Divine Destiny

by Hayley Todd

  “If feeling the full magnitude of that things power is okay,” he said with a grin and gazed down at the sapphire on my neck, “then yeah, I’m one hundred percent.”

  I didn’t know how he did it but he made me want to laugh out loud despite our circumstances. I loved that about him. Love and Anton. That idea still felt unnatural even if I’d finally admitted it to myself.

  I guess I’d always kind’ve rejected getting close to Anton considering how we met. At the time he had been arrogant and assuming but over the years he had changed. At least with me. He was strong yet soft, sweet yet silly, caring yet playful. He and Carson were inherently different. They were both amazing but in different ways.

  “It’s about time.” It was the first time he’d spoken less than furiously toward me since the night he’d disappeared.

  I was immediately on guard, as was Anton.

  Carson had stepped from the trees and now leaned against a certain spiteful oak. He was alone. Or at least we were meant to believe he was.

  “Aw, you’re holding hands. How sweet,” he said sourly.

  “Carson?” I called. I would deal with the fallout of me and Anton if only it were really him.

  “That’s my name,” he replied.

  Anton stepped slightly in front of me. “What the hell is your problem, man? Why are you helping that bitch?”

  Carson glared at him and turned his attention back to me.

  “Carson, come home. Please,” I begged. Despite the raw power buzzing in my veins, my knees felt weak. How could this seriously be happening?

  “Home?” he asked. His voice wasn’t as hard though. “With you?” His eyes flicked to Anton who hadn’t moved.

  I couldn’t see Anton’s face but I watched his back. “Yes,” I replied though I wasn’t sure I meant it. Anton’s spine stiffened anyway.

  Carson looked at me contemplatively for several long seconds. Then, I felt sick to my stomach as he laughed. He guffawed, even slapping his knee. It was a hard, penetrating sound.

  After several moments he straightened, wiping invisible tears from his eyes. His laughter died away. “So, you sleep with the pretty boy and you still want me to come home to you? You’re resilient.” I didn’t have to ask how he knew. I was certain he held felt it in our bond. I had felt it while I watched him and Valeria together.

  “Carson, please!” I said as a gasp. Pain twisted in my chest. “Valeria has messed with your mind. You belong with us. With...me.” The words felt rough in my throat.

  “Dude, that’s got to hurt,” he said, glancing back at Anton.

  Though he had softened the muscles in his back, Anton’s neck was rigid. He didn’t say a word.

  “This isn’t you, Carson!” I shrieked, trying to ignore his taunting.

  Green eyes narrowed on me. “What would you know about who I am? You only knew me for a few years of my long life. She’s known me for centuries. Maybe she just let the real me back out.”

  The words stung but I was sure it was how Valeria had reasoned her meddling. He was so stiff. The true Carson always maintained perfect posture but he was always relaxed.

  I took one ill fated step toward him after another. As I passed Anton he snatched me by my arm. His gaze was a warning as he stared into me.

  I gently shrugged him off with resignation. I was relieved when he let me go. Each step was agony as I crossed to him.

  I braced myself knowing this would hurt Anton even more. But still, I gathered that now familiar Succubus energy and let it emanate off of me. I knew when it hit him because his lip pulled back in a snarl. But he didn’t pull away.

  I rested my hand on his forearm, exuding the energy resonating from me. It seemed into his skin and grabbed him. I felt his soul brush mine. No matter what our course now, they were still old lovers.

  My will entwines in him and I felt him so near to me. I couldn’t seem to break the last barrier…

  I turned partially away from him and looked back at Anton. I knew the pain was etched in my face because he sighed and opened to me.

  His power hit me like a ton of bricks. It took me several long breaths to recenter myself. His energy coupled with everything I had nearly made me lose myself.

  As I fought to stay in my own mind I pushed into Carson’s. The final barrier melted at my mental touch, Anton’s ability layered over my own.

