Ravaged: An Eternal Guardians Novella (1001 Dark Nights)

  “I...” Daphne didn’t know what to say. She knew what it was like to lose her entire village, too. “I’m sorry.”

  “Nothing to be sorry about. It happened.” He moved all the salad fixings to a bowl, cleaned off the cutting board, then stepped toward the refrigerator again and pulled out a casserole dish covered in tinfoil. “I made peace with it a long time ago. Ari found us after. He’d been patrolling the area as he often does. He tried to heal as many as he could, but in the end, I was the only one who survived.”

  A humming sounded in Daphne’s brain. Everything she’d been told about the Argonaut seemed at sudden odds with what she’d just learned. She wasn’t sure what to believe. All she knew for certain was that the Argonaut could have killed her. He could have left her for dead in those woods. But he hadn’t. He’d saved her, brought her here, and healed her. And though she wanted to chalk that up to his weakness for nymphs, she was starting to wonder if that was true. Because he’d done the same for Silas.

  Her gaze drifted toward the open door. She had no idea where the Argonaut was or what he was doing, but her mind skipped back over that moment in the woods. After he’d killed those daemons. When he’d stalked toward her, knelt at her side, and reached for her. She’d been too afraid to listen then, but now two words echoed in her mind. Two words she hadn’t realized he’d whispered until right this very second.

  CHAPTER FOUR

  Daphne wandered through the halls of Stonehill Hold late in the evening while Aristokles’s words continued to ping around in her mind. It was late, well past midnight, but she couldn’t sleep.

  You’re safe...

  Had she ever felt safe? Maybe as a child with her parents, but they’d been gone so long she barely remembered what safety felt like. She’d never truly felt safe with her foster family, even though they’d been nice. She’d been too afraid something bad was lurking around the corner. And she’d certainly never felt safe on Olympus. Even with all her years of training, she still worried daily that someone would see she didn’t have what it took and kick her out. Every day she struggled just to fit in. And every day she knew she really didn’t.

  Hating where her thoughts were heading, she ran her fingers over the spines of a series of books in the library. Tomes from all over the world filled the shelves, covering topics from gods to history to woodworking. Daphne had always loved books. As she glanced over the titles in front of her, she couldn’t help but see the irony.

  Books separated man from the animals. Learning kept him from becoming a savage. And the savage Zeus wanted her to kill was obviously very well read.

  Turning on a sigh, her gaze drifting over the fireplace, the comfy seating area, and the table near the window holding a globe. After dinner, Silas had given her a tour, explaining that Stonehill Hold had been nothing but ruins when Aristokles had found it over fifty years ago. Silas was the one who’d pestered the Argonaut into rebuilding the fortress. Silas was probably the one who’d collected all these books.

  She froze when she realized she wasn’t alone, and her heart rate shot up. Seated in a high-backed chair in the corner of the room, a book in his lap, the Argonaut she’d just been thinking of watched her with wild, mismatched eyes.

  Warmth gathered in her belly. A warmth that was both unwelcome and painfully arousing. He didn’t speak, only continued to stare at her from the shadows, and with every passing second, her adrenaline surged higher and that warmth trickled lower, awakening places she wasn’t willing to think about just yet.

  Say something. Anything.

  “I-I didn’t realize anyone was here.”

  Aristokles didn’t move a muscle, didn’t look away, still didn’t speak. And his face was so shadowed, she couldn’t read his expression. All she could see were his eyes, fixed only on her.

  Nerves bounced all over in her belly, and she pulled her gaze from his, glanced around the room, and tried to sound nonchalant when she said, “This is a fabulous library. I’m always so tempted by books. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow a few. I’m not used to the quiet here.” She wrinkled her nose. “Kinda hard to sleep.”

  When he still didn’t answer, she fought back a wave of unease. “I’m sure you’re used to being here. I mean, why wouldn’t you be? This is your house, after all. It’s a great house. Just a little big for me. And cold. You must like the cold though. I mean, to have a house way out here in the mountains, you’d have to, right?”

