He gave me a little push and I left him in the center, made my way to stand beside Misa on the sidelines. She gave me a little smile, which I returned. “So, what happens now?” I asked her.
She nodded toward Kyden, who began his approach on Magnus. “They will declare the rules, then the challenge will commence.”
I glanced back to her. “Should I be worried?”
“Worried for whom?”
“Magnus of course,” I said, snippily. “Who else would I be worried for?”
She shrugged, as her gaze turned almost calculating.
Her look stunned me. What had she meant by that? Why hadn’t she answered my question? Then, I heard Magnus speak and my thoughts focused instantly on him.
“Azar, let’s begin,” Magnus growled in a stare down with Kyden.
“The challenge has been issued by the Guardian; therefore, he will get the first attack,” Azar instructed. “From then on, there are no restrictions. Whoever remains standing at the end will be declared the victor.”
“Well, we know who that will be,” I said, certain.
“We will just see,” Misa said under her breath.
My gaze snapped to her harshly. “What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
She shook her head, dismissed me and focused back on the impending battle. “I never said anything. You’re hearing things.”
Before I had a chance to call her on that lie, Azar shouted, “Let the challenge begin.”
Nerves shot right through me. Magnus would be fine, I didn’t doubt that. But I still felt very unsettled. Why, I wasn’t quite sure.
Kyden drew his sword, and slowly began circling Magnus. “You stole what belonged to me,” he growled.
“I stole nothing,” Magnus growled in return. “She came to me willingly and is now mine.”
Kyden snarled, punched Magnus, then quickly sliced through his stomach.
His blood spattered through the air. I screamed out as Magnus fell to the ground, gasping. He was bleeding. Oh God, he was hurt. Misa held me back as I tried frantically to get to him. As much as that gripped my thoughts, another filtered through. Why hadn’t Kyden taken the chance to kill him? The wound he gave would only injure Magnus, not kill. That made my breath whoosh back into my body. He wanted to die for me.
All the unanswered questions grew to a point where they reached their boiling point. Sometime was wrong here. It wasn’t adding up. Why was I feeling so confused? I glanced to Misa for help, she watched me with curious eyes.
Then my thoughts cleared when Magnus sucked in a deep breath, and stood. “That was your first shot. Now it is time to die.”
The second his words finished, he blasted Kyden with magic, sending him flaying back and screaming out in pain. He was doing nothing to him, not holding him in anyway, but I knew it wouldn’t be long before he was dead.
Zia was crying loudly. Talon kneeled, looking at the ground, obviously unable to watch his son die. My mind again filled with a mess of confusion. Something about this bothered me. Something urged me to yell for this to stop. Seeing Zia and Talon upset bothered me. It just sat wrong within my gut. I was too confused to act or move.
I glanced at Misa again, nearly begged her to make sense out of my scrabbled mind.
Instead of answering, she gave me a soft smile as she took my hand in hers and led me over to Azar. She placed my hand in his and he gripped it tightly. “Consider this a reminder from a friend.”
Suddenly, a blast of power rocketed through me and sent me a step back. It was like waking and stepping into a cold shower. The haze over my mind cleared, but the confusion stayed. “What the f**k?” I gasped. What the hell was going on? What was happening here?
Misa smiled, knowingly. “I told you there is more going on here than you know. I can only hope it is enough.”
With that simple reminder, the sense of myself slammed back into me. The draw to Magnus was still there, but Kyden lived strong in my heart.
The reality of this situation returned.
“Kyden,” I screamed, lunging forward, and did the only thing I could. Without a second’s consideration, I drew on Spirit and demanded that it give me everything it could. With a deep breath and a heavy push soul deep, I threw my shield around Kyden.
The instant it connected with Magnus’ magic, it deflected it away and flew a sparkle of power to rip through the auditorium. Loud gasps echoed followed thereafter, and even I had to gasp myself. My shield had proved to protect me, but to protect someone else, that was certainly new. My panic apparently made me stronger.
