Free Awakened (Eternal Guardians Book 8) by Elisabeth Naughton Page A

Until I met you, that is.”
    Something warmed in her belly. “What do you mean?”
    He sighed again and looked back at the flames. “I don’t really know what I mean. You asked me why I’ve stayed when I should already be back on Olympus. I guess the answer is because I feel some kind of connection to you that I’ve not felt with anyone else.”
    “Because I can remember things I’m not supposed to remember and you wish you could do the sa—”
    “That’s not why I’ve stayed.” He looked at her again. Only this time his eyes were so focused and intense, heat rushed straight to her core. “Maybe at first that’s why I didn’t leave, but there’s something else. Something more. Some connection I can’t define. And I know it’s selfish of me, but I don’t want to leave until I figure out just what it is.”
    Her heart picked up speed until it was a whir in her ears, and as their eyes held, she felt the connection he spoke of too. It was more than sexual. It was more than a similarity in their blank memories. It was familiarity. A kinship. As if they’d known each other before, as if they’d crossed paths in a past life, as if their souls were predestined to meet by the Fates spinning the threads of life.
    His gaze dropped to her fingers, and he reached for her hand. Warmth encircled her palm as his fingers slid along hers, rough where she was soft, strong where she was weak. “I know you don’t want to complete the seventh labor. I know it’s asking you to do something you’re not comfortable doing. But I keep coming back to this feeling that I was sent here for a reason, that our meeting was not a random coincidence. Until I figure out why I feel that way, I can’t leave. If Athena should discover that I’ve stayed, though… If she pulls me back to Olympus before I figure that out…”
    Understanding dawned. “Then we’ll never see each other again.”
    “Yes.” His gaze lifted to hers, fathomless chocolate eyes rimmed in gold focused solely on her as if she were the only thing he could see. “If you don’t complete the seventh labor and make it to Olympus, we’ll never know the truth.”
    He was right. He could be whisked back to Olympus at any moment, and if that happened, neither of them would ever learn what was so compelling about the other. But was her desire to discover who and what he was to her strong enough to override her ethics? Did it justify killing someone? Especially another recruit?
    “I don’t think I’m ready to let you go,” he whispered, leaning toward her. “At least not yet.”
    Her heart pounded hard against her ribs. She wasn’t ready to let him go yet either, but she didn’t know what to do. And the more time she spent with him, the less sure she was about everything, everyone, including herself.
    Her breath caught as his soft, masculine lips brushed hers, and all thoughts but him, this, them slipped from her grasp.
    “Help me,” a voice said weakly.
    Damon pulled back. “Did you hear that?” Pushing to his feet, he stared past the fire toward the darkness.
    “Hear what?” Elysia turned to look.
    “Help me,” the voice called again.
    “There’s someone out there.”
    Slowly, Elysia rose. “It could be another recruit.”
    Damon grasped her hand. “Or it could be someone looking for me.”
    Sweat beaded on Elysia’s spine as Damon pulled her away from the log. He grasped the spear from the sand and held it out for her. She shook her head. “You take it.”
    A worried expression passed over his features, but he didn’t argue, instead moved around the fire and drew her with him.
    The firelight faded the farther they moved down the beach. Only a sliver of moonlight illuminated the white sand and waves lapping gently against the shore.
    “Help me, please,” the voice said again, this time closer.
    Elysia’s fingers tightened around Damon’s. “It’s female.”
    “Yeah. Stay close. It could be a trap.”
    Those nerves kicked up in Elysia’s