Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (34 page)

“You cannot do that!” A man that

looked like Brynt and Koreth

exclaimed as he hurried forward.

“That is our sister!”

“I can,” Kell growled. “It was our

sister who brought this on herself.”

“Aye,” Damos agreed as he got in

his little brother’s face. “Vadar, take

Selina home. Now!”

Raven snorted out a laugh. Vadar?

Seriously? Their parents had doomed

that guy from the moment they named

him.

“You are a traitor to your own

family,” Vadar spat at Damos.

The larger brother grabbed Vadar

by the throat and snarled at him.

“Nay, you are by allowing this

behavior.”

“You protect this outsider over our

sister?” Koreth yelled out as he

joined them. “Turning against your

own blood for this human bitch—”

Savitar let out a roar and punched

Koreth so hard the other male flew

back several feet before he collapsed

on the ground, unconscious. Chest

heaving in anger, Savitar stood at his

full height, a tower of rage as his

eyes narrowed on the fallen man.

Raven was caught in Tristan’s

embrace as Kadan moved in front of

her to protect her. She looked down

to see that Savitar’s claws were out

and knew through their bond that he

was seconds away from killing the

other man.

She had very little time to gain

control of the situation before it

turned bloody, and decided to go

with humor. “Well, now that the

entertainment portion of the evening

is finished, I think it’s time to eat.”

Using their private bond she reached

out to her mate. “Calm down, my

love. Let it go, Savitar.”

Savitar turned to her with eyes

burning bright with rage. “He

insulted you.”

She sighed then opened the

pathways so all three of her mates

could hear her. “He’s an idiot. So is

she. That fuckhead isn’t worth you

getting blood all over the place and

freaking out the other females. Kick

their asses out of here and let’s eat.

I’m hungry.”

Savitar hesitated a moment before

nodding. His claws slowly retracted

and she reached out a hand to him

that he immediately clasped in his.

Damos

released

Vadar

and

growled at him and Selina. “You are

an embarrassment to our family

name. All of you. Collect Koreth on

your way out. Go home and wait

there until your fate is decided.”

“You will regret this,” Vadar

hissed before scurrying away with

Selina, both of them taking a wide

path around Raven and her mates as

they left.

Kell nodded to three warriors.

“Follow them. Make sure they leave

the palace and keep an eye on them. I

want them secured at their home until

the kings decide their punishment.”

Another hard-eyed trio of warriors

stepped forward as the other three

left. “We shall find Brynt and make

sure he is taken home as well.”

“Good,” Malik said then stepped in

front of Raven and her mates. “My

kings, queen Raven, I beg of you not

to be lenient on them for their crimes.

We have tried to teach them, but they

do not understand the meaning of

honor.”

“Damn, they mean to step down

from their position as chiefs of

security. All for those worthless

brothers of theirs,” Tristan cursed.

Raven’s heart went out to the proud

warriors standing in front of them as

Kell and Damos flanked Malik. They

were embarrassed and angry by what

their brothers had done but it wasn’t

Malik, Damos, or Kell’s fault. She

could see Nyla with a hand over her

mouth, trying to hold back her sobs

out of the corner of her eye and made

a quick decision. These men were

her mates’ best friends and they were

damn good at their jobs. The trio was

well respected by everyone and she

couldn’t let them take the blame for

what someone else did.

“We will worry about this later.

It’s not your fault, Malik. Nor is it

yours, Damos and Kell,” Raven said

in a loud voice that she made sure

carried before her mates said

anything. “We still trust and value

your service to us and the kingdom.

Now, let’s eat!”

She knew she made the right

decision when Tristan rubbed his

hands up and down her arms and

kissed the top of her head. The crowd

departed and people started taking

their seats at the long tables. “Why

did you laugh, little one?” Tristan

asked. “That was not the reaction I

was expecting from you during a

confrontation.”

“Vadar is the name of an ultimate

bad guy back where I’m from. It just

seemed fitting that he had that name.”

Raven smiled apologetically at

Malik, Kell, and Damos and was

glad when their stoic expressions

softened. She lowered her voice. “I

don’t want to hear any of you

apologizing for them anymore. Your

younger brothers are assholes, but

that doesn’t mean you can take the

blame for what they do. That doesn’t

solve anything. As I said before, you

can’t pick your family…that’s why

friends are so important.”

