Kristie Cook - Devotion

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 Amadis 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 at all 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 the 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 much 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, Mom." 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."