22. Revelation Bolt
22
Revelation Bolt
A month later…
Alexa waved off Cassie and John for their first romantic date ever, grinning ear to ear. She’d been wearing this gleeful smile around her sister since walking in on her and John kissing on the porch a fortnight ago.
The look on their faces when she caught them had been priceless.
Alexa stifled a laugh recalling it and plugged the earphones to her ears. Streaming her favorite playlist, she walked to the backyard and picked up the hose to water the garden.
Midway through the watering, the water’s force sputtered and stopped. She turned to the motor confusedly and dropped the hose before walking toward it, drying her hands on her shorts.
The gear was turned down. Alexa turned it back up, and the water flowed again. She returned to the hose and picked it up from the ground, only for it to fly out of her hand. The gasp of surprise that escaped her soon turned into a laugh. She turned off the music and folded her arms, watching with mirth as the hose hovered in the air, watering the rose bushes.
“I should’ve known my hose was an enchanted one thanks to Tinkerbell’s pixie dust—or is it Hermione’s Levitation Charm?”
“Neither.”
“Neither?” She feigned a serious look and tapped her chin, pretending to think. “Oh, wait. I know—you’re Peter Pan! Hovering in the air and—”
“Wrong again.” Water sprays flew toward her.
“Hey!” Alexa laughed. “Rumplestiltskin?”
“One last chance…”
“And if I lose, you’ll water me instead?” Her heart galloped at the thought.
“Your punishment will be a kiss.”
Alexa widened her eyes and forced a gasp. “You’re not a frog prince, are you?”
“Since when do frogs hold hoses and water the plants?” He was laughing.
She fought hers. “Fine. I’ll say. You are… you’re a vampire!”
The hose dropped to the ground and she squealed as invisible, wet hands grabbed her.
“Lightning Angel!”
“Lightning Knight, silly,” he murmured huskily in her ear just before his lips captured hers .
Alexa giggled against his mouth before she grabbed his collar and pulled him closer, kissing him back. Gravity shifted and restored beneath them, and when she pulled away to catch her breath, they were in her room.
Tristan was visible. She began to smile, but then her eyes caught something white on him. She dropped her eyes and saw that he wore a white tee.
A white tee!
Alexa blinked twice to confirm she was seeing what she was seeing, and looked up at his smirking face. She stepped back from his hold to take in his full appearance. White tee, blue jeans, and white shoes.
“What?” Tristan prompted with a laugh, highly amused.
She continued to look him up and down as though she was seeing him for the first time. “Tristan Knight wears something that isn’t black? I think pigs could fly, after all.”
Tristan barked a laugh and hooked his thumb behind him, to her open balcony. “Should I go and check the sky now?”
“Tristan, I’m serious!”
“Me too, Lexampkin.” He spread his arms. “Actually, I came to ask if you’d like to go shopping with me. I wanna add some color to my closet. These are old, a teasing gift from one of my sisters. I have long forgotten about them and was surprised when I found them in my hunt.”
An astonished smile broke onto her face. “Why this sudden change?”
He smiled crookedly and bridged the distance between them. “A certain girl may have inspired me to be… colorful.” He brushed his nose with hers and silenced her with a kiss when she opened her mouth.
Suddenly, the intercom buzzed, causing them to break apart.
“Are you expecting someone?” he rasped.
“No,” she breathed.
“Daphne, perhaps?”
“Daphne doesn’t bother ringing the bell,” she said with a fond smile. “I wonder who that is.”
“There’s only one way to find out.” Tristan held her close, and in a blink, they were in the foyer.
Alexa stepped back from him with a coy grin. “You’re gonna make me too lazy to climb the stairs, you know?”
He winked.
She walked to the door and opened it, coming face to face with the last person she expected at her doorstep.
“Jude?”
Jude smiled tentatively in greeting, shifting on his feet. He wore a white tee that contrasted with his golden skin, paired with dark jeans. “Hey.” His eyes slid past her, and the smile strained as they fell on Tristan.
“Hey…” Alexa greeted him back uncertainly. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
“I came to see you, actually,” he said to Tristan. “I knew you’d be here when I couldn’t find you at your house.”
Alexa stepped aside and looked between the two of them surprised, whereas Tristan’s eyebrows rose in bewilderment. “Do I even need to know why you want to see me?”
“We need to talk.”
“About…? ”
Jude glanced at Alexa and then back at Tristan. “Does she know about you?”
Alexa’s breath hitched. “I’m sorry?” What did he know about Tristan?
Jude ignored her and raised a questioning eyebrow at Tristan.
“There’s no secret between us,” Tristan said, slowly and cautiously. “But whatever do you mean?”
“You know what I mean.”
“No, I don’t.”
Jude sighed impatiently. “Man, I know what you are.”
There was a long beat of tense silence before Tristan broke it. “How?” he gritted through his teeth.
Jude glanced at Alexa. “May I come in?”
Alexa composed herself from the shock and stepped back without a word. Jude entered and closed the door behind him. The tension in the air grew thicker.
“I don’t know if you know this,” Jude began, glancing at Tristan. “But we’re related.”
“Related how?”
