Divine Destiny

by Hayley Todd

  The long whip that was a favorite weapon of Achillia the gladiatrix appeared at my fingertips. It lurched out toward Alicia and snapped her around the ankle. Her eyes went wide as the electric burned into her skin. I flicked my wrist again, sending her half flying, half flailing away from the man and across the room.

  I lifted my other hand, my anger getting the better of me, and pushed with energy as I bounced a step closer to the man. Like he’d been slanamed into a wall, invisible force shoved against him, knocking him back several steps where he tripped over his seat and sprawled on the ground.

  It was evident where the interested parties were located in the stands without looking into Alicia’s dark power when the audience behind me erupted in laughter. There were shocked gasps from the people in front of me and silence from the Nosferatu corner.

  I only allowed a small grin to grace my lips as I turned back to Alicia. Her skin was puckered and raw around her ankle, floor burns along her knees and elbows. She was furious, seething even, but under all that, I could see a glimmer of gratitude in her gaze.

  My smile spread farther.

  She shrugged, as though apologizing for what was to come next, and launched forward. She was fast, but nowhere near as fast as myself. She spattered me with blows, fists and kicks coming from all sides nearly simultaneously. I batted each one away with hardly a though, mentally following her patterns. She made a mistake when she tried to start her barrage again, the same way as she had the first time.

  It was rehearsed, simple fighting. It was obvious that she had needed to hang on to her powers. Without them she was sluggish. She was slower than me and not nearly as skilled.

  I caught her fist as it neared my injured jaw and bent back with all the force I could muster. Bones popped and snapped as her wrist gave beneath my grip. She cried out, falling to her knees.

  I might have seen her as something other than a villain for one moment, but the memories of how she had briefly made me feel about Carson along with the gaping pit of guilt weren’t far from my mind. Punishing her for the abuse she had dumped on me felt good.

  That probably should’ve scared me.

  I hadn’t noticed her draw in energy again until it fizzed off of her like steam. It rippled over my skin, seeping into my core. I wasn’t able to shriek or cry out as it infiltrated my mind. My fist loosened its grip and she stepped back up, letting me hold her fist with one hand.

  She stared at me meaningfully, those hazel eyes speaking volumes.

  He doesn’t even miss you. He left for a reason. She’s better than you. Did he ever even love you? You’re vampire royalty. How good can a mixed blood be? There’s Anton. You’re meant for him. You’ll be together. You’ll rule together. Like you should. Give up. Let it go. You’re young. There is a whole life ahead of you. Let go. Give. Up.

  Giving up sounded like a good idea. I could take myself away from the fighting, away from the anger and outrage and hate. I could live a normal quiet life with my best friends. I could stay at the club all the time. I could not feel so flighty and distant. I could be myself. I could explore the deep rooted attraction I felt for Anton. I could embrace it and love him the way I wanted to. Kellic wasn’t involved anymore. Carson was gone. It was only us. Why fight it? I could be happy. I could--

  I knew the moment Anton forced the connection in my mind. It clicked, like something had dropped into place, and instead of depression, and sadness, and this feeling of being lost, a surge of energy flooded me, making me feel more rebellious and furious than ever.

  I exchanged a quick glance with him and he smiled softly. Dark thoughts swirled in my mind. I wanted him. But I also wanted to run away from him. I craved him and it destroyed me.

  I glared back at Alicia whose wide, shocked eyes, almost made me laugh. Her fist was still cradled in my hand, though she had influenced me enough to make me lose the strength there. I brought all of my power back, twisting her wrist again, more painfully than the first time.

  She shrieked in agony. The howl pounded against my sensitive hearing. I twisted harder, even more snaps and pops exploding from her arm. She seethed with more energy but now it only brushed my skin and dissipated in the air around us, unable to gain purchase.

  I forced her back by her hand and she stumbled and fell onto her back before me. I didn’t let go though, instead straddling her and forcing her hand under her chin, my fist still clutched over it. She was bleeding now, her forearm a mess of exposed bone and torn tissue. It made my stomach turn, but some deep, angry part of me was joyful.

