Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three)

by Chester, Mireille

  “Cool.” I was impressed. This was some amazing information. “Why are there so few of you if you don’t need magic to chant?”

  “It is frowned upon. Most chants have to do with death. It is mostly passed from mother to daughter now, simply as a tradition.”

  “Was your mother a chanter?” I asked Rainen.

  “She was, but I had no idea that she had taught Traina.”

  “I have never seen her at a meeting,” said Trista. “But then again, I haven’t made it to all of them. If she wanted to keep it a secret, she could have made sure to only go to the ones she knew I wasn’t going to. Have you asked her?”

  Rainen swallowed hard and shook her head and I knew that despite everything that had just happened, she had loved her sister and her loss was a great one. I put a hand on her arm. She looked at Trista.

  “Traina is dead.”

  “What? When?”

  “A week ago.” Rainen went on to explain the events from the Zerpanay to our final encounter in Damian’s room. Trista stood with her mouth open. She blinked and closed it.

  “Are you sure? I mean…she’s never really given any indications of wanting Damian’s position. I always thought she might go after you to get second in command, but not Damian!”

  Rainen shook her head. “You can’t fake the feel of your magic, Trista. It was her.”

  “Wow. This is so bizarre. And who is Emelly?”

  “She is one of the humans that run with my pack,” I explained. “I didn’t know she was a chanter either. She’s still in a coma, but now that I know she had no magic to help her heal, that will be easy enough to fix.”

  “She’s never been to a meeting either. Unless…well, I supposed she could have lied about her name. Do you mind if I see her?”

  “By all means.”

  Rainen swung her legs over the edge of the bed. “Help me up, will you girls? I’m about to get bed sores.”

  I grinned. “William is going to have a conniption when he sees you got up.”

  She smiled. “You don’t mind? About William?”

  “Why would I mind?

  “I’m Maj.” She shrugged.

  I shook my head. “Haven’t you figured out that I don’t care about what everybody is? How am I supposed to judge? I’m the first crossbred kid from here and I mean, humans and Wedelves don’t have much more in common than humans and shifters.”

  I wasn’t sure if it was the magic in this world, but beings here were rarely single. “And besides, with everything that’s happened, I never got the chance to tell you that the next White One has been born.”

  “I’m sure Melana will be pleased. She’s been ruling for far too long.”

  “Yes, well, the thing about this White One is that her father is a panther.”

  “But panthers aren’t bound to Melana.” Trista was frowning.

  “Neither are foxes.” I waited for this to register and smiled. “Zane is a panther, Dawn is a fox and baby Kara is the next ruler of the Namaels. We have no way of knowing if she’ll shift into a cat or a dog because the mark behind her ear is a circle and her aura is white.”

  Rainen was shaking her head. “And then there’s you and Jasper. I mean, I can’t wait to see what your baby will look like. Human, Wedelve and Namael….” She stopped. “What happened?”

  I swallowed and tried to breathe through the tightness in my chest. “It didn’t make it.”

  She put a hand on my arm. “I’m sorry, Hayden. I was concentrating on keeping you alive. It never occurred to me to check on the baby.”

  “It’s not your fault, Rainen.”

  “Hayden?” Jasper came running into the room followed by William. “What’s wrong?”

  “Rainen! Lay down! You look like you’re about to fall over!”

  Jasper pulled me to his chest and William helped Rainen back into bed.

  “I’m fine, Hun. Sorry. I was just telling Rainen about the baby. I thought I was shielding.”

  He rested his chin on my head. “You were. I couldn’t tell you were sad. Just that something was wrong.”

  I struggled to keep the tears from falling.

  “Shush, Shlova. I’m here.” I looked up into his sky blue eyes and let myself get lost in them. He brought his lips down to mine and kissed me softly. I closed my eyes and had to remind myself to breathe. He was right; he was here. Everything would be alright, so long as we were together. I lay my head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat.

  “Better?”

  I nodded. It would always amaze me how one kiss from him could make everything else disappear, and though my heart still ached with the loss of our child, the pain was now bearable.

