Wrath

necessary to protect their own. If another country or faction—or species—attacks their people, they’re not going to stand around and do nothing. They’re going to retaliate.”

“That’s what the Daemoni want!” I pulled away from Tristan and started pacing.

“Yes, it is. They’ll turn the dying into theirs until they have an army big enough to take over humanity. Normans will become their slaves. If they have to wipe out half of the human race with a nuclear war to achieve this goal, they will. Which is why we need to counteract their every move and convert as many as we can.”

“Which will build our army. Then we can go into Hades before it’s too late.”

“Hopefully, yes. While our best diplomats are with the politicians, we need to be working on our primary mission of building our army. I need you and Tristan to focus on this.”

“Okay,” I agreed. “But we’re not losing focus on rescuing Dorian, Mom. As soon as we have the people we need, that’s our primary mission.”

She didn’t respond right away. My nostrils flared.

“I want Dorian back as much as you do,” she finally said, “but he can’t be our primary mission. Not yours. Not anyone’s. The Amadis and the Normans need us.”

“Dorian needs us!”

“Honey . . .” She paused again, and I could picture her pinching the top of her nose with her thumb and forefinger. When she finally continued, grief tainted her voice. “Honey, Dorian is where he belongs now.”

“No!” I yelled. “Don’t you ever say that! He doesn’t belong there. He belongs here with us, with his dad and me. You say there’s a reason for everything. Well, there’s a reason the Angels sent him alone, Mom. We may not know what it is, but they couldn’t have sent him only to be taken from us.”

“Maybe that is the reason, Alexis. Maybe you needed this motivation to finally use your powers and fight. Maybe this all happened to force you to focus on your real purpose. To do what you, as Amadis royalty and a future matriarch, are supposed to do.”

I stopped in my tracks, her words like a slap across the face or a violent shake you give someone to make them see reason. No. I refused to believe Dorian’s life meant nothing more than this. There had to be another purpose.

“No. My son needs me,” I said. “So does Heather. What about her?”

“The Norman girl’s safety and well-being is a concern. We have a team searching for her now, but . . . Alexis, it may be too late for her.”

My heart skipped a beat. “What?”

“She knows too much, and the Daemoni know that.”

“Let us go search for them, Mom. Please. She and Dorian are probably together.”

“If we find the girl close to you, we’ll send you out. It’s the best I can do right now.”

“I will not give up on them,” I said through a clenched jaw. “On either of them. I will not abandon my son.”

“You will serve the Amadis, Alexis,” Mom countered just as firmly. “You will serve the Angels and lead their army like you’re supposed to.”

“I won’t abandon him,” I repeated.

“You won’t abandon your people. You won’t leave your army.”

“No. I need them.”

“Not until they’re ready.”

“We don’t have time to waste!” I sucked in a deep breath. “Why can’t you just give me the best and let Tristan and me take care of this immediately? Then we can serve you like we’re supposed to.”

“I can’t afford to give you our best. I need them where they are.”

“We can make our own team,” Tristan said in my head. “We can build her an army and do this at the same time.”

“Then I’ll make my own team,” I said to Mom. “Tristan’s already coming up with a plan.”

“Alexis—”

“Don’t worry, Mom. It’s all about building the Amadis army.”

“Good. That’s where your energy needs to go. Thank God and the Angels for Tristan’s level head.”

I rolled my eyes. She must have sensed the truth.

“Don’t lose focus,” she warned.

“Don’t worry,” I said again, although my focus was a little wider than hers.

“Don’t abandon your people, Alexis,” she repeated.

“Unlike you, Mother, I won’t abandon anyone.”

Chapter 3

“So you have a plan?” I asked Tristan after hanging up with Mom.

“The beginnings of one,” he said, “but the only way you were going to satisfy Sophia was to convince her we’d build an army. Which we’ll do. If you want to do things your way, Alexis, you have to learn how to make her and Rina trust you. Make your goals and theirs one and the same.”

I stood in front of him and jutted a hip out while dropping my hands to my waist. “But they don’t want to try to find Dorian. How am I supposed to agree with that?”

“I’m not saying you have to agree on everything. Only the big things. Build an army and fight the Daemoni. That’s what you’re agreeing to. You don’t have a problem with it, do you?”

“Of course not. As long as we can rescue Dorian in the process.”

“Exactly. Serve their purpose, ma lykita. Build and train our army. If Sophia’s right about Dorian not being in Hades, we won’t need to wait on a full army to get to him. We can put together a special ops team for a search-and-rescue mission. All part of the training program.”

For the first time in days, maybe even weeks, a smile tugged at my lips. I threw my arms around him.

“You’re brilliant!” I said.

He shrugged under my embrace. “Yes. That’s how they made me, isn’t it?”

“And we’re going to use all that brilliance and everything else they gave you against them. We’re going to destroy them. Once and for all.”

He shifted under my hold. I pulled back to study his sublime face. The gold in his eyes shone darkly.

“What?” I asked.

“As much as I’d like to decimate them all, we might have to settle for restoring balance.”

I narrowed my eyes.

“That’s how the world works, my love. That part is beyond our control. If the Angels and the Heavens only want balance restored, that’s what we’ll achieve. We can do everything in our power, but in the end, it’s not up to us.”

I huffed out a breath of resignation, knowing he spoke the truth. “Fine. As long as I get to kill Lucas.”

He nodded. “Without Lucas’s direction, the Daemoni will be lost for a long while. He holds them together, keeps them from killing each other. That could restore balance.”

“And Kali,” I added. “And we know that’s okay because the Otherworld wants her soul.”

“Right, but Hades is a no-go. For now, anyway. No use wasting our time and losing lives if Dorian isn’t there.”

“Agreed. But what is the plan?”

He began ticking items off his long fingers. “First, we need to figure out what to do with all the people here. If Sophia still wants it as a safe house, we need to take measures to make sure it’s actually safe, since we won’t be here. And we need a task force. A team of trackers and converters. And a protector.”

He looked up at me, knowing just the word would feel like a stab in my gut.

I pressed my lips together to block out the emotional pain of Owen’s betrayal and shrugged. “I’m sure Mom will give us our best. Hopefully that’s one she’ll give to our cause. The best is no longer ours, but his mother is.”