Enslaved
Page 32
Silence echoed through the clearing.
“You’ve been given your answer,” Lachesis said, a smug grin across her face as she extended her arm and closed her fingers into a fist. “Go back to the light once and for all!”
She threw her hand forward, opened her fist, and whatever power had gathered there shot toward Zeus. In a poof of smoke and flames, he disappeared into nothingness.
“Whoa,” someone whispered.
“Holy shit,” another said.
As Lachesis turned to face her, Maelea caught sight of the rest of the Argonauts—Demetrius, Cerek, Phineus—and Nick emerging from the trees at her back, holy shit looks on their faces at the scene they’d just witnessed.
“This is the reason Orpheus’s soul was given a second chance, child,” Lachesis said, drawing Maelea’s attention her way. “So that he could find you, and so that you could fulfill your destiny.” The Fate lifted both hands in front of her and pulled them back as if drawing on two invisible ropes. “I release you from both the light and darkness. Your life is your own. You will remain ageless—I can’t change that—but when you choose to move to the Isles of the Blessed, so it will be.”
Maelea gasped as her links to both the Underworld and Olympus were pulled right out of her body. Her legs sagged, and she would have slumped to the ground, but Gryphon was right there to catch her, his arms sliding around her waist, his body pressing up tight against her back to support her all over again.
Lachesis looked his way and smiled. “Take care of her, Guardian.”
“I will,” Gryphon answered, glancing at Maelea, a smile on his lips and a sparkle in his eye that banished whatever lingering fear remained.
Lachesis’s smile faded, and she moved back, looked over the rest of the group. “The race to find the last remaining elements will intensify. And revenge now burns hot in the gods’ veins. You’ve won the battle, but not the war, my friends. Every moment the remaining elements are hidden, Krónos plots his freedom. Find them, guardians, and end this war once and for all.”
The Fate faded into nothing. And around her, whispered “No way that just happened” and “Holy skata, did you see that?” comments echoed. But she couldn’t focus on any of them, because all she could see was Gryphon looking down at her with all the love and longing she’d searched for her whole life.
“You gave up Olympus.”
She turned in his arms, rested her hands against his strong, familiar chest. “I knew it wouldn’t be half what I’d dreamed without you.”
“Sotiria,” he whispered, framing her face with his hands. “You give up too much for me.”
She gripped his forearms, and her skin warmed at the contact. “Haven’t you figured out by now, Guardian, I would give up anything for you?”
His eyes softened, and as he lowered his lips to hers, kissing her so gently, so thoroughly, she knew the sacrifice she’d made wasn’t a sacrifice at all.
“I will make you happy,” he whispered against her lips. “I promise.”
Someone chuckled. From somewhere close Titus muttered, “Way to go, Gryph.” Then to the rest of the group, “Another one bites the dust.”
A thwack echoed through the clearing, followed by Skyla’s voice saying, “Leave them alone. I think it’s sweet.”
But Maelea didn’t care what Gryphon’s kin thought. All she cared about was spending her life with the man she’d feared and hated and loved and lost. With the man she’d never lose again.
She pulled back from his mouth. “What about your Council? They won’t let me—”
“Don’t worry about them,” Theron said nearby. “We’ll handle the Council. I think it’s the least we can do, after what you did for us.”
Gryphon looked to Theron, smiled his thanks, then glanced back down at her, this time with eyes she knew she would lose herself in forever. “Anything else you need?”
“Just you,” she whispered. “You’re all I ever need.”
“Ditto, sotiria.” His lips curled higher as he leaned down to kiss her again. And as his arms tightened around her waist, she couldn’t tell where he stopped and she began.
Which, after all this time, was exactly the way it should be.
Eternal Guardians Lexicon
ándras; pl. andres. Male Argolean
Argolea. Realm established by Zeus for the blessed heroes and their descendants
Argonauts. Eternal guardian warriors who protect Argolea. In every generation, one from the original seven bloodlines (Heracles, Achilles, Jason, Odysseus, Perseus, Theseus, and Bellerophon) is chosen to continue the guardian tradition
Council of Elders. Twelve lords of Argolea who advise the king
daemons. Beasts who were once human, recruited from the Fields of Asphodel (purgatory) by Atalanta to join her army
doulas. Slave
élencho. Mind-control technique Argonauts use on humans
Fates. Three goddesses who control the thread of life for all mortals from birth until death
gynaíka; pl. gynaíkes. Female Argolean
Horae. Three goddesses of balance, controlling life and order
Isles of the Blessed. Heaven
kardia. Term of endearment; my heart
kobalos; pl. kobaloi. Gnomelike creatures who mine Hades’s invisibility ore
meli. Term of endearment; beloved
Misos. Half-human/half-Argolean race that lives hidden among humans
Olympians. Current ruling gods of the Greek pantheon, led by Zeus
Orb of Krónos. Four-chambered disk that, when filled with the four classic elements—earth, wind, fire, and water—has the power to release the Titans from Tartarus
Siren Order. Zeus’s elite band of personal warriors. Commanded by Athena
skata. Swear word
sotiria. Term of endearment; my salvation
Tartarus. Realm of the Underworld similar to hell
Titans. The ruling gods before the Olympians
thea. Term of endearment; goddess
yios. Son
About the Author
Elisabeth Naughton is the bestselling author of more than ten paranormal and romantic suspense novels. Her work has been nominated for numerous awards, including the prestigious RITA awards, the Australian Romance Readers Awards, the Golden Leaf, and the Golden Heart. Enraptured, the fourth book in her Eternal Guardians series, was listed as one of the Publishers Weekly top-ten romances for the spring of 2012 and garnered rave reviews. To learn more about her and her books, visit www.elisabethnaughton.com.