never meant to be normal. I knew it all along, despite all the lies I told myself, despite the ruses I attempted to make life normal. But that was never really me. That wasn’t Real Alexis. I was Amadis. More than that. I was Amadis royalty. The books, a daughter, eventually leading the Amadis…those were part of my duties. But Real Alexis was created to be the fierce protector. My main purpose in life was to defend souls from evil.
And Tristan’s was my first.
“NOW, Alexis. You can do it!” Rina’s voice loud in my head.
I won’t let you do this to yourself, Tristan! I yelled into his mind. We will WIN!
I struggled against his power, panting and sweating with effort. I heard Rina and Mom praying. A rush of otherworldly power washed over me, poured over my skin and seeped into my pores, filling my body with strength and force. I gathered all of that force, pulled it from every cell in my body and directed it through my hand to Tristan’s heart, focusing only on the power God had given me and my love for Tristan.
I know you’re in there, baby. We can beat this together. We can do this. Please, Tristan. Come back to me. Stay with me! I need you! I love you!
My thoughts escalated as desperation grew. I pushed with every bit of strength I had. And I watched as the scars around his heart began to dissolve and the fire in his eyes dimmed.
That’s it, baby! Come on. We can do this. You love me! You want to be with me. You and me forever, Tristan!
His hold on me weakened. I continued pushing the full strength of Amadis power on him.
Love, Tristan. You WANT to love. You LOVE me. You LOVE Dorian. We love you! We need you!
DON’T.
LEAVE.
ME.
AGAIN!
And his power released me.
I felt instantly free. His body convulsed violently and a painful moan replaced the growls. Then he fell to his knees as I kept Amadis power focused on him. The skin around his heart smoothed and the Amadis mark, now whole, began to brighten. The fire in his eyes died and then disappeared.
The now hazel eyes, full of pain and regret and love, penetrated my own eyes.
“Alexis,” he whispered. I took a half-step toward him.
“NO!” Vanessa screeched, making me freeze, the sound more terrifying than a long-nailed finger scratching against a dark window. “Get her! Get them both!”
She ran at me. Chaos erupted as everyone responded. The Daemoni sprang toward Tristan and me. The Amadis protectors fought them back. Vanessa, still at least fifteen feet away, jumped and flew through the air toward me. She moved so fast, just a blur of white and black. I didn’t have time to react. Just as she came close enough to feel a rush of air on my neck, she suddenly flew sideways. Her back cracked against a steel post supporting the balcony. The post vibrated with a twang as she crumpled to the ground. My eyes wide with terror and surprise, I swung around to see whose force had saved me. Tristan’s hand still faced toward her.
He lithely jumped to his feet and, in martial-arts style, he turned, seemingly in slow motion, his power hitting the Daemoni one at a time as his hand swung around in an arc. One-by-one they fell to the ground. Then they each disappeared with a Pop! The storm overhead rapidly shrunk, then vanished.
We all stood there in the stillness, breathing heavily, looking around to make sure they all disappeared. I could hear every single heart pounding with adrenaline. Then we let out a collective sigh of relief.
Tristan turned back toward me, agony all over his face.
“Alexis,” he whispered again.
I ran for him and jumped into his open arms. He held me tightly as I kissed him all over his face and he kissed me back.
“I love you, Tristan,” I gasped between desperate kisses and tears. “I love you so much.”
He squeezed me against him. “I love you, Lexi, my beautiful, brave Lexi, ma lykita.”
I held his face in my hands and looked into his eyes and they filled with love, the gold flecks sparkling brightly.
“I’m sorry, so sorry.”
I placed my finger over his lips. “It wasn’t you. And it’s gone. It’s just you and me now.”
His lips found mine and kissed me with fervent love. Then we just looked into each other’s eyes as I held his face in my hands and stroked his cheeks with my thumbs. I felt a light rippling under my right thumb. Something changed in his skin.
“Oh!” I continued stroking and then kissing the scar stretching diagonally across his cheek. It gradually dissolved away and he shuddered when it had completely vanished. I did the same to the one around and under his eye and it, too, dissolved. I erased the one on his chin and kissed him all over his beautiful face, each little scar disappearing. I slid my hand over his cheek. No icy ridges. Nothing but soft, velvety skin. “They’re gone. The scars are gone!”
Keeping one arm tightly around me, he rubbed his other hand over his face. He smiled warmly.
“The dark magic is gone,” he said. “Gone for good, because of you. You saved me again.”
I threw my arms around his neck.
“We save each other,” I said. “We need each other.”
He nuzzled my hair and murmured, “Yes, my love. Our souls are bound together. Forever.”
Chapter 23
“Owen, take care of this.” Rina waved her hand at the destruction as we headed up the stairs and into the house. The shield had already been replaced and the Amadis protectors had walked beyond it and disappeared, except for Julia, who remained at the shield’s edge. Whether she stood guard or simply waited for Rina, I didn’t know.
Owen rubbed his hands together, as if they were cold and he warmed them, and then thrust them out in front of him. The pieces of the balcony and screen flew back together. As we stood back and watched, he made the movement again toward the glass doors and then with the interior—the furniture, the walls and the kitchen island returned to looking like new. I had to snap my jaw shut, amazed at what I’d just witnessed. As if everything else today is perfectly normal…. I snorted to myself.
“Get the bedroom, too,” Mom said. I cringed and stared at the floor in embarrassment. Owen seeing it was bad enough. Now Mom and Rina, too?
“Don’t know why I should bother,” Owen muttered as he headed into the bedroom.
Tristan squeezed my hand and a guilty smile tugged at the corners of my mouth. I wondered why Tristan hadn’t had him fix it before. Perhaps, like Owen, he didn’t see the point of it.
Rina sat in the chair and signaled for me to sit on the couch. Tristan sat next to me, not letting go of my hand, and I could feel a slight pull of energy through my arm and into his. He strengthened his goodness with my power. Knowing I could do that for him felt strange yet comforting. I gave his hand a squeeze with my own.
“May I?” Rina asked Tristan, holding her hand out to him. He reluctantly let go of my hand and took Rina’s. She closed her eyes for several long moments, her face tense with concentration. I held my breath as she assessed him. Finally, she relaxed and a smile spread across her face. “Excellent, Tristan.”
He let go of her hand and picked mine up again, kissing the back of it before clasping it between both of his. I pushed my energy into him, knowing what he needed.
“Thank you,” he murmured and I had a feeling he meant that for both Rina and me.
Rina looked at me with her large, mahogany eyes. Less than two weeks ago, both she and Mom could have nearly passed as my daughters. Now we could all be sisters, rather than three generations spanning over a- hundred-and-fifty years. But Rina’s eyes would almost give her away. Not for her age, but for her wisdom.
“You have waited a long time to hear your story, no?” she asked.
“Way too long,” I said. My stomach fluttered with anticipation.
“You have been very patient, I know. And now that you have your full Amadis power, everything will be
