Awakened (Eternal Guardians Book 8) (13 page)

Lordy… Did the Sirens realize they were creating idiots by wiping every recruit’s memory?

Elysia bit her tongue as she swiped at a prickly vine so she didn’t add another cut to her already scraped legs and stepped out of the trees onto the training field at the edge of the Siren property. Past the white buildings of the compound, the sparkling temples of Olympus could be seen in the fading afternoon light, as majestic and ornate as the Siren compound was drab and plain.

“I’d love to know my fortune.” Sera stopped at Elysia’s side. “Wouldn’t you? I mean, it’d be cool to know if we’re going to pass and become Sirens, wouldn’t it?”

The nymph talked a mile a minute, which wasn’t exactly a thrill to Elysia, especially when she was so tired she could barely stand up straight. But at least it kept her mind off the fact every muscle in her body ached. And off the fact all she really wanted to do was search every one of those temples for Aphrodite’s palace so she could tell Damon to go to hell for the way he’d tricked her.

“Wouldn’t it be wild if you ran into your Argonaut relative in the human realm when you were on a mission for the Sirens? Maybe your relative could read all their fortunes.”

Sera’s babbling drifted to the back of Elysia’s mind as a memory hit. One of her father tucking her into bed at night when she’d been young. Singing her a lullaby, then leaning down to kiss her cheek. “
Sweet dreams,
agkelos
. Because of you, I am blessed.”

Agkelos
. Angel. He’d always called her that. A sharp pain lanced her heart. One that stole her breath and made her miss that sparkling city more than a snowflake misses cold air.

Would she ever see him again? Would she see anyone she loved again?

“I’m starving.” Sera stepped past Elysia and headed for the Siren compound. “Let’s go get some food.”

Elysia drew in a deep breath and let it out. Slowly, the ache in her chest dimmed, but as she began to walk, it was still there. And something inside her said it would be there until she finally found her way home.

“Since I lost on the field—again,” she said to Sera, hoping to take her thoughts off a father she wished she could forget, “there won’t be much left by the time I get to eat.”

“Don’t worry.” Sera winked back at her. “I’ll load up my plate and save you some of the good stuff.”

Elysia narrowed her eyes on the blonde’s ponytail, covered in mud and swinging as she moved. What did Sera want from her? She’d already beaten Elysia. It was clear Elysia was the worst of the recruits at this point. What could the nymph possibly get from hanging out with her besides ridicule?

Sera glanced over her dirty shoulder and smiled. “I can’t stand most of the food anyway. I think in my previous life, I must have been a chef or something. Ooh, wouldn’t that be cool? If cooking was part of the training? I’d love to get my hands on a mixer and whip up some cakes and pastries.” She giggled and looked ahead. “Correction. Maybe I was a sugar addict in my earlier life.”

Elysia’s suspicion slowly faded, and in a whir of understanding she realized exactly what Sera would get from hanging out with her. Friendship. The girl was as much an outcast as Elysia.

Damn that Damon. Because of him, she was suspicious of everyone around her. It was time she forgot about the male for good and got on with what she needed to do next.

Which was training to become the best Siren she could be. Because the hard truth was that it didn’t matter if anyone was looking for her. They weren’t going to find her. She wasn’t going to let herself be cast out, which meant she didn’t have a choice. She had to make this work.

They rounded the corner of the mess hall, and in the setting sunlight, a male stepped out of the headquarter building across the courtyard and moved onto the wide porch. Elysia immediately tensed, then relaxed when she realized it wasn’t Damon.

Don’t think about Damon!
“Who is that?”

Sera turned to look. “One of the trainers.”

A tingle rushed down Elysia’s back. The male was tall—close to seven feet—broad shouldered, with legs the size of tree trunks. She’d sort of hoped Damon had been lying about male trainers in the compound. Until today, she’d yet to see one. “Have you worked with him? I’ve only worked with the Sirens so far.”