  There, locked away were the true memories of our lives. From the time he watched over my pregnant mother until the last vision he’d had of me as himself, all of our memories flashed before my eyes.

  I leaned into him without realizing it. The Succubus need overwhelmed me.

  And his lips were on mine. They were feverish in temperature and ferocity. He kissed me as though everything in his being needed it. He kissed me like he :always had. He kissed me like he knew me.

  I breathed him in. That passion was unmistakable. That passion was my Carson.

  And then pain stabbed through my chest.

  It felt like my ribs caved beneath the booted foot as Valeria swept from the darkness and slammed into me. I had figured she’d be close by. But this time, I was prepared.

  I crashed into a tree a few yards away and snapped its trunk clean in half. The pain barely registered. I shoved myself to my feet and let some of that massive energy explode into the world.

  An electrified whip extended from each of my hands. They were huge, far larger than anything I had manifested before.

  I couldn’t resist the joy that swelled in me at Valeria’s startled expression. It was my turn to dish out the ass beating.

  I swept my arms across one another and the lines of blue-white snapped across Valeria’s chest. Electricity swept through her as she flew away from me. Her back snapped against a tree and the impact echoed through the woods.

  “This has been a long time coming,” I growled as I stomped across the clearing. Both men in my life stood silent and still, watching us. Carson seemed shaken but so did Anton. My heart ached.

  Valeria blurred as she leapt to her feet and swung a dozen bolts of violet magick toward me. I didn’t flinch. I didn’t blink. I swept one arm to the side and the bolts were slapped to the side. They impaled another tree trunk clear of any of us.

  She roared in fury and clenched her fists, throwing them to the sky. Spears of energy stabbed up from the ground near my feet. They stabbed upwards and came to a complete halt again a flickering blue-white dome that arced in a complete sphere around me.

  I smiled sweetly at her enraged expression. This felt better than any other type of therapy. I lifted my fist to the sky and pulled from the clouds. With explosive magnificence, a barrel-sized bolt of lightning pierced through the trees and detonated on her position.

  I was almost excited when she wasn’t a smear against the dirt. I had many more frustrations to let loose. I didn’t wait to use magick this time. I bolted across the ground and pummeled against her.

  The air sucked away from her as I slammed into her belly. My fists were nearly invisible with my added Vampyre speed. My knuckles cracked against her again and again and again.

  Finally I started to feel something beside pain and anguish. I finally felt like things might get better.

  So it sucked to an unreal extent when Carson swept me in his arms and tossed me aside. The reaction was strangely gentle. It reminded me more of our training bouts before he was taken than the fight at Damien’s. He let me fly through the air and catch myself, all while only attending to Valeria.

  She was black and blue all across her face. It was the most satisfying thing I’d ever seen. It was only somewhat spoiled by Carson’s form hunched over her.

  “No, Carson!” I shrieked at him. “This is between me and her!” I knew I looked like a petulant child but I didn’t care.

  He peered up at me and his green gaze was no longer mocking. He looked sad and a little afraid.

  Valeria shoved against him, climbing to her feet. “She’s right. This is between me and her,” she growled. She thr
ew her fists to her sides and they went ablaze with violet energy.

  I was almost amazed. But that would imply that I had some sort of respect for her and that would be wrong.

  She came at me close to max speed for a Magick. Yet still it wasn’t quick enough to keep up with me now.

  I’d always been a quick vampire but now that I had the speed of faster vampire breeds, Magicks couldn’t compare to me. She dove at me but I’d already moved from that position. I ducked under her fists and slammed my shoulder into her belly.

  She stumbled back from me and rolled across the ground until her momentum ceased. She was slow to rise this time.

  I let my magick burst from my hand as I turned. One arm exploded in a sword, the other covered by a semi-transparent shield.

  I took several quick steps toward her and lurched forward with the shield. She was most of the way to her feet but still didn’t have any balance. I cracked the shield into her face and it knocked her backwards again. She sprawled onto her back.

