Destiny Divided (6 page)

“I’m thinking about what to do with you,” he fina
lly answered.

She slammed her head back aga
inst the headrest. “You should let me go.”

She was right. If he was smart he would
hand her over to the Counsel to deal with. Why should he care if they stripped her of her powers? He’d only started training her to save his homeland from another attack from the Underworld.

James had been picturing
the day he would kill Cadmael for a very long time. He’d imagined it happening so many different ways. His preference was to do it as painfully as possible. And Sage could be the key to making that dream come true.
If
she could learn. And that was a big
if.
But he wasn’t ready to give up yet.

“No. You’re staying,” he told her
. “I’m not giving up on you.”

He thought he heard her mumble,
“Then you’ll be the first.”

The pull for revenge was stronger than any other part of him. But lately he’d noticed another side growing that shook him to the core. It was small
, but disturbing. He didn’t know if it was instinct speaking – or maybe Sage just knew how to pull at his heartstrings – but part of him fought to keep Sage away from Cadmael entirely. Something in the back of his mind nudged at him, urging him to keep her safe – to protect and provide. But she wasn’t…
his
. The feeling was so contrary to his plans that he wanted to be cruel to her just for confusing him. And just to prove that she didn’t matter beyond what she could do as a sorceress.

The clicking of chattering
teeth pulled him from his warring thoughts. He looked at Sage. She was shivering.

“Are you cold?” he snapped, sounding harsher than he’d meant to.

She nodded.

“Where’s your coat?”

“I don’t have one.”

His hands tightened on the wheel and a grumble started in his chest
. “Why didn’t you tell me?” Suffering because of something as insignificant as a coat?

She shrugged.
“I was planning to buy one…soon-ish. Sorry my shivering is making you uncomfortable.”

“Don’t be ridicu
lous.” He sighed. “You could have told me you needed a coat. I said I would take care of you.” Now why in the hell did he like the sound of that?

She ignored him
.

“
Well? Why didn’t you tell me?”

“
I can afford it myself. It’s just a little hard getting to the store when you have me on this military-inspired training schedule.”

James had enough money to buy Sage anything she could ever want in a lifetime and yet she’d been suffering for weeks.
Because of a goddamn coat! He blamed himself. All the effort he’d been exerting to convince her she could trust him then he went and let her freeze. He would buy her a coat – hell, he would buy her a thousand coats – first thing the next morning.

He should have known Sage would
be too prideful to ask for help. But why didn’t she have a coat of her own? Suddenly he realized he didn’t know much about her at all. She’d hinted at having grown up in foster care, but for how long? Did she have
any
family?

I
n order to train Sage, he needed to refine her. And to refine her, he needed to understand her.

When he pulled into his driveway, he shifted into neutral and kept the engine running, heat at full blast.
“Where are you from?” he asked her. “And where’s your family?”

Her eyes widened before her
hand flew to the door handle. He knew she was aching for a quick getaway, but James wasn’t going to let her off that easy. He reached over her and put his own hand over the door handle, blocking her exit. She looked like she was ready to chew his arm off.

“You really don’t have any boundaries, do you
?” she snapped.

He placed
his hand on top her hers, now sitting in her lap. “I need to understand you, Sage. For me to train you, I need to understand who you are and where you’re from.”

“I’m from New York and I’m going to be really pissed off if you don’t le
t me get some sleep.”

T
he palm that rested on Sage’s hand suddenly felt as if he were holding it to a flame. He pulled back and inspected it. There was no burn mark and it cooled as soon as he’d broken contact.

He looked at Sage, who gave him a sly smile. “Learned that from the sorcery
book.” She reached for the door handle, stopping to see what he would do.

H
e let her go. They would revisit the conversation later.

“Sage,” he
called when she stepped out of the car.

S
he stooped down to meet his gaze.

“We’ll get you some warm clothes tomorrow.”

She cocked her head to the side. “What are the terms?”

“Terms to what?”

“Buying me clothes. What do I have to do?”

“Nothing. I told you I’d take care of you while you were in my care. Clothing you appropriat
ely falls under that category.”

She kept her suspicious gaze on him several seconds longer then mumbled a quick
“thanks” and shut the door.

Three loud bangs startled Sage awake. What the hell? Someone was pounding on her door.

“What?” she moaned.

“Get up,” came an unwelcome voice from the other side of the door.

She peeled her eyes open and looked at the clock on the desk.
Seven in the morning?
She was going to murder his blackened Welsh soul.

Fisting the covers, she threw them over her head. The banging grew louder.

“Sage. Get up. We have a lot to do today.”

She ignored him and the pounding ceased. Her eyes fluttered closed as she drifted in and out of drowsy consciousness.

What felt like seconds later James said, in that quiet, unsettling voice, “Sage, you have five minutes before I kick down the door, throw you over my shoulder, and drop you in a cold shower.”

She rolled her eyes and cursed
under her breath. “Alright, alright. I’m getting up.”