  Oh gods, she was babbling. She’d spent years on Olympus training herself not to babble like she used to do as a child.

  He didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Pressing her lips together, she twisted her arms behind her back and clasped her hands. One quick look toward the dark corner told her he was still staring only at her.

  Sweat broke out along her spine. His hand resting on the arm of the chair was so big, she knew it could crush her skull in a matter of seconds. But even as fear churned in her belly, she held on to the fact that he’d saved her life. If he wanted her dead, she’d already be there. That meant he wanted her for something else.

  Seduction. She needed to be a seductive, alluring nymph, not a rambling fool. You trained for this, idiot.

  Right. She had. This was the easy part.

  Straightening her shoulders, she unclasped her hands from her back and cocked her hip. The movement accentuated her breasts, which she knew were her best feature. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she rested her hand at her waist and looked right at the Argonaut as she licked her lips in a move she knew would draw his attention right to her mouth.

  “But enough about me.” Lowering her voice to a throaty whisper, she added, “Is there anything here that tempts you?”

  For a heartbeat, the Argonaut didn’t move. Then very slowly, he unfolded himself out of the chair and rose to his full height.

  Her pulse pounded. Arousal stirred low in her belly. He crossed the room and stopped mere inches from her, the scents of fresh pine and citrus wafting around her. Scents, she suddenly realized, she’d smelled before.

  When he’d rescued her in the woods? She wasn’t sure. And right now she couldn’t think. Because this close, he was bigger than she’d first thought. Broader across the shoulders, more muscular everywhere, so tall she had to tip her head back to look up at his face. And hot. His body heat sizzled across the distance between them, seeping into her skin until that arousal slinked lower and her thighs trembled.

  She didn’t fight the arousal this time. Told herself it was because her arousal would produce pheromones that would draw him in. And drawing him in meant she could finish this job, maybe tonight. But something in the back of her consciousness knew that was a lie. She wasn’t fighting it because he excited her. Because a wicked place inside her wanted to know what it would feel like to be devoured by a savage like him.

  He stepped forward, and though Daphne wanted nothing more than to feel his skin brush hers, she moved back. Two steps were all she had until her butt hit the bookshelf behind her. The Argonaut lifted both large hands, and her stomach caved in, waiting for his touch, wondering where he would start. But instead of his skin grazing hers, he rested his hands on the shelf near her head, boxing her in.

  His mismatched gaze skipped over her features. Heat surrounded her as he leaned in, jacking her arousal up even higher, making her forget the Sirens, her reason for being here, even her own name.

  Her body instinctively swayed toward him. Her eyelids lowered. She lifted her head toward his, her lips trembling in pure anticipation.

  He stopped millimeters from her lips and whispered, “Can’t sleep, huh?”

  His warm, minty breath brushed her sensitive skin. Her mouth watered, desperate for a taste. Without even realizing it, she eased even closer. “No. I’m not the least bit tired. I think I may need help with that.”

  “Help, huh?”

  His words were a throaty purr, his massive legs so close they skimmed her own, making her sex ache. It was all she could do to keep from reaching him, but
Sappheire’s voice—something she didn’t expect—whispered that he needed to make the first big move so she knew she could completely draw him in.

  She didn’t want to think about Sappheire right now. Didn’t want to think about the Sirens or her mission. She just wanted to be taken. By this savage? Oh yes... She didn’t even care what he’d done anymore.

  He leaned toward her ear, his warm breath fanning her neck, sending tingles straight down her spine. His lips just barely brushed her lobe, and her eyes slid closed. “Here’s your help, little nymph,” he whispered. “Lock yourself in your room where it’s safe because if I see you out here again, I won’t be held responsible for my actions. I’m unpredictable. And not in any way you want a male to be.”

