Restraint (The Revelation Series Book 2) (15 page)

She rolls her eyes. “By the grace
, Eve. You’re so damn dramatic. Stone state or not, that boy is one hundred percent head over heels for you. His restraint is amazing. What’s even more astonishing is yours. Most girls fall over themselves trying to sleep with him and here you are, running in the opposite direction.”

“I’m not running
,” I state, pointing to my ‘walking’ feet.

She gives me a pointed look. “You are. You should run to him, no
t away.”

Just as I am about to open my mouth to retort,
I trip over a large olive green, scaly rock. Right before I’m about to hit the ground, Abby grabs my arm, preventing me from face planting in the black soil.

“
Thanks. I wasn’t paying attention.” I offer a small smile.

She looks at the rock and then to Asher and Callan. “It’s serpentine.”

“What does that mean?” I question.

“
It means the soil you see is toxic to many plants. Hence the trees’ bark is black and everything looks lifeless around the forest,” Callan explains. “It also means we shouldn’t drink the water in case asbestos from the mineral has seeped into it.”

At that moment, a quiet sound hits my ears, almost as if the twigs are breaking and
singeing with heat then turning to ash. I cringe at the sound.

Asher
snaps his gaze to me, shock registering on his face. “Did you hear that?”

“Y-yes. Why?”
I ask, taken aback at his reaction.

Callan’s eyes widen. “She heard the shadow warriors?”

Asher shakes his head. “Impossible. Only supernaturals can hear them.”

Abby
moves in front of me, protecting me. “It’s a side effect of the stone state. Perhaps she’s picked up our hearing and sight ability, Ash.”
Crap, now I have supersonic hearing.

“
What’s a shadow warrior?” I question the group before a large hissing sound darts out of the black forest.

“
Shadow warriors are an army the priestesses use for protection in the realm. They hide in the shadows, hence the name, unless they sense danger. The top half is a three headed serpent and the bottom half is a man,” Callan explains in plain words.

My eyes bug out of my head as I dart
my frightened gaze to Asher. “Serpent, as in snake?”

He holds his hands up. “
Don’t panic. We’ve got it handled.”

“No way. No
freakin’ way, Asher. I’m terrified of snakes. Like, body completely shutting down scared.” My voice quivers.

“
Take a breath, cutie. I’m sure they just want to confirm we’re not a danger to them, the forest or priestesses,” Callan rationalizes as if speaking to a wounded animal.

I shake my head. “No, I can’
t. I’m like life-will-end afraid of snakes.”

Asher walks
around Abby to me, not making any sudden moves. “Look at me,” he commands. “Eve. Look at me,” he states again when I refuse.

He
grabs my face firmly in his strong hands. “I will protect you, always.”

“I know
,” I croak out. “But snakes? Asher, I can’t!”
Am I panicking irrationally? Yes.

He laughs
at me. “There’s nothing for you to fear. We’ve got you, I promise.”

My heart rate doesn’t slow down but
Asher’s touch takes some of my anxiety down a notch.

“All right but stay close to me.
”

He nods once. “Always.”
Asher dips his chin so he’s eye level. “Oh, and this time, Eve, unlike with the barghest, if I tell you to run, you run,” Asher throws out.

“Why would I need to run?” I ask worriedly.

Just as the words leave my lips, a large, black figure comes out of the shadows. Six bright white eyes are narrowed at me in anger. My throat goes dry.

“State your business in the Eternal Forest, trespassers,”
the shadow warrior hisses, his forked tongue darting out.
Oh. My. God.

“You are in the presence of
the London clan. Priestess Arabella has extended an invitation to meet with the daughter of Heaven. As her guardians, we are accompanying her to the temple,” Asher states authoritatively.

With one head focused on Abby and Callan, and one directed at Asher, the shadow warrior bends his third head to me, coming within a breath of my face. My body clenches a
t its proximity. Sensing my unease, Asher grabs my hand and pulls me behind him in a protective stance.

At the movement, the shadow warrior looks displeased. “I need to read her before I let you pass, dark prince,” it hisses.

Asher shuffles on his feet. “Read her eyes only, but do not touch her,” he warns. “Guests or not, I will not hesitate to slice your neck open if she is harmed in any way.”

“Relax
, gargoyle,” one of the other heads warns.
Crap, they all freakin’ talk.

The large head of the shadow warrior bends within a millimeter of Asher and I before h
is eyes begin to search mine.

“You may have passage.” Then suddenly, all three heads tu
rn in unison and bow to me then to Asher.
Odd.

“Welcome
, daughter of Heaven, and your—” The shadow warrior is cut off by Asher before finishing.

“Protector
. I’m Eve’s protector,” he states flatly.
Weird, what the hell is that?

“Very well then. You and your sentinels are under our protection while in
our realm,” the serpent offers.

“T-Thank you,” I manage.

The three heads nod once in unison. “You are not far from the Temple of The Seven High Priestesses.”

“Many thanks for the passage and protection,” Asher offers
with a formal and regal tone.

The
shadow warrior bows one final time at Asher and I before slithering back into the forest while I let out a loud exhale.

“Good job
, Eves. You didn’t even pee yourself,” Callan jests while laughing hysterically.

“Suck it
, Callan.”

“You really did
great, Eve.” Abby beams proudly.

Asher doesn’
t drop my hand but instead tightens his grip as he pulls me forward, directing me to follow him down the path. “We’re almost there. Let’s keep moving,” he orders.

“So, that’s not the first time someone has
bowed to you in more of a dark prince manner. Care to elaborate?” I question.

