Chosen Destiny

by Rebecca Airies

  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 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.

  Chapter Four

  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 they hadn’t even introduced themselves. Of course, she hadn’t exactly told them her name. They’d heard it, but she did didn’t know if they’d realized it was her name.

  The stone building of the inn looked better than it had earlier. It still had a small hole in one side of the wall, but that was being repaired now. She walked up the steps to the inn. The silver-haired man opened the door and waited for her to enter. She shook her head. They both acted as if she were going to run away if one of them didn’t have her in his sight at all times. She just didn’t understand it. There couldn’t be anything that bad about being a Tiria. As long as it wasn’t fatal, she wasn’t going to worry about it.

  The dragon went to the innkeeper to get a room while the silver-haired man waited with her. She looked at the man then around the empty large dining room.

  “Why can’t we talk here? There’s no one here.” She looked up at the man.

  “The innkeeper’s here and we’re going to need the privacy of a room.” The silver-haired man smiled. “I’m Jaeson Ro’Shan. He’s Samiel. And you’re called Meagan?”

  “Meagan Danae.” She nodded returning his smile. She’d bet he had women panting for him from just that smile. With a mental shake of her head, she told herself she was stronger than that even if she was drawn by it.

  “I’ve secured a room for us. It will do for the short term.” Samiel strolled over to them.

  She raised a brow but shrugged. If they were lucky, it wouldn’t take long to find and stop the Dark Sorcerer. She wasn’t going to count on it. She’d be surprised if the dragons stayed more than a night in the town. They seldom did. They preferred to have their own quarters in an isolated area. Regardless of where they were, they’d be here when they were needed. She had no idea how they did that and was a bit curious, but the answer could wait.

  She followed Samiel up the stairs, eager to get this finished so that she could get back to her research. There had to be some reason for the attacks. Maybe it could be found in one of the histories or on a map. Some kind of treasure or ancient knowledge the Dark Sorcerer hoped to use.

  “You’re suddenly very serious. Are you worrying now what being a Tiria means?” Samiel asked as he opened the door. He led the way into the room.

  Meagan followed him. A large, sturdy bed with a polished black wood headboard dominated the room. A yellow and green blanket had been spread over it and plump pillows were ready for use. The bright color stood out against the dark stone of the walls. The way the room was decorated did surprise her. She hadn’t thought that it would be this nice especially since visitors seldom came through the area.

  “Are you thinking about what it means now?” Jaeson stepped up beside her.

  She smiled, wondering why they thought she should be worried. “No, I was actually thinking about what I was doing before you decided talking was so important it outweighed searching for possible reasons the Dark Sorcerer might be focused on this area.”

  “You can get back to that later. Right now you need to learn just what it means to be a Tiria.” Samiel’s head titled and his lips curved, revealing the points of four fangs.

  “Being a Tiria isn’t something that’s going to change. As far as I’m concerned it could wait. This village really can’t.” She lifted a shoulder. “I was just going to learn what I needed as I went along.”

  “For mos
t of the things, that would be a good way to approach it, but there’s something that’s not going to wait.” Jaeson’s hand rose to her cheek.

  She stepped back just before he touched her. They had both been very touchy. Her arm and her cheek. They hadn’t let her out of their sight. She could read the possessiveness in their gaze. She just couldn’t understand it. She’d barely met them and knew nothing about them except their names.

  “What is it that I need to know? Just get it over with so I can get back to what I was doing.” She put her hands on her hips. She was getting a little tired of their theatrics. She wasn’t going to run out of the room so they really didn’t need to be watching her so intently.

  “Get it over with.” Jaeson looked over at Samiel, a smile on his lips. “No woman’s ever said that to me.”

  She rolled her eyes. That comment probably hadn’t even made a dent on his ego. It certainly hadn’t prompted him to get to the point. She just didn’t understand the need for privacy. Lady, even the talking wasn’t necessary. As far as she was concerned, everything but the Dark Sorcerer could wait indefinitely. Their priorities were definitely out of order.

  “Why don’t you go sit down? As we said, there are things that we need to talk about, that are important enough to take you away from your search. In fact, it might just change the way you think about being a Tiria.” Samiel waved a hand toward the bed.

  She sighed. Deciding that it would be faster to do as he asked, she dropped onto the soft mattress. She shot them both a look from beneath her lashes and tapped her foot. She wished they’d just say whatever they thought was so important. The more they delayed, the more nervous she became. Even though she knew it couldn’t be that bad, her tension was growing.

  “Being a Tiria gives you the ability to draw power into you. A Tiria has special needs.” Jaeson walked over to stand near her.

  She titled her head. At least he wasn’t so close she had to crane her neck to see him. He looked a little nervous and watchful. Well, more watchful than he had been before and he looked ready to move. She had the impression he was ready to grab her. She wasn’t going to make a run for the door. Not unless they didn’t get to the point soon.

  “She needs someone to take the power she draws into her, at least some of it.” Samiel sat down on the end of the bed.

  Meagan looked at the dragon and then at the hand’s breadth of space between them. Close enough to touch and too tempting. She’d been so absorbed in finding some reason for the attacks that she’d ignored most of their body language. They were focused on her and their sexual intent seemed so obvious. She licked her lips.

  “I did well enough last night. The level was high, but shielding the town took it down to a bearable level.” She shrugged. She didn’t see the big deal about the power that she could pull into her now. Maybe if there had been more merdanons it would have been a problem, but she was certain she could have handled it in some way without the assistance of those two men.

  “It was probably a small battle. It won’t be that easy in the future.” Samiel frowned. “Especially when the Dark Sorcerer learns of you. He’ll do everything he can to kill you.”

  “I already knew that, expected it.” She shook her head. It was obvious that she’d be a target.

