"Actually that was an excuse to come here and see you. They aren't aware you're here yet."
My eyebrows shot up. "Really? Surely someone in the colony–"
"Yes, someone has reported your arrival. But the entire Western Hemisphere reports to me now," Char said with a grin, "and I haven't bothered to tell the council yet. I said I needed your mother because we happened to be in Atlanta anyway, and with her truth-sensing and persuasion abilities, she'd make my investigation easy work."
I resisted the temptation to read their minds and studied their faces instead. Perhaps I really
wanted
to trust them, wanted them to be on our side, or perhaps they really were sincere, so I decided to give them the benefit of the doubt.
"Okay, so what's going on?" I asked again.
"The council has broken into factions," Mom said, not telling Tristan or me anything new. Until her next statement. "Even the most supportive ones are becoming agitated, up in arms about the next daughter. Rina thinks the sooner you get pregnant, the sooner everyone will settle down and unite again."
"But Rina knows there's already a daughter," I said. "Why doesn't she say so, if that will make everyone happy?"
Mom raised her eyebrows. "Alexis, there is no daughter. You need to let it go."
"There is! I heard it.
You
need to believe
me
."
"You're jumping to conclusions based on snippets of thoughts."
My eyes flew to Charlotte and back to Mom.
"Charlotte knows about your power," Mom said. "I had to tell her so she can help us. Now listen to me. What you heard about Rina, the threat to expose her secret, is not what you think it is. It's not my secret to tell, but just trust me on this."
"Well, if it's not Rina's secret, it
is
somebody's. Julia and her mysterious friend and whoever else are hiding our daughter! If Rina would only listen to me …"
"It's nonsense, Alexis. There's no possible way. You need to stop searching for something that doesn't exist."
I narrowed my eyes.
"I know what you're doing," Mom said. "You're going to Daytona this weekend to question a witch coven. I feel the truth of it."
I didn't answer at first. Last I'd heard, we were going to Lake Okeechobee, but apparently Tristan had changed his mind. I looked at him, and he gave me a shrug.
"Okay, so that's what it is," I conceded. "So what? We need to figure this out. We need to find this girl."
"I also feel the truth that you're searching in vain. You won't find her–there isn't anyone
to
find." Her mahogany eyes were wide and sincere.
She means it
.
I dropped my head into my hands. Mom was never wrong.
If Mom feels that truth, then what are we doing? What did I hear?
Over a month had already passed since we left the Amadis Island, but the thoughts I heard were still clear.
But the meanings?
Tristan came over and sat on the arm of my chair. I felt a tug inside my head–his mind signature. He was signaling me, and I opened my mind to him.
"
What do you think,
ma lykita
? I trust you
."
Time had passed, but the urgency had continued to build. Last night's dream only motivated me more.
"Maybe you're right, Mom," I finally said, "but I'm not taking the chance that you're not. Maybe whoever is blocking Rina's power is messing with yours, too. I can't risk our daughter's life, if she's out there. And as you said, if she
is
out there, finding her will improve things all around."
Mom and Charlotte exchanged a significant look.
"Tell her," Charlotte said.
Mom sighed heavily, closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. The air in the room thickened even more, making my lungs, my whole body heavy with dread. Whatever she had to say wasn't good.
"What?" I asked to break the silence.
"They gave you six months altogether," Charlotte said when Mom didn't answer. "So, you have two more months."
"Two months for what?" My eyes bounced between her and Mom, waiting for their answer.
"To become pregnant with a daughter or the council will take it into their own hands," Mom said darkly. "They'll split you and Tristan up."
The air whooshed out of my lungs and tears sprang to my eyes. Tristan took my hand, and I held onto his tightly as if they were already trying to pry us apart.
"Two months?" I finally whispered. "But … but that's not enough time."
"I agree, honey, but something–or someone–has them agitated."
"The traitor," I said.
"Probably. But they blame it on the Daemoni attacks … and other things. They say there's too much at stake to risk any delays. You conceived Dorian right away, so they think if this is possible between you and Tristan, it'll happen quickly."
"And if it's not possible? Then what?" My tone held an edge as the anger boiled near the surface.
"They want to try Owen."
"
What?
" I flew to my feet and paced the room. "That's ludicrous! What am I–a horse or a dog or something? How does a different stud change anything?
I'm
the one who's gone through the
Ang'dora
.
I'm
the one who wouldn't be able to conceive."
"We can't be certain about that," Mom said. "
I
conceived after the
Ang'dora
."
"Okay, then, why don't
you
and Owen try? That makes more sense than
me
and Owen!" I laughed hysterically, throwing my hands in the air. "Or, better yet, how about you and Tristan? That makes all the sense in the world, according to their thinking. Let's split up the supposed heavenly match, and everyone can fuck each other until we have another daughter!"
Mom pursed her lips, obviously biting back a reprimand. I thought I heard Tristan and Char chuckle quietly, but I wasn't sure. My head throbbed too loudly with anger.
