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The earth moved beneath her feet, her soul healed in a way she’d never dreamed possible.
Allowing the joy to spread through her body, Peri glared directly at the vision. Silently she forced herself to recall the image of her mother and the rest of the coven lying dead on the floor of the barn. That was her mother. A woman who’d died too young from her own ambition.
The blue eyes faded and were replaced by the crimson fire, as if the miasma was accepting the deception wasn’t going to work. At the same time, there was a high-pitched sound that stabbed into Peri’s ears.
With a burst of power, the illusion shattered and Destiny was once again standing in front of her, the blood still dripping down her arm.
“Fine.” Destiny stretched out her arms, swirling them through the air in an elaborate pattern. “We could have done this the easy way.”
Peri snorted, puzzled by the miasma’s strange behavior. “It was never going to be easy.”
A low chuckle echoed through the air as Destiny continued to wave her arms. “Then let’s do it the hard way.”
Peri whispered a spell as she watched the mist begin to gather and grow, pulsing in rhythm to Destiny’s spinning arms. The reddish hue darkened until it was the same shade of crimson as Destiny’s eyes, and with every pulse it thickened until it formed an impenetrable wall around them. She heard Valen call out her name before the mist threaded together, blocking out everything but the woman standing in front of her.
“Now you’re mine,” Destiny whispered, lowering her arms as she stepped forward.
The spell tingled through Peri, but as she released it, she didn’t aim it at Destiny. The miasma was created to feed on magic; instead, she created a small explosion at the woman’s feet. She’d hoped to distract Destiny long enough for her to plunge the dagger in her heart, but even as she leaped forward, Destiny snatched Peri’s wrist in a grip that threatened to shatter her bones.
“No.” Peri struggled to free herself. Pain shot up her arm like a red-hot poker, but that wasn’t what was making her heart thunder in fear.
It was the tendril of mist that was drilling into the center of her chest. Directly through the scar above her heart.
“Stop!” she gasped.
“Give in, Peri.” Destiny stepped closer, slamming her hand against Peri’s chest as the mist spread over her like a shroud of evil. “Release your magic.”
With a strangled cry Peri fell to her knees. The mist was inside her, searching for her magic. Within seconds she would be drained. Just like her mother.
Squeezing shut her eyes, Peri desperately concentrated on blocking the invading evil. She had to fight, but she didn’t know how.
Verging on the edge of panic, Peri was distracted by the strange burning sensation in the middle of her palms. It was like something was trying to rip out of her. Something huge…
It felt just like it had when her mother had stuck the dagger into her.
The wild magic that had marked her as a mage was refusing to be taken, she realized with a jolt of shock. And even more shocking, it was no longer nestled so deeply inside her that she couldn’t call on it. It sizzled and hissed through her veins like a living thing.
Peri moaned. She felt as if there was a tornado brewing within her, gaining momentum even as the miasma tried to drain it. The wind roared in her ears while the thunder shook her body. She thought she heard Destiny cry out in alarm, but she was no longer concerned with her enemy.
The wild magic was consuming her thoughts. No, it was consumingher.
The world disappeared as the tornado raged, the pain so intense it became weirdly pleasurable. As if the magic was transforming her from one being into another.
Or maybe she was becoming who she’d been meant to be from the very beginning.
Opening her eyes, Peri slowly rose to her feet. In front of her Destiny had backed away, her expression one of gnawing hunger, even as she held out her hand as if trying to plead for mercy.
Was she afraid?
She should be. Peri was terrified of the power that reverberated through her. It felt as if it was going to rip her into a thousand pieces. But still it continued to grow and expand, the pressure becoming unbearable. And as it swelled, a strange scent of ozone began to fill the air, as if she were standing in the center of a storm.
“What are you doing?” Destiny rasped, the mist churning around her.
“Becoming…more,” Peri managed to bite out.
“No.” Destiny made a sharp gesture with her hand, sending the mist toward Peri like a tidal wave. “It’s mine.”
The crimson mist smashed into Peri, coating her in evil. A shudder of horror raced through Peri, but as if the wild magic had been waiting for this very moment, it stopped expanding and surged through her, aiming for the scars in the center of her palms.
