Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (19 page)

propriety when you have all your

females in this place running around

in see-through dresses that show

everything every damn day. I mean,

think about it. Are you really okay

with my nipples and pussy on display

for everyone to see in one of those

things? I sure as hell am not.”

Kadan thought about that for a

moment. What she said made sense

and now that she had said it, he

didn’t like it. In fact, just the thought

made him want to kill any males that

saw her beautiful body. “You will

not wear those dresses.”

Raven quirked an eyebrow at him

as she pushed at his chest. Not that it

did anything. He was impossible to

move unless he wanted to, and

clearly, he didn’t want to. “Okay,

buddy. Get off so we can get

dressed.”

“I am still hard.”

She laughed at the petulant sound of

his voice. “Poor baby. I’m a little

sore from getting slammed by your

massive cock so that might have to

wait a little.” Raven was kind of

disappointed when he immediately

pulled out of her.

“Forgive me, mate. I was not

thinking.”

“Hey,” Raven said softly as she

reached out to cup his face. “It’s

okay. I loved what we did together

and I wouldn’t change a thing.”

“You are truly my mate now,”

Kadan whispered reverently. He

leaned in to kiss her, soft and sweet

and she melted into him, high on the

love she could feel emanating from

him through their bond. She sighed as

he ended the kiss and rested his

forehead against hers.

“I will not yell at the females, but

they should know that what they did

was wrong,” Kadan said in a stern

voice. “I find that I cannot stand the

thought of anyone but my brothers

seeing you naked.”

Kadan stood up and helped Raven

to her feet. She couldn’t help but grin

at him.

“Ditto.”

He paused to glance at her as he

reached down for her pants. “Ditto?”

“Yeah, I find that I don’t like other

women seeing your naked ass,” she

said with a grin. “And baby, I think

they had quite a view.”

“Shit…”

Chapter Nine

Kadan and Raven arrived back at

the palace shortly after then sun had

set. He must have sensed their arrival

because Savitar paced the courtyard

as he waited for the hover-craft to

come to a halt. Before she could

greet him, he plucked Raven right out

of the vehicle into his arms.

“I guess you missed me,” she said

on a laugh.

“Every moment you were away

from me,” he said with feeling and

she knew he meant it. She leaned in,

laid her lips lightly on his, and was

rewarded with a rumbling purr in his

chest that made her nipples pucker

beneath her leather vest.

Stirred up, she pulled back and

grinned.

“Greetings to you, too, brother.”

Kadan smirked as he came up beside

them. Savitar ignored him and began

carrying Raven up the stone steps

into the palace with one arm

wrapped around her waist.

“Savy, put me down,” Raven

protested before he could carry her

inside.

Kadan choked on a laugh. “Savy?

Dear Gods, is that what we are

calling you now?”

Savitar stopped and growled at his

brother as he set Raven on her feet. “I

will hurt you.”

Kadan grinned. “You are welcome

to try, brother.”

Before the boys could get into it,

Raven stepped between them. “Okay,

enough of that. Kadan, that is my

nickname for him. I call him that, you

don’t. Got it?”

Kadan’s

face

sobered.

“Aye,

mate.”

She spun around and poked a finger

into Savitar’s chest, noting the smirk

he was shooting Kadan. “And you.

No fighting with your brother.”

“Aye, mate.”

Satisfied when both of them were

chastised, Raven held back a grin.

“Now can we please go eat

something? I’m starving.”

Savitar’s

eyes

lit

up

with

anticipation.

“I

have

prepared

something for you up in our

chambers.”

Raven’s brow rose. “Oh, really?

What?”

“Come, mate. Let me show you.”

* * * *

Raven entered their suite with

Savitar and Kadan to see a feast laid

out in the sitting room. “Savitar, this

is wonderful!”

Savitar’s chest puffed up with

pride. “We thought we should have

our meal in here so we could discuss

some of the traditions of our world

before you are subjected to any more

scrutiny that might upset you.”

Raven’s stomach growled and both

men chuckled.

“We must feed you. Come,” Savitar

said. He led her over to the couches

and she waited until he was seated

before she curled up on his lap. She

could feel his happiness through their

bond and extended her legs so they

lay over Kadan, connecting all three

of them together.

“Where is Tristan?” she asked.

Savitar picked up a glass of sweet

wine and handed it to her. “There

was an attack on one of the havens on

the other side of the Citadel a short

while ago. He led some of our guards

to fight the rebels.”

Worry had Raven’s heart pounding

in her chest. “Is he okay?”

Savitar stroked a hand over her

hair. “He is fine, my love. And will

return later once all is set to rights.

Now, stop your worry. You must

eat.”

Raven leaned back against the

armrest at the end of the couch as

Kadan picked up one of the large

patters of food and selected a piece

of meat that she let him feed her.

