Devotion

'No,' Mom said, 'but she's not well.'

'How bad?'

'I don't know, honey. She got the same dark magic you did.'

Tristan bent down to lift Rina into his arms.

'Don't you dare touch her!' Julia hissed at him, her body protecting Rina's.

Chandra placed a hand on Julia's arm. 'Julia, it's over. Tristan is obviously not the traitor.'

'Yes, we have been made fools of,' Armand said, his tone mixed with exhaustion and anger. 'Martin was the traitor. He–or she, I should say–had all of our thoughts twisted up.'

'Then are you done accusing my husband?' I asked.

Savio, Robin and several others averted their eyes and fidgeted nervously.

'I believe it is obvious,' Solomon said, 'that not only is Tristan not a traitor, but that he is meant to be with us. The Angels have given him to the Amadis, and we shall not disregard their gift.'

Several council members murmured their assent, and the crowd cheered.

'Allow me to apologize on behalf of all of us who doubted,' Savio said without raising his head.

'We'll deal with the consequences later,' Mom said, and she turned toward Rina. 'Tristan, you probably want to spend some time with Bree …'

Tristan looked at Bree and then at me. 'I'd rather spend time with my wife and son first. I have much to think about.'

'Then can you please take Rina to the mansion?'

'No, I will take her,' Julia said, no longer defensive or protective, but more like she didn't want to let Rina go. Her eyes looked pained and grief-stricken as she looked down at Rina's still body.

'You can't flash with her,' Mom said. 'You have to see the logic in getting her to her bed as soon as possible.'

Julia didn't respond at first, but finally nodded. Tristan bent down and lifted Rina into his arms. Her body fell limply against him as he turned to Bree.

'Go,' Bree said before he could say anything. 'I understand. I'll be here when you're ready.'

Tristan disappeared, and Mom followed. The crowd noisily filtered through the doors. I was about to leave, too, but not before checking on Owen. He was nowhere around. Lisa and Jessica caught my eye, and I hurried over to them.

'Do you know where Owen went?' I asked them.

'No, but he left this for you.' Lisa held out my dagger.

'We can probably find him,' Jessica said with a mischievous smile.

I narrowed my eyes as I slid my dagger into my belt. 'Can I trust you?'

'Probably not.' Lisa's smile matched her sister's. 'But we promise not to hurt him.'

'Unless he wants us to,' Jessica added. 'Some males like that.'

I cringed, not wanting to think about Owen's bedroom preferences. I probably shouldn't have trusted them, but my heart hurt for Owen. He couldn't have been in a good frame of mind. I thought he could use the distraction the faeries would provide.

'Please find him,' I said. 'And bring him back. He needs his family. His real family.'

Lisa and Jessica grinned excitedly. 'We are more than happy to do this favor for you.'

They disappeared before I could say anything. I hit my forehead with my palm. Crap. Now we owe the faeries even more. I didn't know what that meant–how bad it would be–but since they'd come here in support of Bree, I hoped it wouldn't be too awfully bad. But if it was, Owen was worth it.

I'd go looking for him myself, but I had too much to deal with … and I was probably the last person he wanted to see anyway, since I'd played a key role in his father's death. No, not his father's. That wasn't really Martin. Perhaps that was true, but that meant this Martin–the one we all knew–was the one who raised Owen. The only one Owen knew as a father.

With a heavy heart, I glanced around the room, expecting to find it cleared out. Guards stood right outside the door waiting to take care of Martin's body once everyone left. But the room wasn't empty. Charlotte still stood there, holding her broken arm and staring at the lump of robes on the floor. Tears streamed down her cheeks.

'Char …?' I said quietly, taking a step toward her.

Faster than a vampire, she yanked the dagger out of her corset and sprang at Martin's body.

'You son of a bitch!' she screeched, slamming the dagger down. Making sure he was truly dead. But instead of the sound of the blade sliding through flesh and bones, we only heard the sharp twang of metal hitting stone. The robes billowed around her as she fell on her knees, nothing padding her landing. 'What the hell?'

Charlotte pawed through the robes, shoving and swirling and lifting them in the air. Her movements became frenzied and her sobs desperate. I rushed to her side, knelt beside her and pulled her into my arms.

'He's gone,' she sobbed against my shoulder. 'The damn coward is gone.'

I held her and rocked her. 'I'm sorry, Char. I'm so sorry.'

And I was–the last seventy-something years of her life had been a lie and now she couldn't even have her revenge–but part of me felt relieved. Because if Martin's body was gone, that meant I hadn't killed him.

Charlotte pulled in a raggedy breath and straightened in my arms. She gave a sharp nod. Her voice came out hard and cold. 'Don't worry. I'll get the bastard.'

With that, she disappeared. And I had no doubt she'd keep her word.

I flashed, too, to the mansion, anxious to hold my two men, but I needed to see Rina first. Julia stood in the hallway of Rina's wing, all alone. I bristled and prepared to push past her to see Rina. But looking at her more closely, I realized she wasn't guarding Rina's door. Her shoulders were slumped as she leaned against the wall, and she didn't glance up at me, although I knew her vampire ears had heard me minutes ago.

'Tristan and Sophia are assessing her,' Julia murmured as she continued staring at the floor. 'They would only allow Solomon in.'

I leaned against the opposite wall and waited, not wanting to bother them.

'Alexis,' Julia said after several long moments, 'I am sorry for my behavior. Part of it, I am sure, was Martin's influence, but part of it, I admit, was my own obstinacy. I was very frightened for Rina. My feelings for her … they make me very distrusting of anyone. I only wanted what was best for her, even if it meant removing her as matriarch. It would have kept her safe.' She sighed. 'That's what I thought at the time. Now look at her.'

Perhaps I should have told Julia it wasn't her fault because that was probably the right thing to do. After all, she'd just apologized and explained her reasoning. And no one had been themselves with Kali controlling them. But I didn't feel so forgiving at the moment, at least, not toward this vampire who'd been at the heart of everything wrong. Including Rina's condition. So I didn't say anything.

Luckily, I didn't have to. Rina's suite door opened, and Solomon came out. Julia straightened and searched his face for answers.

'How is she?' we both asked at the same time.

Solomon shook his head. 'She has a pulse–it is faint but it is there–and she breathes normally, but her eyes do not respond to light and she does not respond to pain at all. We will have to wait to see if her body can regenerate from the damage done. Tristan is trying to help her heal.'

'He's giving her his blood?' I asked with mild surprise.

Both Solomon and Julia wrinkled their noses.

'Yes,' Solomon said, his voice thick, full of revulsion.

I couldn't help the chuckle that escaped my throat. 'You're disgusted by that? You're vampires!'

'It is not the blood transfusion,' Solomon said, 'which is rather repugnant, but it will change her scent.'

I thought about what it would be like if Tristan's scent changed and he smelled more like Solomon or Mom, and I understood the vamps' revulsion. I loved his scent, found it quite mouthwatering actually, but it was his scent. Not anyone else's. And for Solomon to have his mate smelling like another guy?

'At least it is only temporary,' Julia said. 'Can I see her now?'

'Not yet,' Solomon said. 'But Sophia is asking for you, Alexis.'

Julia scowled.

'She needs Amadis power, Julia,' Solomon said as I entered Rina's suite and closed the door behind me. 'Be patient.'