Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (38 page)

been dressed in shimmering gowns

similar to Raven’s in various shades

of the rainbow. She was relieved to

see that all of Mila’s and the other

females’ bruises were gone, but

knew nothing could take away the

pain they felt inside from what they

had been through.

Raven’s hand flew to her head as

she felt the circlet appear back on her

head. She looked at the God of the

Sun in shock and almost fell over

when he winked at her. She had been

kicking herself for not grabbing it

before she left the cavern, but her

mates’ fear had driven her to find

them as soon as she was free.

“Thank you,” she said, smiling at

the god. The females and the guards

looked around in confusion then

looked back at Raven like she was

nuts. She sighed. Obviously they

couldn’t see Silas. She turned to

speak to her mates, but closed her

mouth when she saw all three of them

gawking at the God of the Sun.

“You can see him?” Raven asked.

When she got no response she

reached out to poke Savitar. He

caught her hand and held it over his

heart then nodded, never looking

away from the giant towering over

them.

“Aye, we can see him,” Tristan

whispered.

“My lord,” Kadan said as he

bowed his head to the god.

Silas nodded arrogantly and it

made Raven smile as she held back

the urge to roll her eyes. Posturing

males were all the same, no matter if

they were Gods or men.

Silas let out a sigh. “Always you

insult me.”

“I do not,” Raven argued, then

winced as the guards looked around

for some unseen threat. Apparently

they couldn’t hear Silas either. “Can

you show yourself to them so they

don’t think I’ve gone crazy?” Raven

asked through their bond, keeping her

mind open so her mates could also

hear.

“Nay, send them away. I may

tolerate your mates, but I will not

waste my time on these other

mortals,” Silas said casually.

Raven did roll her eyes this time.

Yeah, this coming from the man…

err…god that came to her aid as soon

as he was able and who had saved

all the females in the cavern without

a thought. She patted Kadan’s arm as

he stiffened next to her.

“You are going to ruin my image

as a badass,” Silas growled in her

head.

Raven burst out laughing. “Yeah,

like that could ever happen. Silas,

you will always be the biggest

badass around.”

“Flattery is always appreciated.

Address your people and send them

to care for the females, little dragon

warrior,” Silas commanded.

Abiding by his wishes, Raven

turned to the group watching them

warily. She could feel her mates

were still in shock at seeing the God

of the Sun, but their desire to know

what happened was so strong their

need was beating at her. She looked

around at the large group and saw

elite warriors mixed with warriors

she had met in the forge and others

that worked in the palace. It touched

her heart to see them all there…for

her.

“You are their queen and our

heart,” Savitar said softly through

their bond. “They would defend you

to the death.”

Taking a deep breath, Raven

channeled her inner queen and took

the first step at leading their people.

“I want to thank you all for coming to

my aid. I was kidnapped earlier and

discovered a plot to kill your kings,

my mates, led by Brynt, Koreth,

Vadar and Selina who were working

with a group of rogues. These

females were held captive in a

cavern in the heart of the mountain

and they are not alone. There are

other locations just like this one. I

promise you we will find these

locations and take down the rogues

so they will never harm anyone ever

again.”

The sound of whispers filled the

air. She saw Kell, Damos and Malik

hang their heads in shame and held up

a commanding hand so everyone fell

silent once again. “The only ones to

blame in all this are the assholes that

were in that cavern and the rogues

still out there,” she growled with so

much power the three brothers’ heads

snapped up.

“Where are the rogues, my queen?”

one of the elite warriors called out.

“The ones that took me are all

dead.” She shot a quick glance at

Kell, Damos, Malik and her own

mates to gauge their reactions and

was relieved to see no anger directed

at her.

“They were dead to us the moment

they touched you and betrayed our

kings,” Malik growled as his

brothers nodded.

“If you had not killed them, we

would have,” Kadan vowed.

She nodded then stepped forward

to address the crowd again. “I know I

am new to your world, but I am one

of you now…a true Arcadian and

proud of it. I have been given a great

gift from Lunaria, the Goddess of the

Moons, and Silas, the God of Sun,

one that you have lost through years

from neglect and through your

ancestors’ battle for power and

dominance. I have merged with the

dragon spirit and have become a

guardian of this land and to its

people. I am Raven Akira, Queen of

the Palace of the Iron City and

Dragon Warrior. I will fight by your

sides to defend this world and will

bring death to any who seek to harm

my mates or our people!”

The crowd roared its approval at

her words. Kadan, Savitar and

Tristan stepped up and thanked the

warriors before telling them all to go

back to the Citadel. Most of the

warriors began to leave, but a few of

the most trusted elite warriors stayed

behind. Raven looked over to the

group of females huddled together as

Mila stepped forward.

