Dawnbreaker

Thirteen

As I reached the ground floor and turned toward the back door and the garage, I sensed someone walking up the front stairs to the house. I paused in the rarely used kitchen and cocked my head to the side as my senses probed farther from my body. It was Amanda.

Jogging through the house, I jerked open the front door as she raised her hand to knock. Tristan had sensed her as well because he was now standing at the bottom of the curved staircase, his emotions a ball of tensed anxiety.

The young nightwalker stood alone on my front porch in a clean change of clothes, but she had yet to bathe. Her blond hair was still dirty and matted from her ordeal, while dirt smudged both of her cheeks as well as her bare arms. There was no expression on her pale face, as she seemed to stare blankly through me.

“Amanda,” I murmured, motioning for her to enter the house. “Where’s Knox?”

She stepped inside and gave a slight shake of her head. “He’s gone. I told him to go home.”

I could no longer sense an overwhelming hunger in her, so I felt it safe to assume that Knox had stuck around long enough to help her feed, ensuring that no unfortunate mistakes were made before he gave her a little space. However, I couldn’t begin to guess why she had decided to show up on my doorstep so close to sunrise.

“You should be resting,” I chided, closing the door behind her.

Amanda frowned, and I could feel the first bubble of anger rise within her. “I came to tell you that I accept your offer. I want to be a part of your family.”

At first I thought she simply felt obligated to join my family because I’d risked my life to save her, but there was something buried within her tone that made me doubt it. “But…?” I said, causing her head to snap around to me. I arched one eyebrow at her, questioning. “You don’t want to be.”

“I’m a target now because I’ve been seen with you, with Tristan. Why shouldn’t I join your family when it’s the only way I’m going to be protected from the naturi?” she said in a voice so low it was nearly a snarl.

“She warned you that you would be a target of the naturi when we met last night,” Tristan said. While I appreciated his defense, “I told you so” wasn’t going to help Amanda right now.

“Last night, you were eager to join my family. Now you’ve had a taste of the naturi in the area, and you’re unsure of what you want,” I said, walking toward my study.

“I know what I want!” she shouted, losing her temper finally. “I never want to be touched by the naturi again. You have no idea what it’s like to be held by them! To be tortured, drained, and taunted while you wait for an even more painful death.”

The distance closed between us in a flash as fury consumed my every thought. Wrapping my fingers around her throat, I threw her into the wooden railing of the staircase, causing the wood to crack and groan. I then slammed her into the marble floor, earning a whimper from her.

To my surprise, Tristan stepped forward and placed one foot on her stomach while wrapping his right hand in her hair. He was preparing to hold her still for me so I could continue to knock her around. Punishment was something he had come to understand during his time with Sadira. He was ready to put aside what feelings he had for Amanda and hold her down because of his loyalty to me. Tristan was stronger than anyone gave him credit for.

Struggling to get a grip on my anger, I balled my shaking hands into fists at my sides. “Let her up,” I growled at Tristan, and then turned my attention to Amanda. “You will never question the depth of my understanding of the naturi. I know better than any exactly what they are capable of.”

“I have no choice,” she complained, which brought a chuckle to my throat. It was a common complaint.

“No one is forcing you to join my family, and I would prefer it if you didn’t join because you felt trapped into doing so,” I said, some of the fury and tension sliding from my frame.

“But if I don’t, I leave behind my position in the community. I lose your protection,” she countered.

“True, but your other choice is to leave Savannah.” Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tristan flinch, taking a jerky step forward as if he could stop my words from reaching her ears. “Leave here and I’m sure the naturi won’t follow you. You wouldn’t be the first to leave here because of the naturi.”

“I’m not leaving,” she stubbornly said.

A smile tweaked the corner of my lips. I wasn’t the only one clinging to this city, a place I called home. “Now you have to decide whether you want to be a part of my family. Are you willing to serve and obey me? Are you willing to face the naturi again?”

“I want to join your family,” she said, pushing slowly to her feet again.

“I don’t want you if your only reason is to protect your own skin.”

