Chosen Destiny (5 page)

appear to notice when the group of dragons and vampires drew close.

The woman pointed to the black-haired woman who’d been in the elder’s council

room earlier. The sleeves of her violet shirt were rolled up to her elbows. She was

slightly bent forward and the cloth of her gray pants molded to the full curve of her

buttocks. The ends of her hair curled a bit as it hung near midback.

“That’s her. Do it now before she flees,” the woman demanded.

All three of the witches at the table turned to face them frowning at the group

gathered at the end of the shelves. Samiel rolled his eyes. There went the element of

surprise.

“We need you to do a bit of magic. She believes you’re a minion or a Dark

Sorceress.” Jaeson stepped forward an encouraging smile on his face.

“Oh Lady, so she and her friends finally found someone gullible enough to believe

them.” She rolled her eyes. “I don’t have time to keep proving myself. They won’t

believe in any case. They’re the ones who will be giving me trouble.”

Samiel watched in astonishment as she turned back to the books. She peered a bit

closer at the one open in front of her before moving it to the side and opening another

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Chosen Destiny

thick volume. He couldn’t ever remember being so thoroughly ignored. The witch

obviously didn’t consider them any kind of threat.

“We’re not going away until you prove yourself to be what you claim you are.”

Danan stepped to the front of the group, his large form dwarfing that of the accuser as

he stopped just in front of her.

“Then you can stand there and wait. I don’t claim to be anything but a witch trying

to get some work done. I’m too busy to cater to your whims and her delusions.” She

looked up at them only briefly before turning and walking over to the shelf on the wall.

Her fingers ran over the thick tomes as she searched for something.

Samiel exhaled heavily. Stubborn woman. It would only take a moment. Either she

was as irritated as she sounded or she had something to hide. He couldn’t quite decide

which, but he doubted that she was a minion or a Dark Sorceress. It was partly her

reaction. She was more annoyed than anything else and even at first hearing why they

were here she hadn’t shown any fear.

“Why are you asking? Just make her use her magic.” The redhead’s fists balled and

she turned a fierce glare on all of them. “Since you’re too much of a coward…”

Before Samiel even guessed what she was going to do the redhead formed a

sizzling orb of magic and hurled it at the black-haired witch who was just turning away

from the shelves with a few books in her hands. She gasped and stopped abruptly.

Samiel saw her eyes round. The books dropped from her grasp. She wouldn’t have time

to throw up a shield, probably was too shocked to even think about it. He knew she’d

never expected to get attacked here, especially not with such a powerful orb. They

wouldn’t have done that even if she’d kept refusing. There were easier ways that

wouldn’t get someone hurt, to force the use of magic. The woman would have no time

to think. He was sure she’d be hurt or worse.

Just before the orb hit, a sword and dagger appeared in her hands. The energy

slammed into the blades and was absorbed by the weapons. Samiel gaped at the

woman holding the blades a full moment before the truth hit him.
Tiria
, she was a
Tiria
.

He took a long step forward sure she’d try to escape now that her secret was known.

“Are you happy now? Sure I’m not a Dark Sorcerer, minion, spy or whatever

accusation she cares to hurl? They sent idiots to help us.” The black-haired woman

shook her head. With a sharp movement of her hands, she sent the weapons away.

“We’re going to need all of the Lady’s grace.”

She knelt and gathered the books she’d dropped. He could see the stiffness in her

body. She was furious. Even though her movements were clipped and sharp, she took

great care with the books. Her full lips were compressed in a tight line and her eyes

narrowed angrily on the woman before she shook her head. She stood and walked over

to the table. Tugging a chair over to the spot where she’d put the books, she sat and

opened one of the books. Samiel stared at her. The woman was acting as if what had

just happened was an everyday occurrence, not something momentous. How long had

she been a
Tiria
?

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Rebecca Airies

A hand tapped his arm repeatedly. Samiel turned and cast quick glance over his

shoulder, a little worried to take his eyes off her. She seemed unworried, but he

couldn’t believe that she was so unworried. If that was an act, it was one of the best he’d

seen. Jaeson stood at his side, his mouth hanging open. When Jaeson caught Samiel’s

eyes, his mouth closed and he leaned close.

“Ours.” Jaeson’s voice held the stunned amazement that was so easily apparent on

his face.

Ours. The word slammed into him. Their witch. He’d been so amazed at finding a

Tiria
that he hadn’t even thought about who she’d match. He looked at her with new

eyes. She was a striking witch. Her light brown skin gleamed in the golden light. And

those light green eyes were so clear it was like looking into a cold mountain pool.

“Well, she’s definitely not a Dark Sorceress or minion. I think your accusation has

been effectively proven false.” Danan’s smug tone reached Samiel.

“But there are some questions about the accuser that haven’t.” Elder Sarash’s voice

came from behind them.

Samiel glanced back. The elder had her arms folded across her chest. She stared

hard at the redheaded woman. Anger and frustration were easily apparent. He moved

so he could keep an eye on the elder and the black-haired
Tiria
. Although she’d made it

plain that she wasn’t going anywhere, he didn’t want to lose sight of her.

“Since you’re so concerned about the witches who fought and protected this village,

I can’t help but wonder where you and your other friends were. I can’t find one person

who saw you during the battles.” Elder Sarash’s voice had gone cold.

The redhead’s mouth opened and closed. “I was there.”

“Then there’s the fact that she and others were outside the shield waiting to be let in

this morning. Kind of makes you wonder why they weren’t inside when the shield

went up if they did help,” one of the blonde women at the table offered before she took

a seat and opened one of the books.

