Kristie Cook - Purpose

Owen’s arms jerked against me in what I assumed was a shrug. “I don’t know. They don’t tell me everything. But…”

He hesitated.

“But what?”

“But the Daemoni might be sending a message…” He paused again, drawing in a deep breath. Before I could press him again, though, he finished. “…that if they hadn’t actually done it before…they have now.”

I froze. I didn’t even breathe as I let this sink in, let its meaning reach into my soul. My heart thumped several times as I tried to determine what I felt. But I already knew. The feeling that he was still alive strengthened when I arrived at the beach house…after they sent the video.

“I still don’t believe it,” I said.

“I didn’t think you would,” he murmured.

We stood in silence for a long moment.

“Do you think I’m foolish for hanging on?” I whispered.

He didn’t answer at first and I tried to ignore the interpretation I made of his silence. I told myself it didn’t matter what he thought. Only my own beliefs mattered and I knew what I had felt all these years. Especially these last few days.

“I admire your loyalty,” he finally said. “You do what you need to do for you. That’s what he would want.”

I nodded, the back of my head rubbing against his chest. I knew the truth in his statement. Tristan had once told me the same thing, a long time ago.

Owen kissed the top of my head and then he was gone.

I continued standing at the rail, thinking about Owen and what he put up with as my protector. He said he enjoyed his job, but was there more to it? I remembered how Mom had thought about setting us up, thinking he’d be a good match for me. The thought of being more than just friends had only flitted through my mind a couple times. If the Amadis was right about the video…if my true love really was gone…for good… Well, with Owen, life could possibly be a little more normal—as normal as it could be for an Amadis daughter, who, apparently, was enemies with creatures like vampires and werewolves. There probably wouldn’t be such a strong desire to keep us separated…or brought over to their side. I knew Mom would approve and Dorian loved him. The council would probably be ecstatic, seeing me move on. The possibilities…

But it was impossible to think of Owen as anything different than a friend or a brother.

I sighed. It doesn’t matter anyway.

Any future with Owen, or with the Amadis at all, would never happen. I knew what I needed to do—for the Amadis and for my family. And, if I was lucky, for myself.

I sat at my computer and started writing.

Now that I knew what came next—that I wouldn’t need another world to escape to—the words came easily. I wrote until two in the morning. I was wide awake again at five, ran around the property a few times, then went back to the book. Just before three in the afternoon, I finished. The book. The series. Six years of writing the story. Done. Finito.

I stared at the last line for several moments and finally typed The End. My chest tightened with grief. Besides Mom, my characters had been my best friends, pulling me through my darkest hours, and now we had to say good-bye, never to visit each other again. Their adventure was over and so was that whole part of my life…or it would be shortly.

I emailed the entire book to Mom. I didn’t know whether the vampire had been telling the truth about having Daemoni planted at my publisher, so I didn’t send anything to my editor. Mom could do whatever the Amadis council dictated when the time came.

I then wrote two letters—one to Mom and one to Dorian—explaining how I did this for them, to keep them safe. I wanted to call Dorian, to hear his voice one more time, but I feared what he and Mom would hear in my own voice. Mom would know something was up. So I wrote my good-byes, tears streaming. I knew I couldn’t email them—she would get them too soon—and I had no way to print them at the beach house. So my fingers trembled with my sobs as I saved the two letter files on the computer’s desktop, where Mom would easily find them.

I took a deep breath and focused on the rest of the plan. I hadn’t figured out yet how to do it. Owen had regularly checked on me, reminding me he stayed close by. I’d tested him once, pretending I needed to go to the store. He appeared suddenly and stopped me as I sat in the car, asked what I needed and was back with a box of tampons in four minutes. I felt bad for putting him through that and since he made the trip without so much as a complaint, he clearly wouldn’t let me go anywhere. However it happened, I needed to be ready to act on a moment’s notice.

I showered and studied myself in the mirror, trying to see what I could do to make myself as attractive as possible. It was surprisingly difficult to do any more than what my body had already done on its own. My skin looked and felt smooth—no wrinkles or lines of any kind, no dark and puffy circles under my eyes, the light-olive tone tanned. My hair, now full and vibrant, waved down to the middle of my back and my body was small but strong. I actually looked like my age.

I eyed the sundresses Tristan had bought me on our honeymoon and I’d forgotten to pack in our hurried departure. The property management company apparently had the dresses cleaned—they hung in plastic bags in the closet. I’d seen them my first day at the beach house. Mom must have had the wedding dress shipped because it wasn’t there and I knew I hadn’t packed it when we left in such a rush. I was glad it was gone. Seeing it would have been too much for my fragile self of a couple days ago.

I chose a black dress with purple flowers, spaghetti straps that crossed over my back and a full skirt that ended about three inches above my knees. It was probably out of style, but I didn’t care. Almost all the clothes I’d brought were dirty and the dress was better than baggy shorts and a holey t-shirt anyway. I checked myself in the mirror—the dress did the job.

“Wow, you look…” Owen was caught off guard when I called for him. I flashed him my best smile. He narrowed his eyes and said flatly, “You’re not going anywhere.”

I tried to act casual. “Of course not. I was just tired of looking like a frump. I feel good. I finished the book.”

He smiled. “Great! Now we wait for it to be published and let it do its thing.”

“But we can celebrate now,” I said suggestively.

He looked surprised, the sapphire eyes wide, eyebrows raised. “You and me?”

“That’s all we have right now, right? Why not? If you get some steaks and the trimmings, I’ll cook. And we need some wine, of course.”

His brows pushed together, creating those three vertical lines between them. “I don’t think that’s a good idea. We need to be completely alert.”

I fluttered my eyelashes and stuck out my lower lip in a pretend pout. “Just a glass. Just for a toast to the Amadis and whatever it is they have planned.”

He studied my face. I really wasn’t trying to seduce him. Honestly. I just needed him to disappear for a while…just long enough. I smiled warmly at him.

“Okay,” he finally agreed. “You stay here. I’ll be back in ten or fifteen minutes.”

I followed him out the door and watched him walk down the driveway, into the brush and disappear. As soon as he was gone, I jumped into the Ferrari and took off, my heart pounding with anxiety and fear. I’d left the keys in there earlier, knowing I needed every second I could get when the opportunity arose. I sped down the highway, clearing as much distance as possible before Owen returned and found me gone.

Guilt pierced my conscience when I thought of him searching for me. But I had to do this. At least he wouldn’t be left heartbroken and helpless like I’d been when I was left behind. I just hoped he wouldn’t immediately guess where I headed, but would think I went after my family. Because once he knew, he would be there in a flash.