  “Alright.” He kissed my forehead. “Did you manage to resolve the problem with Emelly?”

  “We were just heading over there.”

  “I want to come,” stated Rainen. She was having a stare down with William.

  “You just woke up.”

  “I don’t care.” She swung her feet over the edge and paled.

  “Jesus, Rainen.” He took one long stride to the bed, picked her up, and cradled her to his chest. “I’ll carry you over there.”

  She smiled and closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

  He let out an exasperated breath. “You’re welcome.”

  As we walked to Rainen’s spare room where Emelly lay, I couldn’t help but wonder where William’s heart truly lay. I didn’t doubt his concern and friendliness towards Rainen. I was even sure he might be falling in love with the woman. There was, however, the conversation I’d had with him while in his custody in Paradin. William missed our other world; had talked about his house, his car, his girlfriend. The last time I had seen him I had offered to help him cross back over the next time we met. The look of relief in his eyes had been tremendous. Of course, there was also the fact that he had never left Paradin, which in my opinion was a very depressing city. And now, there was Rainen.

  I glanced back and saw him kiss her forehead as we walked. We stopped and Jasper knocked.

  “Come in.” Matthew’s voice was muffled.

  We walked in. I could see that Emelly hadn’t moved. She still lay on her back, her arms at her side, her eyes closed. Matthew sat in a chair with face down in his arms which he had resting on the bed. He didn’t bother looking up.

  “Do you recognize her, Trista?” William had put Rainen on a chair by the bed. She brushed back some of Emelly’s dark red bangs.

  “No. I don’t. I wonder who her mother was.”

  “Well, now that I think I know what to do, we can ask her when she wakes up.”

  Matthew’s bloodshot eyes peeked over his arms at me. I smiled reassuringly and put a hand on his shoulder.

  “All I have to do is give her a bit of energy. Chanters don’t have magic of their own, see?” I explained to him. “Healers and magic wielders do. That’s why if we get hurt or use up most of our energy all we have to do is sleep. It rebuilds itself. Chanters can’t do that. I just have to heal her, Matthew.”

  He sat up slowly and rubbed his hands over his face. “Really?”

  I nodded. “Really.” I moved so that I was kneeling next to the bed and spread the green waves over Emelly. I picked the second darkest one and pushed it into her. She jerked under my hands and groaned as I let my energy flow out of me and into her. I cut off the connection and rocked back on my heels. Jasper had me in his arms in a flash.

  “Are you dizzy?”

  I nodded. “I’ll be fine. I didn’t have to give her much.”

  Emelly let out another groan and brought her hands to her head. “Matthew?” Her voice was just a whisper. He took one of her hands and brought it to his lips.

  “I’m right here, Em.”

  Her eyes flew open in alarm. “Where’s Hayden? Did it work? Is she alright?” She gasped and closed her eyes.

  I put a hand on her arm. “I’m fine, Emelly. Thank you.”

  A tear fell down her cheek. “Thank goodness. I never
was sure if I’d be able to do it. I thought Chloe was crazy. I mean, why me? It didn’t make sense at all!”

  “What are you talking about?” We all waited to hear the answer to Rainen’s question.

  She took a deep breath. “My mother was a chanter. She didn’t want me to be one. She always told me it was too dangerous. Too many beings distrusted the practice and she knew of two chanters that had been killed simply because of what they were. I was nine when Chloe came to the door. She was crazy. I don’t mean that she was odd or dimwitted. She was a Namael and we lived in Paradin. She told my mother she’d had a reoccurring dream.” She opened her eyes and looked into mine. “Do all dream seers have those eyes? That green with the gold and grey flecks?”

  I nodded and she went on.

  “She told my mother I was to learn to chant. I’m not sure exactly what the conversation was, mind you. I was sleeping. From that night on, my mother drilled it into my head. I learned two chants. She said they were the only two I would need. She refused to teach me more. Chloe told her I would one day leave Paradin; that my destiny was to save the Chosen One. I was to pay attention. My mother told me that when we came across a chanter named Traina I wasn’t to leave Hayden’s side. They didn’t tell me your name, mind you, but from what William had told me and everything you talked about, it was clear that you were her. Well, that and the amulet and the tattoo.” She smiled.

