Divine Destiny

by Hayley Todd

  Why did he have to do that? Why did he have to drag me back in? Anton was arrogant and rude and snippy. But he was also caring and protective and sensitive. There were things he understood more than any others. There were things only he understood.

  I wanted to ask someone what this was. What was happening to me? My abilities were amplifying at an unprecedented rate and they were feeding and meshing with Anton’s. Was it the amulet? I love Carson. How could I still feel this overwhelming pull to Anton? And how had I never felt it before?

  “So, who shot you?” he asked, sipping his coffee but watching me carefully. His fingers gripped his mug tightly, his knuckles showing white along the backs of his hands.

  “Valeria,” I hissed in response. “It was magick. She found me with Carson and immediately shot me. I think she shoved me out too. She screamed at me and I lost the connection at the exact same time.”

  He mulled over his thoughts for several moments. “So, she can force you out of that state,” he said thoughtfully.

  “Evidently,” I replied bitterly though I knew it wasn’t a question.

  “Could you tell where they were?” he asked and I could tell the words pained him. I was beginning to think that he didn’t want me to find Carson at all. Why would he? In Carson’s absence, our bond only grew stronger. How much would it take before I couldn’t resist him at all?

  I shook my head. “It was some sort of hotel. There were no identifying marks though. It was just a standard hotel room.” This bothered me. The fact that I got so caught up in trying to mentally free Carson that I never asked where he was or observed my environment made me feel like a failure.

  “Look,” Anton said quietly, “I'll make you a deal. If you feed and go into these fights and win, you will recover sole custody of the stone. And when you do, I will help you channel it’s power and we will find him.”

  I gaped at him. Though I wasn’t certain what the consequences of him using the stone would be, he had just given me an offer I couldn’t refuse. He seemed unbothered, his expression smooth.

  “Anton, I…,” I began, the words fighting their way free. “I can’t make you do that,” I said. “We don’t know how it will affect you.”

  He huffed a sigh, set his coffee down, and turned to me. He grabbed my hands softly in his. “It doesn’t matter,” he said. “You need Carson. So, we will find him.”

  And that was all the persuading it took before I sank my teeth into his neck.

  The arena was much the same as it had been. Most of the Vampyres and Aeronyx has departed, their stake in the trials at hand already fulfilled. Some still lingered in the audience, curious to know who would lead them.

  Around them were swathes of finely dressed, gorgeous men and women. Off in a corner, several stands held black-clothed figures that looked like death incarnate.

  The Nosferatu had been a peaceful people for a century or more but that didn’t make them any less unnerving. They were the only vampires I had met who weren’t inherently beautiful. It was something of a trait for our kind.

  While other breeds of vampire were created as the perfect predator, Nosferatu didn’t quite get it right. They were created under a witches curse while most others were made by a spell. They died, like Vampyres, but instead of coming back the way they had died, they continued to decompose. They had been cursed instead of gifted with immortality.

  As a result, that corner of the room was filled with distorted individuals at different states of decay. Frankly, they stunk up the entire gymnasium.

  Anton had taken his seat in the front row again, my father speaking to Lady Evelyn at his side. They were engrossed in conversation.

  I watched this all from my side of the arena, waiting impatiently for my father to call the beginning of the fight. The Incubus/Succubus contingent hadn’t yet produced their Champion.

  At long last, a woman with long blonde hair and bright hazel eyes approached Damien. She was long and lean, with muscles etched along her body like a professional dancer. They spoke for a moment before my father turned back to Evelyn who nodded. My father dropped his head in return and walked with the woman to the center of the arena.

  As he lifted a microphone to his lips, she left him, approaching the far side of the arena where she stopped, turned, and settled her eyes on me.

  “Ladies and gentlemen, vampires under the order of The Five, welcome to the final day of the Trials of Champion. On one end,” he swung his hand wide toward me, “we have the Magick Champion, Kyra Lucius.”