“Now this, I can deal with. In private

this makes me feel special. But down

there, in front of everyone, it makes it

seem like I’m not capable of feeding

myself or that I have to depend on

you to feed me.”

“It is our honor to provide for you,”

Savitar said.

“Yes, but what if you get mad at me

and don’t want to feed me?”

His eyes widened in horror. “You

think I would starve you?”

“No!” She hugged him, because it

was better than shaking some sense

into him. “I’m using a hypothetical

here. What if a female were to piss

off her mates and they didn’t want to

feed her. Is she not allowed to eat?

By taking away their choice and

making them depend on the males,

it’s a form of control. Do you see

what I’m saying?”

She could tell that they did by the

way that they looked at one another.

“You have made a good point,

Raven,” Kadan said as he fed her

another bit of food. “We would not

want any female to feel like they must

obey in order to be able to eat or

anything else for that matter.”

Raven nodded. “I’m not asking you

to change your customs. Everything

here is so new to me and I feel like I

keep screwing up. If your people are

fine with the way things are then

great, but I just think it would be

beneficial to let all females know

they have choices. Mated or not.

Speaking of, about the havens…I was

really impressed with everything I

saw today. It’s just that…the women

there are really sad.”

Kadan paused before taking a drink

from his own goblet of wine and

looked at her in confusion. “Is that

not normal? They have been abused.”

“Yes, it’s normal. That’s not what

I’m talking about. The havens are a

safe place for them to live. You

protect them from the rogues, but it’s

also a prison.”

“Explain,” Savitar demanded.

Raven sighed. Men. Sometimes

they just didn’t get it. “Let me ask you

this…that festival the other night,

were the women from the havens

invited?”

Kadan shook his head. “No, they

are not allowed out…” His voice

trailed off as an expression of

understanding crossed his face.

“You don’t let them out until a trio

picks

them,”

Raven

confirmed.

“When I spoke to the women at the

haven today they told me a lot of

things that they could never tell you

because they feel grateful for what

you’ve done and don’t think they

should ask for anything more.”

“We never…all we wanted to do is

protect them,” Savitar said softly.

Raven rubbed a hand up and down

his arm. “I know, and you do. But

imagine if you were in their position.

They’re grateful not to be with the

rogues anymore and don’t say

anything for fear that they will be

tossed out. But once they’re in the

havens they are basically prisoners

until some trio takes a liking to them.

Then, she is forced to spend time

with the men and if she gives in and

has sex with them during that month

courting phase, she becomes theirs.”

“All the males that are allowed to

claim a female from one of the

havens are good warriors,” Kadan

explained.

She took a moment to eat something

to stop herself from snapping at him.

Fuck it, she thought. These were her

mates. She could say anything to

them. They already knew she was

going to speak her mind, so she might

as well do it. “You give these males

the go and then line the women up for

them to take their pick? It doesn’t

matter if the females don’t like them,

because they don’t really have a

choice. The way things are it only

matters what the trio want and if they

manage to seduce the woman they

pick then she is screwed. Literally

and figuratively.”

Both Savitar and Kadan flinched.

“What would you suggest we do?”

Savitar asked.

Raven nibbled at her lip, making

both of her mates growl. “Stop that or

I will have to kiss you and we will

never finish this conversation,”

Kadan commanded. He ran his finger

over her lip, soothing where she had

bit it.

“What if instead of having the

males just visit the haven, we have a

party or something? Once a month we

could invite a couple of the havens

over here to the palace and have

some of the unmated males come. It

could be a small gathering so we

could monitor it. This way both the

females and the males would have a

say in if they want to spend more

time together.”

A wide smile spread across

Kadan’s face. “That is brilliant,

sweetling.”

“Aye, that is our queen,” Savitar

said, his voice filled with pride.

Pleased that they had listened to her

suggestion, Raven focused on eating

her fill as they continued to plan how

to introduce the females from the

havens to the unmated males from the

Citadel. By the time they were done

with their meal, Raven understood

another reason why the males

insisted on feeding their women. The

entire meal had been an elaborate

seduction. They touched each other,

nipped at fingers, and stole kisses in

between bites.

“Now for your next surprise,”

Savitar said, his eyes alight with

mischief.

Kadan stood and took Raven from

Savitar’s lap, carrying her down a

hallway she hadn’t been down yet. It

made her laugh. “What is with you

guys and carrying me?”

“I like how you feel in my arms.”

Well then, she could live with that.

Her mind went blank as they entered

a suite straight out of her fantasies.

The enormous bedroom that was

decorated in the dark-silver color of

their house. It was an entire suite in

its own right with a massive bed, its

own little sitting area with chairs and

a couch, and a small balcony off to

the side overlooking the sea.

There were large and small