Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (15 page)

Queen of Doom or something if this

went bad.

“We would not allow you to be

called that,” Kadan said to her

privately. “Is this weapon of yours

something to be feared?”

The easiest way to help them

understand was to show them. Raven

made sure the link was open between

her and both her mates as she thought

of the latest gun fight she had been

part of. She had been investigating a

murder that had ended with a large

drug bust on the south side of

Chicago in an old abandoned

warehouse. The tactical team had

stormed the building, taking down

several suspects who had fired at

them. She had been part of the team

and had to take down two of the drug

dealers herself.

Both Savitar and Kadan stiffened

as they relived the scene with her.

The tightening of their jaws and the

burning rage in their eyes had her

watching them warily.

Shit, maybe this wasn’t such a good

idea.

“I am glad you will not be a part of

such dangerous activities anymore,”

Savitar said with a harsh growl.

At her frown, Kadan sighed. “We

are proud you were a warrior. This

will make us worry less about your

safety if something should happen to

one of us, but you cannot fault us

for wanting to keep you from harm.”

“Will you show us how you fight

with it?” Savitar asked out loud. “If

another race should ever come to

Arcadia with such weapons I am not

sure we would be able to fight them.”

Well crap, he had a point. Raven

gave in. “Fine. But if they start

calling me the harbinger of doom, I’m

gonna be pissed.”

Savitar laughed and pressed a kiss

to her forehead. “I shall go retrieve

your weapon from our room. I will

meet you on the training field.”

He loped off at a quick run and

Raven had to admire how quickly his

long legs ate up the ground as he

headed back toward the palace. She

turned back to Kadan, wanting to

express her worry. “Guns cause a lot

of destruction where I come from. I

don’t want to—”

Kadan leaned down to cut her

words off with a kiss. “If you are

anxious, we shall only show our elite

warriors how it works. They swore a

blood oath to us when they became

part of our elite guards that allows us

to read and connect with them. They

are males that I trust with my very

life, and more importantly, with

yours. Does that ease your worry?”

Raven smiled. “Yes, it does.”

Kadan led them through an open

archway built into a large stone wall

that separated the courtyard from the

training area. Raven’s eyes widened

as hundreds of warriors battled each

other with swords in an impressive

display of skill.

“Oh boy, you have got to teach me

how to use one of those,” Raven

whispered with anticipation.

Kadan paused. “You would want to

learn how to use a sword?”

“Umm, yeah. If it’s allowed.” She

didn’t want to push them too much

considering how much she had

already messed up being so different

than what they expected.

“You have not messed up,” Kadan

growled. “It is true you are different,

but I do not see that as a bad thing. I

would not want you to be anything

but what you are, Raven. You are my

mate and I am proud to call you mine

just as you are.”

Raven pulled him to a stop and

threw her arms around his neck,

pulling him down so she could kiss

him. It was awkward at first, since

she caught him off guard. Kadan was

simply too tall to reach his mouth

until he bent down and matched her

fervor. His lips crushed down on

hers and his growl of passion had her

blood heating.

Loud roars of approval startled

Raven enough to end the kiss. She

turned to see all of the warriors that

had been training were now watching

them, cheering as their leader

ravaged her mouth. Or had she

ravaged his? Either way it was

shocking that she had completely

forgotten they were not alone.

“I am glad that you were as lost in

passion as I,” Kadan whispered in

her head, his heated voice making her

shiver with desire. He turned to face

his warriors, holding onto her hand.

“Warriors of the Citadel, I give you

Raven Akira, my mate and new

Queen of the Iron City!”

Her eyes widened as all the

warriors on the training field roared

in

celebration

at

Kadan’s

announcement.

“Honor

to

your

mating!” the warriors shouted as they

all slapped a fist against their chest,

right over their hearts.

“Wow,” Raven breathed. “Should

I do or say anything in return?”

Kadan squeezed her hand and she

could feel his approval that she

would ask.

“It would be fitting of your station

as their queen to bow your head and

thank them for their blessings,”

Kadan replied. In his mind she saw

that there was more to it than that and

decided to follow his lead.

Okay, here goes nothing…

Raven released his hand and

stepped forward. Taking a deep

breath, she bowed her head then

shouted out, “As your queen, I am

honored by your many blessings. May

the house of Akira rule well and may

the Citadel stand strong forever!”

The answering cheers were so loud

it was enough to knock her off her

feet if Kadan hadn’t stepped forward

to brace her.

“You are my queen,” Kadan

whispered.

The wealth of emotion that was in

those few words had Raven’s heart

skipping a beat. She could feel the

love and pride surging through their

bond. Tears smarted in her eyes as

she basked in the depth of his

feelings for her. In her whole life no

one had ever felt like that about her.

