Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (26 page)

a volcano. We create holes on the

other side of the mountain range

every few months so the volcanoes

never erupt, but as the pressure

builds the minerals in the earth

combined with the lava create these.”

“It is so beautiful,” Raven breathed

out. She looked up at him in awe.

“You made this for me?”

“Aye,” Tristan said, his voice

rough with emotion. “Savitar told me

that it is customary in your world to

wear rings to announce you have

taken a mate, but here we gift our

mates with a mating torque. Will you

wear it for us, Raven?”

Tears stung her eyes and her throat

tightened. “I would be proud to wear

it, Tristan. Thank you for this gift. It

means the world to me that you made

it.”

“I would try to bring down the stars

from the sky if you only asked, mate.”

Tristan moved around to her back

and Raven reached up to gather her

hair so she could raise it. Tristan

gently placed the torque around her

neck. It fit snugly, but it was a

comforting feeling to feel it. It meant

she belonged to her mates.

To all three of them.

Tristan placed a soft kiss on the

back of her neck that sent a shiver of

desire racing up her spine. “My

mate,” he whispered.

“Mine.” Raven turned, clasping his

face in her hands and kissed him

hard, sharing all the passion and love

she felt for him. He growled in

response and his tongue stroked

against hers. He took control of the

kiss, shoving his hands in her thick

hair to hold her still as he ravaged

her mouth. It was a kiss of

possession, of love, and it set her

body on fire.

When he pulled back they shared a

grin.

“I want to see it. You can’t give me

bling like this and expect me not to

check it out,” Raven said, making him

laugh.

He led her over to a work station

where four warriors were making a

gilded frame around a large mirror.

After asking them to hold it up so she

could see the torque, the males

quickly complied.

All of the males smiled as she

cooed and awed at the sight of the

beautiful necklace around her neck.

With her leather outfit she really did

look the part of a warrior queen. She

would wear it with pride knowing

that Tristan had made it with his own

two hands.

Another man joined them who

looked identical to Damos and Kell.

Tristan informed her that he was their

brother, Malik, Nyla’s other mate that

Raven hadn’t met yet and his

personal guard when out of the

palace.

Raven instantly liked Malik just as

much as she did the other two of the

triplets. Malik threw his head back

and laughed when she told him that

he had his work cut out following

Tristan around since she had a

feeling the two of them often found

trouble when they were together.

Tristan and Malik’s innocent smiles

didn’t fool her. Malik’s smile turned

into a wince when she mentioned that

he and his brothers had obviously

gotten all the common sense out of all

of his siblings.

He bowed his head in shame. “I am

deeply sorry for the way my younger

brothers and sister behaved the other

day. I—”

“No worries, Malik.” Raven said.

“I don’t blame you, Kell, or Damos

for the way the others acted. Not

even a little bit. Everyone has an

asshole or two in their family. I

certainly did. You can’t pick your

family.”

Tristan rubbed her back as Malik

shot her a look of gratitude. She

noticed that Malik wore a thick, plain

gold torque around his own neck,

similar to the ones she had seen on

Nyla’s mates. When he noticed what

she was looking at, he smiled.

“These are what mated males wear,

my queen,” Malik explained.

“Please call me Raven.” She then

turned to Tristan with a frown. “How

do I go about getting one of those for

you guys?” She switched to saying

the rest of her thoughts through their

bond so the others couldn’t hear.

“I’m not about to wear your torque

and have you three run around

without one like you’re single so

other females can continue to lust

after you.”

Tristan raised a brow. “Jealous,

mate?”

She growled at him.

Tristan laughed. “My brothers and I

have made matching torques for you

to give to us. You have only to ask

and we will proudly wear them.” He

stroked her cheek with his hand.

“You never have to fear that any

other female would ever come

between us. Even though we have

not physically spent any time

together since that first day, you

have been in my thoughts every

moment. You own my heart, Raven.

Body and soul, I am yours and only

yours.”

Raven laid her head on his chest,

not caring that the other males were

watching. Tristan’s arms wrapped

around her, surrounding her with his

warmth and love. She pressed her

lips to his chest, right over his heart

and felt a shudder of need wrack his

body. She could feel the depth of his

feelings for her and knew that his

words were true.

He was hers, just as she belonged

to him.

“Aye, we belong to each other.”

She pulled back and saw that

Tristan’s glowing eyes were blazing

with emotions. “You heard me?”

He nodded. “Aye, you opened your

mind to me.”

“I meant it, Tristan. Mate.”

Tristan’s mouth lowered to hers

and she went up on her toes to meet

him. The kiss was gentle and sweet,

saying all the things that both of them

wanted to convey to the other without

words. A roaring cheer filled the

building, startling Raven into pulling

back.

