Promise (27 page)

"A good vampire, I assume. One that drinks
donated blood?"

I smiled slyly. "I don't know…maybe he or she
is horrible. I haven't decided who's human and who's vampire yet,
but I think one wants to kill the other or they both want to kill
each other…at least at first."

He gave me a dark look and I shrugged.

"Well, they say to write about what you
know
." I bit my lip, waiting for his reaction.
Shouldn't
have said that, stupid
.

He just shook his head, chuckled and wrapped
his arms around me. "You know, only
you
could bring love
into the most unlikely situations."

"Everybody has at least a little good in
them, so it's possible."

My face pressed against his chest, so I
couldn't see his expression, but I felt his muscles tense. His tone
was dark and serious. "Not
every
body."

Even with his warm body around me and the sun
beating on us, a chill ran up my spine.
He would know.
I
decided to let the subject drop.

"So, what do we do with the rest of the day?"
I asked.

Tristan suddenly jumped toward the table and
slammed his hand on the folder containing the manuscript, then a
big gust of wind blew around us. I looked up and saw the dark
steel-gray clouds building up and pushing toward the beach from the
other side of the house. The typical afternoon storm came in
quickly.

"Thank you!" I gasped. "How'd you know?"

"Heard it coming."

We barely had everything inside when the wind
picked up again. Tristan pushed a button to close the window-wall,
then he took my hand and led me downstairs.

"Are you hungry? I picked up some croissants
with the coffee. Chocolate, your favorite."

I hadn't realized it until then, but I was
ravenous. "Sounds good. I hope you bought ten. I'm starving."

He chuckled. "There should be enough to hold
you over. Then I'll shower and take you home so you can get cleaned
up, too. Maybe by then the storm will have passed and we can go for
a short ride before tonight."

"What's going on tonight?" I asked as I
lifted myself to sit on the counter.

"Like I said…plans to make, things to figure
out." He shrugged, downplaying it, but I knew by the look in his
eyes it was serious.

"You're holding back on me," I said
pointedly. He grimaced.

"You're right. And I'm not going to do that
anymore." He took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Ian's
little visit has more far-reaching consequences than you realize.
Your safety is more at risk now than it ever has been. We need to
decide what to do about that."

"Oh," I breathed. An onslaught of thoughts
rushed through my head, giving me no time to think about each one
as the next pushed it out:
Are we moving again? What about
school? What about my book? Can we still get married? Is Mom okay?
Would they really challenge Tristan? Would he be okay?
Those
last three terrified me.

Tristan misinterpreted the look of fear I
felt spreading across my face. He wrapped his arms around me and
kissed the top of my head. "Don't worry, you've been well
protected. I won't let anything happen to you. Why do you think I
was at your house day after day, even though you wouldn't talk to
me? I couldn't leave you alone, so vulnerable...."

While I was immersed in my own miserable
world, there'd been much else going on I hadn't even realized. And
Tristan had put his own heart aside to protect me, even when I
behaved so cruelly. I pushed my croissant away, my stomach in knots
with heartache and worry. I leaned my forehead against his
chest.

"What does this mean?" I finally asked. "What
will happen? Can't you see the best solution anyway?"

His body stiffened and he didn't answer at
first. Then he said firmly, "It's no longer an option."

"Why not, if it's the best one? What is it?"
I looked up into his face. His eyes darkened.

"I won't discuss it. It's just not
happening." He walked away, his back to me. "We'll figure something
else out, all of us, tonight."

I hopped down from the counter and went over
to him. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed myself to
his back.

"I trust you," I whispered. "As long as
you'll be okay."

His muscles relaxed and he pulled my hands
apart enough so he could turn around in the circle of my arms. He
lifted my chin with his thumb.

"You do
not
need to worry about
me
," he said. "As long as
you're
safe, I'll be
fine."

He bent over and brushed his lips against
mine.

"Now, I'm going to take a shower and, as much
as I'd rather you not, you need to get dressed." He headed for the
stairs and I followed behind him.

