Sacred Wrath

by Kristie Cook

  “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 copilot 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 Amadis 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 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. Yeah, well, nobody sensed Daemoni on Martin, either, did they?

  She didn’t respond, and I knew that was a low blow, but it made my point.

  “She’s not Martin, and definitely not Kali,” she eventually said.

  I shrugged. 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 dark energy, 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 as soon as I stepped off the plane and onto 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 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 c
lean.

  She rolled her eyes. “You know what I mean. My memories are still there.”

  Mom had already crossed the foyer and stopped at the doorway to the corridor that led to Rina’s office. She looked over her shoulder at Vanessa.

  “The matriarch is waiting,” she said.

  Vanessa still hesitated, and unable to help myself, I reached over and patted her arm. “You’ll be fine. Go on.”

  I didn’t point out that she should probably worry more about being alone with Mom than with Rina. After all, Vanessa had been taught to hate the matriarch, but she’d chosen to be a total bitch to Mom all on her own. Of course, if Vanessa was fooling all of us, this could be her opportunity to take Mom out. I ran a check for mind signatures and found Julia’s in the same hallway Mom and Vanessa headed down. So neither would be left alone with the other. Which was probably a good thing.

  Tristan and I led Charlotte, Blossom, Sheree, and Bree through the doorway from the main foyer and into the sitting room. The room looked the same as it always had—a fire burning in the large stone hearth, two brown leather couches sitting perpendicular to the fire with a table between them, and tapestries hanging on the walls. Including the one that covered an entire wall by itself and depicted the Ames family vine, with silvery-green leaves for the daughters and brown ones for the sons.

  My eyes zeroed in on Dorian’s leaf, which had not yet separated from the vine like the other sons’ leaves had. I didn’t know if that meant there was still hope for him, or if the tapestry simply hadn’t been updated yet. Obviously, I chose to believe in hope. In fact, if the leaf were to fall off the vine in front of my eyes this very moment, I wouldn’t believe it. I’d yank the thing down, wad it up, and throw it in the fire before I took that to mean anything.

  None of us seemed to be able to relax enough to sit in the sitting room. Charlotte and Bree stood by the fire warming themselves, Sheree and Blossom inspected the images in the tapestries, I paced, and Tristan watched me, though his mind didn’t really see me. It focused on the same thoughts mine did—all about Dorian. Where was he? Who was he with? What were they doing to him?

  Mom returned in a few moments, sans Vanessa. “Bree, Blossom, and Sheree, we have guest suites available for you. Charlotte, I assume you’ll be staying in your own place?”

  “What do you mean, staying?” I interrupted. “We don’t need rooms or beds or anything. We can sleep on the plane on the way back.”

  “Alexis, you’re not going straight back. Maybe tomorrow night or the next day. Rina has plans for you all, but for now, you may as well rest.”

  What are they up to now? Another distraction? I stared at my mother for a long moment, into her deep brown eyes.

  “She needs to assess Vanessa and wants to spend time with her,” Mom explained. “She wants to spend time with each of you. Please be patient.”

  Patient? When my son was out there? Yeah, right.

  “Alexis, darling,” Rina said in my head, “relax. I promise you will not regret your time here.”

  My nostrils flared, but I bit my tongue. I regretted every single minute I wasn’t searching for Dorian, but I kept my promise to Tristan that we would do as they asked.

  “I’ll stay at my place, of course.” Charlotte finally answered Mom’s question when she realized we had little choice in the matter.

  Mom nodded. “Very good. Can you stay here for a minute, though? I’d like these three to get settled, but I have something to ask of you.”

  Char cocked her head, questioning Mom, but no explanation came. Instead, Mom led Bree, Blossom, and Sheree out of the sitting room and up the stairs to the second floor guest suites.

  “Dorian’s room is on the third floor, right?” Blossom asked, her voice carrying down the stone stairs.

  “Yes,” Mom answered.

  “I can feel his presence,” Blossom said.

  Mom didn’t say anything right away, but then replied, “I think you’ll make an excellent converter. You’re very intuitive.”

  “I’d never thought about it until Alexis mentioned something before . . .” Blossom’s voice trailed off, but I knew “before” what. Before shit hit the fan. Before our safe house fell. Before Dorian was taken.

  Mom murmured something to Blossom, but she’d dropped her voice low and they’d moved too far away for even me to make out the words. I didn’t bother eavesdropping on their thoughts. If Mom—or Rina, the council, or anyone else—blamed Blossom at all, I’d hear about it soon enough and clarify everything. Otherwise, Mom would be telling her what I already had: it hadn’t been her fault. The blame fell squarely on me, and I’d paid the ultimate price for it. The piece of my heart that walked in this world outside of my body had been taken from me.