  “The first chant my mother taught me was to kill Traina. It was to evaporate her energy.”

  “What was the second one for?” Matthew rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand.

  “If I couldn’t kill Traina before she killed Hayden, I had the second chant to jump start her using my energy.”

  “There’s never a guarantee that the chanter will live when they do that.” Trista was frowning.

  “I know. I wasn’t sure what would happen, but I thought that if I died so that Hayden could live to save everyone else, it would be worth it.” Her eyes widened as Jasper pulled her into a hug. He pulled back and kissed her forehead.

  “Thank you.”

  She blushed. “I’m not going to lie, though. I am extremely happy that I didn’t die.”

  I laughed. “Me too.”

  Matthew kissed her softly. “Me too.”

  “Should we head to the courtyard? Collin will be waiting.” I took Jasper’s hand. He nodded.

  “You feel up to it?”

  “I’ll be fine. I’ll get some sleep tonight.”

  “I want to see this,” said Rainen.

  “Of course you do. Up you go then.” William picked her up.

  “What’s happening?” asked Matthew.

  “Collin is calling in the packs so Hayden can scan them.”

  Matthew looked from me to Emelly and back again. She smiled.

  “Go. I’m going to get some more sleep. My head feels like someone is jumping on it.”

  He kissed her again. “I won’t be long.”

  Dodge came trotting up as we left the house.

  “Hey, Buddy. Can you give Rainen a ride?”

  Sure.

  William boosted her onto his back. She gave him a pat on the neck when he folded his wings over her legs to help her stay on. She turned to the guards at the front doors of her house and Damian’s.

  “No one enters unless it is someone from Hayden’s pack, mine, or Collin’s.”

  All four of them nodded.

  “Are you sure you’re strong enough?” Jasper put an arm around my waist as we made our way to the courthouse.

  “Jasper, I’m fine.”

  We got to the mouth of the courtyard, weaved our way through Collin’s pack and went to stand by his side.

  “This is Theren’s pack,” stated Harold as he and Gina came to stand with us. “It’s one of the bigger ones.” There looked to be about seventy beings standing at attention.

  Rainen cleared her throat. “When Collin calls your name, come forward, please.” She looked down at me and I turned to Collin.

  “There are four.” I noticed that one of the four was looking directly at William who was staring back noncommittally. I told Collin where in line they were and he called them forward.

  “Karryn, Kearan, Mark, and Hunter.” The four took a step toward us and looked at each other. Karryn and Kearan were identical with short blond hair and hazel eyes. Mark’s black hair reminded me of Jasper’s but his eyes were a deep brown. Hunter sported curly blond hair and blue eyes. The first three couldn’t have been more than seventeen. The latter looked to be in his thirties. “The rest of you are free to leave.”

  Hunter was still staring at William, his eyes narrowed. Once the rest of the pack had cleared out of the courtyard, the four of them stood closer together.

  “All we want are your stones and the reason why you were sent.” Rainen leaned down and asked Dodge to move a few steps forward. Hunter took a few steps forward. I felt Jasper tense beside me.

  “What choice do we have?”

  “You could try to fight your way out of here, I suppose.”

  “What happens if we comply?”

  “Nothing. You are free to leave.”

  Karryn started to cry and Mark put a hand on her shoulder. She looked at Rainen.

  “Can we stay?” It was hard to understand her between all the sobs. Hunter looked at her sharply. Rainen looked from me to Jasper. I shrugged.

  “No one has ever asked. They always want to fight to the death.” I took a few steps toward Karryn. “Why would you want to stay?”

  “I don’t… We don’t have anything to go back to. When Braw went looking for women to send out as shifters he used any means necessary to make us go. We were eleven. They killed our mom.” Fresh tears were starting up. “She was all we had. She was pregnant with us when she crossed.”

  Hunter took a step toward Karryn and was blocked as Mark stepped between the two.