“Me too. I don’t think the male trainers come on until later.”

Great. Elysia said a silent prayer Damon was comfortably back with his slutty goddess by then. “How do you know he’s a trainer?”

“Because I heard some of the other girls talking about him. I think his name is Erebus.”

They watched as Erebus crossed the training field, his massive legs eating up the space as if it were nothing. He was the personification of darkness—jet-black hair, dark eyes, mocha skin—and being as big as he was, he commanded attention.

Sera stepped close and lowered her voice. “Word is he’s a minor god from the Underworld who Hades lost to Zeus in a bet. Zeus supposedly loans him to the Sirens now and then to help with training. Can you imagine having
him
assigned to you for seduction training? Gods only know what kind of kink he’s into.” Sera fanned her face. “I’m getting hot just thinking about it.”

Elysia dragged her gaze from the stunning male and looked at her new friend’s dirt-streaked face. “Seduction training? What’s that?”

Sera’s pretty blue eyes widened. “Don’t tell me no one’s told you about seduction training.”

A whisper of apprehension rushed down Elysia’s spine. “No, they haven’t. What is it?”

“Only the most pleasurable, challenging, exciting part of Siren training.” Sera looped her arm through Elysia’s and pulled her toward the mess hall. “It’s when they assign a male to a new recruit, and he teaches her how to seduce and pleasure.”

Elysia’s stomach pitched. “You don’t mean—”

“Yep.” Sera grinned. “Sex. In any and every way possible. It’s part of the whole lure-a-male-in training we have to go through. Sirens aren’t just lethal warriors, they’re irresistible male magnets. In order to be inducted into the Order, a Siren has to know how to pleasure and be pleasured so she can carry out her mission at any time. I’ve heard some recruits are so wrecked by their seduction training, they can’t move for days. I also heard some trainers continue their lessons for
years
. Gods”—she sighed, a wistful look on her face—“can you imagine? Being pleasured by a sex god like Erebus
for years
?”

Elysia’s mind snapped right back to Damon even though she didn’t want it to. To the sight of his toned chest and abs. To the feel of his body pressed against hers. To the way he’d tasted when he’d kissed her. Only this time, those memories melded with images of his naked body moving over hers, skin slapping, sweat dripping, and their mingling voices groaning in the dark.

Her skin grew hot; her heart rate shot up. She swiped at the perspiration suddenly beading her neck and looked down at her wet fingers.

She wasn’t interested in Damon anymore, dammit. She wasn’t interested in any male. So why was she sweating just thinking about Damon teaching her all those wicked things Sera had mentioned?

“Hey, you okay?” Sera glanced sideways as they reached the door to the mess hall. “You look a little pale. Don’t worry. Your chances of being assigned to Erebus are slim. I’m sure you’ll get someone else. We don’t get to choose, after all.”

“We don’t?”

“Nope. It’s up to the gods.”

Skata
. That was exactly what she was afraid of. Not that she’d be assigned to Damon, but that he’d be assigned to seduce someone else.

CHAPTER EIGHT

“I
don’t know.” Seated on the arm of the couch in the living room of the house she shared with Orpheus on the outskirts of Tiyrns, Skyla crossed her arms over her chest and bit her lip. “I can tell you how to get in and out of the Siren Headquarters, but you have to cross into Olympus to do that. And that won’t be easy. Not to mention you’ll be spotted as soon as you reach the gates.”

Max leaned forward in his chair, desperate for the former Siren’s help. “Orpheus still has his invisibility cloak, doesn’t he?”

Skyla frowned. “That thing hasn’t been used in over twenty-five years. There’s no guarantee it’ll even work.”

“But Orpheus is part witch,” Talisa said in the seat beside Max. As soon as Max had told Talisa his plan, the female had jumped to help. If no one else was going after Elysia, they would. “He can charm it. It doesn’t have to work forever. Just long enough to get one of us into Olympus.”

