Awakened (Eternal Guardians Book 8) (36 page)

“He doesn’t know about the prophesy,” Elysia said. “He doesn’t remember it. And I don’t want you to tell him, because it’s irrelevant.”

Juniper glanced up as she moved to Elysia’s other leg. “You don’t think he has the right to know about his destiny?”

“Destiny is a term people use to imply we have no control over our futures. There is no such thing as destiny. All paths can be changed.”

“So you don’t believe in the Fates?” The witch rose, stepped past Elysia, and reached for a purple gown with gold trim.

Elysia stood and looked after her. “I believe the Fates are real, meddling in future events, but even they can’t see all ends. The future changes based on the decisions we make today.”

Juniper lifted the gown over Elysia’s head. “And you believe the oracle was making the prophecy up?”

“Not necessarily.” Elysia tugged the wrap free and let it fall to her feet. Shrugging into the gown, she said, “I just don’t believe all visions are accurate. My mother has the gift of foresight, and her visions are often muddled.”

The witch moved around behind her and worked the buttons along Elysia’s spine. “Your mother’s gift is impeded when it relates to those she loves. Astrid’s gift is not.”

Frustration bubbled through Elysia as the witch began to mess with her hair. “So you’re saying I’m dooming Cerek by going through with this ceremony.”

“No.” Juniper stepped around in front of her. “I’m saying be careful, Princess. There are forces at work here you and Cerek do not understand.”

Elysia’s pulse picked up speed as she stared into the witch’s amber eyes. “I love him and he loves me. That’s all that matters.”

“For both your sakes, I hope that is true. And I hope love is enough to weather the coming storm.”

The witch stepped away only to return with glittering jewels, which she began draping over Elysia. But Elysia barely noticed. Because her heart was suddenly pounding a staccato rhythm against her ribs, and her mind was spinning over everything the witch had just said, trying to fit together pieces that didn’t seem to want to merge.

There was no coming storm. She and Cerek could get through anything so long as they were together. And he wasn’t in danger of losing his honor or his courage because of her either. She wouldn’t let either happen.

But as the witch finished her preparations and motioned Elysia to follow her back to the stone circle, Elysia heard her mother’s voice saying, “
Be careful, daughter. Some things are not always as they seem
.” And she also heard words from long ago that she didn’t want to remember.

She heard her mother whisper,
“Twenty-five years is nothing but a blink of an eye to the gods. And peace is as fleeting as the wind. It will end. It will end soon.”

O
kay, the whole bath thing was just plain weird.

Cerek had told the white-haired witch who spoke as if she were five hundred but looked only thirty that he was perfectly capable of bathing alone. The witch had chuckled and handed over the soap, but she hadn’t left. Instead she’d moved off to the side and watched him as if he were the main event at a three-ring circus.

He’d had enough years of people watching him in Aphrodite’s pleasure palace not to be self-conscious of his body, but it was just plain creepy to be watched like this when he was about to marry—no, bind with—Elysia.

“This is a good match,” Delia said as he dressed in the loose-fitting tan cotton pants she’d left out for him and the white tunic with its purple sash. “A very good match.”

Cerek thought so too. And he was anxious to get on with the ceremony so he could get back to Elysia and get away from the witch.

The witch lifted a crown of ivy and motioned for Cerek to lower his head. “Especially since she is your soul mate. A very good match.”

“Soul mate?” Cerek adjusted the crown and looked down at the witch. “What do you mean?”

“It means exactly as it sounds. Hera cursed all the Argonauts with a soul mate. The other half of their soul. She is yours. That is why you are so drawn to her. You are lucky, Guardian. Many Argonauts spend their lives searching for their soul mate, only to come up empty. You are very lucky indeed.”

A chill spread down Cerek’s spine as the witch turned away and motioned for him to follow. Was that the energy he’d been feeling? A draw toward Elysia? No, he knew whatever that strange feeling had been, it had nothing to do with Elysia. Plus, ever since they’d left the castle and come to this place, he hadn’t felt it.

But he did feel a closeness to Elysia he’d never felt to anyone else. A bond that had formed the moment they’d met, one that had only intensified when they’d made love in Athena’s temple. Was she the other half of his soul? Was that why he’d fallen for her so quickly and completely? Why he’d become obsessed with her and couldn’t imagine life without her?

Hera cursed all the Argonauts…
A curse didn’t sound good. A curse meant there were repercussions to the whole deal. For him? Or for the female involved in the equation? Heat burned in his veins and tightened his chest. He couldn’t let anything happen to Elysia. It wasn’t enough that the gods had fucked with his life. Now they were fucking with his future? With Elysia’s?

Moonlight shone down over Elysia on the far side of the circle as Cerek approached. She was dressed in a purple gown that matched his sash. A wide ballet collar showed off her delicate shoulders and dipped low at her cleavage. Long bell sleeves draped past her hands, and a fitted waistline gave way to an A-line skirt. Amethyst jewels dripped from her ears, a large gemstone was clasped at her throat, and a crown of ivy, like his, sat in her updrawn hair sprinkled with even more purple-toned jewels. But all Cerek could focus on was the fact someone had planned this, that the gods were pushing them together, that even though he’d asked her if this was truly her choice, she might not be able to fully comprehend the question.
 

“Welcome,” Delia said, stepping into the middle of the circle. “Tonight we gather for the
Heiros Gamos
of Cerek and Elysia.”