  “Stand down, Mark.”

  Kearan was looking from Mark to Hunter, her eyes wide with fear.

  “I don’t think so, Hunter. You believe in all that crap Braw talks about. You came here willingly. We didn’t.” He dug into his pocket, dug out his stone and tossed it toward us. He was turning back to Hunter when the older man’s fist connected with his face. He dropped to the ground to the screams of the two women standing with them. Kearan went from scared to angry. She jumped onto Hunter’s back, her fists hitting his shoulders and head. He reached back and pulled her off.

  Jasper looked at me before shifting and bounding toward them. Karryn had joined the fight, screaming something about hitting her sister. Her eyes widened and she scrambled backwards at the sight of the tiger running their way. Hunter punched Kearan in the stomach and turned toward her twin.

  Jasper pounced onto his back and clamped his jaws down on the back of his neck. I couldn’t help but cringe at the sound of the bones snapping under the pressure. The sisters ran to each other and covered Mark. Jasper circled the three, his tail twitching before coming back to my side and shifting back.

  Rainen looked down at me and I shrugged.

  “This is a first. They usually team up and fight to the death. I’ve never seen them fight each other before. What do you guys think?” Matthew and Jasper looked just as confused as I felt. William was the first to speak.

  “I know Mark. He’s a good guy. I’ve never heard him say anything to make me doubt he’s lying about hating Braw.”

  Rainen nodded. “The three of you, come forward, please.”

  Mark walked in front of the girls, keeping them safely behind him. He stooped and picked up his stone on the way then stopped in front of us. He took the twins’ stones and handed all three to Jasper. Two of Collin’s men went to dispose of Hunter’s body.

  “Mark, Karryn, and Kearan, I’d like for you to meet Hayden.” William nodded to me and three pairs of eyes widened at the sound of my name. I smiled at them.

  “Hello.”

  Mark nodded, Karryn gave a little wave, and Kearan blushed. I
addressed all three of them.

  “Why were you sent to Howel?”

  “To find and capture you.” Mark looked at the ground.

  “Do you believe shifters are possessed?” I saw the weariness pass over his face. “Don’t worry. You won’t be executed if you say yes.”

  He shook his head. “No. I don’t.”

  “Me neither,” answered the girls simultaneously.

  “Alright. And you don’t want to go back to Paradin?” I was rewarded with three head shakes. “Ok. Well, here’s what I think we should do. We’ll keep your stones for now. If we find you are trustworthy and you want to join my pack when we move out, you’ll get the stones back. If you simply wish to stay here, well, that’s up to Rainen.”

  She nodded and swayed. William hopped on behind her and pulled her against him. He whispered something in her ear to which she nodded.

  “Dodge, do you mind giving us a lift home? Rainen needs to get back to sleep.”

  I can. I’ll be back, Hayden.

  I gave him a pat on the neck. “Sounds good, Bud.” I turned to our new recruits. “You three stand behind us and stay out of the way. You don’t want to be caught in the middle if a fight breaks out without your stones. Alright, Collin. Call in the next pack.”

  He shifted into a wolf and gave a few short howls which were answered by one long one. He shifted back. “This will be Grant’s pack. With everyone in command in a coma, no one has appointed a new captain.”

  The pack of twenty walked into the courtyard and lined up against the far wall at Collin’s orders. I scanned them quickly and shook my head.

  “All clear.”

  The leaderless pack was sent away and the next one called in, this one fifty strong.

  “One.” I pointed her out to Collin who called her forward. I watched her clench her jaw as the rest of the pack was dismissed. Collin was about to give the order to surrender the stone when she shifted into a bear and came running at me. Harold and Gina shifted and met her head on. The human managed to clamp her jaws down on Harold’s leg and he bellowed. Gina raked her claws along the traitor’s side, making her throw her head in pain. Harold grabbed her by the throat and bit, effectively killing her.

  “That’s what it’s usually like,” I said to Harold as he tossed me the woman’s stone. We watched Collin’s men drag her away. I took a deep breath.