There was a sense of belonging, of

being wanted, that she’d never felt

before. That she never knew she

needed…until now.

“We will always want you, mate. I

vow it to you,” Savitar said as he

moved to stand in front of her, having

just returned from inside the palace.

He cupped her face gently between

his large hands, his eyes glowing

with fierce determination.

With Savitar in front of her and

Kadan at her back, they formed a

unit. Their bond was so strong Raven

imagined the threads that wove them

together were almost visible to the

outside world. The moment was

almost perfect, but in her heart Raven

knew that something was missing.

Instinctively, Raven opened the

pathway in her mind and reached out

to Tristan through their blood bond.

“Raven…” The flood of love that

he immediately sent back to her

almost brought her to her knees.

“Thank you for sharing this moment

with me, my beloved mate. It means

worlds to me.”

What a difference a day made.

Yesterday, she couldn’t stand to be in

the same room with Tristan, but

hearing his voice in her head made

her miss him. A lot. Tristan sounded

distant, as if he were far away. It was

amazing how much she could sense

through the nifty little blood bond

thingy of theirs. “Where are you,

Tristan?”

“I am hunting rogues with a group

of our elite warriors on the far end

of the Citadel. I will be back at the

Palace later this evening.”

She could sense the veiled hope

that lay in his tone and decided to

offer an olive branch. “I’ll see you

later then.”

“Aye, my queen. I look forward to

it.”

“Well done,” Savitar whispered as

he leaned down to brush his lips

against hers. “You are a miracle. Our

miracle.”

* * * *

“Whenever you are ready,” Kadan

said as he took a step back behind

where Raven was standing.

They had taken her to a smaller

training area that was exclusively

used by the elite guard. Kadan had

sent Arkady, one of the young elite

warriors, to fetch a few vossimelons

for the demonstration. The melons

were huge and reminded her of

watermelons, only they were bright-

ass yellow. They had bumps on the

surface, making it look like some sort

of weird mutant fruit. She’d had some

of the melon last night and it tasted

sweet like candy so it was almost a

shame she was going to shoot them.

Raven checked her gun under the

watchful eyes of her mates. She had a

full clip and was glad that Savitar

had left the other two extra clips back

up in their room. She had a feeling

that after the demonstration the

dozens of elite warriors that had

gathered around to watch would want

to try it and there was no way in hell

that was going to happen. Not that

they could even shoot her Glock. No

wonder Kell had called it a toy. It

certainly looked like it in their big-

ass hands.

“I can take you back inside, my

love,” Kell said to Nyla, who

huddled against his side.

“Nay, I would like to see our

warrior queen, if that is all right with

you,” Nyla said softly.

“Anything you wish, mate,” Kell

answered as he wrapped his arms

around her for comfort, and she

immediately leaned back into him

with a smile.

Raven

blocked

out

all

the

conversations going on around her as

she got into position. She took a deep

breath to calm the nervous flutter in

her belly that always came when she

imagined her target being a real live

person. She braced her feet apart and

took aim, firing three rapid shots in a

row at the large melon that had been

placed on a makeshift stand several

feet away. Satisfaction filled her as

she watched the melon explode into a

mess of bright yellow pieces.

She lowered her weapon and

turned, her smile dimming as she

noticed the shock on the warriors’

faces. Aggressive growls filled the

air and had her taking a step back,

away from the crowd. She flinched

as Savitar threw his head back and

let out a loud roar of rage. In the

blink of an eye he was standing in

front of her, blocking her from view.

“You dare growl at my mate?”

Kadan snarled out savagely.

Raven peeked around Savitar’s

huge body and shivered as she saw

the deadly glare Kadan was shooting

at the other warriors. The elite

warriors bowed their heads in

submission, the only one brave

enough to step forward was Damos.

“Apologies, my kings. Forgive us

for frightening you, my queen. We

were startled by the power of your

weapon,” Damos said, loud and

clear.

“Ahh…that’s okay,” Raven said as

she tried to move around Savitar,

only to have him shift so he was still

standing in front of her. Irritated, she

reached out and pinched his butt.

“Did you just pinch me?” Savitar

asked incredulously. “Stay behind

me where you are safe.”

“Yes, I did pinch you and I don’t

need you to protect me. I get that

this was startling for them. You saw

what my gun could do from my

memories, but they didn’t,” she

reminded him.

Savitar sighed as he moved to the

side, but held out his arm to block her

from going any further. Kadan came

to stand next to her on her other side

and both of them crossed their

massive arms over their chests.

“Give it a rest,” Raven demanded.

“You should have seen your faces

when I first showed you how it

works.”

Kadan and Savitar exchanged a

speaking glance over her head that

had her huffing out impatiently. She