  I leapt atop her and stabbed down with my blade. It pierced her in the belly. Blood welled from the wound. Instead of pulling it away, I sent more electricity down my arm. She spasmed violently and went still.

  I withdrew the blade and released the energy in it and the shield. The objects dispersed into tiny particles of light.

  “That’s it? That’s all you’ve got?” I said furiously. “All of this tough shit and that’s all you’ve got?!” My voice grew higher and more frantic with each word.

  They touched me at the same time and I was pretty sure they hadn’t even realized. Carson’s hand grabbed my left shoulder, Anton’s on my right. I turned and was immediately impaled through the chest from a figure in the trees.

  Chapter Forty-Three

  The tiny psychotic witch stepped gently from the forest line. She braced a large black crossbow over her forearm and aimed its tip in my direction. There were no bolts on it that I could see and she had no quiver on her petite form.

  The bow shivered with black energy. It seethed from the structure of it and as she waved her hand over the weapon, so did a thick black bolt of energy. It reminded me of magick though not of any element I’d seen so far. The bolt lengthened until it fit the bow perfectly.

  “So, finally we meet under less chaotic circumstances. You are Kyra Lucius, Magick Princess and carried of the Fate Seira. I am your one true adversary, Tempest with the influence of Kenos.”

  Her words were disjointed, as though she were narrating our situation instead of truly speaking to me.

  “You have drawn Kenos’ interest,” she continued robotically, “she sees you as a roadblock in her path. But you really are intriguing.”

  She shifted the bow, leveling it at me more closely. She released the bolt though I never saw her finger press the trigger. It zoomed across the clearing.

  But instead of impaling me once more, I was shoved away. The bolt sunk into Anton’s shoulder with the sound of meaty collision.

  I blinked.

  Carson had shoved me aside, kneeling beside Valeria’s broken form. At the same time, Anton had hurled himself between us, taking the bolt in his side.

  The girl harumphed in irritation and stepped down from the darkness she had hidden in.

  I whirled to Anton, grabbing the spear protruding from his shoulder in one hand. It burned against my palm but—like the wound in my chest—I barely noticed it. After a few good yanks it came free and I tossed it at the figure over my shoulder. I did the same with my own injury an instant later.

  Anton groaned as the object came free and stumbled forward. I caught him against my shoulder and held some of his weight.

  “So, the wimp finally did it,” came a voice that was rough and grating but still feminine.

  I twisted back to the girl as well as I could holding Anton. She stood in the middle of the clearing now and though she looked mostly the same, her posture and expression were different.

  She had one hip thrown out to the side, her tiny fist propped atop it. Her shoulders were rigid. And her eyes glowed violet.

  “Kenos,” I said, knowing the truth of it as I spoke the word.

  She grinned though it wasn’t a pleasant expression. “Greetings, Seira,” she called and swayed a few steps to the left. “How’s your newest pet?”

  I rolled my eyes at her, resting my hand against my hip in an almost mirror image. “The host is doing great, thank you. Seira isn’t in at the moment,” I growled, staring down at the petite woman. I could feel Seira stirring against my consciousness but still, she didn’t assert her will over me though I was sure she could have, especially as her full power inhabited me.

  Tempest’s glowing violet eyes narrowed on me, seeming to see me for the first time. She sighed and hefted the massive crossbow again. Unlike Tempest, Kenos didn’t heft the thing over her arm. She braced it’s stock against her shoulder and lowered her eye to its sight.

  There was no hesitation, no indication that the impact was coming. The bolt leapt from the bow, shimmering violet with a trail of silvery white energy in its wake. Something had changed. The entire attack was different.

  I pulled Anton against me. He was getting his feet under him when I threw myself to the side, tugging him along. He crashed into me as we landed again and the air was knocked from my lungs.

  The bolt that had missed us, sunk into Valeria’s thigh.

  Carson bellowed in rage. He leaned over her, his wrist pressed to her lips, his blood seeping down her chin. I wished I’d had the opportunity to slap it away like a child ingesting something that may harm them. Carson was making my fight all the more difficult.

