Dawnbreaker

Three

Tristan found me later in my private chambers in the lower levels of the house, preparing for the morning. Dawn was less than an hour away, but my mind was still whirling over thoughts of the naturi and Danaus. I had yet to come across any brilliant answers.

As I tied the sash of my robe, I turned to look at him standing in the doorway, a smile teasing the corners of my mouth. He was wearing only a pair of black pajama bottoms with little white skulls and crossbones scattered across them. He apparently had a penchant for flannel pajama pants no matter the season.

“You don’t seem very relieved to have Danaus back in Savannah,” Tristan commented. “I thought his assistance would please you.”

To him, it was simple. With Danaus, we would be able to easily wipe the naturi from the city. And that was true. However, I never forgot that Danaus was, first and foremost, a hunter. He had killed five other nightwalkers within my domain a month ago while searching for me. Then he killed Penelope, with little warning and no real hesitation.

The area was in turmoil. The naturi were here. The lycans were affected by the presence of the naturi. The nightwalkers were on edge because of the naturi and the lycans. Introduce the hunter into the mix, and this powder keg would blow.

“We could have managed without the hunter,” I said, though it felt like a lie.

“We shouldn’t have to ‘manage.’ I saw what you and Danaus did at Themis. You destroyed those naturi. You can do it again,” Tristan pushed, taking a step into the room.

I still didn’t want to think about what we had done at Themis. We destroyed their souls. No matter how much I hated the naturi, I would never do such a thing again. Kill them, definitely. Torture them, possibly. But destroying another creature’s soul was beyond evil, and that was a road that I would not willingly go down.

“It’s not that simple,” I sighed. “Danaus is a hunter. What’s to stop him from killing nightwalkers while he’s in town? If the naturi are killing nightwalkers, do you honestly think he cares?”

“He cares about you,” Tristan countered, to my surprise.

A flutter in my stomach made me pause. But then I remembered that it wasn’t me that Danaus cared about, but what I could do. I was the weapon of the triad. I was the only one who could possibly reform the broken seal and keep the naturi locked in their cage.

“Danaus is like Jabari. Both are keeping me alive until this whole naturi thing is settled,” I grumbled. Tightening the sash of my robe again, I collapsed into one of the comfortable chairs not far from the foot of the bed. “We just have to push on as we have been. We’ll find Rowe. He needs me dead, so I’m sure the bastard will come hunting for me himself soon enough.”

“That’s not particularly reassuring, Mira.”

Tristan wasn’t happy with my plan, but then I wasn’t happy with my plan either. I couldn’t sense the naturi, so I was looking for new ways to sniff them out that didn’t include wandering through the woods. At the same time, the naturi couldn’t sense me, so I was trying to keep a low profile. I was just trying to survive until Jabari determined when and where the next sacrifice would occur. I hated the idea of waiting until the last minute to defeat the naturi when so much was hanging in the balance, but what choice did I have?

I watched Tristan as he stood near the door, his eyes downcast. He had something else gnawing at him and I had a feeling I knew what it was.

“Go ahead. Spit it out,” I muttered, knowing I was asking for trouble.

“I…what do you mean?” he stammered. His blue eyes widened with surprised innocence and I nearly laughed.

“You’ve got something else on your mind. You can tell me or I can go digging in your brain for it.” But we both knew I was bluffing. I wouldn’t read Tristan’s mind. He deserved what little privacy I could give him. Wasn’t it enough that I was his mistress?

“H-How free am I?” he asked after nearly a minute of silence.

I frowned, hating his question because I hated my answer even more. “As free as I can let you be,” I replied. “I have to look out for your best interests, make sure that you are safe. I’m sorry, Tristan. I wish I could set you free, but I can’t as long as Sadira is alive. I don’t want to free you until I’ve taught you how to defend yourself a little better.”

