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