  A tremor ran down Daphne’s spine, dimming her arousal. Cool air washed over her as the Argonaut drew back. Slowly, she opened her eyes, but the instant she looked up, she knew the Argonaut wasn’t the least bit turned on like her. His jaw was hard, his eyes icy and cold. And when she heard the wood crack behind her where he still gripped the shelf, she realized what she’d missed thanks to her stupid excitement.

  He was every bit the savage Athena had claimed him to be. His eyes were wild. His skin flushed. And it wasn’t just arousal dragging him to the edge of control. It was something else. Something she knew instinctively she should be afraid of.

  “I’m no hero, nymph. Don’t invade my space again.”

  He let go of the shelf, turned, and exited the room without another word.

  Daphne sagged back into the bookshelf and drew in a shaky breath. But fear didn’t come. Because as soon as she was alone, she realized what she’d missed moments before.

  He hadn’t been icy until just the last moment. When she’d obviously tried to seduce him. Before that, when he’d been watching her and she’d been her silly, rambling self, his expression had been one of noticeable interest, just as it had been when he’d looked at her downstairs in his gym.

  He was attracted to her. Very attracted. He just wasn’t attracted when she used her Siren skills. That meant straight up seduction wasn’t going to work. She needed to finesse the situation, make him trust her. She just wasn’t sure how to go about doing that.

  She pushed away from the bookshelf and remembered Silas. Silas could help her. She’d talk to the half breed and figure out the best way to get close to Aristokles.

  Then she’d finish the job she’d come to do. And forget about the sexy savage who made her body ache.

  * * *

  Ari found Silas in the lowest level of the hold, a dark, windowless room carved out of the cliff that they used for storage.

  Dressed in jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt, Silas stood on the far side of the room, making notes on the clipboard in his hand as he checked supplies on the shelves that lined the walls. “We’re almost out of wine,” he said without turning, obviously hearing Ari’s footsteps. “You drink too much of it, you know. I’m pretty sure I replenished that stock two months ago.”

  Ari wasn’t in the mood to talk about his drinking habits. He wasn’t in the mood for anything except getting that nymph far, far away. Resting his hands on his hips, he glared toward the Misos. “If she’s well enough to wander around the hold, she’s well enough to leave.”

  Silas made another mark on his paper. “I thought you’d appreciate having something prettier to look at than me.”

  “How pretty she is has nothing to do with this.”

  “Ah.” A mischievous smile curled Silas’s lips. “So you did notice.”

  Ari’s frustration shot up. Yes the nymph was pretty, but his opinion would be the same if she were Aphrodite beautiful or Medusa ugly. Stonehill Hold was his one and only refuge, and he wasn’t about to be bullied by a nymph in his own home.

  “I want her gone,” he said. “I’ll be back by nightfall tomorrow. When I return, she’d better not be here.”

  “Daphne.”

  “What?”

  Silas turned to face him. “Her name’s Daphne, not she. And what you want and need are two very different things, Argonaut.”

  Ari’s jaw clenched. “Don’t pretend to know what I need. I’m no good for any female, especially that one, and we both know it.” He stomped back up the steps, refusing to give in even an inch. “Tomorrow, Silas. No excuses.”

  “What you need,” Silas muttered, “is a two-by-four to the head.” Then louder, “Get some wine while you’re out. It does wonders for your personality.”

  Ari ignored the smartass comments and moved back to the main level where he headed for his rooms. The entire west wing of the hold was his domain. An office complete with desk and chair he’d carved by hand opened to a bedroom suite filled with a bed, side tables, and a sitting area flanked by a wide stone fireplace. Crossing toward the closet on the far side of his room, he pulled out a backpack and set it on the bed.

  His gaze slid over the empty wine bottle on the nightstand. Scowling, he looked down at his pack and checked the supplies he kept inside for his patrols. So he drank to fall asleep. Big deal. A lot of people did that. A lot of normal people did that, and he was way past normal. Normal people didn’t have to deal with his curse. Normal people didn’t have the blackout episodes he did. Normal people didn’t have random flashes of the horrible things they’d done while in the midst of one of those episodes.

