Purpose (40 page)

“They’d already planned it before I escaped,”
Tristan said. “That’s why I made the move when I did, because she
was in danger.”

“Yes, they have been discussing this for some
time. They have been giving me ultimatums to make her stop since
she wrote her second book,” Rina said. “But they knew they did not
have real Provocation. They were empty threats. If they came after
her at all when they still had you, it would be to have you both.
So the books were really irrelevant to their desire to attack her.
They served as an excuse.”

“And I wouldn’t have known they were lying,”
I said. “I would’ve fallen for it. I
did
fall for it.”

“Yes, we know we made a mistake in not
telling you sooner,” Rina admitted.

“So why couldn’t anyone tell me? Why has Mom
always had to keep this from me? I’m twenty-seven years old and
just now learning who I am and what it means!”

Rina sighed. “I understand your frustration
and I appreciate your patience. There were many reasons for your
not knowing the whole truth. First, there was a trace of doubt
about the power of the Daemoni in you—enough doubt that we had to
be cautious in protecting our secrets. Second, our secrets are
always kept hidden until the woman goes through the
Ang’dora
. We all lived normal, human lives until then.

“You, however, are unique. You had powers
before your
Ang’dora
, so you knew something was different
from a young age. For the rest of us, our mothers left us to return
to the Amadis just before they changed over and we continued living
normally until our turn came. You, however, saw and understood that
your mother does not age. Sophia was so concerned for your safety,
she would not return to us when you became too old for her to look
like your mother. Then Tristan came to you and you deserved to know
at least some of the truth so you could build a solid relationship
with him. So, you actually knew more than any of us did before the
Ang’dora
.

“Finally, as your gift of writing became
apparent along with your interest in creatures you thought were
mythical, we knew you could serve a great purpose. You would not
have done so well if you knew it was not fiction, no?”

“No, I might not have written them at all,” I
admitted. I thought I’d been creating—and losing myself—in my own
world.

“So we still could not tell you
everything
, even when you already knew so much.” Rina placed
one of the books she’d been holding on the table between us and
slid it toward me. “Read your history, Alexis. You will learn
everything you have been waiting to know.”

I picked up the heavy book. The title was
embossed in gold on the cover:

The History and Life of

Alexis Katerina Ames Knight

“It will give you the insight you seek,” she
promised.

I ran my finger over the title and then
opened the cover. The inside cover depicted a family tree—well,
more like a vine—starting with someone named Andrew at the bottom
and ending with Dorian at the top.
Holy crap!

“Mom…you’re a
twin
?” I’d never known
that before. She’d never mentioned it once, not that she had a
brother and definitely not that she was a twin. But depicted on the
family vine next to her leaf was another—Noah.

She and Rina both looked a thousand years
old, full of a thousand years of heartache, as they both nodded. I
opened my mouth to ask what happened to him, but Mom gave a nearly
imperceptible shake of her head. Rina stared at the flames in the
fireplace, though she didn’t seem to actually watch them. Her mind
was far off, lost in distant memories. I’d brought up a difficult
subject. Noah must have met a terrible end and I had inadvertently
brought it to the forefront of Rina’s mind.

I wanted to tell her I was sorry, to hug this
woman who always displayed control and power, but seemed so
despondent and broken now. But my intuition told me the best thing
to do was to simply give her a moment of silence. So I returned my
attention to the book and became engrossed in the first couple of
pages, which were about Andrew, a fallen Angel, his twin children,
Jordan and Cassandra, and a potion that forever altered our DNA.
Tristan tapped his finger on the page.

“They used a similar potion to create me,” he
murmured.

I flipped the pages and saw text only
partially filled the heavy book. The majority of the pages were
blank. I looked questioningly at Rina, who seemed to have recovered
from the pain inflicted by the reminder of her son, her attention
returned to me.

“The rest will fill in as you go through your
life here on Earth,” she explained.

“And when the pages run out?” I asked.

“That is when you either die or ascend,” she
replied.

“Ascend?”

“When your purpose is fulfilled here and your
daughter is ready to take over as matriarch, you will ascend to a
different place, joining our ancestors and the Angels in the
Otherworld.”

“Assuming I have a daughter,” I muttered.

“I
know
you will,” Rina answered
confidently. “We do not yet know the purpose of Dorian’s lone
arrival. But the messages I have received from the Angels indicate
there will be another Amadis daughter. This is something we will
need to discuss with the council. As you know, our very existence
relies on a girl in the next generation.”