“We’re second cousins,” Jude said seriously. “Our mothers were cousins.”
Tristan’s entire demeanor hardened. “What are you talking about?”
“Merissa is my mother.” Jude spared a glance at Alexa and added, “My birth mother.”
Alexa gasped and Tristan stiffened.
“She told me everything about you,” Jude continued, his face apologetic. “I got in touch with her not soon after our breakup—” he looked at Alexa again “—and when I told her that your new boyfriend is the infamous Dr. Knight’s son, she freaked out. ”
Tristan stepped forward with fire in his eyes and sized him up. “What do you want?” he demanded. Though Jude was taller and broader than Tristan was, in all his basketball player glory, it did little to make Tristan look any less intimidating with the fury emanating from him.
“Dude, chill out. I’m getting there.” Jude held up his hands in front of him, palms forward. “I know you hate her for what she did to you. I apologize on her behalf for what you’re going through because of the—”
“If you’re here to pity me, the door is right behind you.” Tristan made a gesture to the door.
“Tristan,” Alexa called him softly, placing a hand on his arm to offer him some sort of calm. She knew how much the mere mention of Merissa blazed his anger. “Let’s hear what he has to say, alright?” She turned to Jude. “We’re listening.”
Jude’s eyes trailed to where Alexa’s hand rested on Tristan’s arm. His eyes hardened slightly, but he composed himself and met her eyes with a tight smile.
“Merissa regrets her actions.”
Tristan scoffed. “It’s easier to believe that this curse is supposed to kill me one day rather than believing in Merissa’s regret ,” he said with a hollow laugh. “Do you even know what led her to curse me?”
“I told you she told me everything, ” Jude countered, sounding a little irritated. “She told me she was in love with your dad, her ex-best friend, but he rejected her and chose her cousin over her. She was grief-stricken and fled town, when she met a witch and practiced dark magic with her. She realized she could exact revenge on your parents after she gained powers; she was blinded by the hurt of betrayal at that time. So she cooked up this curse and experimented on animals. When she realized it works, she returned to Harmony Hills, tricked your parents into believing she wanted to start over with them, and cursed you.
“I know all about your curse too, and that you’re… you’re to die in the twenty-fourth year of your life.”
“ What? ” Alexa burst out, looking from him to Tristan with wide, incredulous eyes.
Tristan stood like a statue, gaping at Jude, shock-stricken.
“You… you don’t know?” Jude looked bewildered by their reactions, his eyes bouncing between the two of them.
“What are you talking about, Jude?”Alexa’s heart hammered in fear, her voice choking up.
Jude glanced at Tristan’s stoic face. “The last and crucial part of the curse is that, at the first lightning after your twenty-fourth birthday, you’d die. I thought—I thought you knew.”
Alexa turned to Tristan, her heart breaking and her vision blurring. “Is this true?” Her eyes pleaded with him to deny it.
Tristan met her gaze, and his stoic expression softened. He turned to Jude fiercely. “I don’t believe you.”
Jude blinked, before realization crossed his face. “So your dad never told you about that part of the curse.”
“Save it, Jude. My dad would never hide something like that from me.”
“Are you sure about that?” Jude challenged him. “Perhaps you should ask him yourself. Merissa designed your curse so specifically , you know? Your dad met your mom at Merissa’s twenty-fourth birthday party and he rejected her in the same year. Since this curse has been all about revenge, she wanted you to die in your twenty-fourth year too.”
“That’s impossible,” Alexa whispered, shaking her head. A tear slipped and she wiped it away furiously. “No, no, no.” She hugged Tristan’s arm and looked up at him in time he looked down at her. His eyes were sad and tormented, but fierce.
He clasped a hand over hers and glared at Jude. “And what does Merissa want now, sending you to me?”
“Like I said, she regrets her actions.” Jude gave a shrug.
“Tell me something that’s possible.”
“She’s willing to undo the curse.”
Alexa’s head snapped to him, her eyes wide. “Really?” Unexplainable relief flooded her soul that she nearly sobbed—but choked it back.
“It’s a trap, angel.” Tristan was still glaring at him. “She told my parents that there is no undoing the curse, all those years ago.”
Jude glared back. “Do you really think she would’ve told them that when she wanted to watch them suffer? She was heartless then, even she admits it now. In truth, she regretted her actions when she heard about your mother’s tragic passing. While she had thought it would only bring her victory to hear such news, she was guilty.”
“Oh, yeah? Then why did she have to wait all these years to lift my curse? She knew where I lived. If she really wanted to undo her actions, she could’ve found me years ago. She didn’t. Don’t think I’ll buy your sob story. ”
Jude gave him a frustrated look and dug a hand into his pocket. He fished out a thin silver band and held it out to Tristan.
Tristan eyed it warily.
“She told me you and your dad won’t believe her, so she wants to earn your trust first, to prove that she has only good intentions this time, that she truly regrets the actions of her past.”
“And this is?”
“A shield bracelet—she sent it over from South Africa. Wear this on your wrist and it will shield you from the lightning. You won’t feel a thing, not even a tingle of pain—even if you’re in the path of the direct strike,” Jude explained. “But…”
“But what?” Alexa prompted anxiously.
