Wrath

“A message from the Angels?” Tristan asked. “Because they might be the only ones who will convince your granddaughter here.”

Not the message I’d hoped for, but Tristan was right—their confirmation about Vanessa would have been comforting.

“No, not from the Angels. A message is not necessary. Vanessa is fully converted. You have done a very fine job, Alexis.”

With all of my prior insecurities, Rina must have thought I doubted my own conversion abilities. She didn’t know how complicated Vanessa’s situation was, with her involvement with Owen, the traitor, and all.

“I know it all, dear, but I also know what is in her heart and in her soul. I feel it so completely, I have sent her into the village for enhancements—her own leather gear, enchanted weapons, and a supply of mage blood suited to her particular needs.”

“And you think that’s a good idea?” I asked, pretty skeptical myself. If Vanessa was pulling one over on us, the last thing I needed was her powered up with mage blood.

“I do. If she is to guard you, she will have every advantage we can possibly give her. I also have spent time with Blossom, and now she is with your mother and Charlotte, taking a—what do you call it? A crash course?— heavy training in conversions.”

“That’s great, but it’s not Blossom I’m worried about,” I muttered.

“You do not need to worry about Vanessa, either. Just as you accept Tristan for the man he is now, you must accept Vanessa for who she is now, not then.”

Of course she was right, and I really wanted to. Life would be a bit easier if I knew Vanessa was definitely on our side. But there were still too many questions in my mind, regardless of what Rina said.

“Your family has grown again,” Rina said. “Embrace it, darling. Family is very special.”

I twisted in my seat to face her more fully and leaned toward her. “It is special. All family is. Including our sons.”

Rina’s mouth formed a scowl as she looked away from me and to the flames dancing in the hearth. Did she really think we could avoid the subject? Or maybe she’d only been waiting for me to bring it up. A moment passed before her gaze returned to me.

“The Amadis is our family, Alexis,” she said. “We are called a matriarchal society because I—like my predecessors—am a mother to our people. They are all my children, and I love them as though they are. I must care for all of them. As will you some day.”

So I’d been summoned here for a lecture after all. I’d hoped I might be able to convince her to let me look for Dorian while we built our army so we wouldn’t have to be secretive about it, but she had nothing more to say than what Mom had already told me. I had a duty. A purpose. Blah blah blah. There would be no changing her mind. I had to go with Tristan’s scheme and say what needed to be said so we could be on our way.

I reached for Tristan’s hand and squeezed it. I pulled on his strength, needing it to give me the composure I required.

“I know. I already do love them like family.” Which wasn’t a lie. I did love the Amadis people. “I will do what it takes to protect them.”

“Including those who are not part of us yet. Those taken by the enemy.”

“Yes,” I agreed sincerely. After all, I did want to help the innocents. “And I’ll build our army. My team and I will.”

Rina nodded with approval. “Very good, darling. Doing so is as paramount to our survival as is your having a daughter.”

“Tristan and I will work on that as well,” I said automatically. If we have the time . . . Of course, we’d make time. We had to, not only for the Amadis, but also for our own relationship.

“Oh, I am sure you will,” my grandmother said with a small smile.

“So, see? You had nothing to worry about.” I bit my tongue about what a waste of time this trip had been. Although, Vanessa and Blossom were benefitting, so maybe it wasn’t a complete waste.

“Alexis,” she said, her voice quieter than before, “I do understand where your heart is. I understand the conflict you feel.”

Now it was my turn to look away and study the flames. Did she understand? Did she really have any idea? At least when she lost Noah, she’d thought him dead. His soul safe. She didn’t have to worry about what evil things were being done to her son, what kind of beast they were turning him into, because she had no idea the Daemoni even existed. She didn’t have a clue what I was going through right now.

“I would have done anything for my son, Noah, if I had known he was still alive,” she continued. “However, I had not known. I thought he had passed with his father in the bakery fire. I had already mourned his loss decades before I learned he still lived.”

“And when you found out?” My eyes swung to her to study her face.

“Of course, I wanted to save him right away. As soon as I learned the truth about the Amadis and the Daemoni, about us, I thought he could be the first soul I saved.” She let out a sigh pregnant with grief. “But I realized quickly the cause was already lost.”

I gasped. “He’s lost his soul? Given it over to the Daemoni?”

Rina’s eyes moistened, and her gaze dropped to her hands as she folded them in her lap. “I do not know for sure. He has kept himself secluded for nearly a century now. But I know the Otherworld requires balance. I know now—and I knew then—my Noah was no longer my son. I had and still have Sophia. The Daemoni have Noah. And there is absolutely nothing we can do to change that.”

I wanted to argue the point, and feeling me tense against him, Tristan squeezed my hand, warning me not to. But it took all of my control to hold back. Not only could we change things if we discovered how to break the curse, but more urgently, my son’s situation was completely different. Besides the fact that he’d been stolen, not summoned, his being taken didn’t do anything for balance, especially since we didn’t have a daughter. And there was something we could do about Dorian. Maybe we couldn’t rescue Noah or the other sons—not yet anyway—but there was still hope for our son.

Saying any of this remained pointless, though, and I had to keep my promise to Tristan. We’d obviously never convince her to allow us to search for Dorian. She probably brought up the subject of Noah as a way for me to see we had such a tragedy in common and I needed to suck it up like my ancestors did and move on. If she and the Council believed I’d actually give in so easily, though, they were sadly mistaken. Because something in my heart told me not to—not to give up on Dorian, not to let him go. Not yet. It wasn’t his time.

“I had believed there was nothing we can do for all of these years,” Rina continued. “But I believe it no longer. Something can be done. We have our duty, and we cannot stray from it, but I believe there is some way we can serve our sons. There is something happening to them. I do not know the specifics, but I believe we must act. And we start with Dorian.”

My gaze shot to her eyes as my pulse sped with surprise. “Are you saying . . . ?”

I couldn’t finish the thought, scared I’d misinterpreted her meaning. Trying not to let my hope soar too high that she was actually giving her blessing to our plan, I braced myself. Tristan’s hand squeezed my thigh in anticipation as we both leaned forward, hanging on her every word.

Her lips danced, and the smile showed in her eyes, piercing through the cloud of sadness. “It would be a lovely miracle if you could save all the sons. Including my Noah.”

Chapter 9

Whoa. My hand flew to my mouth. I hadn’t been expecting that kind of a blessing.

“You think we can break the curse?” I asked, my voice full of both confusion and disbelief.

Rina tilted her head. “I cannot tell you that. I cannot even confirm the curse exists. But I do believe we can help the Summoned in some way. My intelligence team has noticed they, as well as many of their offspring, have gone missing in the last several months. Some may have disappeared as long as a year ago or more.”