“Many reasons, which I’ll tell you later. Right now, we need to get out of here.” He fired up the loud engine and gave me an expectant look to get on.
I stuffed the map into my pocket, swiped my dagger’s hilt to make it disappear, and swung myself onto the bike. Owen cloaked and shielded us before we took off into the darkening evening. By the time we whipped onto I-75, full night had come on, and the highway was much less crowded than it had been earlier. I didn’t feel the fear at all now, so my mind kept drifting, wanting to search for the girl right away, and Owen had to keep mentally yelling at me to stay focused so he could see through my thoughts.
“Why couldn’t we go right away?” I asked Tristan as soon as we stood in our own garage. After removing our cloaks, Owen had gone on home. “We were halfway there already.”
“Because we don’t know what we’re going up against,” he said. “If it’s Amadis, they must have had help over the years, so it’s probably more than one person, and we have to be careful how we handle it. If it is, by chance, Daemoni, then you’re looking at a battle much bigger than what we just finished. I need a chance to regroup and make a plan.”
I crossed my arms and stared at him. He stared back at me.
“Are you making a plan?” I asked impatiently.
The corners of his mouth twitched and eventually tugged up into a smile.
“You’ve certainly become all full of yourself today.” He pulled me into his embrace and held me tightly against him. “Please give me a moment to feel you safely in my arms before we throw ourselves into the pits again.”
I wrapped my arms around his waist and leaned my head against his chest. “I suppose we can spare a moment.”
“How about a night?”
“The whole night?”
“You really don’t want to be out there in the middle of the night.”
I snorted. “After what we just went through, you think I’m afraid of the dark?”
“Not the dark. The swamps. The homes of gators, anacondas . . .”
“As in big snakes?”
“As in ginormous snakes.”
I shuddered, but said, “I can handle it.”
He heard the hesitation in my voice and knew he almost had me convinced. “A few hours sleep will give our bodies time to completely heal, and Owen especially needs it.”
Ugh. He knew how to get to me.
“Okay, fine. We leave first thing in the morning.”
“Perfect.” He took my hand, and we headed into the house, where we found Dorian in bed and Mom and Charlotte at the kitchen table.
And they weren’t alone.
Chapter 19
Wearing a charcoal gray pants suit and her dark hair pulled into a twist at the nape of her neck, Julia looked almost like a Norman visiting friends during a business trip. But the vampire’s only business here would be to take Tristan. My hackles rose. I stepped in front of Tristan.
“What the hell are you doing in my house?” I demanded, though I already knew the answer.
“Rina was worried. I told her I’d check on you and Sophia,” Julia answered smoothly.
“And we’re supposed to believe that? Believe you?”
“Alexis!” Mom thought. “Calm down. She’s not here for Tristan. Rina seems to think we need a babysitter.”
She followed you? I asked. Mom barely moved her head in a nod.
“That’s my official business,” Julia said. “But while I’m here, it’s only prudent of me to tell you that your actions are making your situation worse.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Tristan asked.
“Today’s events mean nothing to you? The Amadis who fought for you—their lives mean nothing?” So she had already received word of the battle at the shifter encampment.
“Of course they do! And if you knew as much as you think you do, you’d know that we protected them,” I seethed through clenched teeth.
“Which is no better. You risk their lives by going there in the first place. Then you risk your own—their only hope for a future—because of the danger you brought down on them. Either way you look at it, your actions can’t be trusted.”
“Well, our actions,” I said, “led us to what we’re looking for. A girl who everyone says doesn’t exist. Don’t talk to me about trust!”
Mom, Charlotte, and Julia stared at us for a long, silent moment. Then the questions started flying, and Tristan and I shared what little information we gleaned, before discussing our plans for tomorrow. I absolutely insisted on