Promise

Chapter 26

Lucas—the sperm donor, now their most powerful warrior.

'Absolutely not !'

'Lexi, it's the only way.'

'It's a trap, Tristan! You can't go to them!'

'I know it's a trap. But if I don't go, they'll continue to fight and attack. They'll continue to hunt us. I put everyone's lives in danger.'

I shook my head. Tears spilled. ' No! You can't do this!'

I threw my arms around him, thinking if I held him tight enough, he couldn't go.

'I have to,' he said. 'I've made a vow to you and the Amadis that I would lay my life down for you.'

'You also vowed you would never leave me! They're going to t-t-take you or…k-k- kill you!'

He grabbed my upper arms and pushed me back so he could look into my eyes. I quivered in his hands.

'They can't take me down, Lex, remember that. They don't know how to kill me.'

'Then they'll take you away!'

' Nothing will keep me from you, my love. I will come back to you.' He pulled me back into his arms. 'And then we can be together in peace.'

I pulled back and looked him in the eyes. 'Then take me with you if you're that confident. If they stop fighting, then there's no danger, right? And if it's a trap, like we know it is, we can at least be together.'

'Absolutely not!' he growled angrily.

I stood up and strode around the room. 'See! You don't know for sure this will work! You don't know that you'll come back. They don't want us together, Tristan, unless we're with them. If they're going to get you, they're getting me, too!'

'Stop the nonsense!' He grabbed me by the arms again. 'You have to stay here, no matter what happens. You have a purpose and you have to do it for the Amadis.'

'But I need you !' I cried. 'I can't do it without you. I can't live without you!'

I fell against him and sobbed. He held me, stroking my hair.

'You won't have to live without me,' he said softly. 'I will come back to you. Nothing can stop me. But I have to do this. For the Amadis. For you. For us .'

I cried in his arms. My gut told me this was it. Once I let him go, I had no idea if I'd ever see him again. I held his face in my hands and looked into his eyes.

'Promise me,' I whispered. 'Promise you'll come back.'

'I promise,' he said firmly. 'I can't live in this world without you, Alexis. I promise I'll be back, no matter what happens. I will come back to you.'

He sealed the promise with a kiss, loving yet urgent…like it was one of our last.

Then he took my necklace off, stood up and fished something out of his jeans pocket. He thread a small key onto the chain and clasped the chain back around my neck.

'Guard this with your life,' he said. 'This is literally the key to our future.'

I nodded as I held the key and the pendant in my hand. He pulled an envelope out of his back pocket and handed it to me.

'Keep this in a safe place, too. There are copies, but you should have this.'

'But you're coming right back,' I said firmly.

'Yes. I'm just taking precautions.' He nuzzled his face against my neck as he rubbed his hand over my lower abdomen. 'You stay safe. You're carrying precious cargo.'

I nodded, more tears flowing. He leaned down and kissed my currently flat belly.

'You need to come back for all of us,' I whispered. 'We need you.'

'I will. I promise you.' He crushed his lips to mine. I only hoped I could communicate just a small portion of the love I had for him, because there was too much to be held in just one kiss. Too much for all the kisses in the world.

He pulled me by the hand back into the other room, where Mom, Rina, Solomon, Owen and Stefan stood. They all turned toward us, their faces bleak.

'Ready, Tristan?' Stefan asked.

Tristan nodded stiffly. My resolve fell.

' No!' I cried. 'Please, don't! Please , Tristan! Don't leave me!'

He hugged me again and I clung to him.

'Please, don't …' I sobbed. 'I love you too much.'

'I'll be back. I promise.' He kissed me one last time and I looked at him, into those adoring hazel eyes, memorizing his beautiful face. I inhaled deeply, taking in his scent—mangos and papayas, lime and sage, and a hint of man—capturing it to memory. He smiled sadly and I clung to his last words. 'I love you, ma lykita .'

'I love you, my sweet Tristan.'

He took me by the shoulders and gently pushed me into Mom's arms. Then the men left the room, leaving us three women to do nothing but worry. When they opened the front door, fighting sounds filled the air. The window rattled loudly as something hit it.

'Down to the shelter,' Rina said to Mom. I reluctantly followed them. As we passed through the foyer, I glanced through the still-open door and saw Tristan several steps ahead of the others, leading them out to battle.

' No! ' I yelled. I ran for the front door. Tristan's hand flicked and the door slammed shut just as I reached it. I banged my fists against it. 'No! I have to watch! I need to know what's going on!'

My feet left the ground and the air rushed past me again. Rina carried me, speeding down a hallway, then down several flights of stairs. I struggled in her arms, but she was unbelievably strong. She finally stopped, setting me down in a small room with concrete walls, lit by a single lamp dangling from the center of the ceiling. Mom pushed the concrete door closed, securing it with a large, wooden beam across the center. Four maroon recliners, each with a blanket folded over its back, and a coffee table furnished the room. Shelves full of food and jugs of water lined one wall. A toilet sat in a corner and a sink was bolted to the wall next to it. The three of us could easily stay here for three days. I certainly hoped that wasn't the plan. I couldn't wait three hours to see Tristan again, to know he was safe.

'Alexis, close your eyes,' Rina said. 'I will show you what is happening.'

I inhaled deeply as I stared at her, trying to comprehend. She tapped her finger against her forehead.

'I can see. I can share.'

Mom sat in one of the leather recliners and closed her eyes. I dropped into another and closed mine. A vision appeared in my head, as if I stood in the clearing in front of the house. Tristan's mere appearance wasn't enough to stop the fighting. Through others' eyes, we watched the battle. The viewpoint changed several times as Rina tapped into different minds. Sometimes I heard her voice as she gave commands to the soldiers. Sometimes we heard the terrifying thoughts of the Daemoni, then Rina would warn the Amadis what they were about to do. Sometimes she cut my visions off.

'I am sorry, dear, but there are some things I cannot allow you to see,' she said to me.

I nodded, grateful to see any of it and not have to rely on my unruly imagination. But, as the battle heated, I didn't know if even my imagination could be worse than this. I had to fight the urge to not watch because I had to know Tristan and the others were okay.

It felt like we stood in the middle of it all. A blue light shot across our current vision, blasting its target into bits. Another light zipped right past us. A tree split with a loud crack. A piece of the fallen tree flew through the air, taking someone down. Stefan and Owen ran around the scene, shooting unseen powers out of their hands, knocking Daemoni to the ground. Everything—powers or solid objects—sent at Owen bounced back before it hit him, as if he were protected in an invisible bubble.

Out of our peripheral vision, we could see Solomon. Then Rina changed minds to see him better. His