“And if there’s not? Dorian can’t rule the
Amadis?” I asked.

“We are a matriarchal society, Alexis.” Her
tone was firm, as if that were answer enough. As if it could never
be changed.

“What if he has a daughter? Can we skip a
generation?”

Now they all—including Tristan—sighed
heavily, it seemed with despair. I looked at him in surprise,
thinking he would support this thought. He pursed his lips and just
barely shook his head.

“Read your book, Alexis,” Rina said, “and you
will understand.”

I flipped through the pages of the book
again. My story, starting with my conception and ending with my
travels to the Amadis Island today, used only a few pages, compared
to the number of blank ones.

“Well, I will either have a very long or a
very full life.”

“I believe you will have both,” Rina said,
smiling now. “But the pages cannot be counted—the number is
protected by the Angels and they can add more or take some away, so
we have no idea how long you will actually live.”

She placed the other book on the table.
“Tristan, we have yours, too. We did not include any history. You
probably do not mind, no?”

“Absolutely not,” he said, picking up the
book with his Amadis name on it.

“Good. It starts when you saved Sophia, your
first step in becoming Amadis.”

I looked at him in surprise again. “You saved
Mom? I thought she saved you.”

“He saved me first,” Mom answered for him.
“Once I had him convinced there was enough good in him, he fought
Lucas, who tried to kill me. Actually, I was unknowingly already
pregnant, so he saved both of us.”

I inhaled sharply.
Even then we needed
each other
. I pushed the thought into Tristan’s head. He smiled
at me.

“
We always have
,” he thought.
“
Maybe I somehow knew you were in there and we already had that
connection
.”

I
like
that thought
. I smiled
back at him.
You and me together forever
.

He thumbed through the hundreds, perhaps
thousands, of blank pages in his book—about as many as there were
in my own. “
Forever
.”

I love you, my sweet Tristan.

He placed his book back on the table, then
wrapped his arms around me and pulled me close to him. He kissed
the top of my head. “
I love you, ma lykita
.”

Mom and Rina left the room so Tristan and I
could read the Amadis history. I curled my legs under me and
snuggled into him, opening my book between us to the family vine. I
traced my fingers up the branch as I scanned the names and then
searched for the meaning of the brown leaves and asterisks. Small
print in the corner provided the explanation.

“Oh,
no
!” I gasped, tears springing to
my eyes. “All the males!”

Tristan squeezed me closer and his voice
filled with sorrow. “I know, my love. That is why Dorian cannot
rule or even produce an Amadis daughter.”

No, no, no! Not my son!

For the first time since the
Ang’dora
,
tears flowed freely. I clutched at my chest, forgetting again that
the pendant—my life saver—was gone.
Not my Dorian! Not my
son!

“Is there anything we can
do
for him?”
I cried aloud.

Tristan leaned his head against mine. “We
will do everything we can, my love. Everything in our power.”

We’d already won so much. We’d fought our
personal demons to be together—the ones we created in ourselves,
such as the inabilities to trust or to love and be loved; and those
implanted into our DNA and by our enemies. Our love was strong
enough to overcome those obstacles. Good had won over evil.

But is Owen right? Does good
always
win? And is our love strong enough to overcome all the obstacles
still ahead of us? There are so many battles still to fight…for us,
for our son, for the Amadis…for all humankind. How do we face it
all?

I hadn’t realized my mind was still connected
to Tristan’s and I shared these desperate thoughts with him until
he responded. I could hear the confidence—almost cockiness—even in
his thoughts.

“
We fight together, ma lykita, side by
side, hand in hand, souls bound as one. The ultimate warrior and
the fierce protector
.” I looked up at him and he grinned.
“
Bring it on!”

Then he winked and I smiled through the
daze.

Yeah.
Who can beat
us
,
right?

It was a question with an answer only God
knew…and only time would reveal as our purposes unfolded before
us.

Kristie Cook is a lifelong, award-winning
writer in various genres, from marketing communications to fantasy
fiction. Besides writing, she enjoys reading, cooking, traveling
and riding on the back of a motorcycle. She has lived in ten
states, but currently calls Southwest Florida home with her
husband, three teenage sons, a beagle and a puggle. She can be
found at
www.KristieCook.com
.

Author's Website & Blog:
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