"I could join you," I offered, my insides
warming at the thought.

"I'd love that…but, my love, I need your
patience."

My head fell in dejection, though I knew deep
inside that my whole heart wasn't into the idea. I wanted to wait,
too, so it would be perfect.

"I promise you, though, it
will
be
rewarded," he added and I smiled.

Something white lying by the baseboard caught
my eye as we crossed the living room. I picked it up and realized
it was a piece off one of the house models. I looked around the
room and didn't see any boxes large enough to contain the
architectural renderings. I wondered what he did with them. As I
looked back at the piece, I noticed it hadn't just fallen off—it
was broken.

"Tristan…?" I looked up at him as he turned
to me. "Where are your houses?"

A dark look came over his face and then he
shrugged. "Gone," he said flatly.

"What do you mean…gone?" I searched his face
as a pit formed in my stomach with the thought of what might have
happened to them. I could tell he didn't want to tell me.

"I…destroyed them," he admitted quietly.

"Tristan! How could you?
Why?
"

"I was angry at myself and decided I didn't
want them anymore. I wouldn't need a dream home…without you to
share it with."

A long carving knife of shame pierced all the
way through my heart and then twisted around inside my chest.

"I'm
sorry
!" I cried, throwing my arms
around him. "I'm sorry I doubted you. I'm sorry I hurt you. I'm
sorry…"

"You had every right…."

"No, I didn't! How could I doubt your love? I
knew it all along and I was just mad, acting like a child. And I
hurt you…."

"You were hurt first.
I
hurt you. I
should have been more upfront with you. I deserved it."

"But it wasn't you! I know that now. All you
did was what was best for them…and you loved me. I'm just so sorry
I was too proud and bullheaded to realize it sooner. I almost lost
you," I whispered miserably.

"But you didn't," he whispered back. "And now
you know you love me and trust me fully."

I nodded. He wiped the tears from my
cheeks.

"So, we're good." He smiled warmly and I
nodded again. "Then let's get past this and look forward,
okay?"

I nodded a third time. He picked me up in a
tight hug. I gave him a long kiss, hoping the depth of my love for
him would flow through it. But I didn't know if that was even
possible. My love was so much more.

"We'll do the next one together—
our
dream home," he promised as we continued up the stairs
hand-in-hand.

***

As we headed home from dinner that evening,
Tristan drove the motorcycle right past the cottage to the dead-end
at the beach.

"Come on. We have just enough time to watch
the sun set," he said.

The sun already hovered half-way behind the
water and we sat in silence as it finished its descent.

"Listen," Tristan finally said, "we'll need
to go soon, but before we do, I need to tell you something."

Somberness and foreboding filled his tone. My
stomach tightened automatically.

"Why do I have this feeling I won't like what
happens tonight?" I asked.

"I think, in the end, you'll be fine. First,
though, there will be some surprises."

"
More
surprises? How much more can
there
be
?" I moaned and threw my head into his lap. I laid
there curled up, my head resting on his legs. "I don't know that I
can take any more."

"So you don't want to know all these big
secrets you haven't been allowed to know before? You don't want to
know who you are?"

I shot up and stared at him.
"
Seriously
?"

He looked at me thoughtfully. "Yes, I think
you'll be learning quite a bit tonight. I don't see how it can be
kept from you any longer. There's too much at risk. So…I want you
to know, no matter what you hear, regardless of how…shocking…it is,
I absolutely, unconditionally, undeniably love you. No matter what.
I've known it all since before you were born and knew what I was
getting into, okay? And I would've told you already, but, like
their plan for us, it wasn't my place. Do you understand?"

I narrowed my eyes. "Um,
no
. Was that
supposed to make sense?"

He chuckled. "I guess it probably doesn't
right now. Come here."

He pulled me sideways onto his lap and held
me close, brushing his lips across my cheek. He murmured into my
ear, "I love you, no matter what. You are everything to me and
nothing will come between us as long as I can help it. We are
together forever."

