Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (41 page)
agreed to stay for a while, the males
quickly agreeing when they saw how
much it meant to their mate.
Raven was anxious to spend more
time with her friend, but there was
something pressing at her that needed
to be done first. Aware that it was
time, Raven had asked her mates to
go with her to the mating pool in the
sacred clearing just as evening fell
across the land.
“Why did you want to come here,
my love?” Savitar asked. “Not that I
do not have very fond memories of
this place.” He lowered his head and
pressed a kiss to her lips, rubbing
them over hers.
“Aye,” Tristan said, confused. “We
have left our guests at the palace.”
“Allie will explain it to them.
Don’t worry, they won’t mind
waiting for us,” Raven said with a
smile. “I brought you here, because it
is the perfect place for you to go
through the change.”
“The
change?”
Kadan
asked,
confused.
Raven nodded with a grin. “Yep,
your dragon spirits are ready to
allow you to change. The magic here
in this clearing will help you call
forth your dragon forms.” She
laughed as all three of her mates
simply stared at her in shock. She
walked up and gave each of her
mates a hard kiss on the lips before
stepping back from them.
“Close your eyes and focus on the
energy moving under your skin and
you will be able to connect with your
dragon spirit. Don’t worry, you’ll
still be you, only more,” Raven
assured them. She stepped back a
few more steps, giving them room.
“Think of it like when you call forth
your claws, but this time picture
becoming the entire dragon.”
Trusting in his mate, Tristan closed
his eyes and felt the rush of power
surge through him as stars burst
behind his eyelids. Pain flooded his
body as he called the dragon spirit to
him. Knowing what to expect from
his connection with Raven when she
shifted, he didn’t fight the change.
Gritting his teeth, he gave himself
over to the ancient power, letting go
of himself, allowing the magic to
flow through him. The pain faded as
if it had never been and changed to
the most unbelievable sensation of…
completeness.
He felt his own soul merge with the
ancient power of the dragon spirit. It
was as if a million invisible strains
of
energy
connected
him
to
everything at once, but there was no
chaos, only knowledge and power.
He opened his eyes, and saw
through those of his dragon form. His
large head swiveled to the side to see
two other large dark-bronze dragons
shimmering into place where his
brothers had been standing. He turned
his head and saw Raven, his heart,
standing before him, looking up at
him with all the pride and love that
she felt.
“You did it,” she whispered, tears
of joy in her eyes.
“Do not cry, little one,” Tristan
said, lowering his large dragon’s
head to her. “You know I cannot
stand to see your tears.”
“They’re happy tears,” she said
with a laugh. “I can feel your joy.
Don’t mind me. I’m totally blaming
this on pregnancy hormones.”
Savitar laughed. “Then you are
allowed all the tears you like, my
love. This is unbelievable!”
“Aye, it is,” Kadan said. His
golden eyes glowed with love.
“Without you, none of this would be
possible. This…this is the most
amazing thing…”
“I am a dragon!” Tristan hollered,
making them all laugh.
As one, all three brothers spread
their large wings and launched their
dragons into the sky, spewing streams
of fire out into the air far above the
tree line so they wouldn’t do any
damage. Their laughter floated out as
they flew around each other, playing
an impromptu game of tag in the
skies.
Raven laughed as she watched them
then turned her head to the right as
she felt a prickle over her skin like
someone was watching her. She
blinked in surprise as she saw the
pale, shimmering forms of Silas and
Lunaria
standing
right
by
the
waterfall watching them with pride
beaming out from their vibrant
glowing eyes.
Letting instinct guide her, Raven
balled her right hand into a fist and
placed it over her heart in homage to
the Gods and in silent thanks for
giving her this life filled with love
and laughter.
Both of them smiled at her before
disappearing from sight.
Raven
closed
her
eyes
and
embraced the change, shifting into her
dragon. She launched herself into the
sky, wings extended as she flew next
to her mates. Her dragon was slightly
smaller than the males, her body
lighter in color, but she was able to
maneuver between them with ease.
“You look different than us,”
Kadan commented as he looked at
her iridescent scales that shimmered
from pearly white to a deep golden
bronze.
Her response was cut off as Tristan
landed on her, wrapping her in his
wings and he playfully took them in a
spin.
“That’s because I’ve got more
magic than you,” Raven said with a
laugh as she flew away from Tristan
to hop a ride on Savitar’s back,
shifting back to her human form
before landing on him.
“Careful!” Savitar growled.
She rolled her eyes, glad he
couldn’t see her. “I’m the magic
woman, remember? I’ve never ridden
on a dragon before and wanted to
know what it feels like.” She could
feel the warmth of love coming
through their bond, flooding her with
happiness.
“Then let us go for a ride, mate.”
Savitar flapped his large wings,
putting on a burst of speed as Kadan
and Tristan flanked his sides.
Raven’s laughter filled their hearts to
bursting as they flew through the air
together.
As the dragons disappeared from
sight, the light from the two purple
moons spilled down onto the
clearing, filling the sacred space with
lavender moonlight. The light grew
brighter until it engulfed everything in
sight.
When it faded, a large intricate
pattern of four dragons was burned
into the bright green grass.
Yes, there was magic there, waiting
for the next of the chosen to come.
And when she did, Arcadia would
never be the same…
THE END
WWW.LAURIEROMA.BLOGSPOT.COM
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Laurie Roma lives in Chicago and
is the author of the IAD and Arcadian
series. She has always loved
immersing herself in a good book and
now enjoys the pleasure of creating
her own. She can usually be found
tapping away on her keyboard,
creating worlds for her characters
while she listens to music. Of course
her playlist depends on her mood…
but then again, so does her writing.
An avid reader of the romance
genre, nothing bothers her more than
annoying characters. Seriously, who
wants a happy ending for someone
that pisses you off? She loves tough
alpha-male
heroes
and
strong
heroines that have brains as well as
beauty. Her novels are filled with
both passionate romance and down
and dirty lust-driven interludes, as
she believes both are essential to a
good love story. She loves to hear
from her readers and can be reached
For all titles by Laurie Roma,
please visit
www.bookstrand.com/laurie-roma
Siren Publishing, Inc.
www.SirenPublishing.com