  Char remained by the fire, I paced again, and Tristan waited patiently for Mom to return, which didn’t take long. With just the three of us, she must have felt more herself, because her whole body sagged, as though she’d been keeping up a pretense of strength and leadership for everyone else’s sake and could finally discard it. She and Charlotte exchanged a look and then fell into each other’s arms for a long embrace. For the first time since I’d returned from Hades, I saw real emotion on Charlotte’s face.

  My heart, already in pieces, broke into smaller ones for her.

  Her son was officially a traitor. How does a mother deal with that? Dorian hadn’t chosen to leave us for the enemy, but Owen had. He’d deserted his primary job of protecting me right when I’d needed him most and had possibly done the exact opposite—hurt me worse than anyone could physically do. He’d basically told me and the rest of the Amadis, including his mother, to fuck off, because he’d rather serve Kali. The very soul that had hijacked his father’s body. I knew how I felt about that, but couldn’t imagine Charlotte’s feelings. Actually, being a writer, I probably could imagine them, but didn’t want to. I had enough bad feelings to deal with already regarding Owen and my own son.

  “Well, we’re not dead yet,” Mom murmured as she still held her longtime friend.

  “Then we must be getting stronger,” Char said. She gave Mom a final squeeze before stepping away. They traded small, sad smiles. “Which we’ll need to be.”

  “Yes, we will.” Mom continued scrutinizing Char’s face.

  “I’ll be okay, Sophia,” the warlock said. “I have a lot of faith.”

  Mom studied her friend one last moment, then finally nodded. “Go get some rest. I’m sure you need it. Can you muffle the room for me first, though?”

  “Sure.” Char said her goodbyes to all of us, and then she headed for the door while moving her hands around and out. She gave Mom a final nod before disappearing to the place she kept on Amadis Island.

  Mom rushed over to me and threw her arms around me again, just as she had when I’d first come off the jet. She held me tightly against her while one hand stroked down my hair and back.

  “Honey, I am so, so sorry,” she said, her voice a little choked. “I really am. I’ve been trying to be what everyone else needs me to be, but all I can think about is our boy. Our little boy out there, probably scared to death. I keep trying to think of how we can do something, but—”

  I pulled away from her to see her face. “What do you mean?”

  Since she couldn’t hold me in her arms, she took my hands into hers. “You’re right, Alexis, this wasn’t supposed to happen. Not now. Not like this. Dorian was kidnapped, and if he were any other Amadis child, everyone, including Rina and the council, would be all over it. But . . . unfortunately . . .”

  “They’re not,” Tristan finished for her.

  She shook her head, her eyes filled with misery. “He’s an Amadis son. It’s his destiny. And nobody can argue with that fact, not when it’s happened consistently for over two thousand years.”

  “But you don’t agree with it?” I asked, hope fluttering within me. If I could convince Mom to back me up, maybe she’d persuade Rina to change her mind, and the council would have to accept her decis
ion.

  “It doesn’t matter what I think. Or you, either of you,” she said, looking to Tristan and then at me. She released my hands to push her own through her hair as she turned and paced a few strides before turning back. “That’s what you need to understand. I want to go after Dorian as much as you do, honey. And Owen, too, the little . . .” She didn’t finish, but I could imagine what she wanted to call him. “Believe me. But I meant what I said on the phone. We have a duty. Thousands of people—billions if you include all of humanity—need us.”

  Anger replaced the hope I’d felt only moments ago, and my muscles tensed. “I told you. I get it.”

  “I don’t think you do,” she said. “But you need to. Earlier today, when you and Blossom were about to work that spell—my sense focused on you. I knew what you were doing, and I secretly hoped it would work. But Alexis, I was also in a meeting with Rina and the council. She was too tired to be in the room physically, but she attended mentally, which meant her mind had been open to all of us. When I sensed the truth about you, she knew, and the whole council did, too. You can’t be doing stuff like that.”

  “Maybe you should stop focusing your sense on me,” I suggested not too kindly. “Especially when Rina’s mind is connected to yours.”

  She let out a sigh. “Easier said than done. You’re my daughter. He’s my grandson. I can’t stop worrying about you. It’s not a conscious decision to focus my sense on you right now. I can’t help it. It goes to you automatically.”

  Great. Tristan and I looked at each other, silently sharing the same thoughts. This would be a serious problem if we continued with our own plan to rescue Dorian. With everything else going on in the world, she could surely train her sense on those things, but saying so now would only tell her we were up to something—something she, Rina, and the council wouldn’t sanction.