  Much to my surprise, the audience erupted in cheers and applause. I peered at Anton who was sweeping his gaze across the crowd with concentration. Was he to thank for the unexpected accolades?

  “And at our other side,” my father continued with a wave of his hand toward the other contender, “we’ve had a position change, being High Priestess Alicia Walmac, ruler of the Succubus clan, as her opponent.”

  I gaped at her.

  Ruler of the Succubus? That made her their queen. I knew different clans labeled their leaders differently but that didn’t prevent the shiver of excitement that ran down my spine.

  Anton had spent all day prepping me for this fight. Anton himself wasn’t exactly a fighter but he had gone over the strengths and weakness of Succubus/Incubus and Nosferatu vampires. He had reassured me that I was capable on my own. I could do it. I was more than able.

  The part I was certain he had enjoyed more was that I finally gave in and fed from him. I had forced it to remain only feeding but I knew he wanted more. That fact burned me as much as it thrilled me.

  I was at my peak. I felt energized and ready. But I couldn’t help a nervous glance around the room.

  And for a moment, I thought my heart stopped.

  But no. That short trimmed head of chestnut colored hair and those endless green eyes were not those of my love.

  A man stood on the opposite sideline, watching me curiously. He had two fingers pressed to his chin. His features were so like Carson’s that it gave me pause. His eyes drifted to the woman’s and he nodded.

  Then it hit me.

  This must be Carson’s father, Augustus Caraelius. Carson hadn’t told me much about his family but his mother was a mortal witch and his father was a high bred Incubus who had taken advantage of her and cast him from the Incubus court.

  And the resemblance was uncanny. He appeared to be not much older than Carson himself, making him look nearly like a fraternal twin. He bore the same sharp jaw, though his was clean-shaven while Carson left a thin strip of stubble.

  My chest ached at the resemblance. But also unlike Carson, I held no respect for this man. I knew nothing redeemable about him. I only knew that he was a rapist and hateful and horrible. I knew that he had cast Carson out of the only family he had left. I despised him without ever meeting him. And meeting him made it no better.

  I had to take deep breaths to force down the tightening pain in my chest. Augustus taunted me like a shadow of my imprisoned love.

  I glanced at Anton, my breaths coming more shallowly as the overwhelming weight of Carson’s predicament pressed into me.

  Anton had been watching the crowd but when my eyes fell on him, his flicked to me. That arrogant but charming smile grew on his lips and the tension in me rolled away.

  I smiled at him. I couldn’t help it. He knew what I needed and never hesitated to provide. He was the solidarity to my unpredictable emotions. He had been since I’d turned.

  The woman opposite me, Alicia, fidgeted restlessly. Her expression was twisted into something between malice and irritation. She was gorgeous but that look dragged her attractiveness down a notch.

  Finally, my father took a deep breath, glanced at me, then the Succubus, then lifted the mic to his lips.

  “Let round three begin,” he said with a smile and a wave of his hand as he retreated from the arena floor. I was certain that there would be an anxious pit creeping into my stomach if not for Anton’s influence. Instead, calm and strength see
ped into my limbs as I faced down the next obstacle in rescuing my soulmate.

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  I was thankful for Anton’s brief training on fighting the Succubus and Incubus when Alicia started collecting power. A benefit of my magick was the film that appeared, overlaying my vision. I could see energy dancing in the air between us and I could see just as well when she started pulling it to herself. Succubi didn’t use energy in precisely the same way as Magicks but it was close enough.

  I pulled in power myself, letting it pool in my chest ready to be used. I turned various defensive maneuvers over in my mind as she sneered at me. She stepped toward me and the energy behaved as though magnetized to her presence, following behind her. She had a confident non-smile plastered on her face. My body was tense with that level of power stored. It begged her to make her move.

  It wasn’t common for Magicks or any other vampire to have experience with Succubus energies, but Carson had used his powers on me before and I had built a wall of resistance against it when I wanted to wield it.

