Page 25 of Into the Dawn (The Arcadians #4)

“ What in the freaking Jurassic hell is this?” Layla hissed. “Where the fuck are we?”

Glancing around, Kylie recognized the outskirts of the Western Forest from Ronan and Dominic’s memories.

All of the bags and other items they had tried to bring with them were gone, leaving Kylie and Layla standing alone in the field where the magical wards had been constructed.

She knew that since she could see the shimmering barrier plain as day.

Being struck by lightning was pretty fucking horrible, but it had been easier because of her magic. One second, they had been standing in the rainstorm on Earth, then the next, they found themselves on a strange planet with a dark crimson sky and puffy blue clouds.

Rain was falling, but the storm seemed to be quickly moving toward the dark mountains in the distance.

The air seemed thicker, making it harder to breathe, but she quickly adapted to the change.

Layla seemed to be struggling a little, and she bent down to brace her hands on her knees as she breathed slow and deep.

“I can confirm that we made it to Arcadia.”

“Are you sure we didn’t die in the lightning strike?” Layla wheezed. “Because the red sky and those gnarly black trees over there are making me think we’ve landed in purgatory.”

Kylie grinned. “Nope. This is the Western Forest. I know because I’ve seen this place in my mates’ memories.”

“That’s good. But why are we here and they’re not?” Layla asked. “How did we get separated? I swear, if they brought us here only to abandon you, I’m going to kick their asses.”

Kylie laughed. “They didn’t abandon us. As for how we got separated, I don’t have an answer to that…yet.”

But she could find out.

Closing her eyes, she reached out to her mates through their bond and instantly felt their relief when she made contact.

“Where are you?” Ronan demanded. “Are you hurt?”

“Did something happened to you?” Dominic growled. “Why are you not here with us?”

“I’m fine,” she assured them both. “I have no idea why we got separated, but Layla and I are currently standing in the field outside of the magical barrier at the edge of the forest. Where are you?”

“We arrived back in the Sun Circle that is located in the middle of the forest. It is exactly where we were when the God of the Sun sent us to you,” Ronan explained.

“We arrived with all of the baggage, including your guitar, so we knew it was not just our imagination. But not seeing you here with us was terrifying. We could not even connect with you through our bond until you reached out to us.”

“I’m sorry. I don’t know why this happened.”

She could understand why Ronan and Dominic had arrived right back where they had started, but it didn’t explain why she and Layla had arrived outside of the magical barrier. Unless the barrier was keeping them out of the forest. Was it because they were human?

“You are no longer human,” Ronan reminded.

“Stay where you are,” Dominic commanded. “We are coming to get you.”

“No, no need,” she said on a rush. “We will come to you. It will be faster this way, and you won’t have to backtrack.”

“That…makes sense,” Dominic admitted begrudgingly.

“I do not like it,” Ronan grumbled.

When she opened her eyes again, she found Layla frowning at her.

“Are you okay? You totally zoned out there for a minute.”

“I was speaking to Ronan and Dom.”

“Oh, I forgot about the whole telepathic communication thing.”

“They arrived exactly where they were when they left. Luckily, our bags arrived with them. Let me see if it’s safe to cross the barrier, then we can join them,” Kylie said.

Layla’s brows furrowed. “What barrier?”

“You can’t see it? It’s sort of a shimmering transparent curtain. It kind of looks like when we used to make bubbles in the backyard of your house with those big sticks.”

Layla shook her head. “Nope. I can’t see it.”

Before Kylie could move, Layla wrapped her arms around her.

“Wait! What if you make it through the curtain and I’m stuck out here? We should just go through it together.”

“Good point. Let’s try it.”

Kylie took Layla’s hand in hers and they stepped toward the barrier together. Remembering she had magic, Kylie imagined a protective bubble around the two of them as they stepped through the barrier. Thankfully, they made it through just fine.

“Well, that was anticlimactic,” Kylie muttered.

She wasn’t sure if the protective bubble she created had worked, or if they had made it through the barrier naturally. Either way, they had made it safely inside.

“That’s a good thing,” Layla said cheerfully. “Now we can enter the creepy forest and find your mates.”

“It’s not…okay, it’s a little creepy. But the interior of the forest is really beautiful. I promise. I just need to figure out how to get us there.” Reaching back out to her mates through their bond, she said, “We made it through the barrier, and now we are on our way to you.”