“My queen…”

Raven smiled. “I told you to call

me Raven, Mila.”

Mila smiled nervously as she

hugged her arms around her waist as

if trying to protect herself. “Raven, I

wanted to thank you for what you

did…for saving us. I just…I do not

know what to do now…my brothers

were all I had…” Tears filled her

eyes as she struggled for control over

her emotions.

“Don’t worry about that and you

don’t have to thank me. None of you

do,” Raven said, addressing all of the

females. She had an idea that she

shared with her mates through their

bond, not knowing what they would

think of it.

Kadan smiled at her. “It is a

wonderful idea.”

Raven returned his loving gaze then

focused back on the females. “My

mates and I welcome all of you to the

palace where you may rest and

recover. We will contact your

families for those of you who have

someone looking for you,” Raven

offered and noticed several of the

females’ eyes went wide with fear.

“And for those of you who don’t, you

are welcome to stay with us at the

palace or we can find you a spot at

one of the havens if that is more to

your liking. Either way, you are safe

now. I swear it.”

“We swear it,” Savitar said as he

wrapped an arm around Raven,

pulling her so her back was resting

against him.

Tristan asked several of their most

trusted guards to stay and transport

the females back to the palace but the

traumatized females cowered away

in alarm. Seeing their reaction,

Raven didn’t know what to do. They

could send for larger transportation

and wait—

Silas let out a tortured sigh before

revealing himself to the small group

that remained. The females and elite

warriors gasped in shock at the sight

of the golden god. He focused on

Kell, Damos and Malik as all the

other females and warriors went to

one knee, bowing to the God of the

Sun, but Silas paid no attention to

them.

“Take the females to your mate and

let her help them.” Silas commanded

to the shocked guards. “And stop

blaming yourself for what happened

here tonight. Your brothers were

deceivers, you are not. Your kings

and queen trust you, now go.”

Silas gave them no warning. He

snapped his fingers and the females,

guards, and all the remaining hover-

cycles disappeared from sight.

Tristan cleared his throat. “I am

guessing that you have returned them

all to the palace.”

“Aye,” Silas said, folding his arms

over his chest as he glared at Savitar,

Kadan and Tristan. “I will expect you

to take better care of your mate in the

future.”

“Silas!” Raven gasped.

He shot her a look. “You were

taken on their watch.”

Damn it, if she was sure he

wouldn’t smite her for it she would

kick him in the shin for that. Her

mates already felt bad enough. Did he

really have to rub their noses in it?

“He is right,” Savitar said sadly.

“We will not fail you again.”

Raven glowered at the God,

swearing to tell Lunaria what he had

said the next time she spoke to the

goddess.

Silas sighed. “You really do try to

ruin my fun.”

Raven growled at him and, to their

surprise, he let out a booming laugh.

“You do remind me of my mate.” His

expression softened as he looked

back at the males. “It was not your

fault. I have a feeling for the long

years to come you will have to get

used to chasing after your mate as she

causes trouble. Trust me when I say I

know how that feels.” He glanced

back at Raven. “Just try not to harm

my niece and nephew until they are

born.”

Her heart stopped as she heard all

three of her mates gasp. “Niece and

nephew,” she choked out weakly.

“Aye,” Silas said with a smirk,

then disappeared.

Damn, the God of the Sun certainly

did have a flare for the dramatic.

“How is this possible?” Tristan

whispered.

“Mixed-gender twinsets have never

been heard of before,” Kadan said,

placing a reverent hand on her

stomach.

Raven laughed nervously as she

placed her hand over his. “Jesus, I

was just getting used to the idea of

one, now there will be two. I can’t

breathe…”

“We are usually born in trios,”

Savitar remained her.

“Don’t be logical when I’m

freaking out,” she gasped.

Savitar lifted her chin so her

glowing green eyes met his. “All will

be well, my love. You have given us

the greatest gift imaginable. Our son

and daughter will one day rule our

kingdom, leading our people into a

new era. They will be a guiding light

for all Arcadians.”

“Have no fear, little goddess,”

Kadan said. “You will be an

excellent mother, of that I have no

doubt.”

“I hope so,” Raven said softly, still

not convinced. She looked at her

mates, letting them see the depth of

her emotions. “I love you all so

much.”

“As we love you, little dragon

warrior,” Savitar replied.

“Show me,” Raven whispered. “I

need you. I need all of you.”

“Let us return home, then we will

show you how much we love you,”

Tristan replied in a rough voice

filled with lust and longing. “We

came too close to losing you tonight.

That is something we could never

bear, Raven. You are our light, the

other half of our souls.”

“Ah, I believe we have a slight

problem with that,” Kadan said,

looking around. “The God of the Sun

seems to have removed our hover-

cycles with the others.”

“Damn…”

A smile spread slowly across