Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (16 page)

started to stomp away, but only got

two steps away before Savitar

stopped her by gripping her arm.

“Where are you going, mate?”

“Away from you since you guys

obviously want to talk without me

hearing you,” Raven snapped as she

pulled away from him.

“Forgive us, Raven. We have

shared thoughts for so many years

that it is almost instinctual for us to

share information we find troubling,”

Kadan explained. He reached out to

rub his hand soothingly over her

arms. “Aye, you showed us how your

weapon works, but to see it with our

own eyes was something vastly

different. My brothers and I were

talking about what to do with this

knowledge now.”

Raven’s

brows

furrowed

in

concern. “What do you mean?”

“Would you let us use your gun so

we can figure out a way to make our

own?” Savitar asked.

Oh, shit…

It made sense, but Raven still had

her doubts. For a race that could

create something that allowed her to

understand different languages by

implanting some sort of chip in her,

they could obviously figure out how

to replicate a gun. Still, it made her

nervous that she would destroy

Arcadia single handedly.

“Is that really a good idea? I mean,

what if—”

Kadan placed a finger gently on her

lips to stop her from finishing that

thought. “There are two trios of

inventors and builders that we would

entrust with this task, and them alone.

Once the weapons are built, we

would only provide them to the elite

guards to use.”

“We have learned what war can do

to our world and do not want that for

our people. But our fight with the

rogues cannot be ignored. They

kidnap our females and abuse them,

Raven. We fight with honor and use

our swords in combat, but too often

the rogues come at us in large groups

and attack our warriors.”

Raven’s heart clenched at the

thought of something happening to

one of her men. It wasn’t something

she even wanted to imagine. Both

Kadan and Savitar squeezed her

hands, obviously reading her. “Okay,

fine. But I want your word that if you

do this you will train your men first

before you start running around

shooting people.”

Kadan smiled. “Aye, mate. We

will. Perhaps you would be willing

to lead the training?”

Shock had Raven gasping. “You’d

let me train your men?”

“Who better to show our warriors

than our warrior queen? You are the

only one who has used the weapon

before,” Savitar said.

“But…will they listen to me?”

“They will…or they will answer to

me,” Savitar growled as he ran a

loving hand over her hair and wound

one curl around a large finger. She

smiled at the contrast.

Raven blew out a breath. “Okay,

it’s a plan. Just call me queen

badass.”

Kadan’s brows furrowed. “Your

ass is perfect.”

Raven laughed. “Well, thank you.

Being a badass is a good thing. It’s…

never mind.”

“I will take the weapon to the

Boric brothers now,” Savitar said.

“Would you like to accompany me,

mate?”

Raven thought about it, but she’d

had other plans for the day she still

had to see through. “Why don’t you

go. I was hoping that Kadan could

show me more of the city.”

“With pleasure, sweetling.”

Before he left, Raven showed

Savitar the basic components of the

gun and reluctantly handed it over to

him as a group of warriors

approached, led by Kell, Damos and

Nyla.

“You are very brave,” Nyla said,

her voice shaking with residual fear.

Her mates stroked her back and hair

as if to soothe her. Nyla shook them

off

and

stepped

forward,

straightening to her full height. “I

would ask that you teach me to

defend myself as a female warrior.”

Her mates growled in protest as

Raven stared at the other woman in

surprise. “I could do that.”

“You insult us!” Damos growled.

Both Savitar and Kadan snarled

viciously, making Nyla cower in

fear.

“Hey! Cut the growling crap,”

Raven snapped. All of the men were

so

shocked

they

stopped

immediately. Raven sucked in a deep

breath as she took Kadan’s hand in

hers. He squeezed her hand in

support. “Now, tell me how I

insulted you. I didn’t mean to so you

will have to explain it to me.”

“It is a warrior’s duty to defend

their mate. My brothers and I would

never let anything happen to Nyla,”

Damos growled.

“I know you wouldn’t, but what if

something happens to you? Why

shouldn’t the females of this world

be trained to defend themselves in

case of an emergency?” Raven asked,

honestly not understanding.

Kell opened his mouth to speak but

was cut off by Savitar. “Queen Raven

is right. Our mates depend on us for

safety, as they should, but if

something should happen to us they

are left defenseless. It gives me

peace to know that my mate can and

will defend herself against any threat

that comes at her. That does not mean

that I or my brothers are not capable

of protecting her.”

Savitar’s deep voice carried out so

all of the warriors present could hear

him. Raven noticed that several of the

men nodded as her mate had spoken,

but several others did not look

convinced.

