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Dammit.
“Valen,” she breathed, a new fear pulsing through her. “You have to get out of here.”
Tia pressed her lips together. “That’s what I was just saying to him. The stubborn creature refuses to listen.”
Peri choked back a hysterical urge to laugh. She could have told Tia she was wasting her breath to try to convince Valen to do anything he didn’t want to do.
Stepping forward, Valen locked his gaze on Peri as if he was intentionally ignoring the other women.
“Are you hurt?”
“No, but you have to leave,” she rasped.
“Why do I recognize your scent?” Destiny abruptly broke into the conversation, her nostrils flaring as if she was taking in deep breaths. She moved toward Valen, her feet barely touching the ground, as if the magic was threatening to burst out of the human body. Valen flashed his fangs, but Destiny didn’t notice as she laid her hand against his chest. “Ah. Peri’s faithful leech,” she sneered. “Immense magic, but of no use to me.”
Without warning, Destiny used the hand she’d pressed against Valen’s chest to send him flying backward. It was done with such ease that Peri gasped, her eyes wide as she watched Valen smash into the invisible barrier. At the same time, the mist swirled andseethed, creating branches to twine around his arms and legs to hold him captive three feet off the ground.
He roared in frustration, but the mist continued to tighten until his face twisted into an expression of unbearable pain.
“Stop it!” Peri called out.
“Hush, I’m busy.” Destiny waved a dismissive hand toward Peri as she strolled toward Tia, who was trying to look as if her knees weren’t shaking in fear. “A mage,” Destiny drawled, sniffing the air. “How nice. I can have a tasty snack before the main course.”
Tia arched back, the smell of cloves thick in the air. “I’m not your prey.”
“Hmm. What do you think you are?” Destiny halted in front of Tia, her hand lifting to press a finger to the middle of the older woman’s forehead. Peri had no idea what the creature was doing until she released a spine-chilling chuckle. “You thought you could come here and control me as if I’m a puppet?”
“Of course not. I hoped we could join forces,” Tia smoothly lied. “Together we could bend the world to our will.”
“The world will bend, but you’re not the chosen one.”
Tia licked her lips, her eyes darting toward Peri. She looked as if she was silently blaming Peri for her current danger. As if Tia hadn’t been the one to trick Peri, curse her, and then follow behind her like a stalker. Or maybe she was blaming Peri for being the chosen one. Tia was arrogant enough to crave being the superior mage, even if it meant facing her own death.
Reluctantly Tia returned her attention to Destiny, who continued to press a finger to her forehead.
“I’m willing to share.”
Destiny shook her head. “If that’s true, then why do you imagine yourself with a crown on your head?” There was another laugh. The miasma obviously found Tia’s ambitions a source ofamusement. “And you’re sitting on a throne. How very human. Shall I grant your wish?”
Tia stilled, appearing to be caught between fear and a tentative hope that she might actually achieve her heart’s desire.
“What wish?”
“A throne.”
Destiny stepped back, waving her hand to direct the hovering mist to coalesce and thicken until it resembled a shadow of a throne, complete with a cushioned seat and high, scrolled backrest. Destiny gave another wave of her hand and Tia was scooped off her feet and dumped on the creepy illusion.
“No!” Tia cried out as the mist wrapped around her waist, trapping her in place. “Release me.”
“Why? I’m giving you exactly what you desire.” Destiny’s lips pulled into something that was supposed to be a smile, although it looked more like a grimace. “And here’s your crown.”
Destiny slashed her hand through the air and the mist encircled Tia’s head, squeezing so tight her back arched in agony.
“Stop,” Peri rasped. She had no love for Tia, but she couldn’t stand there and watch the mage being tortured.
Destiny turned, drifting back to study Peri with her weird flaming eyes. “Do you want to challenge me?”
Peri stilled, suddenly understanding what the miasma was trying to do. It’d tested the protective shield that Peri had created and obviously decided that she preferred not to waste her power shattering it. Grimly, she forced herself not to move.