  I pulled magick in me, sucking it in like a great vacuum in the center of the room. It came easily and I forced it down my arm and into my entangled fist. It glowed, my knuckles shimmering with blue-white sparks of electricity. Alicia’s eyes went wide, the green-gold being washed out by the overwhelming light beneath her chin.

  I widened my hand, dropping her distorted fist, and pressing my fingers against her neck. I released that power in all of its final glory down into her skin until her entire body shook beneath me. Her skin glowed the same blue-white that mine did before her eyes went blank, vacant, and shocked.

  I shoved against her, letting the connection sink into her subconscious. Her mind felt soft and warm against mine. I forced that not to draw me in.

  I slammed against her defenses, shoving my own thoughts into hers.

  I am nothing. Beneath the force of this woman and her love, I am nothing.

  I picked up images from her mind, the man from the sidelines, Carson’s own face, a beautiful auburn haired woman beneath a blade in my palm.

  I shook myself, peeling away from her mind. I had gotten too close, my own consciousness twisting with hers.

  Augustus. The name leapt out at me from her mind. An image of him flickered through her thoughts. He was more handsome there. He smiles genuinely, his eyes soft. It made him look more like Carson than he did in person.

  Aeliana. That one was entirely unfamiliar. An image of the auburn haired woman appeared again, not coated in blood this time. Her hair poured over her shoulder like a waterfall. Her smile was gentle and sincere. She was beautiful. More so than Alicia would ever be.

  Then the images clashed. Augustus screamed down at Alicia as she knelt over Aeliana, a blade plunged into Aeliana’s neck. Her blood spouted down her own chest and all over Alicia. Alicia straddled her, dragging energy from deep within Aeliana.

  Augustus’ knuckles crashed into Alicia’s cheek in a back hand. Alicia shrieked in pain and fell from atop Aeliana’s still form. Augustus went for the woman first, clutching her, looking for any sign of life. He sagged when there was none.

  “Get. Out. Of. My. Head!” Alicia screamed beneath me. My fingers flexed toward her, energy dancing between my hand and her throat. It flashed along her skin.

  I pressed harder. I knew somehow that Alicia was not good. She gave me the same twisted sense that Liam had so long ago. I hadn’t trusted it then.

  I didn’t try for persuasion. I knew now that that was something that wouldn’t work on her. She was from an abusive, controlling people. She was one herself. She wouldn’t relent.

  With one final push, her entire consciousness retreated to the back of her mind and her body went limp.

  The entire room was silent as I climbed to my feet, shaking my hand free of the remaining magick that was begging to be used. I wouldn’t intentionally kill her. Not if there was another option. She didn’t flinch, or cry out, or watch as I walked away from her. Anton’s eyes didn’t leave the body as I approached him.

  No one moved or uttered a sound until my father stood and lifted the microphone to his lips. He grabbed my wrist, lifting my arm high above my head like some prized fighter.

  “Winner, Magick!”

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Alicia was still unconscious as Anton guided me toward the locker room door. He left an extra gap between us that would’ve offended me had I been thinking clearly. My head was muddled, the barrage of unwelcome thoughts, the
splayed image of Alicia, and the forcefulness of my magick wiping her mental capacity occupying my mind’s eye.

  The locker room was empty, as expected. I went to my gym bag on a table at the center of the room. I stood beside the bag and yanked my shirt off numbly. Anton stood behind me, not speaking.

  He still said nothing as I shimmied off my clothes and stepped into a shower stall, twisting the knob to hot water. It wasn’t until I had dripped shampoo into my hair that he decided to speak.

  “So,” he began and he sounded strained which was bizarre for him, “what did she make you see?” His words carried to me over the calming thrum of water. He stayed outside of the shower stall but just near enough that I could hear him.

  I felt like the oxygen had choked up in my lungs. The memories of her onslaught came rushing back. That hollow feeling of depression and loss and loneliness nearly crushed me, even in retrospect.

