Promise

'Tristan…?' I said quietly. He didn't look at me, but stared at the wall.

'My house—our house—is gone,' he said flatly, distantly. 'It exploded. Owen said it's just burning rubble.'

' What? ' I gasped, not comprehending.

He paced the room with angry strides. My eyes followed him, back and forth, as my mind raced, trying to make sense of it. Is that what shook the ground all the way at Mom's house? It had to have been a major explosion to reach that far.

' FUCK! ' He yelled, slamming his fists against his thighs and making me jump. My heart hammered against my chest as I continued to stare at him wide-eyed. 'The fucking bastards!'

He was serious. His house is gone. Everything…gone .

'What happened?' I asked, my voice small, frightened. I knew the answer, but didn't want to say it.

'I'm not exactly sure, but I have a pretty damn good guess,' he seethed. He also didn't want to say it.

After he calmed down about an hour later, he called the authorities. He held his head in his hands as he listened to them, barely saying anything on his end. He snapped the phone shut and jerked his hand as if to throw it against the wall, but he held onto it.

His voice was frighteningly calm when he explained. 'Their initial assessment is something ignited fumes from the generator. They said it wasn't properly shut off after the storm.'

I stared at him in disbelief and terror. 'Tristan…we didn't use the generator.'

'I know .' He paced the room again.

The vision of his sleek house on the beach…the motorcycles and other toys…all he owned…everything exploding in flames filled my head.

'I can't believe…your house … everything ?'

He stopped pacing in front of me and lifted me in a hug. 'It's just stuff, my love. At least we weren't there.'

'Do you think they knew we weren't there?'

He held me tighter and said grimly, 'Yes. I think it was a message.'

My stomach clenched. I thought I would be sick if I had anything in it. They know. We held each other in silence for several minutes. A pounding on the front door made us both jump.

'Stefan,' Tristan said, letting me go.

'Tristan, you have to get out of here. Immediately,' Stefan said, bursting through the door as soon as Tristan unlocked it.

'But, we can't—,' Tristan started, but Stefan interrupted.

'I know what happened, but you cannot stay here. They know you are around here somewhere.'

'Son of a bitch!' Tristan pounded the counter, cracking the granite countertop. ' How? '

'From what I have gathered, a local was drunk in Key West, complaining loudly about how a couple tried to rob him and broke his arm. He described you two perfectly, down to the mark on Alexis's chest.' Stefan glanced at me grimly. 'They do not know exactly where you are, but they know you are in the Keys and they are looking.'

'Alexis, get ready to go. Now ,' Tristan ordered.

I hurried into the bedroom and threw whatever clothes I could get my hands on into our bags as quickly as my shaking hands allowed. Tristan closed all the shutters and locked up the house. We were on the road in five minutes and in Mom's driveway in two hours.

'I need to see if there's anything left at all,' Tristan said, not getting out of the car.

'But I want to—'

'No, it's not safe. You stay here with Sophia.' He leaned over and kissed me. 'I won't be long.'

I sighed with resignation. 'I love you.'

'I love you, too,' he said. 'Now go. I'll be right back.'

He nudged me and I grabbed our bags and hurried inside. Mom rushed to greet me with open arms. She squeezed me tightly and then pushed me back. Her face looked sick with worry.

'You need to pack just the bare necessities,' she said, the words coming in a rush. 'We have to get out of here. Just the basics. And be sure to back up your book and wipe out your hard drive.'

I gave her a confused look.

'You heard me. We need to go. It's not safe here anymore.'

I obeyed. I knew what 'bare necessities' meant from previous departures—enough clothes for a couple days and important documents. That was all. I saved two copies of the book on CDs and erased the hard drive. I gave one CD to Mom and put the other in my own purse. We were ready to go by the time Tristan walked in the door. I flew into his arms. I hated being separated from him and he, apparently, hated it, too, because he held me tightly.

'Anything?' I asked.

'No, didn't look like it. I didn't get too close, though. I'm sure it's being watched.'

'We need to go now,' Mom said. 'The Daemoni know about the marriage and your vows to the Amadis and claim it's Provocation. They've given free rein on all Amadis… especially on royalty.'

Owen and Stefan burst through the door.

'Tristan, get her out of here!' Stefan barked.

Tristan pulled me out to the car and threw our bags into the tiny trunk space. My heart hammered for the first hundred miles we drove, headed north, as I stared out the window in fear. I imagined demons surrounding us, flying over us, waiting for an opportunity to swoop down and attack. I wondered where we could go for safety. Can we ever get away?

Then deep sadness eclipsed the fear as I closed my eyes and visions of the past year played against my eyelids. It all seemed so innocent and safe. Will we ever have peace again? The tears fell silently as I absently played with the pendant on the chain. Tristan gently squeezed my hand.

'I rushed us right into this mess, didn't I?' I said quietly.

He looked at me. 'Don't ever blame yourself for this, Alexis. This started before you were even born.'

'I insisted we get married, though.'

'It would've happened anyway, whether we married now or ten years from now. The marriage was inevitable…unless they killed us first. So, at least we are married.' He squeezed my hand again. 'I wouldn't have it any other way. I'd rather fight for us forever than not have an us to fight for.'

I kissed his hand and held it against my face.

'I love you more than anything, ma lykita .'

'Together forever, right?'

'Absolutely.' He smiled and winked at me. I didn't fog over. And that made me sadder.

We drove for hours, stopping only for gas. Finally, a little after midnight and somewhere near the South Carolina-North Carolina line, Tristan turned off the main highway, crisscrossed several country roads and found a small town with a motel. When he pulled in front of the motel office, Mom, Stefan and Owen stepped out of a dark corner. Mom and Stefan stood by the car while Tristan paid for the adjoining rooms and Owen disappeared to place a shield over the entire motel. I still didn't know how he did it—I just took it for granted it was there.

'Anything new?' Tristan asked the others once we were locked inside the rooms. I sat on a bed and pulled my knees to my chest.

'Nothing from Rina,' Mom answered.

'There have been a couple of attacks on my people, just because they can,' Stefan said. 'But the Daemoni are really focused on you two. Fortunately, they do not know where you are. We have been able to sidetrack them, at least for the time being.'

'There's still a safe house in Washington?' Tristan asked.

'It's being cleared for us,' Mom said.

'We will need to divert them, though,' Stefan said. 'Go on north, past the safe house, and double-back the long way.'

They discussed a watch schedule so everyone could sleep, then Mom, Stefan and Owen went into the other room. Tristan sat on the bed next to me and rummaged through a sack of snack food Mom brought us. How can he eat? He opened a bag of chips and tossed a package of cheese crackers at me. The thought made my stomach lurch. I made a face.