Purpose (36 page)

Damn it! Can we ever get a break?

The Daemoni cackled and cawed around us. For
the first time, I noticed the white-blond, male vampire from Key
West—Vanessa’s brother. Just to his right stood the vampire who’d
threatened me in my room.
How can they be out right now?

“Uh-oh. Are we having a little squabble?”
Vanessa sang as she sauntered over to Tristan’s side. She chuckled,
the musical sound ringing in the air. “Looks like you finally came
to your senses, lover.”

“Glad you could join the party,” her brother
said. An Amadis protector snarled at him.

“The party’s just getting started. My Seth is
finally coming back to me,” she crooned as she strutted around
Tristan—too closely for my liking.

Tristan paid her no notice, but I was
distracted. For a second too long. His power overtook me before I
could react to the thought and he held me in place. I could barely
deliver the electric current, especially as the blond vampire bitch
ranted on. She ran her hands over Tristan’s bare shoulders and
arms, her eyes on me, mocking me.

“Are you going to kill her, darling? Or do
you want me to do it for you?” she purred.

“C’mon, Seth, just do it!” one of the Daemoni
jeered. “What are you waiting for?”

Some of the others followed with their own
taunting, the last thing we needed right now. I just had to hope he
ignored them as much as he ignored the snow-white bloodsucker
hanging all over him. Granted he was trying to kill me, but at
least I had his undivided attention.

But seeing Vanessa touching him revolted me.
The emotions—combined with Tristan’s intensifying power—started to
weaken my resolve.

I can’t do this! I can’t hold him!

“
You love him, Alexis. You
can
do
this
,” Rina thought.

I’m not strong enough! I’m going to lose him!
I’ll kill us both.

“
Use your love and your Amadis power. I
told you. You are strong enough now.”

I didn’t understand why she couldn’t help,
but once again I followed her instructions. With effort, I tuned
out Vanessa and my emotions—all but my love for Tristan—and dragged
my right hand up, palm out toward him. I focused on pushing the
power through. That warm, soft ribbon, wider and stronger now,
streamed through my body and along my arm and surged out of my
hand. I felt it connect with his chest, right at the mutilated
Amadis mark, penetrating into his heart.

I
love
you, Tristan. You and me
together forever. That’s how it is. You and me, baby. You love me.
Think of our love, Tristan. Think of your son’s love.

Tristan growled, the corner of his lip
lifting in a snarl. I could feel the evil energy building inside
him, gaining force to fight my Amadis power. And I thought it might
be too late—I might already be fighting Daemoni.

So now what?

I couldn’t kill him. Even if I wanted to, he
was virtually impossible to kill. The Daemoni had tried all their
different ways and they couldn’t even take his heart.
Because it
belongs to me
. Did that mean I
could
do it? Was I the
only one? Is that what Rina meant after all? My stomach clenched
into a sickened knot.

But even if that’s true…he’s
Tristan.
My sweet Tristan
. My one and only love. Mom was right. I
couldn’t kill him. I would let him kill me first.

“Do it already, darling. Kill the little
bitch,” Vanessa taunted. “Then we can finally be together. Oh, the
things we will do….”

She draped herself around his non-responsive
body. My heart squeezed.

Get your raunchy hands off him!

I hadn’t meant for her to hear me, to reach
into her head. The idea disgusted me. But she laughed aloud as if I
had. Appalled, I returned my focus to what mattered.

No, Tristan! Love! Remember our LOVE
.
Remember Dorian.

His growl deepened and grew louder.

“We can have so much fun, now that she’ll be
out of the way. Come on, lover, just do it,” Vanessa sang. Then her
voice became a snarl. “
Or I will!
”

“Do it, Vanessa!” her brother shouted. “Fuck
Lucas!”

“Shut the hell up!” I yelled.

The fury gave me the strength I needed to
fight Tristan’s power. I turned my left hand on Vanessa, while
holding my right on Tristan. I didn’t realize the extent of my
power until I unleashed the electricity on her. She couldn’t handle
it like Tristan could. She twitched and seized, her face twisted
into a pained grimace.

