one and only true love who owned a piece of my heart and soul through the veil. We could not be on opposite sides of it. I could no longer breathe as I looked up at my mother, pressing my hand against the stone embedded in my chest—a piece of Tristan’s heart. I opened my mouth to speak, but the words became lodged in my throat. I could only shake my head and look back to Tristan’s dirt-smudged, tear-stained face that was still the most beautiful thing I’d ever seen.
“Am I . . .” I glanced up at Mom, whose face appeared as forlorn as my husband’s, and then back at Tristan. I swallowed, hard, and tried again. Blinking against the tears that flowed with each of my love’s sobs, I finally managed to push the question out. “Am I really . . . dead?”
Read on for an excerpt of Fractured Faith. For some extra fun, enjoy Wonder: A Soul Savers Collection of Holiday Short Stories & Recipes, including fun tales about Alexis, Tristan, and the gang, as well as new characters from both the Amadis and Daemoni. Available to read for free by joining my reader newsletter group, where you’ll also get other exclusive content and be the first to know about releases, sales, and special events.
Glossary & Cast
A.K. Emerson – Alexis’s famous pen name.
Alexis Ames Knight – Amadis matriarch. Married to Tristan Knight and mother of Dorian. Youngest daughter to ever go through the Ang’dora and to become matriarch. Her bio father is the leader of the Daemoni. Known abilities include telepathy, electricity, telekinesis, super strength, speed and senses, Amadis power.
Alys – Recently converted Amadis vampire.
Amadis (uh-MAH-dees) – Secret matriarchal society that serves as the Angels’ army on Earth, currently led by Alexis Ames Knight. Their purpose is to defend human souls from the Daemoni and to convert Daemoni souls to Amadis. Consist of a variety of supernatural beings.
Amadis daughters – Women of the bloodline of the original creator of the Amadis. Each daughter eventually serves as the matriarch.
Amadis power – A special power of love and light gifted to the Amadis by the Angels. The Amadis daughters receive it during the Ang’dora. Other society members are granted a lower level of power upon conversion and official acceptance into the Amadis.
Ammi – Started the London cell of AK’s Angels with her sister Kristen. Turned into a vampire and converted immediately by Char and Alexis.
Andrew – The Angel who fell from Heaven and fathered Cassandra and Jordan before eventually ascending (read about it in Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella).
Ang’dora – Literally means “gift of the Angels” (Ang = angels, dora = Greek word for gifts). An enigmatic change all Amadis daughters go through to receive their powers and supernatural abilities. Usually happens in middle age, after the daughter has experienced major milestones of life as a human, but Alexis went through it quite early. Except for Sophia, no Amadis daughter has given birth after the Ang’dora.
Armand – French vampire on Rina’s council, he oversees Amadis police force and is anti-Tristan. Killed by Daemoni.
> Attair – Amadis warlock from Arabia who’s on Rina’s council and is anti-Tristan.
Baby Cakes – Faerie who’s a friend of Bree, so she’s helped Tristan and Alexis. For a price, surely.
Blossom – Alexis’s best friend and council member. Amadis witch from the Daytona coven.
Bree – Tristan’s birth mother. Fae.
Carlie – Alexis’s human classmate during her first year at college. Now a doctor in D.C.
Cassandra – Half angel, half human who started the Amadis (read her story in Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella).
Chandra – Amadis were-tiger and member of the matriarch’s council who oversees the region of India.
Charlotte Allbright – Amadis warlock, Owen’s mother, Sophia’s best friend, and overall badass aunt figure to Alexis.
Cloak – A magic spell performed by mages that hides or makes invisible its subject. Often used in conjunction with a shield.
Conversion – The process of eliminating dark or light energy and replacing it with the opposite, then indoctrinating the supernatural being into the new society. The Amadis purpose is to convert Daemoni souls before they become damned, destroyed, or forever lost. However, on occasion, Amadis members will convert to the Daemoni (e.g., Ian).
Cruz – A Daemoni were-jaguar.
Daemoni (day-MAH-nee) – Satan’s servants as the Demons’ army on Earth, currently led by Lucas. They turn humans to harvest their souls and build their army. The Amadis try to stop them.
