Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (22 page)

amusement that made his glowing

eyes burn brighter. Before she could

speak, he folded his hands behind his

back in a casual stance and paced

closer to the pool. Raven slowly rose

and

moved

away

from

him,

mimicking his movements to keep

him at a distance. No matter how

slowly he moved, he was a predator

and she wasn’t about to trust him

anywhere near her.

“This is the mating pool, blessed

by the hand of the Goddess of the

Moons herself.” He turned those

piercing eyes of his on her. “Your

mates have not brought you here, nor

have they told you about this sacred

place. Do you know why?”

He didn’t wait for her to respond.

“It is because you hold back from

them and are not committed to being

an Arcadian.”

Raven stopped where she was and

glared at him, forgetting for a moment

that he was God. “I have committed

to them!”

“Nay, you have not. Not really.” He

shook his head. “Out of all the damn

humans from your world, I had to

choose

the

most

stubborn,

exasperating female…”

Raven gasped. “You brought me

here?”

“Aye, and I can send you back.” He

raised a brow at her. “Tell me,

Raven. If you could truly leave this

new world, would you go back?

What do you have back there on

Earth? A loving family? A mate who

cares for you more than his own

life?”

Her heart pounded in her chest at

his words. Earlier she had told

Savitar and Kadan that she wouldn’t

leave, but she hadn’t thought it was

even possible. But now that this god

had offered her an out…No, she

wouldn’t leave them. She couldn’t. “I

don’t want to leave,” she said, her

voice shaking slightly.

“But neither do you want to commit

fully to becoming an Arcadian.”

Anger had her snapping, “What

does that even mean?”

He sat down on a rock and folded

his arms across his broad chest. “It

means you need to stop being so

stubborn and let your mates into your

mind. You are fighting the mating

bond and it is hurting them. I chose

you because of your strength and

knowledge that could help Arcadia,

but you were almost given a gift. I

gave you three males who want

nothing more than to care for you and

love you. Yet still, you hold yourself

back from them.”

Fury surged through her as she

stood her ground. “How dare you!

You chose me? Well, isn’t that

fucking great. I’m sorry that I’m not

the perfect Arcadian transplant you

wanted, but I’m doing my best! This

isn’t easy for me, you know. You

fucking hit me with a lightning bolt,

took me from everything I knew and

expect me to just magically poof into

some mindless freak who does

whatever you want? Sorry, buddy.

You picked the wrong damn woman

then. I don’t care who you are!”

Uh oh, did she have a fucking death

wish?

Why the hell did she have to run

her mouth to a God?

Raven blinked in surprise as the

golden God threw his head back and

let out a booming laugh. Okay, that

was so not the reaction she was

expecting. What she had expected

was to get struck by lightning again

or maybe him grinding her into

bloody dust, but for him to laugh and

look at her with…was that fondness?

What the fuck was going on?

His glowing eyes burned into her

as his lips curved in a small smile.

“And there is the backbone I knew

you had. You humans may be small,

but you have spines of steel. At least

some of you do.”

“Umm…thanks?”

A soft, feminine voice filled the

air. “Silas?”

Silas’s face softened with a look of

love so profound it brought tears to

Raven’s eyes. “I will be right there,

my love.” He focused on Raven once

more. “Come. My mate is awake and

will want to meet you.”

“What—”

In the blink of an eye Raven found

herself in a temple, gilded in gold,

silver, and every shade of blue that

existed. Open windows let in a soft,

soothing breeze, even though a misty

white haze clouded the view of

outside the temple. She reached out

to steady herself and gripped the end

of a large, elegant chaise as she

waited for the nausea of being

transported to fade.

Fucking hell, that was not fun.

“Have a seat, Raven. The dizziness

will fade in a moment.”

Raven’s eyes went wide with

shock as a gorgeous woman suddenly

appeared into view right in front of

her eyes. The woman wore a

gossamer gown similar to the one that

Raven had woken up in and her skin

shimmered as if it was made up of

thousands of tiny crystals.

“I am Lunaria, Goddess of the

Moons,” she said, her voice sounding

like the soft tinkling of bells.

“Welcome to the Isle of Dreams.”

Raven couldn’t believe what she

was seeing. Lunaria’s hair was a

mass of silken, ink-black curls so

similar to her own, and the eyes that

stared back at her were a pale-silver,

but the face…It was like looking into

a mirror, only the reflection was…

more.

Lunaria gifted her with a small

smile, but her eyes were filled with

sadness. “Aye, it is like looking into

a mirror…or at the face of someone

related by blood.”

“Lunaria, my love,” Silas said in a

gentle caress from where he was

seated on a golden throne. His voice

was at odds with his lethal

appearance. An empty silver throne,

ornately carved with beautiful dragon

designs, sat beside the matching

golden throne where he was sitting.

They were obviously a perfect pair.

His gold to her silver.

