Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (24 page)

palms met, both hands touching. Silas

pressed his lips lightly to his lady’s

in a kiss so sweet, so filled with

love, Raven felt the glow of it from

several feet away.

Then, without a word, Lunaria

disappeared.

Chapter Eleven

“I’m sorry…”

Raven felt the waves of anguish

emanating from Silas as he stared

blankly at the space where Lunaria

had stood a moment ago and didn’t

know what else to say.

The feelings rolling off him

immediately ceased. His expression

cleared and he looked at her with

swirling gold eyes. “Come,” Silas

commanded.

A moment later Raven stumbled

against the wave of dizziness that hit

her. They had been transported back

to the clearing where this strange

visit had begun.

Shit, she was never going to get

used to that. It would be nice to warn

a girl before popping her in and out

of places before she threw up on him.

And she was pretty sure he might

snuff her out if she did that, even if he

was fond of her. She shook her head

clear and opened her mouth, but

closed it as he began to speak.

“It pains me, not having her with

me,” Silas said softly. “I cannot bear

to stay in the Isle of Dreams without

her. Arcadians love deeply. So

deeply that it tears at the heart not

having our mate near. Love is

strength. It makes us vital. Better. It

fills places inside us that we never

even knew were empty. She is my

light and without her, the darkness is

almost too much to bear.”

As she listened to his words, she

couldn’t help but think of Savitar,

Kadan, and Tristan. Maybe it was the

blood bond or simply her own

feelings, but she loved her mates just

like Silas described. They filled a

place inside her that she didn’t even

know was empty. She had been

waiting her whole life to find

someone to love that loved her in

return. And they did. They gave her

the love she had been craving, and

she loved them back.

All of them.

“Have you always lived this way?”

Raven asked, afraid to push the god

to talk about something that was

obviously hurting him. She couldn’t

imagine being separated from her

mates for hours on end and she had

only just met them. It was almost

unfathomable to think of the anguish

Silas and Lunaria faced every day,

counting down the seconds until they

could be together again. She wished

with all her heart there was

something she could do to help him.

“There is,” Silas said, finally

turning to look at her. He sighed. “Let

us walk.”

It felt strange. She was only half his

size and he was a god, and yet she

was comfortable with him as they

walked through a strange-ass forest

of weird looking flowered trees.

“Arcadia had seen its share of

changes throughout the centuries,”

Silas explained. “But the warriors

have strayed far from their destined

path, so we bound their shifter

abilities, but left the essence of what

they were inside them.”

“So, that’s why they can only shift

their claws?”

Silas

nodded.

“Aye.

True

Arcadians are those who can shift

fully into their dragon form. As things

became more unstable here in the

mortal realm, Lunaria and I suffered

unexpected consequences from our

actions. Because of the loss of magic

on Arcadia we were separated in our

own worlds, only given the hours in

between to be together. We never

thought it would take the mortals so

long to set things to right, and at this

rate they never will.”

“How do I help you?”

Silas stopped walking and looked

down at her with a seriousness that

had her breath catching. “You have

done so by staying. It took our

combined powers to bring you here

and gift you with the change. We

want the Arcadians stronger with the

new knowledge you bring from your

home world so that past mistakes

will not be repeated.”

Raven winced. “Ah…about that.

When I came here I had my weapon

on me.”

Silas smiled. “I would have never

let you come forth with it if I did not

want you to bring it.” He sobered.

“The problem with the rogues in this

territory is great and a change needs

to happen. You were the perfect

chosen mate for the Kings of the Iron

Palace. You are a natural born leader

and will aid in making the necessary

adjustments we need.”

Raven nodded, determined to do

whatever it took to help. But it was a

daunting task. Where the hell did you

begin changing an entire world?

“Your idea for the havens to start

with,” Silas said.

Raven sighed. Of course he knew

about that.

“As I said, Arcadians have one true

mate. You were fated to come here,

to be the chosen for the Kings of the

Iron Palace. Others have lost their

faith in waiting for their true mate

and choose a female out of loneliness

or convenience. What you have begun

as an advocate for the females in the

Citadel will strengthen the race more

than you know.”

Wow…and all she wanted to do

was give the females more of a

choice.

Silas’s lips curved into a smile.

“You have the heart of a warrior. I

will tell you now, I never had any

intention of sending you back.”

Raven slowly smiled back at him.

“I kind of figured that out. Too much

is riding on this for you to waste the

power to do that. Plus, you already

knew how I felt about my mates. You

knew I wouldn’t leave them.”

“This is true. The conversion

process has made you immortal now

and will allow you to shift to your

dragon form.”

“Wait!

Time

out.

Immortal?”