“
Easy, Alexis. We don’t kill unless
there’s no hope. She’s a soul that can be saved
,” Rina reminded
me.

Are you freakin’ kidding me? She’s ready to
kill me!

But I knew in my heart Rina was right.
Overwhelming love still filled my body and I could feel a twinge
even for the vulgar vampire bitch. I also knew Owen and the others
wouldn’t let her kill me. I let off the current and Vanessa
collapsed, her once beautiful blond hair standing on end in
patches, what remained only an inch long. Purple smoke rose off her
blackened skin.

“
You little
—,” she screamed. She
lunged at me, but then she soared thirty yards backwards. Out of
the corner of my eye, I could see Mom and Owen magically
restraining her.

I paid for the distraction. In an instant,
Tristan’s power pressed on me more forcefully than ever. I now knew
exactly why they considered him the ultimate warrior. His power was
unbeatable, literally able to squeeze the life out of somebody. It
compressed my body into itself, squishing my bones as if they were
made of putty. My chest pressed into my spine, my heart flattening,
my lungs about to collapse. My veins and arteries constricted, the
blood flow slowing. My head felt like it would implode.

And I couldn’t bring myself to fight him. I
couldn’t do whatever I needed to do to save myself. I couldn’t even
think straight about it. I couldn’t save him and I couldn’t kill
him.

It’s happening. Evil is winning. He’s
actually killing me.

All those times he’d been so worried about
accidentally killing me and I’d never believed he would do it. Now
he was. And I was letting him.

But my death would leave the Amadis
without hope for another daughter. It would leave Dorian without a
mother. And it would leave Tristan
—
if there’s still soul
left that would even care
—
to live out his existence knowing
he’d killed me.

I’d promised him several years ago I would
never let him do that to himself. I would never let him have to
live with that. I would never let him kill himself over it.
THIS
IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!

There was only one thing to do. I prayed.

Dear God, please help me. You are so powerful
and I can’t do this without You. I need You. He needs You. I offer
myself as a tool. Use me however You need to. Just please save him.
Please, dear Lord, save Tristan.

A voice answered in my head and it didn’t
belong to Rina. This voice came as quiet as a whisper, yet I could
feel the immense power reverberating through it.

I am here for you, My daughter
.
His
soul is already Mine, Alexis. When he gave it to the Amadis, he
gave it to Me and nothing can change that. But until I bring him
home, his soul needs protection against the demons. I have already
given you what you need. Use the power I have gifted to you, My
daughter. This is My plan for you. This is your purpose.

And I understood. I knew then what I was made
to do. My purpose in life, just like Tristan had said. I was never
meant to be normal. I knew it all along, despite all the lies I
told myself, despite the ruses I attempted to make life normal. But
that was never really me. That wasn’t Real Alexis. I was Amadis.
More than that. I was Amadis royalty. The books, a daughter,
eventually leading the Amadis…those were part of my duties. But
Real Alexis was created to be the fierce protector. My main purpose
in life was to defend souls from evil.

And Tristan’s was my first.

“
NOW, Alexis. You
can
do it!”
Rina’s voice loud in my head.

I won’t let you do this to yourself,
Tristan!
I yelled into his mind.
We will WIN!

I struggled against his power, panting and
sweating with effort. I heard Rina and Mom praying. A rush of
otherworldly power washed over me, poured over my skin and seeped
into my pores, filling my body with strength and force. I gathered
all of that force, pulled it from every cell in my body and
directed it through my hand to Tristan’s heart, focusing only on
the power God had given me and my love for Tristan.

I know you’re in there, baby. We can beat
this together. We can do this. Please, Tristan. Come back to me.
Stay with me! I need you! I love you!

My thoughts escalated as desperation grew. I
pushed with every bit of strength I had. And I watched as the scars
around his heart began to dissolve and the fire in his eyes
dimmed.

That’s it, baby! Come on. We can do this.
You love me! You want to be with me. You and me
forever
,
Tristan!

His hold on me weakened. I continued pushing
the full strength of Amadis power on him.

Love, Tristan. You WANT to love. You LOVE me.
You LOVE Dorian. We love you! We need you!

