Chosen Destiny
Authors: Rebecca Airies
Chosen Destiny
Meagan’s village is under attack and she’s been accused of being a spy. Refusing to
let her home fall to the Dark Sorcerer, she has no choice but to take up the weapons of
her ancestors. Dealing with the two gorgeous men who come to aid her in the fight is
another matter.
Samiel and Jaeson came to fight, but finding the woman whose magic matches
theirs surprises them, as does her reaction. She’s so focused on the battle that she barely
seems to notice the pair. With kisses and sensual caresses, they turn her attention to the
desire building between all three of them.
Meagan’s tempted by their seductive touch, but defining her place in their life is
difficult and time’s running out. The Dark Sorcerer has to be stopped before Meagan is
free to discover if Samiel and Jaeson are offering forever…or a moment in time.
An Ellora’s Cave Romantica Publication
Chosen Destiny
ISBN 9781419928079
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Chosen Destiny Copyright © 2010 Rebecca Airies
Edited by Helen Woodall
Cover art by Syneca
Electronic book publication June 2010
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This book is a work of fiction and any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or places, events or locales
is purely coincidental. The characters are productions of the authors’ imagination and used fictitiously.
CHOSEN DESTINY
Rebecca Airies
For those who make the hard choices and push through in spite of the odds. Thank
you.
Rebecca Airies
Meagan Danae panted as she sprinted down the street. Her feet slipped on the
stone paving as she rounded the corner and she skidded, nearly falling. Her heartbeat
jumped up another notch and fear lurched through her. She couldn’t fall. They’d kill
her. She’d never thought she’d have to flee Apolin like this.
Her black hair whipped across her face. She didn’t take time to brush the thick
strand out of her way. She had to keep moving. Hurt, betrayal and confusion mixed
inside her. She dashed down the street, dodging carts and people. The only good thing
about an occupied street was that they wouldn’t hurl any energy bolts here. Her shields
wouldn’t take too much more battering. She had to get out of here. She jumped forward
creating a tunnel right in front of her.
Landing on her feet in a soft grassy meadow, Meagan turned and waited a few
moments until she could be certain they hadn’t followed her. She grimaced. She’d left
the village because she knew they probably wouldn’t follow. They’d been zealous and
she really didn’t want to have to start taking the offensive. They were her sect sisters.
She didn’t want to hurt any of them.
Her stomach felt heavy and her jaw ached. She couldn’t understand how this had
happened. After returning from a scouting mission, she’d been practically accused of
being a spy or a Dark Sorceress by the elders of the Hanir sect. Before she’d even had a
chance to defend herself a group of younger witches had burst into the room and
started trying to kill her. Not wanting to hurt anyone, she’d run. Sadness and pain
weighed heavily in her chest. She hadn’t done anything to deserve that kind of
suspicion.
Thrusting her hand through her hair, she looked around the area. Trees fronted two
sides of the meadow giving it an air of security. A small stream cut across the grassy
expanse. Drawing the sharp tang of sap and spring air into her lungs, she tried to calm
down and push away the hurt. She had to think. No matter if they couldn’t follow her
here, she had to move. There were things she had to do.
Sometimes life makes the choices.
Meagan could practically hear her older sister’s
voice. She just wished she could talk to her sister or her brothers right now, but she had
no idea where exactly any of them were at the moment. She’d have to do this on her
own and she couldn’t waste time. More
merdanons
were coming. She had managed to
tell them that, but since they doubted her loyalty they probably hadn’t believed her.
There was little hope that any of the dragons or vampires would show to help tonight.
They hadn’t answered any of the other calls for aid and there hadn’t been any sightings
of the dragons in the air.
6
Chosen Destiny
Meagan licked her lips and raised her hand to the amulet at her neck. She didn’t
know if she was the one meant to take up the weapons, but she had to try. In spite of
what had happened she couldn’t just let the
merdanons
and Dark Sorcerers destroy the
village. She had to try to help save the people from the attack.
