Promise (32 page)

"Some demons have the ability to plant
thoughts in humans' heads, deceiving them that they are their own
thoughts. Others can completely possess a human. But none of them
can read anyone's minds—not humans' and definitely not ours," Mom
explained.

"They have seers who try to predict the
future, but their magic is unreliable and their abilities are
limited. Only God is all-knowing," Stefan said, then he added with
a small smile, "and He's more willing to share with us."

This slightly comforted me. Then I had an
idea.

"Tristan, we need to get married
immediately," I said firmly.

He looked down at me. "We've set our date.
It's not that far away."

"And we keep that date, because they'll hear
about it and you know they'll plan to attack before then. They'll
try to stop us."

"Yes, they will," he agreed grimly.

"So we get married under the Amadis
now
, in secret. They won't know until it's too late."

I watched as he clenched and unclenched his
jaw while he thought about it.

"She is right, Tristan," Stefan said. "It is
a good plan."

Tristan looked at me, his eyes hard. "We're
not
getting married out of fear."

I groaned in frustration and left his side,
pacing the room angrily.
Why is he being so damn obstinate?
We knew they'd do everything they could to stop our marriage. The
Amadis and Tristan, apparently, had full confidence in their
ability to stave them off. But I personally had a problem knowing
we could be attacked any time. That tonight's real-life nightmare
would repeat.
And what if it's worse next time? What if they
succeed?

I threw myself at Tristan's feet. "Tristan,
please
. You know it's the best solution. Do it out of love.
Love for
me
. I
need
it…I need the hope that we may be
able to live without a constant threat hanging over our heads. I
need that sense of peace that they won't be able to take you from
me.
Please
. Do it for me, because you
love
me."

I gazed into his dark eyes, pleading with my
own while holding his hand against my lips.

"Please? For me?"

He studied my face as he brushed my hair back
from my forehead. He eyed the small, shrinking lump. His eyes
flickered with what looked like sorrow or remorse.

"Okay," he said quietly. "For you."

I threw myself back into his lap and kissed
him. "Thank you."

He sighed. "You
are
my weakness."

I leaned my head against his shoulder and
whispered, "I love you, my sweet Tristan."

"I love you,
ma lykita
," he whispered
back.

"Together forever?"

He tightened his arms around me and murmured,
"You and me forever, my love."

Our sweet-nothings came to an instant stop
when something banged on the dining room door. I thought it was the
wind at first—apparently everyone did because we all stared at it
but no one moved. When it really started clanging in its frame,
though, Stefan stood up. He stiffened.

"Somebody's out there!"

Tristan jumped up, dropping me to the floor.
The bruise that should have been healing on my hip flared with
renewed pain. He and Mom were both across the room before I could
even think
ow
, their bodies tense.
Not again! Not
already!

"It's Owen! Open the door!" Mom ordered.

Tristan pushed a button to raise the
automatic hurricane shutter. A dark gray light poured through the
glass, Owen silhouetted against it. Rain flew sideways at him as he
pressed himself against the wind. Stefan opened the door just
enough for Owen to slip in and he had to push with force to close
it again. The shutter lowered as I ran to the bathroom.

"The house is shielded. No one can get in or
out," Owen said as I rushed back with towels for him. "Of course,
that meant
I
couldn't get back in."

"Can someone please explain what that means?"
I asked as I handed the towels to Owen. "How you just appear and
disappear…get in and out when this house is already supposed to be
locked down?"

"It's just part of who we are. You'll do it,
too," Mom said lightly. I eyed her, not letting her blow it off. I
didn't accept half-truths anymore. She shrugged. "It's just
natural. We call it flashing."

"Owen has placed a shield over the house now,
preventing any flashing," Stefan added. "We did not have it in
place earlier in case any of us needed to flash inside…which, of
course, we did."

"Yeah, okay," I said stupidly, like I
understood.
Is this for
real
?
I only knew it was
because I'd seen it with my own eyes. "So…no one can get in
now?"