  “I-I...she…,” I cleared my throat, unable to get the words past a lump there. “Carson,” I sighed. “She showed me Carson.”

  There was a long pause where he considered that before he continued. “Must’ve been pretty bad,” he replied.

  I could hear his steps shuffling on the tile of the locker room floor. My heart hammered in my chest. I leaned my head against the cold shower wall and let the steamy water pour over me. I wished that like the dirt and grime, it would wash away those disturbingly familiar feelings.

  There was another long moment of silence. “You saved me,” I finally said, barely a breath from my lungs. A chill rippled through me, despite the warm water. If Anton hadn’t interfered, would I have come out of that fight with my natural thoughts and memories intact?

  He huffed a laugh. “Isn’t your own mental guard kind’ve cheating?” he asked. I could tell he wasn’t serious. He had that tone to his voice that he always did when picking on someone. He didn’t do it to be mean though. He did it out of love in his way.

  “Isn’t having the entire Succubus/Incubus contingent powering you up cheating?” I retorted, thinking back on those tendrils of energy that Alicia had fed from. It had been life force, I was sure of it. That made sense when I considered it. Succubus fed on life energy anyway. Why wouldn’t they be able to lend it to one another?

  A small gasp was the only indication that he’d been surprised by that. He hesitated and I could sense his presence on the other side of the shower wall. “So, that’s where all that energy came from,” he said finally.

  I waited for something profound, some sort of realization that between the two of us, we had bested the entire Succubus/Incubus court. But instead, in typical Anton fashion, he laughed.

  “We sure gave them a run for their money, didn’t we?” he said.

  I turned off the water and wrapped a towel around myself. I then stepped to the edge of the shower stall and peered around the corner at him. He was sitting, his back leaned against the wall of the stall I’d just left. Though his words had been jovial, he sat with his head cradled in his hands.

  I knelt beside him, drawing the towel more tightly around myself. “You did,” I replied.

  His head snapped up, his eyes meeting mine. There was a layer of darkness there, though for what reason, I wasn’t sure. Those amber eyes poured out their emotion to me. I fought hard not to leach into his thoughts unintentionally.

  I walked back into the main locker room and he scrambled to his feet, following close on my heels. I ignored what I knew was a lingering gaze while I dressed, first pushing the towel down to my hips and tugging on my bra and shirt, then staring curiously down at my pants, trying to decide how to don those without exposing myself.

  His hands gripping the towel sent a thrill through my chest. I peered over my shoulder to see him with his head comically twisted to the side, his eyes screwed shut. He held the towel out to either side, blocking any view of my body. A smile affixed itself to my lips as I pulled on the rest of my clothes.

  I finished, turning to watch him, his arms wrenched out to either side and his face turned away from me. “I’m done,” I whispered and he opened his eyes, looking down at me. He folded the towel over his arm and rested it beside my gym bag.

  I was gathering my belongings when his fingers pressed tenderly to my chin and lifted my face to his. “Are you okay?” he asked. It wasn’t often that I saw serious expressions on him, but there it was anyway, his playful smile vanished. His eyes sought something in my gaze.

  I pulled away from him. As much as I appreciated his affection and concern, I couldn’t bear to say the words. I couldn’t tell him that, no, I wasn’t okay. I couldn’t explain to him that she had forced my mind to question things it shouldn’t have. I couldn’t explain that I had this icky film on my emotions, like someone else had handled them and left them a mess. And, no, I could tell him that I wanted to throw myself into his arms and cry away all the frustration that the fight had brought rushing forth.

  He didn’t let me get away that easily though. His fingertips were rough against my skin when he grabbed my shoulders and whirled me to face him again. He stared deeply into me. “You have no idea how hard it is to fight off the temptation to dip into your mind,” he said ominously. A shiver ran down my spine. Those amber eyes followed me, gently, carefully, as though he were afraid I was going to tuck tail and run.

  But, he didn’t. I knew he didn’t. His thoughts didn’t brush my own, though they were there within easy access.

