Read Ravaged: An Eternal Guardians Novella (1001 Dark Nights) for Free Online

Maybe as a child with her parents, but they’d been gone so long she barely remembered what safety felt like. She’d never truly felt safe with her foster family, even though they’d been nice. She’d been too afraid something bad was lurking around the corner. And she’d certainly never felt safe on Olympus. Even with all her years of training, she still worried daily that someone would see she didn’t have what it took and kick her out. Every day she struggled just to fit in. And every day she knew she really didn’t.
    Hating where her thoughts were heading, she ran her fingers over the spines of a series of books in the library. Tomes from all over the world filled the shelves, covering topics from gods to history to woodworking. Daphne had always loved books. As she glanced over the titles in front of her, she couldn’t help but see the irony.
    Books separated man from the animals. Learning kept him from becoming a savage. And the savage Zeus wanted her to kill was obviously very well read.
    Turning on a sigh, her gaze drifting over the fireplace, the comfy seating area, and the table near the window holding a globe. After dinner, Silas had given her a tour, explaining that Stonehill Hold had been nothing but ruins when Aristokles had found it over fifty years ago. Silas was the one who’d pestered the Argonaut into rebuilding the fortress. Silas was probably the one who’d collected all these books.
    She froze when she realized she wasn’t alone, and her heart rate shot up. Seated in a high-backed chair in the corner of the room, a book in his lap, the Argonaut she’d just been thinking of watched her with wild, mismatched eyes.
     Warmth gathered in her belly. A warmth that was both unwelcome and painfully arousing. He didn’t speak, only continued to stare at her from the shadows, and with every passing second, her adrenaline surged higher and that warmth trickled lower, awakening places she wasn’t willing to think about just yet.
    Say something. Anything.
    “I-I didn’t realize anyone was here.”
    Aristokles didn’t move a muscle, didn’t look away, still didn’t speak. And his face was so shadowed, she couldn’t read his expression. All she could see were his eyes, fixed only on her.
    Nerves bounced all over in her belly, and she pulled her gaze from his, glanced around the room, and tried to sound nonchalant when she said, “This is a fabulous library. I’m always so tempted by books. I hope you don’t mind if I borrow a few. I’m not used to the quiet here.” She wrinkled her nose. “Kinda hard to sleep.”
    When he still didn’t answer, she fought back a wave of unease. “I’m sure you’re used to being here. I mean, why wouldn’t you be? This is your house, after all. It’s a great house. Just a little big for me. And cold. You must like the cold though. I mean, to have a house way out here in the mountains, you’d have to, right?”
    Oh gods, she was babbling. She’d spent years on Olympus training herself not to babble like she used to do as a child.
    He didn’t answer. Didn’t move. Pressing her lips together, she twisted her arms behind her back and clasped her hands. One quick look toward the dark corner told her he was still staring only at her.
    Sweat broke out along her spine. His hand resting on the arm of the chair was so big, she knew it could crush her skull in a matter of seconds. But even as fear churned in her belly, she held on to the fact that he’d saved her life. If he wanted her dead, she’d already be there. That meant he wanted her for something else.
    Seduction. She needed to be a seductive, alluring nymph, not a rambling fool. You trained for this, idiot.
    Right. She had. This was the easy part.
    Straightening her shoulders, she unclasped her hands from her back and cocked her hip. The movement accentuated her breasts, which she knew were her best feature. Flipping her hair over her shoulder, she rested her hand at her waist and looked right at the