Debbie – Faerie in England who helps Alexis and Tristan from time to time. Cohorts with Stacey, another faerie.
Dorian Knight – Son of Alexis and Tristan, unknown creature but currently human. Known abilities include self-healing and flying. Converting to Daemoni?
Edmund – Summoned son and member of the Daemoni. Known abilities include flashing, super strength and speed, idiocy, and being an overall douche-canoe.
Eris – Daemoni witch from ancient times who helped Jordan create the potion that changed everything (read about it in Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella).
Faeries/Fae – Little is known about the fae as they tend to stay away from human affairs, as well as those of the Amadis and Daemoni. A handful do enjoy wreaking havoc in the Earthly realm, and sometimes they may even help out. They’re considered Otherworldly creatures, because their world is not exactly part of Earth. They closely guard their secrets about the Faerie realm.
Ferrer – Blacksmith mage who lives on Amadis Island.
Fertility Stone – The faerie stone Bree gave Tristan when he was a young boy, embedding it in his heart with the instructions to give it to his true mate. Only when she has possession of it can he father children. The stone also allows the holder to share their emotions so he could feel his mate’s love—but also the possessor’s darker emotions.
Flashing – The supernatural ability to transport to another location up to a hundred miles away (give or take) in the blink of an eye. While objects can be held or attached to the body during a flash, Tristan is the only known creature who can flash while carrying another person. While both Daemoni and Amadis can flash, it’s not necessarily a natural ability for all—some creatures have to be assisted by mages.
Galina – Russian Amadis warlock and a member of the matriarch’s council, she favors Tristan and Alexis.
Hades – Daemoni HQ, an underground city in the Taymyr Peninsula of Siberia.
Heather – Human girl, Dorian’s babysitter and friend, daughter of Phil and sister to Sonya.
Hunters – Humans (or are they?) who know about the supernatural creatures and kill them.
Ian – Member of the Daemoni, converted from the Amadis. Known abilities include compensating for his miniscule junk by spilling secrets, causing problems with the Amadis, and ruining Alexis’s life.
James – The boy Alexis punched in the nose when she was a teenager. Later became a hunter, and they met up again in D.C.
Jaxon – Were-croc from the Australian Outback who’s become part of Alexis’s team. Blossom’s beau.
Jeana – Sorceress who tortured Alexis and Owen to learn Lucas and Kali’s secret about the Norman soldiers. Mate of Merrick. Dead.
Jelani – Wizard from Africa who is one of the matriarch’s council members.
Jessica – Faerie with a southern accent, calls Lisa her sister.
Jordan – Early leader of the Daemoni who sought power over all, inadvertently helping to create the Amadis (read his story in Genesis: A Soul Savers Novella).
Julia Acerbi – Vampire and Amadis matriarch’s council member. She’d been one of Rina’s closest advisors and friends.
Kali – Daemoni sorceress who took over Martin Allbright’s body. Dead.
Katerina “Rina” Ames – Past matriarch of the Amadis. Known abilities included telepathy, super strength and speed, flashing, bonding souls, converting souls to Amadis, making ballgowns everyday attire. Ascended.
Kristen – Human girl who started the London branch of AK’s Angels with her sister, Ammi.
Kuckaroo – Amadis village in Australia.
Lesley – Daemoni vampire. Companion of Sonya and Alys.
Lilith – Bree’s daughter and Tristan’s sister. Dead.
Lisa – Faerie with a southern accent, calls Jessica her sister.
Lucas – Alexis’s sperm donor and leader of the Daemoni. Often (but not always) uses the last name Emerson.
Lykora – An Angelic being that is extremely loyal and highly protective of its master. When in hidden form, looks like a small white dog, but when in defensive mode, can grow as large as necessary to protect, has a wolf head and body, tiger stripes on a white coat, and feathered wings.
Mages – The wide classification of supernatural beings that can wield magic, including witches/wizards, warlocks, and Sorcerers/sorceresses. These general sub-classifications are based on strength of power. Some may call themselves by other names, depending on the type of magic they use, preference, or other reasons (e.g., Shamans, Druids, etc.).