His focus remains on the path. “
They probably just think I’m some spoiled protector because of who my father was.”

“I see
.” I don’t believe him.

That’s when I get
an idea. If we’re in stone state, perhaps since we are feeling one another’s emotions, I could go into his head and see what he’s hiding. Unsure of how to do it, I figure it must be similar to astral projection in the sense of mental focus.

I focus all my energy on my mind and
then listen to Asher’s heartbeat, syncing my pace with his. Allowing my mental focus to float up toward his mind, I see light flashes behind my eyelids and then begin to feel and hear his thoughts.

Without warning, I’
m moving rapidly as something sharp hits my back, causing my eyes to pop open and me to lose any connection I had with Asher.

“What
the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Asher growls out, his irritated breath fanning my face.

Realization hits me
. He has me pinned against a tree and seems pretty pissed. He must have felt me prodding in his head.

Confused, I stutter. “I-I was j-just…”

“You were just what? Trying to get into my head, using the stone state to do it because you didn’t like my answer?” He seethes. “Don’t. Ever. Do. That. Again,” he spits out with venom.

Ouch.
Before I can even apologize, he gently pushes off me, and storms back onto the path.

My eyes dart up to meet Abby’s sympathetic ones.
She tilts her head in the direction Asher is stomping off in. “Come on. We’re almost there.”

“What the hell did I do?” I ask in disbelief at the anger rolling off Asher.

“Well, for starters, you violated his trust. You don’t read someone’s thoughts unless you have permission, Eve. Even you must realize that is wrong,” she scolds.

“I didn’t even
think of it that way. I just assumed…” I trail off, feeling guilty.
Damn, she’s right. I suck.

Callan put
s his arm around my shoulder. “Abs, why don’t you go get Ash to cool off while I chat with Eves for a second.” Abby nods and runs to catch up with Asher.

“He didn’t mean to be cruel. I think we all forget sometimes that you’re human and
don’t always understand the ramifications of your actions, even Asher. Gargoyles only allow their mates access to their minds. It’s very private. Once you open that connection, it can’t be closed. If he allowed you in, no matter how much he wants to, cutie, and believe me he wants to, that door can’t be closed. Your bond would be tighter, forever. As it is, he already feels as though he’s increasing the link between you two and the more secure it becomes, the less likely it can ever be severed. Do you understand what I’m saying?” Callan asks.

“He doesn’t want me for forever
?” I ask, swallowing the feeling of dread crawling its way inside my heart.

Callan’s brows lift in surprise.
“Is that what you want, Eves? Asher forever?”

I sigh. My eyes fixate on Asher’s ba
ck. “I’m whole when he’s near and empty when he’s gone. I’ve felt this way even without the stone state. But all this self-control we have to show, it’s wearing on me.”

Callan draws me in and
kisses my temple. “I know, cutie. Him too. Him too.”

We come to a
n opening in the forest with a huge white marble Grecian Temple. There are four large stairs leading to the entrance. Urns lit with fire are sprinkled throughout the statue-like building.

“Welcome to the Temple of
The Seven High Priestesses,” Callan says.

It’s at that moment I see spar
ks of white light behind my eyelids, causing an excruciatingly sharp pain in my head. As if watching an out of focus movie, flashes of images keep moving too fast in my mind, making me nauseous. The force of the pain and the movement of the imagery cause my knees to buckle. I squeeze my eyes shut, attempting to ease the ache. Callan catches me before I fall to the ground.

Holding me
, I listen to the painful screams of someone, only to realize it’s me who’s screaming, as if I’m being stabbed in the head by a thousand knives.

“Give her to me.
NOW!” Asher orders.

With great care,
I’m moved from Callan’s arms into Asher’s and he rocks me. “Sshh, I’ve got you, siren.” He strokes my hair. “Do you feel my calming energies? Focus on that energy running through you, yeah?”

At his command,
I feel the warmth and calm that Asher’s pushing into me.

“It hurts.
” I whimper.

“
I know. I’m sorry, siren.” His voice is laced with pain as he tries to comfort me.

It’s then
the white light consumes me and I feel nothing but peace.

11
Priestess Arabella

I’m
standing in a temple. It’s so bright I have to force my eyes not to squint. The walls, floor and ceiling are made of a smooth, pallid white marble. I spin around, trying to figure out where I am. Over my right shoulder, I realize someone is standing behind me, shielded by a black hooded cloak. I turn to face the concealed being. It’s as though they materialized out of thin air.

“Who are you?” I ask
, dropping my eyes to a pair of bare feet.

Silence.

“Where are Asher and the others?” I attempt again.

Silence.

The stillness is shattered by the flapping of wings. I turn to see a large, majestic owl fly into the mausoleum and land on one of the columns near the cloaked creature. Its striking white plumes are a stark contrast to its pitch black eyes that, at the moment, appear to be assessing me. Then it lets out a low-pitched hoot that carries on the silent air.

At the sound
the bird is making, the cloaked figure disappears and a white light hits my body with such force I stumble back.

“Eve.” Asher’s voice sounds scared. “Come on, siren
. Answer me.”

I shift my eyes to hi
s and blink slowly, realizing I’m outside the temple and in his arms.

“Welcome back
, cutie.” Callan smiles from over Asher’s shoulder.

“What just happened?” I ask with a slight panic to my voice.

“You went into a trance state, fully awake but motionless in his arms.” An accented voice from behind us answers my question. Asher helps me up and we all turn toward the temple entrance.