Which became obvious immediately. I heard her thoughts again first and then her boat as it quickly approached the little island.
“Son of a bitch,” Tristan muttered.
“How does she always know where we are…?” My voice trailed off as I realized the answer. “Oh! Oh, no! Tristan…my blood. My blood is in her!”
His arm dropped from my waist and I slid to the ground.
“Shit. Why didn’t I think of that?” He kicked a boulder the size of a soccer ball and it sailed across the water before dropping with a ker-plunk.
“How far until we’re safe?” I asked.
He took me back into his arm and walked to the edge of the water. He nodded at another island, again about three miles away.
“The shield goes one mile out from that island.”
“Can we flash into water?”
“I can, but I don’t know about you,” he said. “It takes practice—you can’t inhale like you do or your lungs will fill with water. And we have to get the distance just right, close to the shield, because they’ll be right on top of us. There’s no room for error.”
Vanessa’s boat came around to our side of the island, slowing down as it approached the beach, aimed for right where we stood.
“Then we fight or we try. Unless you have any better solution?” I asked.
Vanessa stood at the tip of the bow, ready to jump. The adrenaline coursed through my veins and my heart picked up speed.
“We’ll give it a try,” Tristan said as he lifted me against his body. He spoke quickly while wading into the water. “We’ll do both. I’ll hold you. You keep them back. When I say, take a deep breath and I’ll flash.”
“Can you do it with me again?” Flashing with someone was very different—and nearly impossible—than leading someone, as we had practiced.
“I’ve done it twice now. We’re going to try. Ready?”
“I’m not getting my pendant, am I?”
“Sorry, my love, but not this time. We will get it back, though. It can’t be in their hands.”
Vanessa jumped right for us. I shot an electric bolt at her, sending her back to the other side of her boat. Tristan held me and swam. Vanessa’s brother seemed to be lost, his head swiveling between her in the water and us.
“Get them, you jack ass!” Vanessa screeched.
Suddenly they were both in the air, about to land on top of us. I started to reach my hand out, remembering at the last second that I could move objects with my mind. But it was already too late.
“Now!” Tristan bellowed. Forgetting my necklace for now, I shot wildly at them while inhaling my last breath.
We appeared in deep water, the light of the sky far above us. I fought the natural urge to inhale after flashing and continued to hold my breath while kicking upwards.
“Nice job,” Tristan said when we surfaced.
I looked around as I tread water. “Are we close?”
“Not really. We’ll have to swim from here, though. And fast. I hear them coming.”
“Alexis, I got them. You two get to shore.” Owen’s voice shouted in my head.
“No, it’s not them! It’s Owen! He’s going after them.”
“Then swim!”
So I swam. The sea felt cold but it didn’t bother me—my body adapted and maintained my normal temperature. We swam fast and I didn’t tire at all, but it seemed to take a decade. Especially after Tristan said we’d crossed the shield and were safe, because then the excitement built up inside me. I was going to my real home. I was about to see my baby. He was about to meet his daddy. And I was about to finally learn the secrets kept from me my entire life. My heart raced, not from exertion, but from anticipation.
As soon as the water became shallow enough to wade through and my feet touched the ground, an intense feeling of power and magic overcame me. Tristan took me in his arms and kissed me.
“Welcome home,” he murmured. We walked out of the water hand-in-hand.
Mom and Rina stood on the beach waiting for us with towels and robes, both smiling warmly. My wet skin chilled in the cool breeze—a feeling I noticed, although it wasn’t exactly uncomfortable, just there. Still, I welcomed the warmth of the thick, soft robe. As I rubbed the towel around my hair, something crashed through the trees lining the top of the beach. I expected an elephant to break through.
“Mom!”
Dorian burst onto the beach, running full speed. I ran to him and swept him into my arms, spinning around and kissing him all over his sweet, little face.
“I missed you so much!” I said, squeezing him tighter. I buried my face in the crook of his neck and inhaled his tangy little-boy scent.
“Wow, Mom, you got strong!” Dorian mused. He touched my face, then kissed my cheek. “And very beautiful.”
I laughed at his observations. “And I think you got much bigger.”
I squeezed him tighter as I spun him around again. I stopped us to face Tristan. He watched us, a mixed expression of love and trepidation on his face. Dorian became quiet and stared at him wide-eyed.
“That’s my dad,” Dorian whispered in my ear. It wasn’t a question.
“Yes, it is, little man,” I whispered back.
He sucked in his breath noisily. He looked at me, his face lit with the brightest smile, and then jumped out of my arms and ran as fast as he could into Tristan’s. A huge grin spread across Tristan’s face as he scooped Dorian up and held him tightly. I ran over and wrapped my arms around both of my guys. We fell to the ground, all of us laughing and crying at the same time.
At some point during all of this—I hadn’t even noticed when—Owen returned and came to shore.
“Uncle Owen!” Dorian shouted, jumping to his feet and running into Owen’s arms.
“Hey, little buddy.” Owen returned the bear hug.
Tristan and I stood up and brushed ourselves off, then Tristan took my hand and pulled me close to him.
“Uncle Owen, my dad’s here!” Dorian flew back to Tristan, who scooped him up in his free arm. Dorian wrapped his arms around Tristan’s neck and planted a kiss on his cheek. Tristan squeezed my hand and I could feel his joy. My heart would explode if it grew any bigger.
“Hey, Alexis?” Owen said.
I tilted my head. “Yeah?”
He looked at Tristan and back at me. “We always win.”
He stood with Mom and Rina and they all grinned and nodded. I looked at Tristan and Dorian and they beamed, too. And I realized this was my family—Owen, Rina, Mom and my two men. The people I loved. And I was finally Real Alexis, with my Real Tristan. We had suffered through the darkness and emerged into the light, our lives drastically changed forever. But we were all together. Finally.
We did win.
Epilogue
Silence filled the Amadis mansion as Tristan and I headed downstairs after changing into dry clothes. It felt like a museum at night. Well, an ancient museum—the two-story foyer was dark, with the only light coming from torches on the stone walls.
Mom? I didn’t know where to find Mom and Rina and I didn’t think calling her name aloud would be appropriate. She appeared in one of the three arched doorways off the foyer. Tristan and I followed her into a stately sitting room, where Rina waited for us, holding two leather-bound books in her lap. We sat on a brown