  I traded a glance with Anton. He had seen what I had seen.

  “Kyra,” he groaned, leaning off of me and taking his weight back unto himself. He said the word like a warning.

  I glanced up at him questioningly.

  “Your eyes,” he whispered.

  I couldn’t see myself but I could see the faint glow of power radiating from me. The wound in my chest had healed though thin streams of blue-white energy billowed from it.

  My head thumped. Seira pressed against me. She wanted to take hold, I realized. Was her own power keeping her out?

  I didn’t get time to consider it. I saw the next bolt of sear through the air. Steam fizzled off of it as it soared. I shoved against Anton’s chest, knocking him back several steps. I used that same momentum to knock myself away and the bolt skimmed across my shoulder. Again, I felt awareness of the discomfort but encountered no pain.

  “Seira,” Kenos called. She made Tempest seem far larger and more imposing than she was simply by her demeanor. “Let us fight this out, me and you. The mortals have no bearing on our tiff.”

  Seira roared inside me, letting the goading drive her mad.

  Seira! I exploded within my mind. The fighting drew short, as though she were considering me. She is trying to draw you out. And you’re falling for it.

  There was a moment of calm within myself before she came rearing back, slamming her entity against my consciousness. My vision pulsed with black and red.

  Do you really think you can handle my adversary? Seira growled.

  I actually considered the question. I was a mere Magick. I was nothing compared to the infinite energies of the cosmos. But did I think I could handle Tempest power boost and all?

  Yes. Yes, I could. If the trials had shown me anything, it was that I was a fighter. I would not bow down and I would not go out without a fight.

  And just like that, Seira let go of her struggle to overtake me. In the moment of realization that I would never stop fighting, she released me from her hold. Her power seeped into me, deeper than it had been. She had been holding back, limiting my connection to the raw energy of Order.

  A chill ran through my body, igniting my very soul. My vision went crystalline, an icy clarity sunk into my bones. “Kenos of the Order of Chaos, you have been condemned to eternal imprisonment,” I said the words but it wasn’t my voic
e that echoed through the clearing. Seira was passing her judgment.

  Kenos roared in absolute rage. It filled the clearing like a physical being. “So, you are too cowardly to fight me. You want to act as though you are better than me but you only hide behind your mortal shell. You would fight against your own nature!”

  Her fists shook at her sides and she let the giant crossbow fall into the grass. Her skin emanated with black, violet-tinged energy. And her eyes or lack thereof, glowed so brightly that I couldn’t look at them.

  “Kyra!” Anton shouted.

  I whirled around. He was on his knees a few feet away but I immediately saw what it was his warning meant.

  Valeria was on her feet, speeding across the clearing toward me. She had blood crusted around her lips and her eyes were wild.

  I didn’t have time to jump aside. I didn’t have time to consider my odds. I crouched, drawing power into my legs and hurled myself up, flipping backward over her through the air.

  Valeria soared past my former position and I watched her with icy clarity.

  I lifted my hand and hurtled energy through my palm.

  The crack of lightning that exploded across the clearing split the canopy of leaves above and ignited the ground. Flames erupted, leaving a trail of sapphire energy in its wake. The bolt slammed into Valeria’s back, knocking her from her feet. She crashed into Kenos and they both went sprawling into the treeline.

  Anton struggled to his feet on my left. Carson stood on my right. He was still as a statue, watching Valeria’s body be thrown. He didn’t move toward her though. He seemed to be struggling within himself. He had healed her as if it were but a compulsion. When it came to coming to her rescue, however, he seemed to have regained some of himself. Maybe I had broken through after all.

  Weak sunlight poured down from the trees above. The clearing went eerily still for several long seconds. Then Valeria burst from the shadows.

  She was fast, maybe even faster than myself. But that was prior to inheriting the strength and speed of Vampyres. She sped towards me but my vision slowed, seeing every step, every shift of her weight.