  Needed a woman? No way. Sure, he had desires just like the next guy, and he had no problem fulfilling those desires when he was out on his scouting trips. There were always willing females if you knew where to look. But the last thing he needed was one infiltrating his personal space.

  More frustrated than before, he snapped the top of his pack, pulled on a jacket, then slung the straps over his shoulders. Screw Silas and his opinions. Ari didn’t need anything but himself. He’d been getting along just fine alone for dozens of years.

  He headed for the door and the frozen wilderness beyond. And hoped he ran into another pack of daemons. A good bloodletting would take his mind off that nymph. But something told him it wouldn’t be enough to make him forget that she now had a name.

  * * *

  Daphne hadn’t slept well. Her dreams were a mixture of Ari and the Sirens and her long-destroyed village.

  She climbed out of bed and yawned as she dressed in the sweats and T-shirt Silas had given her after dinner. The clothing was huge. She had to roll the pants down at the waist several times just so they stayed up, and the light-blue T-shirt wasn’t much better—hanging like a dress almost all the way to her knees. After tucking it in as best she could, she fluffed her hair and told herself she could still make this work. She’d aced her strategy training. She simply had to think outside the box where Aristokles was concerned.

  She turned out of her room and moved barefoot through the hall. When she reached the kitchen on the lower level, she found Silas filling a backpack on the table with supplies—water, bandages, gloves.

  She approached slowly, not sure what he was doing. “I hope you’re not running away.”

  Silas glanced up and smiled, his hair damp around the collar from a shower, his light-blue eyes sparkling, making her almost forget about the scars on his face. “Good morning. Sleep well?”

  “Fine,” Daphne lied as she pulled a chair out at the table and sat. “Are you going somewhere?”

  Silas shoved a bag of granola into his pack. “Supply run. We’re low on several things.”

  Panic clawed at her chest. “How long will you be gone?”

  “Three, maybe four days. I’m supposed to take you with me.”

  Shit. She couldn’t let that happen. “Um—”

  “I don’t think you’re well enough to leave, though.”

  Daphne’s gaze shot to his. The male’s blue eyes sharpened when he added, “And call me selfish, but I think you can do some good here while you finish healing.”

  She didn’t know what he meant but as he pushed his pack to the end of the table, pulled out a chair, and sat across from her, she found h
erself hanging on his every word. “Ari left on a scouting trip. He’ll be back later tonight. He’ll likely be ticked you’re still here, but he can just deal with it. He needs to deal with it.”

  “Why?”

  “Ari thinks it’s better for everyone if he isolates himself.”

  “Why does he believe that?” she asked, playing dumb.

  “Because he’s bullheaded,” Silas answered. “But I fear this self-imposed isolation of his is slowly catching up with him.”

  “You care about him.” The realization hit before she could stop the words from spilling from her lips.

  “Of course I do.” Sighing, Silas shook his head and leaned back in his chair. “It’s more than the fact he saved my life. I’d heard rumors about the crazed Argonaut just as you, but I quickly realized he’s not what everyone says he is.”

  “And what is he?”

  Silas didn’t immediately answer, and in the silence, Daphne thought back over everything she knew of Aristokles. The stories she’d heard from Zeus and Athena contradicted with what Silas had told her last night. And after spending a few minutes with Ari in the library, she didn’t know who to believe.

  “You know the story of the Argonauts, right? How each are given a soul mate?”

  Daphne remembered a story her mother had once told her. “Hera cursed them. Because of Zeus’s affection for his son Heracles. She was jealous that Zeus had created a realm for Heracles’s descendants, and she cursed him and all the Argonauts with a soul mate.” She frowned. “I never understood how that could be a curse though.”

  “It’s a curse because the soul mate in the equation is the worst possible match for that particular Argonaut. The person he’s forever drawn to but who will torment his existence. Some Argonauts never find their other half. Some do. Ari found his, fifty-odd years ago, in the human realm while on patrol with his Order. She was a nymph, like you. Young and beautiful. And she was running from Zeus.”