“I’m not looking to leave you, Mira,” he said, smiling as he finally came into the room. He knelt before the chair I was sitting in and placed one hand on my right knee. “The naturi might be breathing down our necks, but living here has already proven to be better than being under Sadira’s thumb. I was curious if you would permit me to become involved with someone.”

Tristan’s presence in my life had reminded me that we were physical creatures. Whenever he was close, he would lay a hand on my arm or shoulder. He wasn’t coming on to me in any way. The physical contact was reassuring to him, so I permitted it as best as I could. Unfortunately, I had not been close with my own kind in a very long time. I was out of the habit, and his touch had both a calming and unnerving effect.

A groan escaped me as I shifted in my chair, pulling my knees out from under his touch. “Please don’t say that it’s Amanda,” I muttered as I shoved one hand through my hair in frustration.

“What’s wrong with Amanda?” he demanded.

She’s dangerous, Tristan. She has a violent temper and she’ll eat you alive. She’s the Alpha among the fledglings.”

“Then why do you keep her around if she’s so dangerous?”

“Because she’s good at keeping the fledglings in line. She knows better than to cross me. I’ll stake her out in the sun.”

“So you’re not going to let me see her,” Tristan said.

I stared at him for a moment, frowning. I briefly wondered if he would see her behind my back if I did say no, and mentally shook my head. After surviving nearly a century at the hands of Sadira, I had no doubt that he would do exactly as I said, even if it made him miserable. Of course, I had no doubt that Sadira would have denied his request in the name of protecting him from a bad influence.

“Has there been no one else since Violetta?” I asked, my voice barely drifting over a whisper. We had never talked about his wife, from when he was a human. She’d died more than a century ago during childbirth. Of course, we didn’t have to talk about his past because I already knew it. The moment I claimed him as my own, I took his blood and mind, drawing in his essence and all of his memories. At one time Tristan had been married to a beautiful young woman. That happy life crumbled when she died, allowing Sadira to easily move in and stake her claim over the weakened man.

“Only Sadira. And now you,” he replied.

“Wouldn’t you want to start with someone more…”

“More like Violetta,” he supplied, his voice crusting over with ice. “There is no one like her. There never will be. I know that. It’s something that will always haunt me throughout this long existence.”

“I was thinking someone more considerate, gentler. Someone more like you.”

A tender smile lifted the worry and pain from his large eyes as he stared up at me. I got the feeling that on the inside he was chuckling at me. “I don’t think there is anyone like me either.”

Reaching over, I ran my fingers through this brown hair, pushing it away from where it was starting to crowd his eyes. “True.”

“If you don’t want me to see her, I won’t,” he volunteered.

“I can’t do that. I can’t take all your freedoms away from you. I might not be happy about it, but I can’t stop you from seeing Amanda if it’s what you want,” I said, dropping my hand back to my side. Despite my reluctance, I knew that Amanda was a good person and might prove to be a valuable teacher. She knew how to take care of herself, and I secretly hoped she would pass some of that knowledge on to Tristan.

“I may see her?” he asked, unable to hide his shock.

“Yes, if she’s willing to put up with you,” I teased.

Tristan leaned forward and brushed a quick kiss across my temple, his joy rushing through me in a quick burst of energy. I couldn’t help but smile as well. After more than one hundred years, he was finally getting his life back. My only hope was that I wasn’t giving it back to him in time for the naturi to steal it away.

As he stood, he stretched his arms above his head and blinked a few times. Night was giving its last straining gasps of life as he and I prepared to settle in for the day. The nightwalker lay down on the bed and then turned on his side so he could look at me.

“Do you think they will join the family?” he inquired.

I frowned, releasing the warmth and happiness that had filled the room just seconds earlier. “Yes,” I whispered. “I think they will.” Establishing a family would benefit me, as it would help strengthen the control I had over the nightwalkers in the city. Of course, this came at a high price. It would put a target on the chests of both Knox and Amanda, and I was worried about my ability to protect them from the Coven and the naturi.