Horror filled her. “You said longer

life span, nothing about becoming

immortal!”

He smirked at her. “True Arcadians

are immortal. Over time as you

continue to share your blood with

your mates, you will bring forth their

dormant dragons as well so do not

fear them leaving you. It is the

dragon’s magic inside you, but you

can still die if someone cuts off your

head, so do your best not to let that

happen.”

Her hand flew up to her neck. That

wasn’t so easy when every fucking

male ran around carrying big-ass

swords at their sides. Jesus, all of

this information was making her head

spin. It was like she was now a

fucking Highlander. It was going to

become her mission in life to learn

how to wield a sword, and hopefully

learn how not to get her head

chopped off.

“At first you will only be able to

call upon your beast when you are in

danger as your adrenaline will call

forth the dragon spirit within you, but

over time it will get easier to control

the change.” He paused. “There has

been one other brought here from

your world. We had originally

planned to bring one of you each

year, but the changes she has already

created have given us the added

power to bring you here only months

after she first stepped foot in

Arcadia.”

Intrigued, Raven’s eyes widened.

“There is another woman here from

Earth? Where can I—”

“You shall meet her when the time

is right, but for now it is wise to seek

your mates for any questions you may

have.”

“But you said they don’t know

much about the dragon shifters,

right?”

“Focus on bonding with your mates

before you seek outside counsel. I

would tell you not to inform them of

what happened here but—”

“No.” She shook her head. “That’s

a deal breaker. You wanted me fully

committed to them and I am. I can’t

keep something like this secret. That

would be like lying.”

He heaved out a sigh. “Which is

exactly what I was going to say. You

females take away all my fun. The

day begins and the conversion is

almost complete. Once it is finished I

will be rid of you,” he muttered.

Enjoying him, she grinned. She

thought he liked keeping her a little

off balance. She still had a healthy

dose of fear of Silas. He was a god,

and that was something she wasn’t

about to forget. Ever. Still, she liked

having this time with him and

Lunaria. He had a snarky sense of

humor and Lunaria was absolutely

lovely to be around. Plus, it wasn’t

everyday she got to take a walk with

a god or was made into a shape-

shifting dragon. She wouldn’t think

about that one yet, or her head might

explode.

They came to the edge of the forest

and came to a stop. Raven didn’t

really feel any different, but if Silas

said the conversion was almost

complete then she’d believe him. But

there was still one thing she had to

know. “Can I ask you a question?”

“You wish to know why we fed

you our blood.”

Raven nodded and watched as

Silas’s face softened with an

expression of tenderness. “Besides

being separated from each other,

Lunaria and I suffered an even

greater punishment. I am a god, and

yet I am not able to give my true love

the one thing she desires most.”

“Children,” Raven whispered. The

horror of their situation hit her like a

ton of bricks. Silas and Lunaria had

centuries together, but they couldn’t

have the one thing they wanted most.

A family. Finally it became crystal

clear to her why they had shared a

part of themselves to her.

He ran a hand over her glossy

black, curly hair. “You are the mortal

image of her. Of my love. Now you

have both of our blood running

through your veins. We have both

been denied the families we have

craved, but there is a little part of us

in you now.”

Choked up from the honor they had

bestowed upon her, Raven didn’t

know what to say.

“Soon, you shall see the look on

your mates’ faces when you tell them

you nurture the next generation inside

of you. You will share their joy, their

unending love. I am denied that

pleasure.”

Raven’s eyes grew wide. “Are you

saying I’m pregnant now?”

His eyes glowed brighter than the

sun as he seemed to look inside her.

“Aye, you carry new life. When you

were brought here our magic ensured

you would be able to breed.”

Well, shit.

The surprises just kept coming.

Raven’s hands flew to her flat

stomach, looking down at herself in

disbelief. How…She sighed. She

really had to stop asking that and just

accept that her life was now a

mixture

of

the

strange

and

unexplainable.

“It happened the first time you were

with your mate Savitar. You have

given him his greatest dream.”

“Thank you for telling me.” Tears

clouded her vision as she looked up

at the golden god. Alarm filled her.

“Wait! You said I was already…you

know, before the conversion. Will

this hurt the—”

Silas looked offended. “Do you

think we would harm your youngling?

Arcadian genetics are stronger than

your human genes. Your babe was

already an Arcadian before you

changed.”

“Okay, good. Fine.” Overcome

with emotion, she let out a weak

laugh as she wiped her tears away.

“So, what do I call you? Uncle Silas

or Grandpa?”

The look of shock on his inhumanly

beautiful face was priceless, then he

slowly smiled. “Uncle will do. Go

now, and return to your mates, little