"I can understand that." I found his lips
with mine. He suddenly stopped kissing me, though, and cocked his
head, then closed his eyes and let out a sigh.

"They're ready for us."

"How do you know? And who's 'they'?" I asked
as we headed back to the bike. "I thought it was just my mom."

"You'll see in about three minutes."

Three minutes later we walked into Mom's
cottage. I stopped in the archway between the foyer and the living
room, surprised to see all the people there—Mom, a woman who looked
just like her and two men. I sensed extreme goodness from all of
them as they looked at Tristan and me and smiled approvingly.

The lady who looked nearly like Mom's twin,
dressed for a ball in a white, shimmery gown, rose gracefully from
Mom's usual chair. She had all the same features as Mom and looked
to be in her late twenties, but, somehow, seemed much older.
"Hello, Alexis, I am your grandmother."

I jumped at the "sound." Because she hadn't
spoken.
Her lips didn't move!
I'd heard it
in
my
head, not with my ears. There were a couple snickers. Tristan
squeezed my hand.

"Mother, she wasn't ready for that," Mom
said.

"Sorry, dear," my grandmother said aloud. Her
real voice, like her telepathic one, was smooth and luxurious, like
velvet, with a foreign accent I couldn't place. It seemed familiar,
though. I heard it in my head again. "
You are just as beautiful
as they have told me. Just wait until the Ang'dora. You will be
magnificent.
"

I stood there awkwardly, forcing a smile on
the outside while internally freaking out.
My grandmother's
a
telepathic
!

She held her hand out to me. I didn't move.
Tristan gave me a little nudge and whispered, "It's okay."

Without letting go of his hand, I took the
two steps over to her. She clasped my other hand in both of hers
and closed her eyes. Silence filled the room as everyone watched. I
had no idea what she did, but a warm, pleasurable sensation washed
over me. She smiled and then opened her eyes.

"Yes, magnificent," she said aloud. She
looked at Mom. "She is amazing, Sophia."

Mom beamed. "I told you. Probably the best in
many, many centuries?"

"Yes, I think you are correct." My
grandmother sat back down. Her body moved with the majesty and
grace of a lead ballerina. She belonged in a palace, not in our
little cottage.

"Alexis, this is your grandmother, Katerina.
You can call her Rina," Mom said. She held her hand first toward a
tall, broad man with hair in cornrows standing perfectly erect
behind Rina, then at the man sitting next to her on the couch.
"That is Solomon and this is Stefan."

Stefan barely looked at me. Although he
radiated goodness, the way he hid his eyes behind his dark, curly
hair gave me the impression he felt guilty about something. I
wondered what it was. He seemed vaguely familiar but I didn't know
why. I couldn't remember ever meeting him, but I knew his name from
just the day before. He'd spoken to Tristan recently, from what I
heard on the speaker phone. I now placed Rina's voice—she'd been
the woman on the phone.

"These are some of the Amadis council
members," Mom continued. "Our family line has always led the
Amadis, with advice and guidance from the council."

Owen popped his head in the door then and
called, "All's clear."

"Thank you, Owen," Rina said. "Please
continue your watch."

I threw Mom a look.

"Yes, Owen is part of the Amadis, but he's
not on the council. He's a protector." She smiled. "He's
your
protector."

Chapter 1
9

My
protector
—as in bodyguard? Why
do I need a protector? And am I the only one in the dark here?
I must have stiffened because Tristan stepped behind me and circled
his arm around my waist. "Relax, my love."

He pulled me over to the loveseat. We hardly
ever used it—there were never more than three people in the
room—and it sat in the corner, out of the way. Someone had pulled
it slightly forward and now, as we sat down, it felt like the focal
point of the room as everyone scrutinized us.

"My darling, Alexis," Rina said, "you are
probably wondering what we are all doing here?"

I felt like a child in the principal's
office, not because I'd misbehaved, but because something was wrong
that the adults needed to explain. I took a deep breath and nodded.
"That'd be a good start."