  “What did she do to you, Kyra?” he asked, softly. I knew in that phrase that he was holding back. He was struggling not to control the situation. He was fighting the urge to find out whether I wanted him to or not. And that caring attitude broke down my defenses.

  My voice was not without tears when I whispered, “She tried to force me to abandon Carson. She tried to drive a wedge through my love. She told me what I wanted and tried not to let me get another thought. But you saved me. That blanket of emotion you worked over me broke the hold. It let me win.”

  He froze. His face went entirely expressionless. His hands fell limply from my shoulders but he barely seemed to notice.

  I turned back to my bag, tidying up its contents. I hoped he’d take that as an explanation but his next words made it evident he wouldn’t stop there.

  “But why do you seem so hurt?” He asked.

  I sighed, pushing damp strands of hair away from my face. I didn’t look at him when I responded. “Because, she assured me that I could let Carson go because I care about you just as much as I care about him. And you’re here and ready and willing.”

  I was surprised when his expression didn’t change. He didn’t react.

  “Why does that bother you so much?”

  I groaned inwardly. I should have expected that.

  “It just does, Anton,” I said, more harshly than necessary. I couldn’t bring myself to tell him how I really felt. Anton had never made his feelings a secret but for some reason, mine felt twisted and wrong.

  I loved Carson but this ran deeper than that. I had unknowingly been betrothed to Anton since I was young. He had been about to forcibly make an imprint between us to manipulate me into being the perfect bride.

  But he hadn’t. He had disobeyed his father and he had only protected me and suffered by my happiness since. He had more than proved his innocence to me. He had become one of my best friends.

  Anton pressed closely to me. His chest pressed against my spine. His breath warmed my cheek. “Please, Kyra,” he whispered, “tell me what’s wrong.”

  He had earned more than this from me.

  I screwed my eyes shut and sucked in a sharp breath, forcing all my words out in a slur. “S-She forced me to acknowledge that I love you too. She made it feel okay to love you too. She—for one moment—pushed away all of my doubts and insecurities and told me it was okay to let myself be with you. And I realized,” I was sobbing now, “that those feelings hadn’t come from nowhere. They were a part of me, something I truly felt. And without that urging hand completely assu
ring me that what I’m doing is fine, the guilt is eating me alive.”

  His hands tightened on me as I spoke before he entirely encased me in his arms. I cried out, the pain boiling over within my chest. And he held me. Annoying, childish Anton held me with passion and protection.

  His emotions fell over me. They crushed me amidst my own. The room was a chaos. A swarm of fury and rage and fear and love and lust and need and guilt and—

  His lips crashed into mine and my mind stopped. The barrage of emotions was held aloft, like it had been wiped away. There was only Anton and his touch and taste.

  His fingers dig into my skin as they sought the hem of my shirt. He wasn’t warm like what I was used to, but still his grazing fingers were pleasant against me.

  His other hand twisted into my hair while his lips consumed me. I wanted everything Anton could give me in that moment, my fears thrust aside.

  His mouth left mind and settled instead on my neck, his fangs piercing my skin and my blood filling him. My body flooded with an irresistible ecstasy.

  He’d only just stabbed the sensation into me when he pulled away and twisted his head aside, pressing my lips toward his skin. It didn’t require much prodding.

  With a liquid anticipation, I stabbed my fangs into him. Strength and reassurance and acceptance swam into me. My body felt less exhausted. My mind didn’t spin with abounding emotion. Calm, methodical thoughts settled into me.

  I felt more myself than I ever had.

  And much to my inner consciousness’s dismay, I pulled my teeth gently from his skin and pressed my forehead tinderly to his shoulder instead. I wiped my lips with one hand while his hand ran up and down my back.

  We didn’t speak for several long moments. Anton finally straightened beneath me. He gently twisted my shoulder to pull me away. His finger tucked beneath my chin and he smiled a soft smile.

  “Come on. You’ve still got to kick some dead man ass.” His tone was warm and gentle as his fingers slid down to and entwined mine. He led me out the door and to my final challenge.