Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (3 page)

within her as she finally focused on

the inhabitants of the hall. The room

was filled with what could only be

described as seven foot tall, glowy-

eyed demons, all with dark hair and

bronzed skin. She saw several

beautiful female demons dressed in

transparent, jeweled-tone dresses

scattered around the hall, but the

females

were

completely

outnumbered by the male demons that

dominated the room.

Sweet Jesus, they were all big

bastards.

The males all wore varying shades

of dark leather pants and brightly

colored shirts made of a shimmering

material she had never seen before.

Several of them wore belts with

actual swords hanging down the

sides of their legs. They surrounded

her from all sides, all staring at her,

frozen in what seemed like shock at

her sudden appearance.

Or she should say, had been

shocked.

She had seen lust in the eyes of men

far too often not to notice the change

that occurred in several of the male

demons closest to her. They shifted

their large, muscular frames as if

preparing to pounce on her to rip her

to pieces or for other purposes she’d

rather not think about.

Yep, she was seriously screwed.

Raven slowly shifted to a crouched

position where she’d have better

access to the weapon she was

eternally grateful she still felt

strapped to her hip. The whisper of

movement behind her in the silent

room had her bracing then a low

growl had her turning her head and

freezing in fear. She was situated at

the base of a few wide steps leading

up to a raised platform and when she

looked up…

Fuck.

She really was dead and hell had

two rulers, not one.

The sight of the two male demons

on their feet behind the head table

had her eyes going wide with terror.

Obviously brothers, both of the

demons in charge were frighteningly

beautiful with strong, chiseled jaws,

high cheekbones, and tempting full

lips made for kissing. They were

almost identical, with long brown

hair that flowed loose around their

shoulders with two braids at the

sides of their temples. They both

wore black leather pants with silver

tunics that were an interesting

contrast to their glowing golden eyes.

Their powerfully built frames were

tight with tension and their eyes were

locked onto hers like laser beams,

making it impossible to look away

from them.

They were warriors, strong and

lethal.

Raven felt her heart thud in her

chest as she fell deeper into the

intimate connection she had with the

two of them. It was strange. She’d

never reacted to a man this way, let

alone two men at once. No, they

weren’t men, they were demons.

How in the world could she be

attracted to demons? She was still

scared shitless, but she was also…

aroused? That was until one of them

opened his mouth and growled at her.

Oh, Christ…

The demons had fangs!

Like a slap to the face, that got her

moving quick.

Breaking their strange connection,

she bolted for the nearest exit. Harsh

growls filled the air as she evaded

large grasping hands. She used her

own momentum to toss a large male

demon over her shoulder as she sped

past him. A few of the female demons

screamed as Raven launched herself

onto one of the tables, using it as a

springboard to flip over the heads of

a few of the males. Her only thought

was to escape as she flew toward the

open doors at the end of the hall.

Propelling herself into a slide

through another demon’s spread legs,

she quickly gained her feet only to

find the doors being slammed shut,

with three large guards standing in

front of them blocking her exit. Raven

raced toward an open window to the

side and came to a hard stop.

What the fuck?!

She stared out at the dark-red sky

and two purple moons in absolute

disbelief. Okay, so hell didn’t have a

sky, did it? But if she wasn’t in

hell…where in the world was she?

Or was that the point? She was no

longer in her own world, but in

another?

Panic had Raven jerking around at

a sound behind her to see the two

leaders had followed her on her

flight. Confusion filled her as they

seemed to be guarding her from the

others hoping for a chance to grab at

her. They growled harshly at the

others, holding them back. Another

male stepped forward, growling back

at them as if in conversation. Several

others joined in and whatever the

newcomers said didn’t sit well with

the two leaders. Their snarls were

downright terrifying, but they nodded

arrogantly as the other demons

quickly stepped back.

Maybe they wanted the pleasure of

killing her for themselves.

On that cheerful thought she backed

up slowly, alarm ratcheting to new

heights as the brothers turned,

following her step for step. They

really were spectacular looking, but

her fear overpowered any sense of

attraction she’d felt earlier. No, they

didn’t want to kill her. At least not

yet. She could see pure lust burning

in both of their glowing eyes and that

terrified her even more.

“Stop!”

She silently cursed to herself. They

didn’t listen any better than the little

shit thief had. They took another step

toward her, towering over her

smaller

frame.

Desperate

now,

Raven drew her weapon, pointing it

at the closer of the two. “Don’t come

any closer!”

The demon stopped, cocking his

head to the side as he studied the gun

in her hand. Their eyes met and held,

glowing gold to brilliant emerald. He

softly growled something at her,

making

her

brows

furrow

in

exasperation.

