Kristie Cook - Devotion

Nothing bound him, at least, nothing I could see, but his hands were gloved in some strange, metallic material that must have blocked his powers. But the extra precautions weren't necessary. Although he stood straight and confident and kept all emotions from his face, he would never fight them. Like Rina, he would submit to them. As a true Amadis should do, he'd go along with whatever they decided. He really had given up.

The anger within me flared hotter. This is not my Tristan! Who is doing this? What have they done to him? They were breaking the ultimate warrior. Shattering his spirit. And for that, I hated every single council member up there except Char and Martin.

Martin stared at Tristan for a long time as the crowd settled and quieted, then he frowned, as if he didn't want to proceed.

"Tristan Knight," he said, "you are brought here before us in response to charges of treason against the Amadis. According to council member Julia Acerbi, you attacked her and threatened her. She also claims you attempted to kill what may be the youngest Amadis daughter. Based on your background with the Daemoni and many other actions, it is believed you are working on behalf of the Daemoni to infiltrate and destroy the Amadis. If found guilty, you will be banished from the Amadis or … executed."

I inhaled sharply, the breath catching in my throat. My hand flew to my mouth to muffle the cry.

"Do you have anything to say to these charges?" Martin asked.

"Only that they're absolutely ridiculous," Tristan said, the familiar steeliness in his voice. He paused as a wave of gasps and murmurs flowed through the crowd. I let out my breath–he wasn't just going to bow down after all. "I am loyal and devoted only to the Amadis. I did not attack or threaten Julia. I simply defended my wife, an Amadis daughter, as well as the girl you accuse me of harming. As far as any other actions, I do not know what they are, so I cannot possibly respond to them."

"Are you denying that you threatened to use your killing power on Julia?" Martin asked.

"Yes."

"Liar!" Julia said. Always quiet, mostly communicating only with Rina, especially in large groups, Julia shed any pretense of being submissive and became the monster she was. An arrogant, aggressive and threatening vampire. "You had your hand out, ready. That's no different than pointing a loaded and cocked gun. You saw it yourself, Martin, when you arrived."

"While fighting the Daemoni, I saw you holding the girl in a death grip, and the next time I looked, the girl lay on the ground. And, yes, I saw Tristan facing you, his hand lifted toward you the whole time."

"I was holding Julia in place," Tristan said. "Before she killed the girl or Alexis."

"Are you accusing me of threatening an Amadis daughter?" Julia demanded.

Tristan didn't answer at first. His jaw muscle twitched. "The situation escalated out of control. The girl attacked, and Julia tried to stop her. In the chaos, she knocked Alexis to the ground. Whether Julia intended to hurt her or not, I cannot say."

Another round of whispers and murmurs ran through the crowd. Martin signaled to them for silence.

"Yet you still threatened to kill Julia?" Adolf said. "Even though you weren't certain if she'd intentionally hurt Alexis."

"No. I paralyzed her and the girl to stop the violence. Jax, Owen and Alexis were already down. I didn't want anyone else getting hurt … or killed."

"You lie," Julia seethed. "If you didn't want anyone else to be hurt, explain what happened to the girl."

Tristan dropped his head for a moment, then looked up. "I cannot explain it. When Alexis fell from the Daemoni magic, I turned toward my wife. When I turned back, the girl lay still on the ground. How do you explain it, Julia?"

"You hit her with your power, of course."

"It might have been Daemoni," Martin said. "They might have hit the girl just as they hit Alexis, but harder. We can't prove who harmed the girl."

Or it could have been the traitor, working with Julia. Tristan had to suspect Julia, too, but he pursed his lips tightly closed. He didn't exactly defend the vamp, but he was very careful about accusing her.

"If Tristan wanted to kill Julia, he would have. Nothing could have stopped him," said Chandra, the exotically beautiful were-leopard who thought Dorian could lead the Amadis. "We cannot prove he did anything to the girl and there is much doubt that he did. So what are the other charges against him?"

"After tying yourself to Amadis royalty, gaining your way in, you returned to the Daemoni," Savio, the Italian shark, said to Tristan. "Is that correct?"

"Not intentionally," Tristan said. "I was defending the Amadis and protecting Alexis."

"And before doing so," Savio continued, ignoring Tristan's defense, "you impregnated the Amadis daughter with only a son, who you knew would eventually convert to the Daemoni, leaving the Amadis with nothing."

"What are you saying, Savio?" Charlotte asked. "That he purposefully shot only male sperm?"

A chuckle ran through the audience.

"You must not really know the Daemoni if you can't believe they're capable of anything," Savio countered.

A murmur of agreement came from the crowd. I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to shout at them about how absurd they sounded. How they grasped at straws. At one moment, they talked about Lilith as an Amadis daughter, and in the next, when convenient for them, they spoke as if we didn't have a daughter at all.

"If you're asking if I married Alexis and she conceived a son, yes, that is true," Tristan said. "If you're asking if I gave myself to the Daemoni, yes, that is true, as well, but not to return to them. Only to protect Alexis and the Amadis. To protect you."

"That's what you say," someone nearby muttered. I leaned forward and twisted toward the source, wishing I could shoot daggers with my eyes. Many faces met my glare, some with pity and empathy, others hard and accusing. I narrowed my eyes, then turned back to Tristan and the council.

"Did you or did you not spend over seven years with the Daemoni and upon your return, attempt to murder your wife, an Amadis daughter, last March?" Armand the vampire asked.

The crowd became louder this time, with both defensive and accusing tones. I jumped to my feet, unable to keep quiet a moment longer. Especially because Tristan would never defend himself against this accusation. "No! That wasn't him. You know how the Daemoni are. You can't blame him for that!"

Several council members threw me a dirty look, while a couple looked at me with pride. Martin ignored my outburst, distracted by a piece of paper that appeared in mid-air and fluttered in front of him. He snatched it out of the air, unfolded it and studied the contents.

"Yes," Tristan said, also ignoring me. "I am sorry for not maintaining control of myself. That is a regret I have to live with for the rest of my life."

"Which may not be much longer," a voice from the crowd said.

Martin's eyes shot daggers this time. "Silence," he hissed.

"We all know Ms. Alexis is right," said Galina, one of Rina's favorite mages. "Tristan would never purposefully harm her. He was not under his own control."

"I believe it," spoke up Minh, her silly green hat now gone. "They are meant for each other, are they not? We agreed years ago they are to produce the next Amadis daughter. Why do we contradict ourselves now?"

I sat down, my arms across my chest, finally understanding why Rina had trusted those two mages so much. They were utterly loyal; you could feel it emanating off their bodies.

"Have you produced a daughter, as you agreed to do twenty-eight years ago?" asked one of the Middle Eastern mages–whether Attair or Shihab, I couldn't remember.

"You tell me," Tristan said. "You've tested the girl's qualities. Since you accuse me of attempting to murder the youngest Amadis daughter, you tell me if she's even been born yet."