“It’s not. Being in the family will enable me to protect others from the naturi,” she quickly said, her eyes briefly drifting to Tristan and then back to me.

An ugly smirk twisted my lips as my eyes narrowed at her. “Tristan doesn’t need your protection. He’s strong enough to face the naturi. I will personally see to that.” I shook my head and turned my back on her. “I’ve changed my mind. You’re not the person I thought you were. I rescind my offer.”

“No!” she cried.

“Mira, please!” Tristan shouted. I turned to find him standing between me and Amanda. “She’s been through something terrible. She needs time to recover. She’s not thinking clearly. Please, reconsider. She belongs with us.” The nightwalker reached out and clasped my right hand in both of his.

“Then she should have stayed in her home and recovered from her encounter instead of coming here and insulting our family,” I snapped.

“I’m sorry,” Amanda murmured. “I—I—”

“Which naturi was giving orders while you were being held?” I demanded, quickly changing subjects. I didn’t want to hear her apologies right now. She had insulted both Tristan and me, coming to my home with her whining complaints and feelings of entrapment.

“I—I don’t understand,” she replied, shoving one hand through her hair to push it away from her face.

I resumed my trek into my study, their footsteps following me across the marble and hardwood floors. “If you’re going to be in this family, you’re going to be of use to me,” I said irritably. “Who was giving orders?”

“I’m not sure. Knox said that you killed everyone on the island,” she said.

I glanced over my shoulder to find her hovering in the doorway. Where she had been eager to explore and soak in every inch of my house last night, she was now equally hesitant to enter my world and endure my gaze. She feared me again, which was something I needed since I no longer had her absolute loyalty, like Tristan.

“Nearly,” I admitted. “The naturi that was being held prisoner still lives. Was she a prisoner when you arrived?”

“Yes. They beat her every time she spoke. She always wore manacles. They tried to get me to drink her blood,” Amanda quickly explained.

Standing beside my desk, I turned over a silver-plated hourglass. It was possible that what Amanda saw was the truth, but then it could just as easily have been an act. I didn’t trust Cynnia or my luck when it came to the naturi. It was too much to hope that I had managed to get my hands on someone that could actually help me get closer to Rowe and potentially Aurora.

The black sand poured from the upper glass chamber in a steady stream, building in the lower chamber in a spent pile. We were all running out of time. The night was wearing down, and I needed to make some decisions about Cynnia before Danaus and I left for Peru. I also needed to make some serious attempts to learn some earth magic before I climbed to the Incan ruins.

At the same time, I felt as if I needed to put Tristan and Amanda on a healing path. What if I didn’t come back from Machu Picchu? I wanted to know that Tristan would be safe and happy in Savannah, and that would only happen if Amanda respected him. Too much to do and too little time.

My fingers drifted over the glass bulb of the hourglass, wishing I could slow those seconds down. “Stay here, today. Tristan will find a safe place for you to sleep. I have some business to complete.”

“It’s getting late, Mira,” Tristan reminded me. “Can’t it wait until tomorrow?”

“I’m running out of tomorrows,” I said with a frown as I lifted my hand from the hourglass. “I’ll be back before the sun rises.”

“I am truly sorry, Mira,” Amanda said, trying to draw my gaze back to her form, but I refused to lift my eyes from the surface of my desk. “I didn’t mean to insult you. It’s…it’s the naturi. I—”

“I’m not the one you should be apologizing to,” I said, then silently slipped out of the room, leaving Tristan and Amanda alone to finally face the battle they had both survived in different ways.

I had dipped into Tristan’s mind when I found him in Forsyth Park, watched it replay the battle in gory detail. He had held his own, killing several of the wolves that overwhelmed him. They had surrounded him, separating him from Amanda when she was grabbed by the naturi. He had performed well, but it wasn’t enough to save Amanda. He blamed himself for his capture when there were few who would have been able to save her. She needed to understand that he had been there for her, argued for her rescue when common sense said to abandon her. I had a feeling this was their only chance, and I wished them luck.