Awakened (Eternal Guardians Book 8) (16 page)

“Now I sound like a slut.”

Sera laughed. “That too is not a bad thing. You are training to be a Siren after all.”

Sighing, Elysia looked down at her hands.

“Okay, spill,” Sera said. “Something more than just kissing this dude is eating at you and has been since you arrived on Olympus.”

“I don’t know. I just…” Elysia lifted her hands and dropped them. “I didn’t know who he was when I kissed him. It wasn’t as if I was trying to seduce him. I liked him. A lot. Then I got here and discovered he’s one of Aphrodite’s boy toys and that she pimps him out to the Sirens for seduction training.”

“Ouch. Yeah, that news would totally blow. I get it. No wonder you’ve been in such a funk. But, think about it logically. The odds you’ll get him as your trainer are really slim. I mean, there are fifty of us. If he stuck around with you on Pandora when he shouldn’t have, Athena’s probably assigned him to someone else already.”

“Yeah.” Elysia twisted her hands in her lap. “Probably.”

Sera stared at her a long moment. “Which is just what you’re really afraid of, isn’t it?”

“Stupid, huh?” Elysia’s heart pinched as she looked at her friend. “He belongs to Aphrodite. I’m pissed he didn’t tell me who he was, and I don’t even want him as my trainer.”

“But you don’t want him to train anyone else either,” Sera finished.

“Yeah,” Elysia whispered. “Exactly.”

“That”—Sera moved to sit next to Elysia and wrapped an arm around Elysia’s shoulder—“totally sucks.”

Elysia huffed a sound that was a half laugh, half groan. “Thanks for the news flash.”

“Well, look on the bright side. Maybe your seduction trainer will be so hot, he’ll make you forget all about what’s-his-name.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Elysia agreed.

But as her gaze drifted to the box on the end of her bed, she knew odds were a whole lot better she was going to spend the next few months fantasizing her trainer was Damon. And cursing the recruit whose nights would now be spent pleasing him.

D
amon stood in the shadows of the main hall and watched from afar as the recruits spilled into the room, more than fifty females from all different backgrounds. Tall pillars rose all around the room, and iron chandeliers lit with a thousand lights illuminated their wide eyes and expectant faces.

Less than half of the recruits would make the cut by the end of their seven years of training. Some would be shipped off to various parts of the globe to serve Zeus and the gods in other ways—as handmaidens, as pleasure slaves, even some as breeding stock—but the rest would be terminated.

Most probably didn’t realize that fact. Zeus liked to keep those details secret. It was a shitty deal all around for those that didn’t make it, but Damon had learned long ago that after the recruits left the Siren compound, there was little he could do for them. Except Elysia. He was determined she’d make it. She had to. Because losing her was no longer an option.

His gaze skipped over each female as she entered. Excitement lit their eyes as they caught sight of the trainers assembled on the periphery. The recruits were each dressed in an outfit of their trainer’s choosing—some in skirts that showed off their legs, some in skintight pants, all wearing heels and heavy makeup and with enough cleavage to drown a man. As Zeus had handpicked each recruit, they were all beautiful, but those eventually inducted into the Order would be altered in the image he preferred. Zeus claimed his Sirens were altered to draw the attention of any male they crossed, but Damon knew the truth. Zeus didn’t appreciate individuality. He wanted his minions to fit his mold. And he changed them to prove he was in ultimate control over every aspect of their lives, even their looks.

What good was being king of the gods if you couldn’t lord it over each and every one of your subjects?

Disdain rippled through Damon. A familiar disdain after twenty-plus years on Olympus. Thankfully, his interactions with Zeus were few and far between. He shifted his weight against the wall and crossed his arms over his chest, searching for Elysia.

He searched faces but still couldn’t find her. Where the hell was she? She couldn’t have been kicked out of the class already. He’d know.

Hushed whispers carried on the air. Footsteps sounded as the room filled. Around him, trainers murmured throaty approvals. But Damon barely spared them a glance. He continued scanning faces, searching for Elysia. The last of the recruits stepped into the room, and the wide double doors on the far side closed.

Panic spiked in his chest, and he pushed away from the wall.

Footsteps sounded to his left as Athena climbed three stone steps and stood on the raised platform to address the group. “Quiet down,” she said in her throaty, sex-kitten voice. “We’re about to begin.”

Damon barely cared about Athena’s little announcements. He moved toward the group and scanned each face again. She had to be here. She couldn’t miss this.

Voices quieted as all eyes turned toward Athena, who tonight was dressed in a low-cut, sleeveless red blouse and black leggings capped with four-inch silver heels. With long, delicate fingers, she reached for a scroll from the Siren standing next to her. “Tonight you move into the second phase of your training. Seduction is as elemental to a Siren as is her ability to kill.”

And this growing need inside Damon was as elemental as anything he’d ever felt. He stepped closer to the crowd, searching faces, sure he had to have missed Elysia with her hair and makeup done.

“Forget everything you know about seduction,” Athena went on as Damon continued scanning. “Your assigned trainer will rewrite your history with both seduction and pleasu—”

The double doors on the far side of the room burst open, and Elysia stumbled into the room.

Heads turned. Eyes shifted her way. On the platform, Athena frowned and muttered, “There is always one in every group.” Then louder, “Recruit, take your place.”

From the corner of his eye, Damon saw the look Athena sent Naila, her right-hand Siren. Naila nodded and looked back toward the double doors Elysia tried to close with as little sound as possible.

They were making a note of her disruption, docking her points for being late. Damon would have to find a way to help her regain those points before the next checkpoint.

