P. Cast - Destined

For Allie Jensen, with love and appreciation. Our magick works because you are magick!

Thank you to our fabulous family at St. Martins Press. We heart our publisher!

As always, we appreciate our agent and friend, Meredith Bernstein, without whom the House of Night would not exist.

We appreciate Will Rogers High School and how cool they are to let us crawl around their awesome building and turn it into fiction. (No, none of the gorgeous art deco building was really harmed during the writing of this book!)

Speaking of awesome and gorgeousa giant THANK-YOU to our hometown community. We love how supportive T-Town is of the HoN! These folks are particularly covered with awesomesauce: The Ambassador Hotel and the Chalkboard restaurant, Moodys Fine Jewelry, Starbucks at Utica Square, Miss Jacksons, The Dolphin, The Wild Fork restaurant, Little Black Dress, the Gilcrease and Philbrook Museums, and Street Cats. And thank you to our dedicated, wonderful fans who have be coming to Tulsa on HoN trips! Our fans rock!

And last but totally NOT least: Thanks, Josh! for the Okieisims, but mostly for taking the reins.

CONTENTS

Title Page

Dedication

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Also by P. C. Cast and Kristin Cast

About the Authors

Copyright

I think my mom is dead.

I tested the words silently. They felt wrong, unnatural, as if I was trying to comprehend the world turning upside down or the sun rising in the west.

I drew a deep, sobbing breath and rolled onto my side, reaching for another tissue in the box that was on the floor next to the bed.

Stark muttered and frowned and moved restlessly.

Slowly and carefully, I got out of bed, grabbed Starks giant sweatshirt from where hed tossed it, pulled it on, and curled up on the beanbag chair that sat near the wall of our little tunnel room.

The beanbag made that smushy noise that always reminds me of the balls in those inflatable kid party houses, and Stark frowned and mumbled something again. I blew my nose. Quietly. Stop crying stop crying stop crying! It wont help. It wont bring Mom back. I blinked a bunch of times, and wiped my nose again. Maybe it had just been a dream. But even as I thought the words my heart knew the truth. Nyx had pulled me from my dreams to show me a vision of Mom entering the Otherworld. That meant Mom had died. Mom told Nyx that she was sorry for letting me down, I reminded myself as tears leaked down my cheeks again.

Shed said she loved me, I whispered.

I had hardly made any noise, but Stark tossed and turned restlessly, and muttered, Stop!

I clamped my lips together, even though I knew my whisper wasnt what was messing with his sleep. Stark was my Warrior, my Guardian, and my boyfriend. No, boyfriend is too simple a word. Theres a bond between Stark and me that goes deeper than dating and sex and all the stuff that comes and goes with normal relationships. Thats why he was so restless. He could feel my sadnesseven in his dreams he knew I was crying and hurt and scared and

Stark pushed the blanket off his chest and I could see that his hand was clenched into a fist. My gaze went to his face. He was still asleep, but his forehead was furrowed and he was frowning.

I closed my eyes and drew a deep, centering breath. Spirit, I whispered. Please come to me. Instantly I felt the element brush against my skin. Help me. No, actually, help Stark by shielding my sadness from him. And maybe, I added silently, you could help shield some of my sadness from me, too. Even if its just for a little while. I drew another deep breath as spirit moved within and around me, swirling over to the bed. Opening my eyes I could actually see a ripple in the air surrounding Stark. His skin appeared to glow as the element settled against him like a diaphanous blanket. I felt warm and glanced down at my arms and saw that the same soft glow was resting against my skin. Stark exhaled a long sigh with me as spirit worked a little soothing magick, and for the first time in hours I felt a little, tiny bit of my sadness lift.

Thank you, spirit, I whispered and crossed my arms, hugging myself tight. Wrapped in the comforting touch of the element I felt closest to, I was actually a little sleepy. It was then that a different kind of warmth penetrated my consciousness. Slowly, not wanting to disturb the comforting spell the element was working, I unwrapped my arms from around myself and touched my chest.

Why is my seer stone warm? The small, round stone was dangling from its silver chain, resting between my breasts. I hadnt taken it off since Sgiach had gifted it to me before Id left the beautiful, magickal Isle of Skye.

Wonderingly, I pulled the stone out from under the sweatshirt, running my fingers over its smooth, marble surface. It still reminded me of a coconut-flavored Life Saver, but the Skye marble glittered with an unearthly light, as if the element I had invoked had made it aliveas if the warmth I felt was because it pulsed with life.

Queen Sgiachs voice echoed through my memory: A seer stone is in tune with only the most ancient of magicks: the kind I protect on my isle. I am gifting you with it so that you might, indeed, recognize the Old Ones if any still exist in the outside world

As her words replayed in my mind the stone turned slowly, almost lazily. The hole in its center was like a mini-telescope. As it shifted around I could see Stark illuminated through it, and my world shifted, too, narrowed, then everything changed.

Maybe it was because spirit was so close to me at that moment, but what I saw didnt feel anything like the mind-blowing first time Id looked through the stone on Skye and had ended up passing out.

But that didnt mean it was any less unsettling.

Stark was there, lying on his back, most of his chest bare. The glow of spirit was gone. In its place I saw another image. It was indistinct, though, and I couldnt make out his features. It was like someones shadow. Starks arm twitched and his hand opened. The shadows hand opened. As I watched the Guardian swordthe massive long sword that had come to Stark in the Otherworldtook form in Starks hand. I gasped in surprise and the phantom-like Warrior turned his head in my direction and closed his hand around the sword.

Instantly the Guardian sword shifted, changed, and became a long black speardangerous, lethal, tipped in blood that looked way too familiar to me. Fear spiked through me.

No! I cried. Spirit, strengthen Stark! Make that thing go away! With a noise like the beating wings of a giant bird, the apparition disappeared, the seer stone went cold, and Stark sat straight up, frowning at me.

What are you doing over there? He rubbed his eyes. Why are you making so much noise?

I opened my mouth to try to explain the bizarre thing Id just seen when he sighed heavily and lay back down, flipping open the covers and motioning sleepily for me. Come here. I cant sleep unless youre cuddled up with me. And I really need to get some sleep.

Okay, yeah, me, too, I said, and on shaky legs I hurried to him and curled against his side, my head resting on his shoulder. Hey, uh, something weird just happened, I began, but when I tilted my head so that I could see into his eyes, Starks lips met mine. The surprise didnt last long, and I slid into the kiss. It felt goodso good to be close to him. His arms went around me. I pressed myself against him while his lips followed the curve of my neck. I thought you said you needed some sleep. My voice sounded breathless.