“Your kings have guards, because

there is a bigger threat against them

than the average male, correct?” She

focused on Kell and Damos as they

nodded. “If all females are a major

target as well, doesn’t it make sense

to prepare them to fight to protect

themselves? What about females that

don’t have mates?” Raven added.

“It is their family’s duty to protect

them,” another warrior called out.

Okay, they were so not getting the

point. Disgust had Raven snapping

impatiently, “And for the females

who have no family? Don’t you get

it? By making females think they have

to always depend on a man to protect

them you are making them victims.”

“It does seem foolish to think one

as small as you could do any damage

to a full grown male,” one of the

warriors said. “Females are weak

and need to be taken care of.”

Oh, fuck that! Raven tried to let go

of Kadan’s hand but he refused to

release her.

“What are you doing, mate?”

Kadan asked.

“Trust me,” was all she said. Then

she thought to ask, “You heal

quickly, right?”

“Aye.” He nodded as he released

her.

Raven smiled sweetly at the man.

“Would you like me to show you how

this weak female would fight back?”

The warrior smirked. “You could

try, my queen.”

She didn’t hesitate. She walked

straight up to the condescending man

and kicked him in the nuts. Hard. His

breath whooshed out as he fell to his

knees. She made a fist and hit him in

the face as hard as she could then

stepped back as he hit the ground.

“Lesson concluded.”

Chapter Eight

Kadan took Raven on a tour of the

city riding around the Citadel in one

of their hover-crafts while a handful

of guards paced them on hover-

cycles. Everything was new to Raven

and he loved seeing his home through

her eyes. He answered whatever

questions she asked of him and

frowned when she had apologized for

her curiosity. It was unfathomable

that she didn’t understand that there

was nothing she could not ask of him.

Hell, he was a King, but he would

kneel at her feet if she wanted him to.

The depths of his feeling for her

were

both

disturbing

and

exhilarating. He’d never thought they

would find a mate that could love all

three of them equally. It pained him

how the Arcadian females viewed

Savitar as being undesirable, and yet

he was the one to win Raven’s trust

after the complete debacle Kadan and

Tristan had made out of her first day

with them.

Where Savitar was the eldest, and

most often alone, and Tristan was the

most daring, Kadan was the one that

most of their people came to with

their problems. He was considered

the most serious of the trio and tried

to do whatever he could to ensure

that their people prospered.

He was pleased that the Citadel

resembled the cities from her home

world and that she felt comfortable in

the busy atmosphere that some found

intimidating. She told him of the

cities of her world and he could

hardly believe the tall structures that

she showed him from her memories.

The tallest buildings in Arcadia were

fifteen stories high and it was

staggering to see what Raven called

“high-rises” that she showed him. He

and his brothers were proud of the

Citadel. As the largest city on

Arcadia, it was a wonder to their

people, and it pleased him that Raven

approved of all that he showed her.

Kadan loved the feel of his mate’s

tiny hand in his as they took their

tour. He had a hard time controlling

his desire, especially since he had

woken

with

the

memories

of

Savitar’s night of loving her. It was a

testament to his self-control that he

didn’t just ravage her in the hover-

craft, but he had learned from his

mistake.

Still, he loved the softness of her

skin and couldn’t help caressing it

every chance he got. He was also

fascinated with her hair and loved to

play with the bouncing curls that so

resembled the images the Arcadians

had of the Goddess of the Moons.

Raven was his own goddess and he

still couldn’t believe his good fortune

at being able to call her his.

Their last stop was to one of the

many havens set up around the city.

Havens were sanctuaries that had

been created to give unmated

females, without families or who had

been abused, a safe place to live.

The large building was unadorned

on the outside, but had every amenity

inside for the females that lived

there. All havens were ruthlessly

maintained with a steady rotation of

warriors that patrolled the area

surrounding the building in order to

keep the inhabitants safe.

Many of the females in the havens

were underage, having not yet

reached their eighteenth birthday, but

there were other females who were

older. Most of the cities in Arcadia

practiced something called a formal

breeching ceremony when a female

turned eighteen. Three males were

chosen from different trios, and they

pleasured a female to see which trio

she would choose as her mates. After

a year, she could choose another trio

if she didn’t want to formally bond

with the mates she had initially

chosen.

Due to the rogue problem in the

Citadel, the kings had done away

with the breeching ceremonies.

Raven was glad when Kadan had

told her that, because there would

have been a reckoning if they had

tried that shit when she was around.

Still, the underage females in the

havens had to wait until they were

eighteen to be considered as a

potential mate.

Males were allowed to place their

names on a list and once a week they

were able to have monitored visits

where they could meet the females

inside the haven. Males could only

place their name on the lists after a

rigorous background check to make