Read Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] Online

Authors: Laurie Roma

Tags: #Romance

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

at [email protected]

For all titles by Laurie Roma,

please visit

www.bookstrand.com/laurie-roma

Siren Publishing, Inc.

www.SirenPublishing.com

Document Outline

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