The Goddess turned her head as he

spoke and their eyes locked. Raven

was surprised that the room didn’t

burst into flame. The intensity of the

heat between Silas and Lunaria was

so powerful that she felt bad for

witnessing such an intimate moment.

“Silas, I thought we agreed to

wait.”

“This could not be put off any

longer, my love. She is as stubborn

as you are,” Silas muttered, making

the Goddess laugh.

Lunaria looked away and focused

back on Raven. “Forgive us. We did

not

mean

to

make

you

uncomfortable.”

“Speak for yourself, mate.”

“Silas.”

By simply saying his name the big

bad God was suitably chastised. He

sighed as he slumped down on his

throne. “You are taking the fun out of

this for me, mate.”

Raven couldn’t help but smile at

the sound of Lunaria’s soft tinkle of

laughter. She looked around the

room, fascinated and yet still

confused as to why she was there.

“Please have a seat, Raven. I will

try to explain everything better than

my mate was doing.” Lunaria waited

until Raven sat down then cast a

glance over her shoulder at Silas.

“Will you join us, my love? I get so

lonely without you by my side.”

Raven held back a gasp as Silas

suddenly appeared next to Lunaria.

Another chaise appeared across from

her, larger than the one she sat on.

Silas swept his lady into his arms

and sat down with her in his lap. He

nuzzled his face into her neck and she

seemed to melt into him so they fit

perfectly against one another.

“I know that coming to Arcadia

must have been a shock to you,”

Lunaria began.

Yeah, you could say that. But why

was she chosen?

Lunaria bowed her head in

acknowledgment

of

Raven’s

unspoken

question.

“You

were

chosen because of who you are,

Raven. You are a special woman,

with strong convictions that will aid

us in bringing much needed changes

to this world.”

Holy shit! Talk about pressure.

How in the world did they think she

could change an entire alien world?

“Listen!” Silas growled then his

breath left on a whoosh as Lunaria’s

elbow connected to his stomach.

Raven clenched her teeth at the way

the Gods seemed to just pluck the

thoughts out of her head and wished

with all her might that she could

close them out. She froze as Lunaria

and Silas both turned their head to

look at her, their eyes wide.

“How are you doing that?” Silas

growled.

“Doing what?” Raven asked, her

heart pounding in her chest.

“You cannot block us out of your

head, but whatever you are doing is

how you are able to keep your mates

from your mind,” Lunaria explained.

“It is strange…”

“This is why the decision must be

made now.”

“Silas—”

The God shook his head. “I am firm

on this, Lunaria.”

The Goddess sighed and nodded

her head. Fear made Raven’s mouth

go dry as the Sahara. She wasn’t sure

what they were talking about, but it

couldn’t be good.

“You must decide whether you

want to remain on Arcadia in your

new life,” Silas said in a firm voice.

“You were chosen to be the mate of

three warrior kings because we

believed you were strong enough to

stand with them. Your reticence tells

me we may have been mistaken. This

is an answer that has to be made with

an open heart and trust in the ones

who love you. Either you chose to

embrace the new life you have been

given with your mates or you choose

to be sent back to your world. Decide

now.”

Words escaped Raven for a

moment. This was a huge thing they

were asking of her. She’d never

dreamed that she’d wake up on a

strange new world, but now that she

was here with Savitar, Kadan and

even Tristan, she couldn’t imagine

being anywhere else. Still, the

thought of never seeing home again

was scary as hell.

Lunaria stood and held out a hand

to her. “Before you decide there is

something I want you to see.”

Silas opened his mouth to speak but

the Goddess shot him a look of

warning that made him hold his

tongue. He nodded as Raven took

Lunaria’s hand.

Tears burned in Raven’s eyes. “I

want to be with them, I do. I just…

you caught me off guard saying you’d

send me back. I don’t need to think

about it. There is nothing for me

there. I want to stay.”

They walked down a wide corridor

where they came to a beautiful

garden filled with the most gorgeous

flowers Raven had ever seen. Silas

stood behind them like a giant hulking

sentinel, just waiting for Raven to

fuck up again.

“Hulking?” Silas growled.

Lunaria sighed. “Forgive my mate.

I would send him away for a moment,

but we are only able to meet twice a

day when the sun and moon align in

the sky.”

“And the moons fade as the day

approaches now,” Silas added.

Lunaria cast him an imperial

glance. “Perhaps you should have

thought of that when you left me in

our bed to go stir up trouble while I

was asleep.”

If Raven wasn’t so confused, the

sorrowful puppy dog look Silas sent

his mate would have been comical.

Who knew Gods could sulk?

Even though Lunaria held a stern

look on her beautiful face, she

reached out to trail a hand down her

lover’s arm. “During the daylight

hours I am trapped in my own world,

and during the long hours of the night

Silas is trapped in his. It is only in

the in-between here in this temple

where we can be together.”

Raven’s heart hurt for the two