CHAPTER NINE

That night, I drifted off into the deepest sleep of my life, surrounded by luxury and the plushness of imported cotton. I was never one for dreaming. In fact, I probably couldn't have named a single dream I'd had since I was fifteen, and most of the ones prior were fantasies courtesy of puberty. I had expected I would spend the night dreaming of my royal, but that wasn't the case. Instead, my mind was teleported to an empty wood.

Dense wood, like the kind one would find in the Northeastern US. Vines flowed heavily from tree branches, and the moon was shining full above the canopies. I glanced around, picking up a strangely divine scent from behind me. I turned to see a young woman, barely older than me, in a silver gown that shone as if it were covered in millions of diamonds. Her hair was so dark that it looked like someone had transposed a piece of starless sky and draped it over her head. Her tan skin was lightly glistening, and her black eyes followed my movements with curiosity.

"Welcome, Aria," she spoke in a melodic voice.

"Where am I?" I asked worriedly.

"Pittsburgh."

Wait, what? I snorted, but she just smiled back at me.

Seriously?

"Yes, seriously."

"What the hell? Did you just...?"

"Yes. Please, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Luna. I'm—"

"The Moon Goddess," I finished for her, mumbling in disbelief.

Against all expectation, she squealed, clapping her hands excitedly and completely breaking her cool and collected facade. "Yes! Oh, you are so smart! See, Lysander. I told you she would know me right away!"

My nose was immediately tickled, and I followed Luna's gaze over my shoulder. There, a man stood with a white linen dress shirt and black slacks. He had light brown hair, tied off in a bun on his head, and eyes so blue and translucent that they glowed in the moonlight. He was barefoot, despite standing on the hard forest floor, clean-shaven, and his ivory skin made my cheeks flush. Damn, he was sexy.

"Ew, gross, Aria," Luna complained, and I flushed when I suddenly remembered that she could read my thoughts.

The man's smooth and chocolatey chuckle could be heard bouncing off of the trees. "What's wrong, sis? She's just admiring her Lord."

Sis? Lord? Oh my goddess, Lysander is...

"The Sanguine One," I breathed out, turning again to see his eyes bright with amusement.

"Yes, my dear. Welcome."

I could hear my own blood rushing to keep up with my quickening heart rate. What ishappening?

"I know this is out of the blue, doll, but we really needed to speak with you."

"The Dark King is coming, and we need your help to defeat him."

What could that possibly mean?

"We can't give you details just yet, little flower."

"We called on you to tell you two things."

I tried to focus on what they were saying instead of how creepy their back and forth thing was, but it was starting to hurt my neck turning to and fro. Luna giggled, likely reading my thoughts again, before taking careful steps closer to me. "First, you will be facing major decisions in your near future that will change the way the world is run. Choose carefully."

Lysander followed suit, stepping to the opposite side in long, graceful strides. "Second, you will no longer belong to a government of any species. When you wake up, your ties will be only to your own kingdom."

I took a step back, immediately overwhelmed by their crazy prophecies. "Any chance you can stop speaking in riddles and just tell me what the hell is going on?" I barked, glaring at my two gods with not an ounce of fear.

They glanced at each other, smiling mischievously. "We could."

"But what's the fun in that?"

And as they both reached out to touch me, they said in unison, "Good luck, Aria. See you soon."

I woke from my dream with a start, lunging forward to an upright position on the bed. I was pleased to discover the warm rays of Vegas peering through the floor-to-ceiling windows. What was up with that crazy dream? Was that all my imagination? Was it the alcohol? Or was it real? I quickly determined that if it was real, the twin gods were either insane or assholes. Or both, I wasn't crossing anything out yet.

A soft, purr-like snore seeped into my blasphemous thoughts, and I turned to see wild blonde waves resting on the pillow beside me. Goddess, he was beautiful. I allowed my body to sink back into the sheets, pulling my hand up to stroke his smooth face. He was my new world, and I wouldn't have had it any other way. I traced his lips with my finger, letting out a surprised squeak when he sucked it in and gave it an almost painful bite.

"I'm sorry!" I rushed out, feeling the blush rise in my chest.

He let out a sultry chuckle, reminding me for a moment of the man in my dreams, before dragging himself up from the mattress, his hair covering his awakening eyes. "No problem, love. No need to apologize for touching me." His bright orbs twinkled in the morning light, but my gaze was immediately stolen by the new lack of covers on his naked upper body.

"Goddess, you're sexy!" I growled. Shit, was that out loud?

He laughed louder, grabbing onto my waist and pulling me under him. "And you are completely addicting, my love." He groaned, burying his face into the crook of my neck.

Oh my.

The loud buzzing of a sleek black phone beside the bed interrupted our sensual cuddling, making us both groan in annoyance. Rory leaned over me, pressing a large glass button on the keypad. "Yes?"

"Mr. Bennet, sir. Your father is requesting yours and Ms. Wilson's presence in the private dining hall."

His eyes rolled, and he glanced at me. "Can it wait?"

"I'm afraid not, sir. He said that Ms. Wilson has engagements in a couple of hours that she mustn't miss."

My eyes widened at the woman's words. I reached for my cellphone on the end table, nearly dying when I read a time of 11:56 a.m. "Shit! The Ceremony!" I exclaimed, gently sliding out from under Rory and donning my dress from the night before.

"We're on our way, Heidi. Thank you."

"Of course, sir. I'll let them know."

He eyed me with wary eyes as I zipped my dress. "You aren't going like that, are you?"

I snorted. "Smelling like sex and alcohol? Of course not."

He furrowed his brow. "No, I meant dressed like that."

Oh. He didn't have any idea how Eclipse Ceremonies worked. "No, they have gowns for the women to wear. They are white, knee-length, and made of cotton. Don't worry, no sequins to be seen."

A smirk tugged at his lips as he moved to the edge of the bed, stretching his arms high above his messed hair and unintentionally flexing his delicious muscles. "It still sounds a bit sexy, but I'll let it pass." He winked, melting my insides.

I playfully swatted at him. "Hurry up, we have to go. I don't want to be late." I chided.

He stood from the bed, leisurely walking to his clothes that had been neatly hung on the bathroom door. I licked my lips, watching the subtle swinging of his hips and the enticing way he ran his hand through his untamed locks. "You're doing this on purpose."

I knew he was. He confirmed my suspicions by turning to me with a teasing grin. "I'm just getting dressed, love."

Then, before I could process what had happened, he was dressed. "How are you so fast?" I gawked, following him down the winding stairs.

"You could be, too. I'll teach you later. Life's too short to go at a human pace."