Tristan’s

arms

remained

around her, comforting and offering

support.

“Honor to your mating!” the males

in the building roared out, loud

enough to shake the rafters.

Like when she had addressed the

elite warriors, she bowed her head

then recited the formal acceptance

and thanks. The warriors working in

the forge roared out another cheer

and her guards, Arkady, Tirk, and

Jordyn beamed at her with approval.

“Well done, my queen,” Malik

said.

“My queen,” Tristan whispered.

“My heart.” The pride in his voice

made her feel ten feet tall.

Raven and Tristan were waylaid as

more males came over to greet her.

They were curious to meet their new

queen and she took the time to speak

to all of them. Word had obviously

gone out that she demanded to be

spoken to directly, because each

male looked her directly in the eyes

when asking a question. They were

still very respectful of Tristan’s

presence and she noticed that all of

the males stood a healthy distance

away from her, and the unmated

males even further back.

It could have been because of

Tristan’s fierce frown or the way he

kept his arm secured around her

waist the entire time. No matter the

cause, she liked the way he stood by

her side, protecting her while still

allowing her to talk to his people.

Tristan called a halt to the

conversation when he noticed that

Raven was starting to get affected by

the extreme heat inside the building.

The males bowed to them then went

back to work as Raven, Tristan and

their guards left.

“What would you like to do now,

little one?” Tristan asked once they

were standing outside the building,

their guards trailing behind them.

“There is somewhere I’d like to go

with you,” she said.

Tristan’s face paled slightly when

she asked him to take her to the

mating pool. “We cannot go there

without my brothers, Raven. It is a

sacred place and—”

“Savitar and Kadan know we’ll be

there. They will meet us there later,

but I told them I wanted to spend the

day with you alone first.”

Tristan’s glowing eyes brightened

with lust and hope. “Are you willing

to complete the mating ritual with

us?”

Aware they were standing on the

street, Raven fidgeted. “Ah…can we

talk about this later?”

She silently cursed when Tristan’s

eyes dimmed. Shit, she really didn’t

want to have this conversation here

out in the open, but she could feel the

rejection Tristan tried to hide from

her and had to say something. She

shot a glance at their guards. “Guys,

can you give us a minute?”

“Of course, my queen,” Jordyn said

from where he was standing a few

feet away.

“Jordyn!” Raven complained.

Jordyn turned around and smiled at

her. “I forgot, my…Raven.”

“My Raven! She is mine!” Tristan

growled.

Jordyn blanched and backed away

quickly. “Aye, my king. Forgive me.”

He and his brothers hurried to

move further down the street, where

they could still protect her yet far

enough so they wouldn’t hear their

conversation. Malik shook his head

at Tristan before strolling away

casually.

Raven sighed when she was

standing alone with Tristan. “Yes, I

want to do the mating ritual with you

guys, but it seems sort of strange

since you and I haven’t even spent

any time together yet, Tristan. Plus,

anal sex is new to me and I’m still

sort of weirded out by the whole

thing so I’m asking you to be patient.”

Tristan sent her a sheepish smile.

“Aye, that had just occurred to me.”

“I do want to be with you. Even

though we haven’t had much time

together I feel that I know you, inside

and out. I’m just asking for some time

to let my head catch up with my

heart.”

Tristan nodded solemnly. “I can do

that. Forgive me pushing too hard. I

am just anxious for you to truly be

mine. We can take this as slow as

you need.”

Chapter Twelve

“Can you pull over right there, right

before the trees?”

Raven’s arms were wrapped tight

around Tristan’s waist as they flew

over the terrain on a hover-cycle. It

was an exhilarating feeling, far better

than being on a regular motorcycle.

They were literally flying. When they

had first taken off on the hover-cycle,

Raven had let out a loud whoop of

joy that had made Tristan laugh. She

loved seeing the sights of the city as

they flew through the streets, but

loved the rush of speeding over the

sand even more once they were out of

the Citadel.

They had traveled a few miles

outside of the city when Raven

pointed to the place she wanted

Tristan to stop. He halted the hover-

cycle right before the tree line that

surrounded the small clearing where

the mating pool was hidden. The six

guards following them also came to a

stop, surrounding them in a protective

circle.

Raven got off of the back of the

hover-cycle and stretched her arms

over her head, making Tristan snarl

at the guards when he noticed they

were watching her. Malik grinned

before looking away. Even though

Malik was Tristan’s personal guard

whenever he left the Citadel and he

took the king’s safety very seriously,

she could tell that they were also

close friends by the way they

constantly

pushed

each

other’s

buttons.

Raven picked this as the stopping

point because she could feel the

pulse of magic in the air, signaling

that they were at the barrier where

Lunaria’s safeguard began. Perhaps it

was the Gods’ blood running through