  “Had you expected to have two mates?” Jaeson cupped her chin.

  She tensed. She hadn’t heard him move. His words slowly began to filter through her surprise. Two mates. She looked from Jaeson to Samiel hoping to see a teasing smile. They both stared at her expectantly.

  She shook her head. “I’m not going to have two mates. A witch chooses her wizard. There might not have been many high wizards here, but you can bet when I’m ready, I’ll find one.”

  Samiel laughed. “High witches might have chosen their mate in the past. There aren’t that many men here. Aside from that, witches marrying two men isn’t all that strange. In addition to the dragon and vampire pairs there are wizards who join in pairs.”

  She exhaled heavily. Something didn’t seem right about their explanation to her. Her eyes narrowed. They had to be lying. Two mates just because she’d picked up the ancient weapons? How naïve did they think she was?

  “Oh, so you two are my mates because I’m a Tiria? You’re going to have to come up with a better story than that. What is it you’re actually angling for? A few nights of sex? You’re both sexy and probably more than aware of it. You don’t have to pull that kind of trick.” She felt anger rise as she thought of the game they were trying to play.

  “Trick.” Samiel’s voice rumbled with a low growl.

  Meagan tried to move back, but Samiel grasped her wrist. Even in that loose grip, she knew she couldn’t pull free. She squared her shoulders. He wouldn’t intimidate her so easily. The man might be large and strong, but she could take care of herself.

  “This is no trick and it’s not because you’re a Tiria. All the Tiria will have two mates, but they would have two mates regardless of if they ever picked up the weapons. It’s the woman’s magic that matches. Your magic is a match with ours.” Jaeson slid onto the bed on her other side. His voice sounded determined.

  Meagan raised her brows. “My magic matches yours. And how do you know this?”

  “I can feel it. If Samiel bit you, he could taste it.” Jaeson cupped her chin.

  “You can sense it. I don’t believe you. I don’t have time to waste with this.” She stood and tried to tug free of Samiel’s loose hold. She didn’t know if they were playing some kind of game, but this was getting old fast.

  Samiel’s grip tightened and he tugged her back to the bed. “Sit down.”

  In spite of the growled order, she continued standing. This was outrageous. Did they actually expect her to accept what they said as fact? Anger rose. She reached up and grabbed Samiel’s hand. Her nails sank into his skin as she pried at his fingers. She couldn’t budge his grip and that only made her angrier. She glared at him.

  “Sit down.” Samiel spaced the two words precisely. His voice had hardened even more.

  He reinforced the order by standing. She took a deep breath and gritted her teeth. The man had domineering down to an art. Dealing with him on a long-term basis would push anyone’s control. She didn’t plan on dealing with him for long. Definitely not permanently. She sat, hoping to get this talk finished. She had work to do and arguing with him wasn’t helping.

  “Well, get it over with. I told you I was busy.” She jerked against Samiel’s hold just to reinforce the fact that she wanted to be released.

  “We’re not lying to you. Tell me, is the attraction you feel for us just normal attraction or is it more intense?” Jaeson asked. His gold eyes flashed with annoyance.

  The attraction was intense. She’d admit that. Was the intensity normal or more than that? She couldn’t say if it was normal or more than that. They were both handsome and in spite of their arrogance there was something that did pull her to both of them. And it was the “both” that surprised her. She’d never been attracted to two men at the same time.

  “Look just because I’m attracted to you doesn’t mean you’re my mates. It doesn’t mean anything except that you’re both very sexy.” She put her free hand on the bed beside her.

  “For now, forget about the long-term aspect. You can confirm we’re telling the truth later when you’re doing your research.” Samiel ran his thumb up and down the inner skin of her wrist.

  She’d never considered her inner wrist one of the more sensitive parts of her body, but that light touch sent tingles sizzling up her arm and straight to her core. She swallowed heavily and tried to ignore the sensation. He seemed determined to distract her. She wasn’t going to let him do that.

  “Just because I’m attracted to you, I’m not going to have sex with both of you.” If she could have, she’d have crossed her arms and glared at them. She settled for frowning at him since he wasn’t releasing her wrist.

  “We don’t expect you to have sex with us right now, Meagan. W
e wouldn’t push you away if you were willing, but it’s probably a little soon for you to be that accepting.” Jaeson smiled wickedly and his body angled toward hers. “We only want to touch you, to get to know you a little and then you can return to your coven.”

  His eyes dropped to the curved rise of her breasts. The heat in his eyes sparked a response in her body. She could tell just from that look that he wanted more than just a little touching. She looked over at Samiel. His brown eyes glittered and his thumb rubbed in gentle circles on her wrist. She could smell their scents, each distinctive. They seemed to wrap around her, but one of them sent excitement pulsing through her. The dragon’s musky sent had a spicy bite that she couldn’t quite identify. She didn’t have that problem with Jaeson. Just sitting next to him was like walking in a forest in the fall when the bark of the cabar tree was peeled. She loved the spicy, earthy smell before the bark was dried and ground.

  “And touching me is supposed to help me get to know you. My guess is that once you touch there won’t be much talking done at all.” She shook her head. At least they’d stopped pressing the mate thing. She was grateful for that.

  “I’ve been touching you for almost the entire time we’ve been in the room. We’ve been talking and I haven’t hauled you into my lap. Can’t say it’s not a tempting idea though.” Samiel’s thumb swept down in a slow deliberate stroke.

  “You were keeping me where you wanted me.” She wasn’t going to buy that argument. The man had wanted to make sure she didn’t walk out on him, nothing more. “It’s not the kind of touching I meant.”

  “You did have a tendency to want to get up and leave. Since you don’t believe that we’re mates, what questions do you have?” Samiel leaned close. His breath brushed over her cheek.

  “It’s just so improbable.” She shook her head.