“I don’t know.” Skyla’s brow wrinkled. “You’d have to get Orpheus to agree to that, and he’s firmly in the queen’s camp on this.”

Panic rose in Max’s chest. This had to work. A month had already gone by, and they still didn’t have a plan. Wasn’t anyone else worried about Elysia? “Yes, but—”

“In the queen’s camp about what?” Orpheus asked, striding into the room. He crossed to Skyla, leaned down, and kissed her cheek. “Hey, my beautiful Siren.” Then, nodding toward Max and Talisa, he said, “What are these two yahoos doing here?”

Skyla sighed. “Trying to convince me to help them break into Olympus and rescue Elysia.”

Max stiffened as Orpheus turned gray eyes their way. Beside him, Talisa drew in a breath.

“Don’t tell me we’re back to this,” Orpheus muttered.

“
Pampas.
” Four-year-old voices sounded from the other room, and seconds later, Orpheus and Skyla’s twins, Melita and Kyros, rushed into the room and threw themselves at Orpheus’s legs.

Orpheus chuckled and swooped the girl with the bouncing blonde curls into his arms and kissed her plump cheek. “There’s my daemon girl. Did you drive your mother batshit crazy today?”

“Orpheus…” Skyla sighed and massaged her forehead.

Orpheus grinned. At his feet, Kyros lifted his arms in the air and chanted, “Hold you! Hold you!”

“Hold
me
,” Orpheus corrected.

“No, hold
you
!” Kyros yelled.

Rolling his eyes, Orpheus looked down at his mate. Skyla only shook her head and crossed her arms. “You wanted them.”

Orpheus hefted the boy up until he had one child in each arm, and when the two were busy chattering away with each other in some weird twin language Max would never understand, Orpheus pinned Max with a hard look. “No one’s going to Olympus.”

“Just hear us out.” Max rose. “It’s a simple plan. We use your cloak, sneak into Olympus, find Elysia, wait until the cover of darkness, then sneak her out. My father said you used to use the invisibility cloak all the time to gain access to Olympus unseen and that no one was ever the wiser.”

“Yeah,” Orpheus answered, “when I was young and stupid. And you’re forgetting a very important fact here. No one was waiting for me those times. Zeus knows we’re desperate to get Elysia back.” He looked at Melita. “Don’t you dare stick that finger you just licked in my ear.” Then to Max, “He’ll be expecting a rescue of some kind. You go, and you’ll be walking into a trap, which is exactly why the queen shot this idea down when you brought it up weeks ago.”

Max’s jaw clenched. “You don’t under—”

“There’s also the small issue of protection should you even complete a successful rescue.” Orpheus handed Melita to his mate as she rose and reached for the girl. “We can’t protect her here.”

“Zeus and Athena can’t cross into Argolea,” Max countered. “They’re Olympians. This realm is off-limits to the Olympian gods.”

“No, but their Sirens can.” Orpheus moved to the couch, set Kyros on the cushion, pulled a sucker from his jacket pocket and handed it to the boy. Kyros squealed in glee, then his little face scrunched up in all seriousness as he worked to pull the wrapper off.

“Me too! Me too!” Melita chimed.

Orpheus moved back toward Skyla and handed the girl perched on her mother’s hip a lollipop.

“Seriously?” Skyla scowled at her mate. “They won’t eat dinner now.”

Orpheus grinned. “Dinner’s overrated. Besides, candy makes them like me best.”

Skyla rolled her eyes and set her daughter on the chair where she’d been sitting.

Orpheus’s smile faded as he tucked his hands into his pockets and refocused on Max. “Look, I get what you’re trying to do, but it won’t work. Sirens can pass through our borders at will. Even if we man the portal to make sure they don’t enter Tiyrns unnoticed, there’s nothing stopping them from crossing through the moving portals. We can’t police those. We’ve tried. Pulling the princess from the Sirens at this point would be considered an act of war to Zeus, and I won’t be a party to something that will cause a repeat of what the Sirens did to the witches.”