Page 5 of Into the Dawn (The Arcadians #4)
“If you agree, I will send both of you to her world instead,” Silas explained, answering his unspoken question. He paused, then said, “Your mate is dying. Although the journey to Earth will not be easy, it is the only way to save her life.”
Alarm surged through Ronan, making his heart pound faster than when he was in the heat of battle. “What is wrong with her?”
“She is in the advanced stages of a painful disease. Right now, she is just waiting to die. That is why we cannot bring her here to Arcadia without your help. By the time we discovered where she was, it was already too late. She would not survive the trip in her current condition. If you choose to save her—”
“We do,” Ronan blurted out. He didn’t even bother glancing at his brother to confirm that. “Of course, we will.”
“Tell us how to save her,” Dominic demanded.
Silas held out a hand, and an object appeared on his palm. When he flicked the top up and held it out, Ronan saw it was a tiny flask covered in small, shiny gems with a strange glowing silver liquid inside.
“You need to add a few drops of your blood to this tonic for it to work. Once you arrive at your destination, you have to make her drink it. There is strong magic in it, so do not feed it to her all at once. Her system cannot handle the overload. Give it to her a little at a time over three risings until it is gone.”
Without hesitation, Dominic pulled out a knife and scored a small cut across his palm. He held his closed fist over the flask, letting droplets of his blood fall into the silver liquid. Ronan accepted the knife from his brother, then repeated the process, adding his own blood to the tonic.
“How is this supposed to work?” he asked. “Earth is halfway across the universe, is it not?”
“I will use the storm to send you there.” Silas flashed them a grin.
“This will be my first attempt at doing so, but my mate has assured me this will work. Allie and Raven have said riding the lightning was not very pleasant. You will just have to deal with it since it is the only way to send you there.”
Ronan swallowed hard as he shoved the flask into his vest for safekeeping. Riding lightning sounded completely crazy, but that was nothing new. Most magic didn’t make sense to him. “How long will we be on Earth?”
“That is unknown. It could be days, weeks, or months. It just depends on when the next storm is.” Silas clasped his hands together. “So, are you ready to go?”
“Now?” Dominic’s eyes widened. “We are leaving right now?”
“Aye, as soon as the storm begins.”
“But there are things we need to take care of here first,” Ronan protested. “Our brothers are—”
“Are fine for now. Your father and his team are on their way to fetch them now,” Silas explained.
“Although, they should not have been out there alone in the first place. They need more discipline. If you spoil them anymore, they will end up being useless. They have the ability to make great contributions to your kingdom if you let them instead of coddling them. That is evident by the various experiments they are working on.”
“What experiments?” Dominic asked, then he hunched his broad shoulders a little when Silas shot him a critical stare.
“Exactly. You still see them as younglings, when you were already doing warrior training at their age. I know you want to protect your brothers, but you are stifling their potential.”
That was definitely something they would have to reevaluate, Ronan admitted. They were so worried about something happening to the trio that they never considered it would end up hurting them.
“Now, there are a few modifications we need to make before you can go.”
He waved his hand in the air, and suddenly, Ronan and Dominic felt a strange tingling sensation shoot through them.
“What the—?” Ronan’s words were cut off as he realized he was no longer speaking Arcadian, but the strange language their friends’ mates spoke when they had arrived on the planet.
“There are many languages and dialects on Earth, but Raven and Allie have assured me this is the one your mate will understand. I have also temporarily shielded your fangs since I have been told those could get you in trouble on Earth. People will think you are vampires out to kill and drink everyone’s blood. ”
“They sound like dangerous creatures,” Ronan concluded.
Dominic nodded. “Are we allowed to hunt them?”
“Actually, they are not real. At least, that is what I have been told. There are many creatures on Earth that only exist in stories and plays. It is…complicated. You probably should have gotten a crash course from Allie and Raven on how to behave on Earth, but you will just have to learn the rules of what you can and cannot do from your mate. You must learn to blend in. Otherwise, you could end up being thrown in someone’s dungeon. ”
That was a good point.
The last thing they needed was to end up being discovered by the authorities and deemed enemies.
Ronan was a little confused when he ran his tongue over his teeth and still felt his fangs. “I still feel them.”
“Your fangs are still there, but others will not be able to see them. I also had to dim the glow of your eyes. Human eyes do not glow, and that would be a sure sign that you do not belong there. Remember, Earth is a primitive world that is not ready to make contact with other planets yet. You must do your best to blend in with the general population. Better yet, avoid the other humans if possible.”
“We shall do our best,” Dominic vowed.
They glanced up as thunder boomed and lightning speared through the crimson sky overhead. A few seconds later, a deluge of rain began to fall.
“It is time.”
“Wait!” Ronan protested, his mind racing. He still had so many questions for which he needed answers. “How long will we be there? And how do we get back?”
“You will have until the next storm. We will need the energy from the lightning to bring you back. Remember, your mate must come back with you. After she is healed, she cannot remain on her home world. She would be a danger to herself and to others if she were to stay. Now, brace yourselves. This will probably hurt…a lot.”
Silas flung out a hand, hitting them both with a punch of magic so strong it sent them flying backwards.
Rain instantly soaked Ronan to the skin as he landed on the ground hard enough to make his teeth clench.
He heard Dominic’s low curse and realized his brother had been given the same harsh treatment by the Sun God.
“I guess that was not so bad,” Ronan said, trying to keep his tone light as he got to his feet and held out a hand to his brother.
“Oh, that was not what I was warning you about. I just had to put you inside the sun circle.”
“You could have just asked,” Ronan growled.
The golden god shot him a wicked grin. “Nothing worth having comes easy.”
Ronan cursed as a bolt of crimson lightning streaked down from the sky. The lightning speared into two branches that struck him and his brother at the same time. The sheer force of the strike sent shockwaves cascading through his body, making him feel like he was being burned alive.
The intense agony he felt was unlike anything he had ever experienced before, and it left him gasping for breath. The world around them seemed to dissolve, and magic began to fill them with pure energy.
As the bright light began to fade, Ronan struggled to push past the pain.
If suffering was the price they had to pay in order to reach their mate, then it was a sacrifice worth making.
They would endure anything to find her. And once they did, they would heal her and figure out a way to bring her back to Arcadia.