“The spell binding this bracelet has a limit—around mid summer, it will wear off. You have time until then, to make your decision; whether or not you trust her to lift the curse. She’s expecting you before the spell wears off. Oh, and she has a condition.”
“What? She wants to marry my dad?”
“Jeez, no!” Jude made a face, crinkling his nose. “All she says is that she doesn’t want anyone else joining you and me on our trip.”
“And why is that?” Alexa asked. If the woman wasn’t trying to earn Tristan’s trust so badly by sending him a shielding bracelet, she would’ve doubted her intentions.
Jude pressed his lips together, a sign of his frustration. “She’s doing your boyfriend a lifetime favor, Lexi. Isn’t she allowed to set one simple condition for her service?”
“ After she cursed him in the first place, you mean?” She retorted with a glare. “I can’t believe you’re defending her! Do I need to remind you that he was only three—barely a child, when she did this to him?”
“Sorry,” he muttered and dropped his gaze to the floor briefly before meeting her eyes again. “But I have no say in her conditions. You should count it lucky though, that she’s making such an effort and is willing to do this. Twenty-four is too young to die.” He glanced at Tristan. “I advise you to drop the grudge you hold against her and grab this opportunity. Your fate is in your hands now. But try not to delay the trip past mid-summer; it’s better if you stick to her timing.”
Tristan glanced at Alexa before he nodded at Jude, his face void of emotions.
“You can call me once you’ve made your decision, and we’ll book the flight after my exams.” Jude shifted on his feet, planting his hands into the pockets. “Lexi has my number.”
Alexa’s face flushed. Did he really think she still had his number in her contacts? “I don’t.”
Jude’s face dropped.
“That’s alright.” Tristan fished out his phone and gave it to Jude. He typed his number into it and gave it back.
After a beat of awkward silence, Jude turned to the door. “I’m leaving then.”
Alexa nodded, and the moment the door closed behind him, she flung her arms around Tristan’s neck and hugged him tight. Tristan’s arms closed around her, crushing her to him, his face burying into her hair.
“For a moment I…”
“Me too,” she choked out, nestling her face into the crook of his neck .
“All I could think about was you and being forced to leave you behind.” He stroked her hair, his voice breaking slightly.
“And I felt my whole life flash before my eyes,” she said. “I even planned my next three years if they’re all I get to have with you. I’ve never been so scared in my entire life. Oh, Tristan! ”
A tear slipped free.
“I’ll never leave you alone,” he crooned into her ear.
“Do you believe him?”
“I don’t know yet.” Tristan sighed. “Do you?”
“There is nothing I want more than to believe I’ll get to grow old with you.”
Tristan stilled in her hold and pulled away to look at her face with undisguised surprise. “You want to grow old with me?”
She gave him a shy smile, blinking away the rest of the tears from her eyes. “First, I want to marry you.”
His eyes glistened with unshed tears. “Really?”
“If you want my official answer, ask me.” She grasped onto his t-shirt.
“And you don’t think it’s too soon for us to discuss marriage already.” It wasn’t a question, and he was grinning, like the shining sun itself.
She smiled sadly. “What if I tell you all that I planned for my future in mere seconds, when I thought I’d lose you so soon?”
“Tell me.”
“Marry you.” Fresh tears crammed into her eyes. “Cherish the time we have together, make unforgettable memories, and be the mother of your child, so I’ll have him to live for when—when—” She swallowed the words and took a deep breath to compose herself.
“Oh, angel…” Tristan pressed his forehead to hers and closed his eyes.
“I can’t imagine a life without you, Tristan.” Her lips quivered. “You’ve become my life. You are my everything now.”
He smiled. “I’ve always dreamed of you saying that,” he said breathily. “Now that I’m given a choice between life and death, and I’m choosing life because of you, I can live the rest of it hearing you say I’m your everything and me telling you that you’re mine.”
Alexa cupped his face. “We’re going to free your curse,” she marveled with a grin. She could barely fathom it. After years of torture, he was finally going to be free.
“Yes, but first I need to talk with my dad.”
She stroked his cheekbones. “Don’t be too hard on him, okay? I’m sure he only had the best in mind by keeping you in the dark from that part of the curse.”
“The best?—”
“Shh, just hold me now,” she shushed him. “We can argue later. I feel like I just got you back from the dead.” She flinched inwardly at her own words.
Tristan hugged her to him, holding her like a treasure. “I promise you angel, not even death could hold us apart. You will always be with me, imprinted on my soul.”
“You’re not going to die,” she reprimanded him, trying to pull back and glare at him. But he held her head against his shoulder, thwarting her attempts.
“Of course I’m not . ” He swayed them from side to side. A moment later he said, “You, my angel, turn eighteen next week. And when I return from breaking my curse, I’m gonna propose to you. ”
Her heart soared to the clouds. “Promise?”
Tristan pulled away to look into her eyes, his eyes wide with all the determination and love burning within. “I swear it.”
Then, he leaned down and sealed the promise with a tender kiss.
Perhaps it is true, Alexa thought, kissing him back. Jesus never stopped caring for us after all.