She looked around the grassy meadow. This wasn’t where she needed to be if she
was going to try to take up the weapons of her ancestors. She took a deep breath and
formed another tunnel. She stepped into it and felt the dizzying disorientation.
She was hurled into bright sunlight a moment later. As she exited the tunnel, she
took a few steps trying to deal with the momentum. Her toe caught on a rock. She
stumbled and fell to one knee on the rocky ground. Standing, she grimaced as her knee
stung and she saw the torn gray cloth. She ignored it. She had more important things to
worry about right now. Looking around, she chose the path that seemed to be heading
upward. She had only ever read of the old temple and looked at old maps of this region.
This wasn’t a region where the Hanir sect held power.
Huge trees grew alongside the rough, rocky path. The leaves formed an almost
solid canopy overhead, giving the path a shadowed, closed-in feel. She wished the
cover wasn’t quite so thick but at least she could still see. She just hoped she was on the
right path. This could take some time and that was something she wasn’t sure she had.
When the trail became steeper she was fairly sure she’d chosen he right direction.
She kept climbing and kept her eye out for wild animals. A
volk
or a
necalot
could do a
lot of damage before she managed a spell to stop them if she didn’t see them first. She
had no desire to be bitten or clawed. The chatter of
trimoks
in the trees was a little
reassuring. She saw one of the small feathered animals swoop down and snatch an
insect off the branches. They wouldn’t be so noisy or relaxed if there was a predator in
the area.
The air was heavy with the crisp scent of the
dicanan
trees and the moisture of a
building storm. Her shirt clung to her skin, dampened by her sweat. She followed the
curving path up until it finally stopped near the entrance to a cave. She smiled and
relaxed a little as relief flowed through her. This was where she needed to be.
Two columns had been carved out of the stone and stood one each side of the
opening. She created an orb of light and tossed it into the air. The light bobbed and then
floated in front of her as she started into the dark opening. The dark gray rock tunnel
narrowed a bit and then opened into a large cavern. It was obvious the temple was still
used by the local sect of witches.
The rock walls had been carved into scenes and images from floor to ceiling. Some
of the reliefs still bore the paint of a recent ceremony. The statues placed around the
room were draped in the finest cloth. Bowls of flowers and fruit rested on a marbled
rock altar in front of a huge stone warrior. She walked past the altar to the giant statue
behind it. Placing her hands on the large pedestal beneath the great warrior’s feet, she
sent a surge of power into the stone. The stone moved beneath the statue’s feet. She
waited as the stone block moved backward.
7
Rebecca Airies
The dark square opening in the floor loomed in front of her. Waiting only for the
bobbing ball of light to float into the gap, she stepped down into the hole. The dark gray
walls showed etched scenes of battle and everyday life in the age of the ancient kings.
She continued down the long hallway to the door covered with painted scenes. She
slipped her family seal off her necklace. She took a deep breath and placed the seal in
the small depression in the center of the door. This was the test. Was she the one meant
to take the weapons? If she wasn’t, she wouldn’t even be able to open the door.
The symbol slowly began to glow and the door swung open. She let out a slow
breath. She didn’t know what she would have done if it hadn’t opened. Somehow,
she’d have had to find a way to help the other witches defend the small town. She
couldn’t just walk away from the village.
She stepped forward and gazed in awe at the weapons covering the walls and the
large stone table in the center of the room. There were so many of them. How was she
ever supposed to know which one to pick? She walked around the room slowly. Her
eyes ran over the weapons on the table, but she didn’t see anything that caught her eye.
She moved to the back wall and looked at the blades there. A sword caught her eye. The
blade was straight and shone in the white light. It wasn’t silver like many of the other
weapons. The blade was golden with silver etching. She reached for it and the matching
knife. Power pulsed from the sword leaving her hands tingling as it raced up her arm.
The energy rolled through her straight to the core of her power. Her own magic swelled
and responded. Energy surged through her to the sword. She stood there feeling the