"Not until we lift the shield," Owen
confirmed.

A heavy weight lifted off me. We were
safe…for now anyway.

While the storm raged outside, Mom and I
huddled in the living room, planning my weddings. They would
obviously be small affairs. It wasn't like I had anyone to invite
anyway, but the first one—the one that truly mattered to me—had to
be entirely secretive and done quickly. The longer we waited, the
more chances the Daemoni had to attack before the September
wedding, but Solomon and Rina needed a couple of days to arrive.
They'd be marrying us.

After Stefan and Tristan lit candles and
double-checked security because of the power outage, we debated
where to hold the wedding. Stefan said it would be too suspicious
if we all gathered at one of our houses and I really wanted it on
the beach but didn't think it'd be possible. After concentrating on
the options, Tristan came up with the idea of a secluded area on
Gasparilla Island. He said everyone (but me, of course) could flash
there without being noticed, it provided the necessary privacy for
the ceremony and it would be easy for Owen to shield.

I had no idea what that last part really
meant, but I trusted Tristan. And, I supposed, I was learning to
trust Owen. I had to. He was my personal protector. It was still
odd to think of him like that. I knew now when he was around, it
was because he was doing his job, which meant he would take a
bullet for me. Or whatever the Daemoni use. I hated the idea of
anyone risking their lives for mine. I now felt even more impatient
for the
Ang'dora
, because it would make me strong and
powerful, like them. Funny how a year ago I never wanted it to
happen because I wanted to be normal. Now, normal meant vulnerable
and I was too normal for everyone around me—everyone I cared
about.

Mom and Stefan started talking about the
legal wedding—the fake one, from my point of view. Their plans
became elaborate. If I didn't know it was to throw the Daemoni off,
I would have protested every idea. I didn't care about that
wedding; it was just a formality.

My eyes grew heavy as we sat in the warm
darkness, the voices becoming distant. I fought their desire to
close, afraid of what I might see behind my eyelids, but sleep
eventually won. I saw myself standing on the beach on a small
island in a blood-red satin and chiffon dress, the wind whipping at
it, shredding it into pieces. Four or five dog-thing creatures
circled around me, baring their fangs and growling gutturally,
while flying men swooped overhead, cackling and cawing. Two huge
men came out of the trees, grinning nefariously. Tristan suddenly
stood at my side, but as he moved forward to fight, the flying men
swooped down and grabbed him, taking him away.

I choked on a scream as I sat bolt upright
and gasped for air. I looked around wildly.
Tristan's living
room
. Everyone had left the room except for Tristan, who still
sat on the couch with me. I lay back down with my head in his lap
and he smoothed my damp hair. I realized my clothes were nearly
soaked with sweat.

"It's so hot," I complained quietly.

"No A/C. Turning on the generator will only
confirm to the Daemoni that we're still here. It may not matter,
but we're taking no chances."

I tried to spread out better on the leather
couch, looking for cool spots against my skin.

"Why don't we let someone else have the
couch?" Tristan pushed me up by the shoulders. He picked up a
candle and I followed him upstairs. He stopped at his closet for
something and handed me one of his t-shirts after ripping the
sleeves off. I let my shorts drop to the floor as I headed into the
bathroom. When I came out, Tristan was spread out on the bed,
wearing only boxers. I wanted to run my hands across his bare
chest…and kiss it…and…
Damn, it's been so long
…. Voices
floated over the loft's balcony, reminding me we had very little
privacy. It was just too dang hot to do anything anyway. I sighed.
Not much longer
. I lay on the cool sheets on the far side of
the bed so only our hands touched. I let the steady sound of the
rain against the shutters and Tristan's calming touch lull me to a
dreamless sleep.

Chapter 2
2

Edmund the storm brought very little damage,
barely reaching hurricane force. The long-term damage from Edmund
the Daemoni, however, was yet to be determined. Stefan and his
troops were unable to gather much information over the next two
days. We didn't know if the Daemoni even knew about either wedding,
let alone if they planned anything. We constantly talked about the
legal wedding every chance we had, unnecessarily loud in case they
listened. When the third day arrived, I woke up excited to finally
be allowed to focus on my
real
wedding.