DON’T.

LEAVE.

ME.

AGAIN!

And his power released me.

I felt instantly free. His body convulsed
violently and a painful moan replaced the growls. Then he fell to
his knees as I kept Amadis power focused on him. The skin around
his heart smoothed and the Amadis mark, now whole, began to
brighten. The fire in his eyes died and then disappeared.

The now hazel eyes, full of pain and regret
and love, penetrated my own eyes.

“Alexis,” he whispered. I took a half-step
toward him.

“
NO!
” Vanessa screeched, making me
freeze, the sound more terrifying than a long-nailed finger
scratching against a dark window. “
Get her! Get them
both!
”

She ran at me. Chaos erupted as everyone
responded. The Daemoni sprang toward Tristan and me. The Amadis
protectors fought them back. Vanessa, still at least fifteen feet
away, jumped and flew through the air toward me. She moved so fast,
just a blur of white and black. I didn’t have time to react. Just
as she came close enough to feel a rush of air on my neck, she
suddenly flew sideways. Her back cracked against a steel post
supporting the balcony. The post vibrated with a twang as she
crumpled to the ground. My eyes wide with terror and surprise, I
swung around to see whose force had saved me. Tristan’s hand still
faced toward her.

He lithely jumped to his feet and, in
martial-arts style, he turned, seemingly in slow motion, his power
hitting the Daemoni one at a time as his hand swung around in an
arc. One-by-one they fell to the ground. Then they each disappeared
with a
Pop!
The storm overhead rapidly shrunk, then
vanished.

We all stood there in the stillness,
breathing heavily, looking around to make sure they all
disappeared. I could hear every single heart pounding with
adrenaline. Then we let out a collective sigh of relief.

Tristan turned back toward me, agony all over
his face.

“Alexis,” he whispered again.

I ran for him and jumped into his open arms.
He held me tightly as I kissed him all over his face and he kissed
me back.

“I love you, Tristan,” I gasped between
desperate kisses and tears. “I love you so much.”

He squeezed me against him. “I love you,
Lexi, my beautiful, brave Lexi,
ma lykita
.”

I held his face in my hands and looked into
his eyes and they filled with love, the gold flecks sparkling
brightly.

“I’m sorry, so sorry.”

I placed my finger over his lips. “It wasn’t
you. And it’s gone. It’s just you and me now.”

His lips found mine and kissed me with
fervent love. Then we just looked into each other’s eyes as I held
his face in my hands and stroked his cheeks with my thumbs. I felt
a light rippling under my right thumb. Something changed in his
skin.

“Oh!” I continued stroking and then kissing
the scar stretching diagonally across his cheek. It gradually
dissolved away and he shuddered when it had completely vanished. I
did the same to the one around and under his eye and it, too,
dissolved. I erased the one on his chin and kissed him all over his
beautiful face, each little scar disappearing. I slid my hand over
his cheek. No icy ridges. Nothing but soft, velvety skin. “They’re
gone. The scars are gone!”

Keeping one arm tightly around me, he rubbed
his other hand over his face. He smiled warmly.

“The dark magic is gone,” he said. “Gone for
good, because of you. You saved me again.”

I threw my arms around his neck.

“We save each other,” I said. “We
need
each other.”

He nuzzled my hair and murmured, “Yes, my
love. Our souls are bound together. Forever.”

“Owen, take care of this.” Rina waved her
hand at the destruction as we headed up the stairs and into the
house. The shield had already been replaced and the Amadis
protectors had walked beyond it and disappeared, except for Julia,
who remained at the shield’s edge. Whether she stood guard or
simply waited for Rina, I didn’t know.

Owen rubbed his hands together, as if they
were cold and he warmed them, and then thrust them out in front of
him. The pieces of the balcony and screen flew back together. As we
stood back and watched, he made the movement again toward the glass
doors and then with the interior—the furniture, the walls and the
kitchen island returned to looking like new. I had to snap my jaw
shut, amazed at what I’d just witnessed.
As if everything else
today is perfectly normal
…. I snorted to myself.