Destiny Divided Read Free Page A

move.”
    She heeded the command.
    A strange stream of light snaked from his index finger and wrapped around her body pinning her arms to her side. The light made a sort of magical rope that tied her to the chair. No matter how much she struggled, she couldn’t get free.
    “There.” He shook the light free from his finger. “That’s better.” He sat down on the couch opposite her. “As I was saying…we need to talk about your powers.”
    Always a s urvivor, she surrendered. Maybe he would let her go if she played nice. Or at least buy her some time to form a new plan. “Okay. Yes. I have certain…abilities. But I don’t know how they work or where they come from.”
    H e furrowed his brow. “Do you really not know what you are?”
    “Do you?”
    “Of course,” he scoffed. “You’re a sorceress.”
    A flood of emotion overwhelmed her. A sorceress. She didn’t know much about it, but at least it was a name. Something that explained what had been happening to her, and around her, for as long as she could remember.
    She ’d first recognized her power at the age of five when a blender her foster mother used to make a seaweed breakfast smoothie had exploded. Sage had wanted Lucky Charms. She’d won that battle.
    She had long since believed that anything was possible. Growing up she’d been called a witch because of the unexplained events that happened around her. She’d been tossed out of foster homes over and over because she was “bad”. In high school, students, and even teachers, had whispered rumors of witchcraft behind her back. When she went searching for answers, she came up blank. Nothing described the types of things she could do.
    Sorcery was not a stretch from w itchcraft. But more importantly, there were more of her out there.
    “A s orceress,” she said out loud.
    “Yes. A very powerful one.” James glared at her with contempt, knocking the wind out of her newly flown sails. “But I can tell you’re untrained. Most of us have been guided by teachers and mentors since we were very young. We’ve had years to learn how to control our powers. It’s a good thing your aim is shit because the first Bolt you sent could have killed me.”
    A Bolt? At his unbending glare, she yelled, “Well nobody taught me!”
    “Obviously. Who are your parents?”
    “I don’t know,” she admitted .
    He folded his arms over his chest. “Why should I believe you? You’re a liar and a thief. ”
    The corner of her mouth curled up. “And I cheat at cards too.”
    He exhaled a laugh but it was humorless. “Look at you. You’re nothing but a volatile, foul-mouthed, little smartass. Nothing like a sorceress should be. I’m surprised you’ve managed to stay alive all these years.”
    Only because of the light.
    “What are your parents’ names?”
    “I told you I don’t know.” The rope tightened across her chest, crushing her until she could barely breathe. She panicked. A flash of lightning lit up the sky outside. A gust of wind rattled the windows.
    James looked from her face to the windows an d back again. Why did he look surprised? Didn’t all sorcerers affect the weather?
    “It’s really quite simple, Sage,” he said in clipped tones. “Answer the questions and we won’t have a problem.”
    “I already told you I don’t know wh o my parents are! I’m not lying. My mother left me at the hospital to be adopted right when I was born. I had a name and that was it.” She dropped her head, feeling helpless and broken. She would have cried if she hadn’t banned it years ago. This was the most vulnerable she had felt in a long time. God, she hated it.
    He blinked and stepped back. “I’m sorry.” Regret tinted his voice. “I can see now that you’re not lying.”
    She sent him a glare that told him exactly where he could shove his apology.
    “If I let you loose, do you promise not to run away?”
    She nodded, not that she had a choice . This man, who she now guessed was a sorcerer, was