Rina's face blanched, but I didn't feel sorry for her. Not when her betrayal stabbed me like daggers in the heart. She knew something about our daughter–the very one she dismissed after the council meeting, saying it was a ludicrous idea.
'Yes, I think that's exactly what we need to do,' I said, trying with everything I had to keep my cool. 'We don't need your protection. Tristan is the most powerful creature on this planet. According to you guys, I might be the second most powerful.'
I didn't personally believe that last part, but, hell, everyone else did, and it supported my argument. I'd say anything to get out of here.
'Where will you go?' Mom demanded. 'You'll be attacked everywhere.'
I didn't have an answer, but Tristan did.
'The States, as we'd originally planned,' he said.
'And if she is recognized as A.K. Emerson?' Rina challenged. I knew she didn't believe that possible. She grasped at straws. Why did she want to keep us from leaving, especially if her secret would be revealed? I didn't understand her anymore–no, I never really knew her at all.
'We all know I look nothing like the author's pictures.'
'We'll use disguises, if necessary, but that's where Alexis wants to go,' Tristan said. 'It takes us away from the direct center of the current action here in Europe, and it's a place where they likely won't search for us. They won't expect us to go anywhere near where we once lived.'
Just then, I realized Julia's mind signature was still close by–she was listening to our plans. And so was that other signature, which I'd nearly forgotten about.
'Rina, who was with Julia?' I demanded, seemingly out of the blue. She looked caught off guard.
'Nobody,' she said.
'Bullshit!' Everyone gasped but I ignored them. 'There was someone else.'
I wanted to tell her about the other mind signature, but I couldn't. Too many people in the building weren't aware of my power, and I wasn't about to try telepathy with her while still minding Julia and the other signature. Too many thoughts to manage safely.
'I do not know what you speak of, Alexis,' Rina said, sounding offended. 'It was only Julia. I would have sensed anyone else, would have heard their thoughts.'
Again, I couldn't say what I wanted to–that it was the traitor who could block her. I had no idea why I felt the need to protect her and her plan, after what I'd heard and the betrayal I felt, but I didn't push it anymore. Instead, I zeroed in on the other's thoughts, trying to gain any additional information before we left.
'It does not matter if they go to America. Yes, they may come dangerously close, but as long as they do not suspect, we can keep the girl right under their noses, as we have been all these years.'
That was enough for me.
'We're going to Australia,' I blurted for some instinctual reason, and without hesitation, I flashed to our suite. I was already hurling clothes out of the closet, not with my hands but using my powers, when Tristan appeared in our bedroom, followed by Mom and Owen.
'Alexis, what happened?' Tristan asked.
'Pack! We're getting the hell out of here,' I seethed. My eyes cut across each one of them and they all just stood there, including Tristan. He wasn't packing. 'Fine! You really want to know what happened? Are you really sure? Because you're going to be pretty fucking disappointed.'
'Alexis!' Mom admonished.
'I don't want to hear it, Mom. Not after what I heard. This Amadis thing is a bunch of fucked-up shit. I thought the Amadis were good, unified under the Angels to do good in the world. But it really is nothing but a bunch of politicians looking out for their best interests. Including Rina!'
'Alexis,' Tristan murmured, taking my hands and trying to calm me down. The clothes I'd been sending to the bed fell from mid-air to the floor. 'That's rather harsh. Tell us what you heard so we can make sense of it.'
I told them everything, including Julia's silent comment about Rina's secret and the other mind signature.
'I didn't sense anyone but Julia,' Mom said. She looked at Tristan and Owen, and they both shook their heads.
'Because she's blocking you! I didn't sense her presence, only her mind signature. She was there.' I shook my head. 'It doesn't matter. Julia may not be the traitor, but she's in cahoots with her. They're holding something against Rina, and it happens to be the secret of my daughter.'
'You're saying Rina knows you already have a daughter?' Owen asked with skepticism.
'That's absurd,' Mom said. 'You're jumping to conclusions and making a fool of yourself.'
'Thanks for your understanding and support, Mother. I guess you're just like the rest … sheep following fools. I know what I heard, the first time and today. Everyone's stabbing each other in the back, and my own grandmother's knife is between my fucking shoulder blades.'
Mom glared at me. 'That's enough, Alexis. This behavior is unbecoming for your position.'
I started hurling clothes through the air again. 'I don't give a shit about my behavior or my position. Right now, I don't even want my position. I'm going to take my family out of here so you all can be safe again, and then we're going to go find my daughter!'
Mom sighed heavily. 'You don't have a daughter yet. That's not what Julia meant.'
'Mom. I thought of all people, you would believe me. Since you don't, go. We don't have any more time to waste.'
She stood there, staring at me as I stuffed the pile of clothes on my bed into my suitcase.
'Take Owen with you,' she muttered, and she disappeared.
I turned to Owen. 'We don't need you. I don't want you along if you don't believe me.'
He chewed on his lip. 'I believe you … all except for the Rina part anyway. I can't see her doing such a thing. But my job is to protect you and Dorian, and I want to help you get to the bottom of this.'
'And we do need him,' Tristan said. He shared his plan with us while I finished packing for both of us. Which ended up being useless because we couldn't flash with luggage and flashing was our only means of escape, from the Daemoni and from the Amadis.
'Okay, so there are two things I don't get,' Owen said ten minutes later as he started the boat's engine.
He paused as he backed the boat from the pier and turned it away from the Amadis Island. Away from my son. Tears still stung my eyes from saying goodbye to Dorian. I was leaving him. Again. But it was part of Tristan's plan, the only way to get us–all of us–off the island. Owen would follow with Dorian, but Tristan and I had to distract the Daemoni first. Keep their attention away from Dorian. At least I was able to say goodbye this time, to hold him and kiss him one more time. I prayed Tristan's plan would work.
'First,' Owen continued, 'you said the person in the woods the other night had leverage over all of you, and you couldn't know about the girl until the plan had been executed. You think the secret of the daughter is the leverage they're holding over Rina, right? So how could they hide the girl from Rina? Or do you think the plan has been executed?'
I stared at the afternoon sun glinting off the steel-blue water. 'She thought they couldn't know about the daughter, not any of us specifically, so maybe she only meant Tristan and me … or anyone besides who knows already. Or maybe Rina knows about the girl, but doesn't know where she is.'
It came out convoluted, but Owen seemed to understand my points.
'So you don't think this Daemoni attack is part of the plan?' Owen asked. We all looked at each other with the same coldness in our eyes.
'That would mean the Daemoni are involved in all of this, which means the traitor is working for them, not just against us,' Tristan said.
'And that's impossible,' Owen said. 'Like Solomon said, they don't have enough control to pull it off this long.'
'I think the plan is simply to gain more power,' I said. 'They're making Rina doubt herself. Julia was laying that on pretty heavily. And the other leverage they have over all of us is Dorian's powers.'
'Yeah, that's my second thing,' Owen said. 'Dorian has powers? Already?'
'Yep, which means you need to keep an extra-close eye on him,' I said. 'We've told him he can't do those