  The crowd went unnervingly still at her approach, eager and anxious much like myself. The Carson look-alike watched her with a disturbing sense of sensual enjoyment. He didn’t even spare a glance for me anymore. He seemed to have gotten from me what he’d wanted.

  Alicia shifted and it drew my attention back to her. She was preparing herself for something and it worried me that I didn’t know what that was.

  And then, as if a breath had been expelled, she hurled herself at me. I’d been watching her carefully enough to see the tell as she shifted her weight in my direction and I simply side-stepped as she flew past. She skidded to a stop behind me, turning her entire body toward me within moments. Again, she loosed herself like a cannonball across the hardwood and again, I moved out of her path.

  As she skidded to a stop, her face twisted into a furious grimace. The grey cloud of energy hovering over her chest in my vision writhed. It wriggled down her arms and pooled in her palms.

  It was then that I realized. She didn’t pull energy from the air. The mass spiraled out into tiny tendrils that ran to the people in the room. The lines raced out in more numbers toward the Succbus/Incubus contingent in the stands.

  Each pinprick of light began in their center and stretched out toward Alicia. It ebbed and flowed with her movements. I was fighting the energy of all of them.

  My heart pounded in my chest. If she dug that magic into me, it wouldn’t just overpower my walls of resistance. It would obliterate them entirely.

  Here we go.

  I worried for a moment that she would produce magic I hadn’t experienced when her lips twisted and she hurled a hand forward. But much like Carson’s own abilities, the power left her fingertips in a choking cloud of energy. It swept across the arena so fast that I had no time to avoid it. Instead, I lifted my hands, crossing my wrists in a warding gesture.

  The cloud splashed against my hands and sparks of electricity bounced away from an invisible barrier. It was the only evidence that I had worked anything against her. I had been practicing with my magick for two years now and had begun to come into my own as a magical being. I had honed the abilities I had until there was no longer the obvious tell of sputtering blue-white lightning in my shield. It was a mostly transparent dome of solid energy that was nearly imperceptible to the eye.

  Her fist connected with my chest, knocking the breath out of me and throwing me backward. I cursed myself. I’d been so preoccupied with the energy she was doling out that I hadn’t paid attention to her next move. She had ducked beneath the wave of magic and thrown herself at me. The blow was strong but I’d fought off stronger. What really did me wrong was the ill-timed step that I’d been forced to commit to when she hit me.

  I stumbled, losing my feet and crashing to my knees. Out of pure instinct, I threw myself to the side and a stream-lined tendril of needy energy swept past me. I sucked in a quick breath, my heart slamming against my ribs.

  Carson was a half-breed, a hybrid. It was part of why his father had cast him out. Succubus and Incubus prided themselves on their pure bloodlines. They were even more obsessed with family than Magicks. I worried now that perhaps his abilities weren’t comparable to a full-blooded Succubus, let alone one backed by their entire clan.

  That was the thought that haunted me as her next shot skimmed the skin of my arm as I whirled out of the way. My forearm tingled from its touch, warmth sinking into my bones there.

  I shook myself. No. She would not draw me in that easily. I had maintained a long-term relationship with a half-Incubus. There was no way that I would allow her to suck me into their magic-infused charm.

  I flicked my arm, pushing magick through it that slowly fought off the allure solidifying in me. Alicia watched me with a small smile. I couldn’t help the sneer that rose at the sight of her as I climbed back to my feet.

  She was close now, maybe ten feet away which gave me less and less time to anticipate her moves. Her hazel eyes flicked with annoyance as I stood. Her fingers twitched at her side.

  I had played this too loosely. I had assumed I couldn’t be dragged down by the same type of creature I shared my bed with. I mentally slapped myself for my arrogance.

  Alicia didn’t show any physical tell when she released the full force of the power in her torso. She threw it at me, no hesitation and without any advance warning, I could do nothing to get clear of its path.

  It hit me like a wall of dark, stale energy. It sank into my skin, forced its way down my throat into my lungs, smeared my vision with a film of blurriness. I gasped, trying to find air through the barrage of body-clenching energy.