Martin Allbright – Powerful warlock, Charlotte’s husband and Owen’s father.
Merrick – Sorcerer who tortured Alexis and Owen to learn the secret about the stones that control the Norman soldiers. Jeana’s mate. Dead.
Minh – Vietnamese witch, member of the matriarch’s council, oversees the Asian region.
Noah – Sophia’s twin brother, Rina’s son, a Summoned son with the Daemoni and controlled by Kali.
Norms/Normans – Normal humans.
Oliver Winston Chambers – Sophia’s true love who was turned to a vampire then buried under a building in Charlotte, North Carolina, for a century. Dead again.
Ophelia – Witch who serves as head of staff at the Amadis matriarch’s mansion.
Otherworld – Currently unknown but seems to refer to Heaven and Hell, as well as Faerie.
Owen Allbright – Warlock and Alexis’s so-called protector. Also like a brother to her and Tristan’s best friend. Known abilities include shielding, cloaking, magical bindings, flashing, and pushing everyone’s limits.
Phillip Jones – Human wife beater, child abuser, and overall scum of the earth who drove an older orange Camaro. Heather and Sonya’s father. Dead.
Portals – Magical doorways that can only be created and controlled by sorcerers/sorceresses and extremely powerful warlocks like Owen. They allow teleportation to anywhere in the world just by stepping through.
Rene – Daemoni were-cheetah who chases Alexis down in Hades.
Safe House – Homes, lodges, and other accommodations scattered around the world where Amadis can retreat to when under attack or when going through the conversion or transformation process.
Sasha – Dorian’s lykora.
Savio – Italian were-shark who was on Rina’s council and was anti-Tristan.
Seth – Tristan’s former name when he was Daemoni. The Daemoni still call him that.
Sheree – An Amadis were-tiger who’d been bitten and turned against her will by the Daem
oni. She was Alexis’s first ever conversion from Daemoni to Amadis. Now she helps with conversions of others and is a close friend to Alexis.
Shield – A magic spell performed by mages that puts a protective barrier around its subject. If the subject is not also cloaked, the subject can still be seen, so it’s often used in conjunction with a cloaking spell.
Shihab – Wizard from Arabia who sat on Rina’s council.
Solomon – Vampire, Katerina’s partner, and Amadis council member. Known abilities include being scary AF. Dead.
Sonya – Recently turned vampire, now converted to Amadis. Heather’s sister. A.K. Emerson’s “biggest fan” (a/k/a stalker).
Sophia Ames (a/k/a Mom a/k/a Mimi) – Alexis’s mother and Amadis daughter. Known abilities included telekinesis, summoning and manipulating water, persuading others to do as she likes, sensing the truth of a situation, super strength and speed, flashing, converting souls to Amadis. Ascended.
Sorcerers/Sorceresses – The most powerful of the mages that can boost their energy by siphoning more from the earth and everything around them. Their greed for power, narcissism, and general disdain for pretty much everyone make them loners and also not part of the Amadis.
Stacey – A faerie in England who helps Alexis and Tristan from time to time. Cohorts with Debbie.
Stefan – Warlock, council member, and Sophia’s former protector. Known abilities included creating a protective shield, flashing, serving as Alexis’s only father figure. Dead.
Summoned Sons – Amadis sons, twins of Amadis daughters/matriarchs, who always go to the Daemoni, as though magically summoned. Include Noah, Edmund, and Dorian.
Sundae – Alpha of the Georgia wolf pack. Trevor’s mate.
Sylvie (Aunt Sylvie) – Blossom’s aunt and leader of the Daytona Beach witch coven.
Trevor – Amadis werewolf and leader of the main Florida wolf pack. Sundae’s mate.
Tristan Knight – Former Daemoni converted to Amadis by Sophia. Matriarch’s second, best friend, and husband. Dorian’s dad. Sexy AF warrior. Known abilities include shooting fire from his palm, quickly determining the best solution if he knows enough of the facts, telekinesis, paralysis, instant killing power, super-duper strength and speed, brooding with guilt, giving a girl multiple Os.