Several witches emerged from the trees, dressed in hooded purple cloaks, each holding a lantern. They lined up on the outside of the circle, closing the space after Elysia joined Cerek in the middle.

Delia turned toward Juniper at her side. “We begin with—”

“Wait.” Cerek reached for Elysia’s hand. “I need to talk to you for a minute.”

Elysia’s smile faltered. “Okay.”

“Not here.” To Delia, he said, “We’ll be right back.”

The witches exchanged perplexed looks, but two moved aside, opening the circle so Cerek could pull Elysia through and into the trees.

“What’s wrong?” Elysia asked when they were out of earshot. “Did you change your mind?”

“No. Gods, no.” He stopped and looked down at her. “I just want to make sure you don’t.”

“I already told you that I want to do this. I—”

“You might not have a choice in this. You’re my soul mate.”

She blinked like he was a total fool. “I know I am.”

“You do?”

“I suspected it when you went all ape-shit alpha on Petros. That was a classic Argonaut response to his soul mate with another male.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Because I didn’t fully understand until we got to the human realm and I saw your markings. That’s when I knew for sure I was your soul mate.”

“And that doesn’t bother you?”

She laughed. “Why would that bother me? Aside from the fact you went a little overboard—which we already discussed—it means you’ll always protect me. That’s not exactly a bad thing.”

“But…” His gaze searched her flawless face. “You don’t care that this has all been preordained by Hera? That you don’t have a choice in what you feel for me?”

“Cerek.” She laid her soft palm against his cheek. “Yes, Hera cursed you to feel an attraction toward me, but it’s one-sided. The female in Hera’s soul mate curse doesn’t feel the same pull. I’m here because I want to be here. Because I love you with every fiber of my being. No one is making me bind my soul to yours. I choose to do so freely.”

His heart swelled. “You do?”

“Of course I do.” Her voice softened. “You have a choice as well. You don’t have to go through with this ceremony if you don’t want to. I will still love you if you’re not ready or if you’re unsure or—”

He dragged her close and kissed her. “I am ready. I’m more than sure. I just needed to know that you weren’t being forced into it. I’ve been forced by the gods to do things I didn’t want to do. I’d never put you through that.”

Her fingers curled into his tunic, holding on tight. “No one’s forcing me, I promise. I love you. I need you. I want us.”

He closed his mouth over hers again, and as her tongue tangled with his and her hands slid around his neck to draw her succulent body against his, all the doubt and worry drifted away. Yes, some silly soul mate curse might have made him take notice of her, but he loved her because of her spirit and her warmth and her unfailing belief in him. Not because any stupid god was making him love her.

He drew back and clasped her hand, pulling her with him. “Come on. Let’s finish this so I have plenty of time before the sun rises to show you just how much I love you back.”

She laughed as he tugged her toward the witches.

Pushing his way back into the circle, Cerek clasped Elysia’s soft hands in his and looked toward Delia. “Okay, Priestess, we’re set. Let’s do this.”

Elysia giggled.

“As I was about to say,” Delia began, holding her hands out wide. “We are here to celebrate the blessed union of these two souls, separated at birth, brought together this night by the will of the Creator.”

“Blessed be,
Dimiourgos
,” the witches around the circle chanted, lowering their heads.

Leaning toward Elysia, Cerek whispered, “They’re not going to start worshiping the gods, are they? Because that won’t go over well with me.”

“No,” she whispered back. “We don’t worship the gods here. Only give thanks to the Creator of all life.”

That he could deal with. After all, the gods were nothing more than fallen angels, hell-bent on their own power and pleasure. He wasn’t sure how much of the great Creator he believed in, but he wasn’t about to say so now. Now all he wanted to do was finish this ceremony so he could go about worshiping the female who held his heart.
 

“The elements, please.” Delia held out her hand. Juniper shook a small velvet sack over Delia’s palm. Five silver coins dropped free. Delia handed two to Elysia and two to Cerek.

Cerek turned the coins in his hand. The backs of each were stamped with the Omega symbol. The opposite sides were different. One was a flame, the other a cloud in the shape of a face, blowing air as if to create wind.

“The classic elements make up all life in the cosmos,” Delia said, “gifted to us by the Creator. Fire and air are inherently male, whereas earth and water are female. She knelt where she stood and placed the fifth coin—blank, it appeared to Cerek—into a slot he hadn’t noticed in the center of the circle. “As the female is the beginning, the male is the end. That which is joined together shall not be undone. Elysia.” The witch looked Elysia’s way. “Place your elements opposite each other and say the great words.”

Elysia let go of Cerek’s hand and knelt. “May water be here, pure and unmixed. May I live in its presence, and may this union be guided by its spirit.” She placed the coin with the water droplet stamped into one side to the right of the witch’s blank coin. Reaching across the blank coin, she placed the other, this one stamped with a picture of mountains, on the opposite side to form a line. “May earth be here, pure and unmixed. May I live in its presence, and may this union be guided by its spirit.”

As she pushed to her feet, Delia turned to Cerek. “Argonaut, place your coins above and below, forming a perfect circle, and repeat the words.”

Cerek really had no clue what he was doing, but Elysia’s nod of assurance urged him on. Kneeling, he placed the fire coin above the witch’s and said, “May fire be here, pure and unmixed. May I live in its presence, and may this union be blessed by its spirit.” Placing the air coin in the last space, he said, “May air be here, pure and unmixed. May I live in its presence and may this union be blessed by its spirit.”

Elysia grinned and reached for his hands as he pushed to his feet.