Devotion

'If Tristan wanted to kill Julia, he would have. Nothing could have stopped him,' said Chandra, the exotically beautiful were-leopard who thought Dorian could lead the Amadis. 'We cannot prove he did anything to the girl and there is much doubt that he did. So what are the other charges against him?'

'After tying yourself to Amadis royalty, gaining your way in, you returned to the Daemoni,' Savio, the Italian shark, said to Tristan. 'Is that correct?'

'Not intentionally,' Tristan said. 'I was defending the Amadis and protecting Alexis.'

'And before doing so,' Savio continued, ignoring Tristan's defense, 'you impregnated the Amadis daughter with only a son, who you knew would eventually convert to the Daemoni, leaving the Amadis with nothing.'

'What are you saying, Savio?' Charlotte asked. 'That he purposefully shot only male sperm?'

A chuckle ran through the audience.

'You must not really know the Daemoni if you can't believe they're capable of anything,' Savio countered.

A murmur of agreement came from the crowd. I bit my lip, suppressing the urge to shout at them about how absurd they sounded. How they grasped at straws. At one moment, they talked about Lilith as an Amadis daughter, and in the next, when convenient for them, they spoke as if we didn't have a daughter at all.

'If you're asking if I married Alexis and she conceived a son, yes, that is true,' Tristan said. 'If you're asking if I gave myself to the Daemoni, yes, that is true, as well, but not to return to them. Only to protect Alexis and the Amadis. To protect you.'

'That's what you say,' someone nearby muttered. I leaned forward and twisted toward the source, wishing I could shoot daggers with my eyes. Many faces met my glare, some with pity and empathy, others hard and accusing. I narrowed my eyes, then turned back to Tristan and the council.

'Did you or did you not spend over seven years with the Daemoni and upon your return, attempt to murder your wife, an Amadis daughter, last March?' Armand the vampire asked.

The crowd became louder this time, with both defensive and accusing tones. I jumped to my feet, unable to keep quiet a moment longer. Especially because Tristan would never defend himself against this accusation. 'No! That wasn't him. You know how the Daemoni are. You can't blame him for that!'

Several council members threw me a dirty look, while a couple looked at me with pride. Martin ignored my outburst, distracted by a piece of paper that appeared in mid-air and fluttered in front of him. He snatched it out of the air, unfolded it and studied the contents.

'Yes,' Tristan said, also ignoring me. 'I am sorry for not maintaining control of myself. That is a regret I have to live with for the rest of my life.'

'Which may not be much longer,' a voice from the crowd said.

Martin's eyes shot daggers this time. 'Silence,' he hissed.

'We all know Ms. Alexis is right,' said Galina, one of Rina's favorite mages. 'Tristan would never purposefully harm her. He was not under his own control.'

 'I believe it,' spoke up Minh, her silly green hat now gone. 'They are meant for each other, are they not? We agreed years ago they are to produce the next Amadis daughter. Why do we contradict ourselves now?'

I sat down, my arms across my chest, finally understanding why Rina had trusted those two mages so much. They were utterly loyal; you could feel it emanating off their bodies.

'Have you produced a daughter, as you agreed to do twenty-eight years ago?' asked one of the Middle Eastern mages–whether Attair or Shihab, I couldn't remember.

'You tell me,' Tristan said. 'You've tested the girl's qualities. Since you accuse me of attempting to murder the youngest Amadis daughter, you tell me if she's even been born yet.'

The mage pressed his lips together, having no answer.

'As to how you convinced Alexis to marry you in the first place … is it true you deceived her with a faerie stone?' Julia asked. How did she know about it?

Tristan's eyes flicked to me, and I shook my head before his glare returned to Julia.

'I didn't remember the meaning of the stone at the time,' he said.

'But you did give her a faerie stone? And it did make her believe she loved you?'

Tristan's Adam's apple bobbed as he swallowed. 'Yes. It is true.'

I flew to my feet again. 'No, it's not! You've gone too far! He didn't make me do anything. My love for him is real. More authentic than any of you!'

Mom tugged on my arm, pulling me back to my seat. Rina opened her mouth as if to say something– finally–but then snapped it closed, as if she couldn't bring herself to voice her own thoughts.

'A faerie stone does not work in that way,' Chandra said dismissively. 'We are fully aware that no magic, no powers, not even faerie powers can force or create love.'

Exactly.

'If you're going to accuse Tristan of treason, your grounds must be better than what you've put forth so far,' Galina said.

'Is it true you can flash while holding another living being?' Armand asked, and everyone looked at him with confusion, the question seeming to have no grounds for treason. He ignored them, staring at Tristan expectantly.

'Yes. I've flashed with Alexis a few times.'

'You do realize no one has ever heard of that being done?' Armand pressed.

'Of course I'm aware. There are many things I can do that no one else can.'

'So if a baby–a baby girl, in this case–were taken at birth, the kidnapper would have to flash in and out … leaving with the baby. And no one but you can accomplish such a feat.'

The crowd broke out in a quiet roar. Mom, Rina and I exchanged glances. So many holes peppered that insinuation ….

'Let me get this straight,' Tristan said, rocking back on his heels. 'You're accusing me of pretending to become Amadis; somehow convincing the council and the matriarch and the youngest daughter that I should have a child with the next daughter who hadn't been born yet at the time; purposefully giving her only a son and no daughter … except, no, now you're saying something different. I did actually give her a daughter, but right after conception, I went back to the Daemoni for nearly eight years; and at the birth, I somehow flashed into the room, delivered a baby, cut the cord and flashed away without Rina, Sophia or one of your most powerful warlocks noticing and took the girl with me, leaving the boy. Years later, I returned to kill my wife, but since that didn't work, I took her on a wild goose chase around the globe, although I would know exactly where to find our daughter, only to try to kill her and attack a council member. Is that what you're accusing me of?'

Everyone stared at Tristan for a long moment, probably still weaving through the tangled web he'd thrown.

'Something like that,' Adolf finally said.

'Except you're not even sure the girl is an Amadis daughter, in which case your stories and allegations change. Again.'

The crowd sat silently as the accusing council members averted their eyes and squirmed uncomfortably. Martin, who'd been studying the piece of paper he'd been delivered a few minutes ago, lifted the page and waved it in the air.

'We do have an answer to that now,' he said. He looked at Tristan, then glanced at me, his expression wary. 'I believe, however, we should discuss this in private. It's very personal in nature.'

'Nonsense!' Julia said. 'The results are pertinent to the case. They will be disclosed publicly.'

'I agree,' Armand said.

Martin sighed and gave a shake of his head as he glanced down at the results. I sat on the edge of my seat, my knuckles white from the tight fists I held in my lap, and waited to hear if Lilith really belonged to me. My heart pounded louder with each passing moment as Martin took his time to form his thoughts. Unable to read his mind, I wanted to physically reach in and grab the words out of his throat. Finally, he spoke. 'The results show a trace of Amadis blood, but not enough to be an Amadis daughter. She is not Alexis's child, not the youngest daughter.'

I sat frozen for several beats as the news set in, then finally blew out the air I'd been holding. My mind spun, swirling the crowd's loud reaction into a background cacophony. I wasn't sure what I felt. Relief, disappointment and several other emotions roiled together, fighting for dominance. She's not my daughter. I don't