"This is insane, Mom. We're supposed to serve God and the Angels, but adultery is acceptable, as long as there's another daughter? Does that really make sense to you? Does that end really justify the means?"
"Some people would say yes," Mom said. "In fact, a lot of people would."
"I would," Tristan said quietly.
I spun on him. "
Seriously?
"
He took my hands in his and kissed the knuckles on each one. "Lexi, the future of a whole society relies on
your
daughter. Every possibility needs to be tried until one is successful … or until the Amadis die with you. But when the Amadis die, the Daemoni win. And humanity loses."
I stared into his beautiful but dark eyes, tears again filling my own. Put that way, we had no choice. I fell back into my chair and doubled over my knees, crying and blubbering into my thighs. "So we have two months or they'll break us up? We're finally together again, and they'll cut us in two, just like that?"
Tristan stroked my hair as I sobbed.
How could I lose him again?
"That's not all," Charlotte said. She paused with hesitation, then blurted it out. "If the most extreme faction succeeds, you won't even get two months. They want Tristan removed from the Amadis completely and immediately. They've decided he's the traitor and needs to be eliminated."
The sobs cut off instantly. Remnants of Psycho Alexis, whom I hadn't felt since before Tristan returned months ago, emerged. The anger didn't bubble under the surface now. The entire volcano exploded. I stood and electricity charged through my veins and crackled around me. I almost expected lightning to shoot out of my eyes as I glared at Mom and Charlotte.
My words came out slow and deliberate. "If they dare, they lose all chances of another daughter. If he goes, I go."
"Alexis." Mom reached out for me. Electricity charged between us, and she flinched.
I stormed out the back door and ran down the empty beach, covering more ground than humanly possible. Tristan grabbed my shoulder from behind and spun me around, ignoring the electricity zapping between us. I fell into his arms.
"They can't separate us, Tristan. They just can't!"
He held me tightly and pressed his cheek against the top of my head, but he didn't reply.
"We're supposed to be
made
for each other. They said it themselves. They
wanted
us together. Why are they doing this?"
"Not everyone believed it then," he said quietly. "Fewer may believe it now, especially after what the Daemoni did to me … after what happened in the Keys. Maybe they're right."
I jerked back. "What are you saying? You don't think we belong together?"
My heart hammered in my chest, filling the silence when he didn't answer. Finally, he pulled me back against him. "What
I
think is irrelevant. I love you, and that's what matters."
I leaned my head against his chest. "I knew some of them wanted this, but I didn't seriously think it would happen. I didn't think Rina would let it."
"Lexi, this isn't about what Rina or you or I want. We have an obligation to the Amadis as a whole. An obligation to all of mankind. Without the Amadis, humanity ends."
"But not in the next two months. Not in the next two or twenty
years
. They still have Rina, then Mom and then me. Lots of time." I inhaled deeply, the air rattling in my heaving chest, and exhaled slowly, calming myself. "Why are they being so demanding? How can they put a deadline on something that might be impossible? How can they destroy us for it?"
"Lexi, do you love me? Truly love me?" A ridiculous question, but his voice sounded as though he really needed to hear my answer. As if he weren't sure.
I looked up at him. "Of course."
He blew out a breath, and I couldn't understand why he'd been holding it. "Then they won't destroy us, my love. If we have to leave them for a while until time can prove my loyalty, then that's what we'll do."
"And if Mom is right … if this girl … this daughter doesn't exist, and I don't get pregnant in two months?" I couldn't say the rest … what they expected. So I whispered, "Owen?"
Tristan chuckled, though the sound was void of any joy. "In vitro fertilization, remember?"
Right
. That had been my own idea in the past. The reminder calmed me further.
"You'd be okay with raising someone else's kid?"
"I'd
prefer
to be the father of your daughter–" He inhaled a deep breath and let it out. When he finished, his voice came out very quietly. "–but we do what we have to."
I pressed my forehead against his chest, twisting the hem of his shirt around my fingers.
"But if that doesn't work? What if they make us …?" The thought of being with Owen was nauseating. Not only because he was like a brother, but because he
wasn't
Tristan.
He lifted my chin with one hand and looked deeply into my eyes, penetrating my heart. "I pray it'll never come to that, and I'll do everything in my power to prevent it, but if it does … well, the pain would be worse than anything I've suffered in my entire long life. It would break my heart. But I would still love you,
ma lykita
. Nothing can change that."
My chest squeezed, and my heart swelled at the same time, feeling both the pain and love he expressed. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled myself up against him. "I love you, my sweet Tristan. Always."
He leaned his forehead against mine. "And I love you."
"Some anniversary, huh?"
"At least we're together."
"Forever?"
"If it's up to me, yes."
I sighed. Unfortunately, not everything was up to us, but I would take what I could get. He kissed me, then took my hand as we walked slowly back to the house. It was farther than I thought–I'd run half a mile in the twenty seconds before he'd stopped me.
We entered the house through the rear door right as Owen walked through the front door.