The redhead looked stunned to find herself the focus of the questions now. “How

can you all be so gullible? Can’t you see that she’s manipulating you? She’s evil.”

“She’s a
Tiria
. It’s not possible for her to be evil and hold those blades.” Jaeson

shook his head.

Samiel was astounded by the woman’s continued blindness. He didn’t know if it

was some kind of grudge she held or if she’d been fed the information. It was

something that bore looking into later. His first focus was on enlightening their
Tiria

about just what she was to them.

“She’s not going to believe you. It’s thanks to her and her friends that Meagan was

practically chased from town before she claimed the blades.” The blonde who’d spoken

before looked up and her mouth twisted into a grimace.

“They are responsible for Meagan being run out of the village?” Elder Sarash asked.

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Chosen Destiny

“Chased through the streets?” Samiel’s brows rose. If that had actually happened it

said a lot that she was back here.

“If you want to talk about it, go somewhere else. Some of us actually have things to

do.” The black-haired woman, Meagan, cast an irritated glance around the assembled

vampires, dragons and witches.

“Yes, some of us have things to do. Unfortunately, you’re not going to get to finish

what you’ve started. We’re going to be talking to you. There are apparently a few things

that you don’t understand.” Samiel took a step forward.

“Look, I know there’s something about a dragon or a vampire being my mate. That

can wait. There’s too much to do. The village matters, the rest can be dealt with later.”

Meagan shook her head and looked back to the book in front of her.

Jaeson walked over and closed the book firmly. “That’s just one of the things we

need to talk about. We’re going to need somewhere private to do it. We’ll go to one of

the inns. Neutral territory.”

“Look, you’re not listening…again. Whatever this
Tiria
thing means doesn’t matter,

saving this village is more important.” She put her hands on the leather cover. Her head

tilted and she looked frustrated.

“The town will be safe while we’re talking to you. There are enough dragons and

vampires here to ensure any attack will fail.” Jaeson smiled and cupped Meagan’s

elbow, drawing her to her feet.

She opened her mouth, probably to argue. The woman didn’t seem to want to hear

anything they said. Samiel stepped forward. She didn’t look at all intimidated or afraid

of them. Of course, she didn’t appear to know much about what taking up those swords

had meant to her life. He’d enjoy telling her all about it. He expected her to be horrified,

afraid or even panicked when she realized the full truth. Most witches tried to avoid the

ties or run from them. He didn’t know what she would do.

“We are going to talk privately about this,” Samiel said before she could think of

something to say. “We’re not going to walk away and leave you alone.”

They definitely wouldn’t be leaving her alone. She might not want to run right now,

but she might after she learned of the ties. She seemed absolutely focused on the attacks

and on the town. He understood her urgency. She lived here. This was very personal to

her.

She looked at the two of them. “Why are you two so eager to have this talk with

me?”

“We’ll talk about that when we’re alone as well.” Samiel stepped back giving her

room to pass.

She rolled her eyes, but took a step forward. He had a feeling she was going to give

them a few surprises. She slipped past him. She wasn’t a tall woman. Her head came to

about the middle of his chest. All in all, it was a very nice size and she had curves to

please any man. The difference in her size and his made her seem even more feminine.

A glint of gold at the top curve of the ear caught his eyes. He smiled as he saw two gold

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Rebecca Airies

studs as well as deep red and brilliant green gems there and two flashing blue gems at

the lobe of her ear. He really liked that flashy jewelry. In fact, he wouldn’t mind if all

she wore was that, a few necklaces and bracelets and maybe a waist chain.

“Well I do have to get back to what I was doing. Can we get this over with?” She

looked back over her shoulder at them.

He could see the tension in her jaw. She wasn’t happy and, from her attitude, just

wanted to get this finished. She was so focused that he didn’t know if she’d seen them

as anything other than an annoyance. He definitely wanted to change that. Some lust or

just awareness that they were men who found her attractive would be a start.

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Chosen Destiny

Meagan walked in front of the dragon and just behind what she suspected was a

vampire, although she supposed he could be a wizard. Regardless they were persistent

and a huge nuisance. And gorgeous, she’d definitely noticed that.

The dragon couldn’t be missed even if she’d failed to spot the gem at his ear. Those

dark blue streaks really stood out against his golden hair. His deep brown eyes hadn’t

seemed to blink while he was watching her. She couldn’t mistake the tall, muscled man

for anything other than what he was—a predator. Even though he’d never raised his

voice or made an overtly threatening move, she knew he was dangerous. Maybe not

violent or dangerous to her, but he did seem determined to cause chaos in her life. The

choice of dressing in all black didn’t help alleviate that dark aura. He couldn’t have

drawn more attention to himself if he’d tried, but she had a feeling that he didn’t care

what anyone thought of him.

The other man was a completely different matter. He might have been as muscled

and nearly as tall as the dragon, but he looked more as if he should be on some ruling

council somewhere even with his white shirt and black pants more suited to everyday

wear. He had an aristocratic air and an aura of quiet power that was only emphasized

by his high cheekbones and his golden eyes. She had an almost irresistible urge to reach

out and touch his long silver-blond hair, just to see if it was real. She’d never seen

anyone with hair like that. The light brown tan of his skin did make him seem a little

more real, but he still didn’t seem like he belonged in the middle of a battle.

They led her out of the sect house and to one of few inns in the village. She made no

attempt to talk to them on the way there. They’d been the ones who insisted that this

had to be done now. Their persistence didn’t make any sense to her. The fact that she

was a
Tiria
wasn’t going to change in the next few days. They were in such a rush that