I padded into the kitchen that morning,
poured a cup of coffee and stared at the calendar while I sipped.
July Thirtieth. The day that would change my life forever.

"I have good news and bad news," Mom said,
rushing into the kitchen. Like Tristan, she had completely reversed
her opinion about our marriage after Edmund's visit. She wasn't
only supportive, but actually thrilled. Her voice sounded too happy
for "bad news" to mean anything devastating—like an attack.

"No bad news today," I said.

"Sorry," she said, "but Solomon couldn't make
it. The timing was bad for him, but he sends his regrets and his
love."

"We can still go on, right?" I asked. I
thought he was part of the ceremony. He seemed to hold an important
position on the council.

"Oh, of course. We only
have
to have
Rina, and Stefan can represent the council."

I exhaled the breath I'd been holding. Since
I didn't know Solomon well, I wasn't too disappointed.

"So, what's the good news?"

"The good news is…," she grabbed my hand and
pulled me down the hall to her bedroom, "…the Amadis dress
arrived."

"
Really
? I want to see!"

We stopped in front of her bed. A white
garment bag, seeming to have an otherworldly shine to it, lay like
a pearl on Mom's chocolate-brown duvet. It looked as if it came
from somewhere magical. It scared me.

"Go ahead, open it," she said, bouncing with
excitement.

I hesitated with trepidation. I had no idea
what a traditional Amadis dress was. Mom wouldn't even describe it
for me, wanting it to be a surprise. I carefully unzipped the bag
and pulled the dress out by the hanger.
Whoa!
I was
definitely surprised.

"Seriously, Mom? I'm supposed to wear this in
front of other
people
?"

"You'll look exquisite! Come on, try it
on."

I raised an eyebrow at her.
She's got to
be kidding.
She started taking it off the hanger, fluttering
her hands at me to undress. I reluctantly obeyed and let her dress
me. I certainly needed help with the top of the two-piece dress—a
tight, white leather bodice, cut low, with three leather straps on
each side, front and back, leading up to a diamond-studded collar
at the neck. The scalloped bottom barely reached the top of the
white silk, a-line skirt, also scalloped at the bottom, ending a
couple inches above my knees. It looked like something out of a
gladiator movie. Mom gathered my hair and held it up on my head as
she walked me to the full-length mirror. My mouth fell open.

"Mom…you're kidding, right? This is
traditional
?"

"Traditional for us. Rina prefers silk and
satin gowns, but a couple of centuries ago…this is similar to what
the matriarch would wear. You look beautiful."

I shook my head. I just couldn't see myself
wearing it in public…around other
people
.

"Tristan will love it," she sang.

"Tristan likes new, modern, contemporary.
Nothing that reminds him of who he was."

"Don't worry, this won't. It's not like women
ran around in these dresses in the seventeen-hundreds. Trust me,
he'll love it. Especially on you."

It's not like I had any choice. We'd shopped
for gowns for the fake wedding, but I'd been planning on this dress
all along for the real one, so I hadn't yet bought anything.
Tristan
will
love it.
I sighed and nodded in
resignation.

"It's like leather lingerie," I complained as
Mom showed me the trick to getting out of it by myself.

She chuckled. "No, the lingerie is in a
wrapped box for tonight."

"You didn't!"

"Who else would?" She smiled mischievously
and then went back to being a mother. "There's also a box of
condoms. No babies until you graduate."

"Yes, I know. We've discussed this a hundred
times." My stomach tightened. I wasn't so concerned about babies
yet…it was the actual activity that
created
babies I was
worried about. "Mom…I'm kind of scared. I don't know what to
do."

"Oh, I'm sure Tristan will do it," she said
casually as she hung the dress back on the hanger. I stared at her
in confusion. "Surely he knows how to put a condom on."