“Good,” Dominic said, sounding relieved. “We will—”

When he abruptly cut contact, she started to panic. “What is it? What’s wrong?”

“Our brothers are in jeopardy of being discovered. It seems as if only a few minutes have passed since we originally left. We are closer to Axis, Bastion, and Keo than our father and his group of warriors are.”

“Go,” she ordered. “Go save your brothers. We will meet you there.”

“Nay, love. Find someplace safe to wait for us,” Dominic replied. “We will contact you once we find our brothers.”

Kylie began to pace as soon as their connection ended. “They had to go. Their brothers are being attacked.”

“Oh, shit. I forgot all about those rogues. Are we safe here?” Layla glanced around then froze. “Kylie…”

“What? We have to find somewhere to hide until—”

“Too late.”

The fear in her friend’s voice made Kylie spin around to see what she was looking at.

She gasped when she saw a group of five males heading toward them carrying large swords.

They were still a distance away, but her enhanced eyesight allowed her to see them clearly.

From their appearance, they weren’t warriors from the palace out on patrol.

They were dirty, dressed in rags, and had a feral look to them.

From what she’d learned from Ronan and Dominic, she knew that meant they were rogues.

The problem was they were inside the protective barrier.

As if reading her thoughts, Layla muttered, “What’s the point of the fucking barrier if they can get in?”

“That’s a damn good question. What should we do?”

“I have no idea. We can’t fight them, and we probably can’t outrun them either. Maybe we can—wait a damn minute! You have magic! Can’t you just poof them out of existence?” Layla asked.

Kylie wasn’t sure, but she was willing to give it a try.

Focusing on the group of rogues, she wished she could move them to the other side of the protective barrier.

At first, nothing happened. When she tried concentrating harder, the five males were flung sideways toward the magical barrier.

As soon as they hit the shimmering forcefield, their bodies disintegrated like balls of cotton candy thrown into a pool of water.

Horrified, Kylie whispered, “Oh, my god. Did I just—”

“Yeah, yeah you did. That was fucking awesome!” Layla slapped Kylie’s shoulder. “Way to go, magic girl!”

“Will you stop it?” Kylie hissed. “I just killed people. That isn’t something to celebrate.”

Sobering, Layla turned to face her. “Look, I get that this is all new and crazy, but you had to do it. It was them or us, Kylie. If they caught us, they would have raped and killed us, right? Or sold us to other horrible people. That’s what the rogues do here on Arcadia.

It’s why your mates and the other warriors are at war with them. ”

She blew out a shaky breath as she nodded. “It’s just…I just meant to move them to the other side of the barrier. Not kill them.”

Layla shrugged. “I guess I’m more bloodthirsty than you since I think they got exactly what they deserved. If you had simply moved them, they’d just end up attacking someone else. Or they would try to hunt us down again.”

With that reminder, Kylie’s shook off the last of her reserve.

She wasn’t on Earth anymore. She had to remember that.

Arcadians lived by a very different set of rules, and she had to adapt to that quickly, or she could end up putting herself and her friend in danger.

She had the means to protect herself and those she cared about, so she would damn well do it.

“You’re right. I need to stop thinking like a human.”

“Exactly.” Layla punctuated that with a firm nod. “Now, your mates’ brothers are in danger, and that means so are your mates. And we don’t know how many rogues are running around in the forest. You are the biggest, baddest, magical bitch in this forest. So, what are you going to do about it?”

Kylie’s lips curved into a wide grin. “Have you ever wanted to ride a dragon?”

“Fuck, yeah!” Layla’s eyes widened. “Are you going to shift? Can you really do that? Oh, boy! I can’t wait.”

That made Kylie laugh. “I can try.”

Unfortunately, she had no idea how to make it happen. Closing her eyes, she thought about becoming a dragon, but the very idea of it seemed ludicrous. After a few more minutes passed, she opened her eyes again and met her friend’s gaze.

“It’s not working.”

“That is because you are not doing it right.”

The male voice had Kylie and Layla freezing in shock. They spun around in circles but didn’t see anyone. A few seconds later, a male appeared several feet away. Kylie instantly recognized the God of the Sun from her mates’ memories, but he was far more spectacular in person.

Well, he was there and he wasn’t. The Sun God appeared before them in an almost transparent form, like a holographic image or a ghostly apparition.

“Wow. Could he be my mate?” Layla whispered hopefully.

“Sorry, young one. I am Silas, God of the Sun, and I am already mated to the Goddess of the Moons.”