behavior and the voice I'd heard tonight, I couldn't help but think that's whom they kept in the Council Hall cellar. My daughter. Taken from me at birth and hidden away.
Tired of tossing and turning, I slid out of bed and tiptoed into the bathroom, closing the door behind me before lighting the candle by the sink. Tristan surely couldn't have slept through my restlessness, but I didn't want to wake him in case he had. I stood in front of the mirror, pushed my fingers through my hair and pressed my palms against my temples while staring into my own eyes.
'What if …?' I whispered to myself. And the answer came right back. I have to know.
I grabbed my spandex workout pants from the hamper and quickly pulled them on, along with the T-shirt Tristan had taken off before our trip to the gym. It hung to my knees, but I didn't care. No one would see me. No one but …
Without anymore thought, I flashed to the Council Hall cellar. Darkness filled the corridor, now that the door upstairs and the one at the end of the hall were both closed. My eyes adjusted quickly and skimmed the five doors lining each side of the hall. I was only interested in one. The last door on the left, the one imprisoning the only nearby mind signature.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I crept down the corridor. No handle, no indication of a lock or anything interrupted the stone face of the door, except a small opening toward the top with bars and a metal screen covering it. Magic probably kept the door closed and locked the prisoner inside–magic I wouldn't be able to break through. I stood on my toes and peeked through the barred window.
A girl with stringy, matted blond hair and eyes such a pale gray, they were almost no color at all, huddled in the corner. She must have been about twelve years old–not my daughter–but looked younger, so pathetic and harmless.
'You can open it,' a girl's voice sounded in my mind. 'You're Royalty. And you can help me get out of here. If that vampire comes back … I can't take it again. What she does to me …'
I blanched. She couldn't have known I could read her mind, so she simply thought words she couldn't bring herself to voice, but her fear of what Julia did to her alarmed me. She flipped her arm out and red indentions marked her skin in the crook of her elbow. I sucked in a breath. Bite marks. That was enough for me. I flicked my hand and, as she'd expected, the door slid open.
The girl sat motionless for a long moment, as if she wasn't sure what to do. I stood perfectly still, not wanting to frighten her. When she still didn't move, I took a step and crossed the threshold.
A high screech rented the air.
A blur of motion flew at me.
Her ears suddenly pointed up beyond the top of her head. Her eyes glowed pink. Her lips disappeared, exposing rows of pointed teeth filling her mouth. Hairy claws stretched out in front of her, aimed for my face. I noticed all this in a fraction of a second as she sailed toward me.
My hand flew up and an electric jolt shot at her, throwing her to the corner she came from. She flew at me again. But a force jerked me out of the cell, and the door slammed shut, her body crashing against the other side. She let out a feral wail, muffled by the stone. Strong arms engulfed me, trapping me against a hard body.
'Damn it, Alexis. Don't you listen?' Tristan growled. His voice was full of anger, but his hand gently stroked my hair.
'What was that?' I whispered. My heart still pounded against his abs.
He flashed us to the suite before answering. 'Remember the potion Jordan and the witch created, the one that mixed the qualities of all the Daemoni creatures?'
I nodded.
'And you remember no one knew the exact recipe for it after his witch-lover died, but the Daemoni kept trying to recreate it?'
I nodded again.
'They've been experimenting all this time. For centuries. They finally came close with Lucas, but he was a grown man when he drank it. They thought giving the potion to a man and a woman before conception would allow them to create the strongest, most powerful warrior ever. And they did.'
'You,' I whispered.
'Yes, me. But Lucas and I were the two exceptions. Every other experiment has gone wrong, producing things of your worst nightmares.'
'And that was one of them?' My voice came out hoarse, filled with horror.
'Over the years, the Amadis have found a few experiments, abandoned by their creators. They keep trying to see if they can ever get through to them, overcome the evil and find any humanity, possibly convert them. They haven't succeeded yet.'
I dropped to the bed, my hand over my mouth.
'But why would Julia feed off of her?' I asked.
'Julia would never–'
'I saw the marks.'
'You also saw what you thought was a harmless, young girl,' he said softly.
I nodded with understanding. 'Illusions. Deceit. She's still just Daemoni.'
Was this the girl being hidden? Did the traitor have some kind of plan to use her against us?
Tristan sat next to me and folded me into his arms. 'Do you remember, in the beginning, how I had to fight to keep control so I wouldn't kill you? That's why they created me, why they keep trying to create warriors–to hunt down and kill the Amadis. I had nearly twenty years of being Amadis before I met you, twenty years to learn control, and I still hadn't mastered it.' He tightened his arms around me. 'She would have killed you without a thought.'
Chapter 10
The day I'd been dreading for three months–the day of the coronation ceremony–dawned bright and beautiful, mocking my dark mood. Every time the ceremony had been brought up, my insides squirmed uncomfortably, but I tried not to think too much about all the attention it would bring. As if the curtsies and the head-bows weren't bad enough, the whole island would be paying tribute at once. I wanted to run away and hide. When Mom brought me the dress I was supposed to wear, I silently and profusely cussed at the fact that I couldn't flash off the island.
The dress looked very much like my traditional Amadis wedding dress, only it was lavender instead of white. The straps on the leather bodice were slightly different and amethysts, rather than diamonds, lined the band encircling my neck. The silk, A-line skirt was surely shorter, though, several inches above my knees. I loved the color and the stones–my favorites–but nothing else. And this time I'd be seen in it by more than family and a handful of strangers.
'So why do I have to wear this–' I flipped my hands at myself, particularly my boobs, which were about to fall out of the bodice '–and you get to wear that?' I asked Tristan when I saw him dressed and ready to go.
His outfit was comparatively simple–black dress pants and a black, silk, button-down shirt–though he looked especially stunning in it.
He eyed me appreciatively and grinned, the gold flecks in his eyes shining brightly. 'Because I pulled some strings so I'd get to see you in something like that again.'
I narrowed my eyes, but he was teasing. He shrugged unabashedly.
'So I had nothing to do with it,' he admitted. 'It is traditional. But if I did have any say, I'd definitely choose this for you.'
I stuck my bottom lip out. 'I thought you loved me.'
'I do.' He brushed his lips across my forehead. 'And I love showing you off.'
'This is so unfair,' I muttered, tugging at the top of the bodice. As with every other part of me, the Ang'dora enhanced my boobs, and whoever made this dress must not have taken that into account.
We flashed to the little holding room in the Council Hall, where Solomon, Rina and Mom waited. The fact that Mom's and Rina's dresses were similar to mine–Mom's was a darker purple with both amethysts and
