Free Destiny (The Chosen One Trilogy:Book Three) by Mireille Chester Page A

are a cousin of
the dragon.” Harold looked up into the sky as he said it.
    “Do they live here?”
    He shook his head. “They are from the
Sandsea. You must travel a good month from Howel to the south to
get there. They don’t usually come this far north.”
    “What usually happens if they do?”
    Gina shuddered and Harold put an arm around
her.
    “They take what they want to eat and go back
to the Sandsea,” explained Rainen. By the look on the Majs’ faces
it was obvious what the Zerpanay’s diet of choice was.
    “So you’re telling me it was just after a
meal? What about the displacement at the end?” My breathing was
almost back to normal. I stood and shook out my arms and legs,
trying to get the muscles in them to relax.
    Rainen put her head on William’s shoulder and
closed her eyes. “I don’t know. The disappearing act at the end
makes me think this wasn’t random.”
    “Are you alright?” he asked.
    She nodded. “The last time I used this much
energy doing magic I was fighting Marilynn.”
    “When was that?” I glanced over at her.
    “Oh, a good twenty years ago, I’d say.”
    “Who won?”
    She smiled. “Neither one of us. Damian
stepped in. I remember being so angry with him. He told me
afterwards that it wouldn’t do to kill each other when the future
had surprises in store for us.” She was quiet for a moment. “I
wonder if he knew then what was going to happen now.”
    My head started to reel and I blinked to get
rid of the spots that were blocking my vision. My knees
buckled.
    “Hayden!” Jasper caught me before I could hit
the ground. “What’s wrong?”
    “I’m ok. Just tired. I don’t think I’ve ever
used this much energy fighting something.”
    “Alright. We’re setting up camp. Hayden and
Rainen need to sleep.” Jasper laid my head on a pack and went to
find firewood.
    “Dodge?” I cracked one eye open then closed
it again.
    I’m here, Hayden.
    “Are you ok? You landed pretty hard.”
    I’m fine. I’m sorry.
    “What in the world for?”
    I led it right to you. I tried shaking it but
I couldn’t.
    “It’s alright, Bud. I’m glad you didn’t get
hurt.” I smiled as his soft nose nuzzled my face. I heard Jasper
strike his flints together to start the fire.
    “Here are all the packs and blankets.”
Matthew dropped some by me and moved on to the others.
    “Are you cold, Shlova?” I smiled when Jasper
didn’t wait for an answer and helped me get into an extra tunic. He
sat down, pulled me onto his lap and wrapped us both in a
blanket.
    “How’s Rainen doing?”
    “She’s sleeping.”
    “But she’s alright?”
    “She’s fine. Get some sleep, Shlova.”
    “That was something else altogether,
Jasper.”
    “I know. I felt it through you.” He rubbed my
arms and pulled me closer.
    “God, I’m sorry. I was so busy concentrating
on that thing I forgot to shield you from me.”
    He chuckled. “I’d rather you concentrate on
killing the enemy. I can survive being bombarded by your feelings.
I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have lived through whatever the Zerpanay
threw at us.”
    I took a deep breath as the exhaustion
started to win me over. “You know, there was something familiar
about it.”
    “Hmm?”
    “The energy.” I tried to fight off the
fatigue, trying to grasp at the feel of the magic. It slipped
farther away, just out of my reach, and sleep took me.
     
     
     

Chapter Three
     
    “Em, I want you to get up in that tree and
hide.” Matthew pointed to a tall tree that looked like a
spruce.
    “But…”
    “Now.” He had kicked into captain of the
guard mode and I almost laughed as Emelly scrambled up the tree at
his order. I had learned years ago that when Jasper got that look
on his face and that tone in his voice I had better listen. There
was a reason they were both captains of their own pack and their
instincts were rarely wrong.
    “Hayden and Rainen, you too,” added Jasper.
“If they are human they’re either coming to