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

there
wouldn’t try to run before we got to them. We did all of the packs
in the keep then checked the ones that came in from patrols as soon
as they came back.” Jasper waited for Collin to decide what he
wanted to do. This was, after all, his territory. Collin
nodded.
    “That sounds good. I’ll send my men out to
find whoever is in from patrols. Hayden? When do you think you will
be ready?”
    “I want to hear what Trista has to say. She
might be able to help us get Emelly better. Damian just needs to
sleep now. I give him a few more days and his energy should be back
to normal.”
    He nodded.
    “I’ll go with Collin if you don’t need me
here.” Jasper gave my hand a squeeze.
    “Go. We shouldn’t be too long.”
    He left with Collin and was followed by
Steven and William.
    Trista smiled at me. “So, you’re Hayden.”
    I grinned. “I know. I don’t look like
much.”
    She started to laugh and I immediately liked
her.
    “Trista, how long have you been chanting?”
Rainen asked her friend.
    “Oh, let me see. I’m sixty two now and my
mother started to teach me chants when I turned of age. So, about
forty six years. Why?”
    “Did you know Traina was a chanter?”
    Trista jerked and the surprise was clear on
her face. Rainen visibly relaxed.
    “Can someone explain to me what chanting is
exactly?”
    Trista looked at Rainen who nodded.
    “Chanting is a form of magic. It is a rare
art. I can think of about twelve beings that are chanters and that
includes me. I’m sure there are more, but they don’t like to
announce what they are. We meet twice a year and that is all the
contact we have with each other. We have rules like healers and
sorcerers. Chants are only to be used in battle and never on an
individual as a personal vendetta. That’s the main one. Also, never
use a chant that you can’t reverse.”
    I nodded. “Can I nudge you?”
    “Sure.”
    I sent my nudge in her direction. The first
thing I checked was to make sure she was a Maj; she was. I then
checked to see how strong she was. I frowned and nudged again.
    “You don’t have any magic!”
    She smiled. “No chanter does. When we chant
we use the energy that is around us. And really, we don’t chant. We
hum.”
    “Cool.” I was impressed. This was some
amazing information. “Why are there so few of you if you don’t need
magic to chant?”
    “It is frowned upon. Most chants have to do
with death. It is mostly passed from mother to daughter now, simply
as a tradition.”
    “Was your mother a chanter?” I asked
Rainen.
    “She was, but I had no idea that she had
taught Traina.”
    “I have never seen her at a meeting,” said
Trista. “But then again, I haven’t made it to all of them. If she
wanted to keep it a secret, she could have made sure to only go to
the ones she knew I wasn’t going to. Have you asked her?”
    Rainen swallowed hard and shook her head and
I knew that despite everything that had just happened, she had
loved her sister and her loss was a great one. I put a hand on her
arm. She looked at Trista.
    “Traina is dead.”
    “What? When?”
    “A week ago.” Rainen went on to explain the
events from the Zerpanay to our final encounter in Damian’s room.
Trista stood with her mouth open. She blinked and closed it.
    “Are you sure? I mean…she’s never really
given any indications of wanting Damian’s position. I always
thought she might go after you to get second in command, but not
Damian!”
    Rainen shook her head. “You can’t fake the
feel of your magic, Trista. It was her.”
    “Wow. This is so bizarre. And who is
Emelly?”
    “She is one of the humans that run with my
pack,” I explained. “I didn’t know she was a chanter either. She’s
still in a coma, but now that I know she had no magic to help her
heal, that will be easy enough to fix.”
    “She’s never been to a meeting either.
Unless…well, I supposed she could have lied about her name. Do you
mind if I see her?”
    “By all