  I wanted to die beneath that pain. But the salt in the wound soon followed. Beneath that current of never-ending flame ran a smooth, gentle call.

  It told me that nothing would be right in the world if I wasn’t cradled in Alicia’s arms. Carson didn’t matter. I could give up my mindless pursuit of him. He was just one man. He couldn’t possibly be that important, could he?

  Fight fire with fire! A voice that wasn’t mine screamed in my mind. My eyes sought Anton even though the room had turned into a swathe of bright colors that I couldn’t see past. I hadn’t ever worn glasses but Will had before his turn. I suspected this was similar to his natural vision. The figures in the room turned into blobs of colors that coalesced into a blanket of confusing almost shapes.

  Fight fire with fire, I told myself. Magic with magick. I let the power contained within me build and burn like a growing flame. It made me tingle from the inside out as it circulated through my system and seeped from me like smoke.

  That choking need and desire was the first to fade. Slowly, my body went from writhing in desire to shaking in fury. My blood ran hot, pulsing through my veins. My sense slowly crept back in and it led me to a rage. Alicia twisted my mind, used the power of her people to smother me with doubt. Worst of all, I felt a deep emptiness where my mind had let go of Carson and shoved him to the outskirts of my life.

  Was this how he felt? Valeria didn’t use Succubus magic but she was infiltrating his mind. He hadn’t even recognized me. She was eating away at his memories.

  I shook myself, leaving those thoughts for something to be puzzled later. I climbed to my feet, glaring through the blinding haze of light and power. The energy pulsed with blue color that reached me as glowing orbs.

  I was almost ready to panic when my head cleared. My vision was second to return. I rubbed my eyes to rid myself of the pins and needles but when my hand dropped, I could see clearly.

  So, I had perfect vision when Alicia’s fist cracked into my chin.

  And it hurt. Based on that one impact, I would hazard a guess that Succubi were similar in strength to Vampyres who were stronger inherently than Magicks. My jaw went slack as the impact elicited a sharp snap. My teeth cut into my cheek and blood erupted on my tongue.

  I fell to the ground like a statue that had been kicked over. The rest of my body was still rigid as I
fell. The hardwood dug into my skin, scraping away a layer of flesh and sending my limbs into a fiery agony.

  I sucked in more energy from the air like it were much-needed breath. I didn’t hold onto it though. I forced half of it through my limbs, releasing me from the rigidness. The rest I let skim off my fingertips as I threw my hand in Alicia’s direction. She didn’t seem to expect that as she watched me struggle gleefully.

  A long spear of blue-white energy beamed across the distance between us. It slammed into her upper shoulder with a wet thud. She shrieked, her perfectly manicured fingers grabbing at it.

  I pulled myself up and watched as the magick bolt burned and charred her skin and fingers where she tried to grab it. Her face twisted until she was no longer strictly beautiful. Don’t get me wrong, she still had this fierce gorgeousness about her but the expression exposed something darker beneath.

  When I reached my feet again, I immediately darted closer to her and whipped my leg out, crashing my shin into her side. She hadn’t been ready for that either. The force of the blow sent her tumbling backward, head over heels.

  After roughly scraping across the floor, she landed at the feet of Carson’s father. He gaped down at her, shocked, then peered up at me. His expression changed when our eyes met, his gaze fiery and his lips twisted into a snarl.

  “Get up!” he shouted to Alicia. His voice was like Carson’s too, but it missed all of the tenderness and care that was so unique to Carson. It was hard and angry and demanding.

  The man glowed. In the overlay of energy in the room he seethed power. His body lit like a beacon and the largest tendril of darkness grew from him.

  I didn’t hide the shock well when he snapped his own foot forward and knocked her in the back of the head, flipping her onto her stomach. She rubbed the spot and weakly lifted herself back to her feet.

  I couldn’t give myself even one instant to feel bad, not if I wanted to save Carson. That didn’t stop the swarm of guilt that rolled in my belly as I whipped my hand to one side and flicked it toward her.