She
threw the covers off and scanned the clothing strewn around the room. Neatness had never been her strength. She pulled on black yoga pants and a green fitted t-shirt before heading to the kitchen for breakfast.

James
sat at the table, reading a newspaper. A news anchor’s lulling voice filled the background. Sage grabbed a box of cereal and a bowl and set them on the counter.

“Who watches the news on TV and reads the newspaper at the same time?” she asked. “Don’t you find that redundant?”

The twitch of his lips was the extent of his response.

“Hello,” said a new voice from across the counter.

Sage looked up and met two brown eyes, a mop head full of dark hair, and a friendly smile.

She glanced at James
. “Another student?”

The strange
r put out his hand. “Sage, right? I’m Maddox. Nice to meet you too.” He pretended to shake a hand in the air.

With his American accent and charming boyish l
ooks, he was the kind of guy a girl would like to take home to her parents. Take away the smile, pump up the intensity in his eyes and he’d be as wickedly handsome as James. Was abnormal attractiveness some sort of survival strategy engineered so women would put up with sorcerers’ arrogant, domineering attitudes? Darwinism at its finest?

“I’m afraid to ask what he’s
doing here,” she said to James.

“You should be afraid
.”

“She’s
not very friendly, is she?” Maddox asked.

James
shook his head and turned a page of the paper. She lifted a brow but continued to make her breakfast then filled the largest mug she could find with coffee. She had a feeling she’d need it today.

“What’s with the fuck off vibes,
anwylyd
?” Maddox asked her, pronouncing the one Welsh word with the same accent as James.

“Oh, that she’
s got in spades,” James said.

F
uck off vibes? Was she releasing some sort of people-repellent hormones? No wonder she was going through a dry spell.

She stared at James.
“Okay, seriously. Who is this guy?”

“He’s a good friend of mine. He’s come to help you train.”

With a mouthful of frosted flakes she muttered, “Lucky you.”

Maddox and James spoke little while she finished her breakfa
st. She was learning James was a man of few words, though the ones he said tended to be consequential, if a bit annoying.

“So,” she addressed Maddox, “what’s he got on you that brings you here at this ungodly hour?”

James rose from the table before Maddox could answer. “He’s loyal and he trusts me.”

She nodded. “That bad, huh?”

Maddox laughed. “No, he’s right. I trust him with my life.” He whispered conspiratorially, “He’s not so bad once you get past the hard shell.”

“Oh yeah, he’s
a teddy bear.”

James placed a hand on her shoulder. “You could learn a thing or two from him. Distrust is like heart disease. Gradually, it weakens you. And while you wither away from its poison, you miss out on all the opportunities for frie
ndship.” His gaze was intense, like he was touching her very soul. “Trust is the ultimate risk. But it’s the only salve that will heal your wounds,
anwylyd
.”

She stared at his hand still resting on her shoul
der. Warmth slid down her arm. His fingers scorched her skin through her shirt. With a shake of her shoulder, his hand fell away. Who the hell was he to lecture her about trust and friendship? He hadn’t acquired the right to either.

“Touchy little thing, isn’t she?” Maddox said with a wide smile. She gave him her creepiest grin and his smile faded. “Damn, James. I’m not sure I like this idea.”

“Don’t worry,” he said, keeping his heated gaze on her. “She’s promised to be cooperative and obedient. Haven’t you?”

After a seven o’clock wake-up call? She fixed her grin on him.
“Of course.”

***

Sage’s head slammed against the hard ground. They’d had a freeze the night before so the slight cushion of the muddy grass was gone. And now she’d have a headache to go along with her bruised ass.

“Again,” James ordered.

She’d already been jolted off her feet over a dozen times. The man was a sadist. Since producing the Shield a few days ago in the batting cage, she hadn’t been able to repeat it. The point of today’s lesson was to learn how to spar. James had told her it wasn’t always appropriate to counter a Bolt with a full-voltage one. Sometimes it was necessary just to stun an opponent, especially during practice. His instructions were to block Maddox’s Bolt then throw one back at a low level of power. An hour later, she hadn’t even managed to block one.

“Again!” he shouted.

“Holy hell!” She glared at him. “Will you let me get up first?” Rising to her feet was getting harder and harder. “You’re a bastard, do you know that?”

“I have to be. It’s the only way to mold you into the best sorceress you can be.”

She scoffed. “Maybe I don’t want to be molded. Maybe I’m better off without you and your pretentious, snobby sorcerers.”

“Snobby?”

“And self-righteous.”

Maddox roared with laughter.

James shot him a sharp look then stalked toward her. “If I didn’t intervene a couple weeks ago, you’d be in jail right now. You could show your gratitude with some respect.”

Covered with a cough, she muttered, “Self-righteous.”

His eyes widened and he looked like he was about to have a stroke. She choked on a laugh

“Hey!” Maddox yelled from the other side of the yard. “Either fuck each other or kill each other but get on with it already!”