His focus zeroed in on her, and the stress faded as warmth gathered low in his belly. Her hair fell in soft, dark waves to the middle of her back, and her eyes were made up just enough so they sparkled. His gaze drifted down, over the simple blue blouse he’d picked out for her, the slim-fitting black pants and sensible flats, then lifted back to the long string of pearls around her neck that fell to her cleavage. He’d debated what to send her for tonight, and finally decided something that put her at ease would be best. He wanted her to trust him. Trussing her up in some revealing ensemble—though he definitely planned to do that later—wouldn’t be his smartest first move.

Sirens passed through the crowd of recruits, and as one stepped in front of Elysia, Damon realized Athena had stopped talking. The Siren held up the blindfold, and Elysia’s gaze flicked Damon’s way. For a split second, their eyes held across the distance, making every muscle in Damon’s body tighten with excitement and anticipation.

He couldn’t read her from this distance. Was she happy to see him? Angry? Excited? He’d never know, because the Siren covered her eyes with the blindfold before he could tell and moved behind her to tie the sash.

His pulse sped up, but instead of breathing easier, all he could think about was what he was going to say to her when they were finally alone.

Athena’s voice echoed through the room once more as she called off each recruit’s name. One by one they were brought forward, handed off to their assigned trainer, and led out of the room. Damon’s pulse beat hard and fast as he waited. When Sera’s name was called, Erebus sent Damon a predatory wink and moved across the wood floor toward the unsuspecting nymph.

“Elysia,” Athena said when there was only one recruit left. Lowering the scroll in her hands, Athena moved slowly down the three stone steps toward the female. “You were late.”

“Y-yes, my lady.” Elysia managed a pathetic bow and turned toward the sound of the goddess’s voice. “I’m sorry. I didn’t…I won’t let it happen again, my lady.”

Damon’s jaw tightened as he watched. Athena was purposely intimidating the poor girl, all because she got her shits and giggles the same way her father did—from scaring others.

“See to it that it does not. In the meantime, you are at the bottom of the list in the standings. The first elimination is coming up in a matter of weeks. That means you need to step things up or you’ll be on your way out. Do I make myself clear?”

Damon bit down harder.
Stay where you are, dickhead. Don’t make things worse for her.

“Yes, my lady.”

Athena’s eyes narrowed on Elysia in an assessing, almost rapacious way. There was something sinister in Athena’s gaze, an undertone of disgust that made the hairs on Damon’s nape stand straight.

Had Elysia offended the goddess? Did Athena know something about Elysia’s past the girl didn’t? The goddess could hold a grudge like nobody’s business. If Athena had already pegged Elysia to fail, making sure Elysia passed was going to be a tougher job than Damon had anticipated.

Silence lingered. Finally Athena turned to leave. But as she did, her gaze found Damon’s, and even though he tried to stay still, every muscle went tense and rigid.

This was where it got tricky. When he’d altered Elysia’s chart, he’d purposely placed her at the bottom of tonight’s list. The other recruits were already paired up. If Athena balked here and wanted to make a switch, she’d have to call them all back. That would waste time and could cause problems. He was banking on the fact she’d let it slide.

Athena’s gaze narrowed to hard, sharp points, a warning reflecting deeply in her bitter eyes. Damon held his breath and waited, knowing he was playing a game of roulette he couldn’t win, hoping and praying this one gamble would pay off. Several heartbeats of heavy silence elapsed before Athena turned out of the room without another word, her heels clicking like cannon fire against the hardwood as she left.

Damon exhaled. Told himself he’d dodged a major bullet. Reminded himself to be careful around Athena from here on out. Elysia clearly wasn’t the only one on the goddess’s shit list.

Breathing easier, Damon returned his attention to Elysia. Instead of moving toward her, though, he simply watched. Watched the way her breasts rose and fell under the blue blouse with her shallow breaths, watched as she licked her lips and shifted her weight, watched the adorable way she twisted her fingers still behind her back as she waited.

He wanted those hands running over his body. Wanted her warm breath fanning his cheek. Wanted those succulent lips pressed against his as they’d been on Pandora. But first he wanted her to want the same things.

He cleared his throat, and she immediately stiffened. She was nervous. More nervous than he’d expected for someone who’d had no problem kissing a total stranger in the jungle. He took that as a good sign.
 

His footsteps sounded across the floor. As he drew close, the familiar scent of honeysuckle surrounded him. His skin tingled. Electricity arced through his body. Even before his fingers grazed hers, he knew she felt it too. Knew from the way she trembled and held her breath. Knew from the heat suddenly swirling around him like a vortex.

He didn’t speak. Simply slid his palm along hers and wrapped his thick fingers around her much daintier ones. Pulling her toward the double doors on the far side of the room, he led her out and down a long hall lit with pale sconces, and finally into one of the many private training rooms in this wing of the compound.

This was not where he wanted to spend his first night with her, but considering what he had planned, this was the safest place for both of them.

He closed the door after her. Left her standing in the middle of the room as he lit candles around the periphery. Elysia’s breaths grew shallow and fast. Grasping her at the shoulders, he turned her toward him, then slowly pushed her back. Her muscles tensed in obvious fear. When the backs of her legs hit the front of the chair, she relaxed.

Her hands landed on the armrests of the high-backed Queen Anne, and she lowered herself to the soft cushion. Leaning close so she could feel the heat of his body and the brush of his skin, Damon fingered the long strand of pearls from the edge of her throat down to the V of her cleavage.