Kyden’s shouts of pain quieted. Fear wrenched through me, not knowing if it was because he was dead, or that he was just unconscious.
“What is going on here?” Magnus growled.
He glanced around the room, his eyes settled on Azar, who stood, shaking terribly. Obviously, withdrawing the hold over me took an immense amount of magic on his part.
“Azar, you will die for this betrayal,” Magnus roared. Then, he glanced to his demons. “Kill him.” No one moved. Shock and treachery flashed across Magnus’ face before his gaze fell on me.
“I can’t let you do this,” I said softly.
Just because the bond had been broken momentarily didn’t mean I still didn’t feel connected to Magnus. He was my soul mate, we were bonded and he was embedded into every part of me. Killing him would mean killing a part of myself. Was I capable of that?
“You are my Lady.” Magnus’ face darkened. “What are you doing?”
Tears filled my eyes, my words barely able to form. “I don’t know. I just can’t let this happen.”
The battle inside me was intense. Reason and heart told me to save Kyden—but my soul wouldn’t hear it. Questions swam through my mind as I battled within myself. I had never chosen Magnus. Just because fate brought us together, did that determine true love? My heart told me no.
Kyden was the man who loved me for who I was. Magnus would want me to become something different—dark. Kyden gave me everything I needed and no bond was needed to declare it.
It simply was.
In that very moment, I defied the odds.
My heart grew stronger. The fierceness that compelled me began to fade as Magnus’ connection to my soul weakened. His was a bond not based on love but on compatibility. I was the best choice of a mate for him. We could be more powerful together. We would provide everything we needed to each other, but that was not love.
Love is messy, confusing, comes with highs and lows. It wasn’t something convenient.
With my heart winning, I stepped forward. My soul screamed at me to back away, to stop what I was about to do. Every part of me shook in need to just run into Magnus’ arms and forget everyone else. I glanced quickly at Kyden’s lifeless body and the trembling stopped.
I wasn’t Magnus’. I was Kyden’s, always and forever. I knew it in every part of my body, even if my soul declared it otherwise.
Magnus’ grin was cold and evil. “You are meant to be mine. It lies there within you. You feel it. The pull. You need me. If you do this you will kill your soul.”
“My soul is nothing without Kyden,” I stated as I let my magic fill me.
Magnus screamed my name as power began to whip around us. He tried to catch my focus, tried to get me to hear his voice so I would stop, but my only thought was of Kyden.
I centered myself around every ounce of love we shared and drew on it. My soul was only one part of me and my heart at this very moment was stronger—solid.
Low hums filled the auditorium as energy began to flow rapidly. The magic I conjured was nothing I’d ever felt before. It wasn’t elemental. It was all energy and it felt powerful.
The willow on my neck began to tingle in response to the magic forming inside me. I considered drawing Magnus’ Black Magic within me, but instantly knew that I didn’t need it to destroy him.
The bond created with Magnus gave me part of his ability, and it made my magic stronger—gave more energy to my elements. It derived from Black Magic, relieved and fueled mine.
Magnus screamed louder. The betrayal and hurt was strong in his voice. It ripped at me. My soul nearly crippled hearing it. I roared against the desire to stop the magic from consuming me, and deny the need to see him dead. Magnus threw his magic at my shield. It hit in spurts, coming at every angle.
He was strong, which made me feel oddly proud. The one destined to me should be powerful, but the part that sunk deep wasn’t strong enough. I could unleash my power at any time and finish him. It was just getting to that point. Killing him was like separating my soul.
My shield stayed strong around me, repelled his blows, but the deepest fight was going on inside of me. I was ready to end it, one second, and the next I was bringing it back. I just couldn’t decide.
Magnus continued to scream my name and it cut through me. My soul emptied as each passing moment, but as I glanced down at Kyden, the answer was clear.
Kyden had to survive. If that meant Magnus had to die then that was the only choice because my world was no world at all if Kyden didn’t exist in it.
With a final last look at Magnus’ forlorn expression, tears filled my eyes and I screamed, “I’m sorry.”