“I wasn’t –”

“ – She was –”

They started then stopped at the same time. James made an impatient sound then closed his eyes and drew in a deep breath. A ray of sun caught his hair at an angle that made the reddish tint flare like fire. With the small stubble he’d grown in the last two days and his sleek muscular build, he could have crawled out of a GQ magazine. She let her gaze roam leisurely across the planes of his chest and down his narrow hips.

Fuck, indeed.

When he finally opened his eyes, the stark blue orbs were filled with concern. “Do you understand that if the Counsel finds out about you, they will take away your power?”

“What? Why?”

“Because you are a liability. Your lack of control could reveal our kind to the human world. You’re a loose cannon, Sage. They will see you as a threat and exterminate you.”

She scrunched her nose
. “You make me sound like some kind of psychopathic mutant rodent.” When he didn’t jump to her defense, her heart sank. So that was how he viewed her. She shrugged. “I’m just a girl.”

Their gazes locked. His bottomless pools of blue held her captive, refusing to let her pull away. He looked like he wanted to
kiss her again. How ridiculous. After he’d just called her a liability? Something tightened in her chest. It was hard not to feel ashamed of who she was – the way she acted. But it wouldn’t get her anywhere to be different.

Maybe s
omeday, someone would love her just the way she was. They wouldn’t demand she wear more or less clothing, or chastise her dirty mouth.

“James.” Maddox’s voice interrupted their stare-down. “Quit scaring the girl. Don’t worry, Sage. James won’t let the Counsel do that to you.”

James moved back several paces and said, “Again.”

Maddox hesitated.

“She has to learn it,” James told him. “You know that.”

“I know.” He cast her an apologetic glance.

They assumed their previous positions. Maddox lit up a palm and she braced herself.

“Focus, Sage!” James’ voice had a desperate edge to it.

The Bolt jolted her off her feet. When she landed, searing pain erupted across the length of her arm.

“Fuck!” She hissed in a breath and looked down at her arm and the pointy rock she’s scraped it against.

A long gash started at the inside of her elbow and crossed to the outside of her forearm. A trickle of blood dripped down to her hand.

That was the last straw. She let her anger take control.

With a dark glare, she rose to her feet. Her fists were already lit up like fire balls. The energy was hot in her palms.

James
and Maddox shared a wary glance then James spoke to her. But all she could hear was the thundering of her heartbeat.

He
cast a Bolt and she thrust out her palm. Like the ball in the batting cage, it halted in front of her. The green orb bobbed in the air, waiting for her to control it.

She looked down at her hands. The blue fire balls extended beyond her palms, engulfing her entire hand and up her arms, reaching her elbows. She didn’t feel pain, just heat.
And enormous amounts of power.

James’ Bolt hung
in mid-air util she squeezed her fist around it and crushed it in her palm. When she flipped her fist over and opened her hand, a ball of light – larger than any she’d made so far – sat in her open palm. She grinned.

“Don’t get cocky, Sage.” James’ v
oice came from beside her.

S
he was too drunk with power to care what he said. She wiggled her fingers, playing with the energy in them.

Where was
the fun in being powerful if she had to be humble about it?

She lifted her hands then cast the Bolt straight toward Maddox. Right before it left her outstretched fingers
, something knocked her to the ground. The power rushed out of her like a sieve, along with her breath.

A loud pop then a few thuds indicated her Bolt
had hit
something. She struggled under the heavy body pinning her to the ground then looked up into James’ darkened eyes.

“Get off me!”

He lingered for a moment before pulling her up with him. A massive tree, probably hundreds of years old, lay scattered in pieces around the yard, blackened and smoking.

She’d blown up a
fucking tree. A smile crept onto her lips.

Maddox
spoke first. “Now I know why you called me. Cause I’m the only idiot who would agree to this!”

James’ gaze never left Sage’s face. “Again.”

Sage blinked. He was out of his damn mind!

“She’s going to kill me,
” Maddox yelled.

“No, she’s not. I’ll temper her.
”

“She almost just did!”
Maddox’s face turned bright red, a vein bulged in his forehead.

“But I stopped her.”

The two argued while Sage examined the scattered pieces of sycamore around the yard.

“
Christ,” she said, running her fingers along the charred wood.

Maybe James was right. Maybe she was a walking bomb – a hazard to the human population.

“She’s a head case!” she heard James say.

She s
pun toward them. He was pointing at her but didn’t bother to check if she’d heard him.

Maddox did.
He frowned. “Have a little compassion, man.”

James looked at her then back to Maddox and began speaking in a different language. Welsh, she guessed. And for some reason, tha
t just pissed her the fuck off.

He’
d the nerve to bribe her to train with him, promising things he probably had no intention of delivering. Then he’d called her a head case and whispered god knows what in Welsh behind her back? She wanted retribution. She wanted to do to him what she did to the tree. But even more than that, she wanted to prove him wrong. She couldn’t either. And she wouldn’t let him see her weak. So she spun on her heel and stomped away.

It was several moments before they even noticed she was leaving. “Sage!” James yelled. “Where are you going?”