Awakened (Eternal Guardians Book 8) Read Free Page A

asked. “Who did they take with them?”
    “The…princess. They took…the princess.”
    The rage came storming back, coloring everything red. Max jerked to his feet, but before he reached the tent door, Talisa was in front of him, her hand pressed against his chest, her violet eyes as hard and focused as he’d ever seen them. The same ancient Greek markings that branded his forearms stained hers as well. “You’re not going after them.”
    “Like hell I’m not.”
    “These are Sirens, Max. Sirens . Zeus’s lethal warriors.”
    “I don’t care.”
    “Well, I do. You’ll not last ten minutes with a pack of Sirens, no matter how tough you think you are. Use your brain, dammit. We need more than you and me for this.”
    A muscle in his jaw ticked as he stared down at her. She was right. As always, she used logic before reflex, a trait he’d yet to perfect. “We’ll get the Argonauts. Then we’ll go after them and kill every single Siren.”
    Talisa dropped her hand, but her expression said she wasn’t sure even that would be enough. “Fine, but we’re taking the witch with us. We can leave her at the castle for your mother.”
    “No,” the witch croaked.
    They both looked back her. The witch stared at them with clouded dark eyes. Talisa moved back to her side and pressed her hand over the jacket against the witch’s wound again. “It’s okay. Max’s mother is a healer. The best in the land. She’ll help you.”
    The witch shook her head and gripped Talisa’s hand. “No. The Argonauts…can’t…they won’t…win. I overheard them. He’s chosen…her…for the Siren Order.”
    Max’s eyes grew wide. Zeus had marked Elysia? For the Siren Order?
    Fear wrapped around his chest and squeezed like a boa constrictor. Elysia would never last. While she had the strength and fortitude to one day rule their land, she wasn’t a warrior. She was more like her mother than her father. She didn’t know the first thing about fighting or warfare or strategy. If someone didn’t do something fast, the Sirens would destroy her.
    His gaze darted to Talisa, and a new sense of urgency rippled through his veins. “We have to get her back.
    Talisa looked up at him. “I—”
    “You can’t, Guardian.” The witch drew a shuddering breath. “It’s too late. They’ve already taken her to the island of…Pandora.”

    E lysia came awake with a start. Sunlight blinded her. She blinked until her vision cleared and squinted up at palm trees swaying gently in the breeze.
    Her mind spun, but she couldn’t grasp a memory or even an explanation. Pushing up on her hands, she felt something soft and grainy against her palms. One look confirmed she was sitting in sand.
    Her gaze drifted to the right, where waves lapped gently against a beach. Stumbling to her feet, she turned and took in her surroundings. The beach was bordered by thick brush and a jungle of trees. In the distance, cliffs rose from the sand. Beyond, tall mountains reached toward the sky.
    Her spine tingled. She had no memory of this place. Nothing looked familiar. Panic built in her chest, made it hard to breathe. Glancing down at her hands, she realized she was wearing a short, khaki cotton skirt and a matching halter top. No shoes. Nothing else. Just flimsy fabric that blew softly in the breeze.
    Think, Elysia.
    Elysia! That was her name. She knew that much for sure. But everything else was lost—how she’d come to be here, what had happened to her, even what she was supposed to do next.
    She glanced up and down the beach. No other people. No footprints. No signs of life. Lifting her forearm, she noticed her skin was pink but not tanned or sunburnt. She hadn’t been out in the sun long, which meant…what? That she’d been left here? By whom? And when?
    She looked around for some kind of shipwreck but couldn’t see one. An eagle cawed high above. Blocking the sun with her hand, she squinted toward the sky. The bird held something in his talons.