“If you’re speaking to me I have no

idea what you’re saying!” Damn it,

even she could hear the frantic panic

in her voice as she struggled to keep

the gun steady in her hand.

The demon paused then slowly

nodded to her, showing her that he

understood what she’d said. Those

golden eyes burning into hers, he

lifted his hand slowly to his mouth.

He bit down on his wrist with his

fangs and held out his arm to her. Her

gaze flickered down to the bleeding

wound then back up to his eyes again,

not understanding what the hell he

wanted from her.

Was he fucking kidding?

“What the hell are you doing? I’m

not touching that.”

She shook her head at him, getting a

low growl in response. The demon

leader turned to his brother and said

something to him. The other one

shook his own head and growled

back. Raven was so caught up in the

extreme weirdness of the situation

that she had no warning. The first

brother moved so quickly, she barely

had time to blink. He jerked the gun

from her hand, tossing it to his

brother, and wrapped her in a firm

yet gentle embrace.

Raven cried out in alarm and

struggled to break free from his

grasp, but it was no use. He was

immensely powerful and there was

no way to break his hold on her. His

massive body was intimidating and

he towered over her five-seven frame

by a good foot and a half. Her body

shook in his hold and black spots

blurred her vision as her panic tried

to swallow her whole.

She closed her eyes waiting for the

pain, but it never came.

They stood together for long

seconds and Raven came back to

herself to find that the giant holding

her was stroking a hand over her

braided hair in a soothing gesture.

The other brother at her back stood

close, a sentinel that blocked her

from view of the others in the room,

sheltering her between them. She was

grateful that they had kept the others

from seeing her panic, but it still

didn’t make this situation any better.

The demon leader holding her

pulled back slightly and raised his

wrist to his mouth once again. She

watched with wide eyes as he bit

back down to the already healed

flesh and held it out to her again.

“What the hell are you, a fucking

vampire? You want me to drink your

blood? I’ll pass.”

Ignoring her refusal he lifted his

wrist up against her lips. She tried to

pull away but ended up turning her

head away to avoid it instead. She

felt like a petulant child, trying to

avoid being force-fed something she

didn’t want and sealed her lips shut

tight as she strained away from him.

She heard his low growl of

frustration and saw him lick the

wound on his wrist closed himself.

Alarm raced through her as his eyes

narrowed. She watched as he used

his sharp fangs to bite down on his

bottom lip so that blood swelled

from the wound.

“What—”

She got no further as his mouth

came down hard on hers in a

scorching kiss. She couldn’t quite

hold back her moan as his tongue

delved deep, forcing the taste of his

blood into her mouth. The sweet

metallic tang of his blood make her

shiver as it hit her tongue. It should

have disgusted her. Instead, she

wanted more of him. To taste more,

to feel him deep inside her. She

jerked as his fangs nicked her tongue,

mixing their blood together as he took

her mouth with a passion that left her

breathless.

What the hell was she thinking?

This was not normal. She didn’t kiss

random men and she sure as hell

didn’t make out with fanged demons

that wanted to drink her blood. She

wrenched her mouth away, still

tasting the sweet flavor of him and

did what any sane woman would do.

She pulled back her arm and let her

fist fly.

Chapter Two

“Fuck me!” Kadan snarled as his

head snapped back from the blow.

Kadan Akira could hear his brother

Tristan chuckling from where he was

positioned behind the little fire-

breathing female. Sure, he could

laugh, he wasn’t the one hurting now.

Because she was so much smaller

than him, her fist had clipped his jaw

when she had hit him. It wouldn’t

normally hurt much, but he had been

unprepared and when her tiny fist

connected with his jaw he had bit his

own damn tongue.

He was a King of the Iron City for

good goddess’s sake!

How dare a female strike him!

Growling out, he took her lips

again in a brutal kiss, his tongue

invading deep to share the taste of his

blood with her to ensure the blood

bond between them was indeed in

place. He pulled back and Kadan’s

fury vanished like vapor as he looked

down at the tiny female he held in his

arms.

She was scared.

No, not just scared…absolutely

terrified.

Her enchanting green eyes were

wide with horror and the scent of her

fear hit his nose like the most acrid of

smells. The female in his arms should

never know this kind of fear.

Especially of him, the male who had

just claimed her as his mate.

A short while ago Kadan had been

bored out of his mind as he watched

the citizens of the Citadel enjoying

themselves at the annual spring

festival held at the palace. As the

Kings of the Iron City, it was his and

his brother’s duty to host the festival,

regardless of their apathy to the

revelry.

Since their parents had died over

fifty years ago, Kadan and his two