“Thank you, my queen,” Malik said

softly. He and his brothers bowed

their heads as Nyla hurried forward.

“Oh Raven, Selina has always been

a little strange, but I never thought

she would do something like this. She

and I have never truly been close,

but…it is just…ever since I mated

her older brothers she has been

corrupted by Koreth, Vadar and

Brynt. So, in a way it is my fault. And

after Kadan rejected her, she has

changed even more.”

Kadan’s eyes widened. “I did not

reject her.” He shot a quick look at

Raven. “That does not mean I ever

wanted her. I mean I did not even

realize she was interested in us.”

Raven and Nyla shared a look.

Men. Sometimes they were so

oblivious.

Savitar drew her attention as he

took her hand. “I heard what she

said,” he said softly. “Thank you,

mate.”

Raven sighed. “You don’t have to

thank me, Savitar. I love you. I will

defend you to the death, even from

jealous idiots who run their mouths.”

She went up on her toes and Savitar

leaned down to press his lips lightly

against hers. “Now, feed me. I’m

hungry.”

Kadan,

Savitar

and

Tristan

chuckled as they led her to the dais

where they sat down at the head

table. Raven was relieved to see that

the altercation didn’t ruin the

celebratory mood and the party was

back on track. Nyla, Damos, Kell and

Malik joined them at the table with

several other warriors and their

mates. They enjoyed each other’s

company as they began eating while a

few males began to play drums and

some weird sort of flute thing in the

corner of the room, adding to the

festive ambiance.

After the meal Raven stood up, but

Kadan took her hand before she

could move from the table. “Where

are you going, little goddess?”

She leaned down and pressed a

quick kiss to his lips then whispered

in his ear. “I’ll be right back, I have

to pee.” He chuckled then began to

stand to go with her, but she pressed

down on his shoulders. “Nope, you

aren’t coming with me. That was not

code for sex.”

He frowned at her. “Do we need a

code for sex? Although that would be

a wonderful use of our time, I am not

comfortable with you walking around

here

without

us

after

what

happened.”

She rolled her eyes. “They’re gone.

This is my home, Kadan. I’ll be right

back. Besides, one of my shadows is

going to be following me anyway.”

Kadan looked over at Tirk, who

had jumped up from his seat and

hurried over the second he saw

Raven stand. “Fine then. Hurry

back.”

Raven rolled her eyes again then

walked away from the table with

Tirk by her side. “Don’t you and your

brothers ever get bored following me

around?”

“Nay, my queen,” he said, his

glowing eyes alight with amusement.

“You are most entertaining and we

are never bored around you.”

“Gee, thanks,” she said with a

chuckle as they turned down the

corridor, heading to the closest

bathroom.

“My queen, I have been meaning to

ask you. Can you—”

The sound of Tirk’s breath leaving

in a whoosh had Raven turning just in

time to see him fall to the ground, a

sword sticking out of his back. She

didn’t have time to scream before

something slammed down on her

head and the world went black.

Chapter Fifteen

Raven woke slowly, her head

throbbing so painfully that she fought

back a wave of nausea when she

tried to move. She was laying on the

cold, hard ground in an extremely

uncomfortable position, but remained

still as she tried to figure out what the

hell

happened.

The

grogginess

dissipated quickly as memories

flooded back and she remembered

watching Tirk’s bloody body fall to

the ground. Her eyes popped open

then closed quickly again as the

contents of her stomach threatened to

make an appearance.

“Are you awake, my queen?” a soft

feminine voice asked to her right.

Raven forced her eyes back open

and turned her head to look over at

the bruised and battered young

Arcadian female chained up next to

her, wearing nothing more than a

scrap of cloth. “I’m awake,” Raven

said softly then let out a painful groan

as she struggled to sit up. As she

moved, the chains attached to the

manacles on her wrists and ankles

rattled.

“Stop! They will hear you!” the

female cried out softly, terror filling

her voice.

Raven slowed her movements,

trying not to make any sound as she

sat up fully to brace her back against

the rock wall. She looked around and

saw that she and the other female

were in some sort of cave, attached

to the rock wall by the chains.

Shit.

The cave was lit with a few torches

giving off dim blue flames and there

was a crude, carved-out doorway

that led into a larger cave, but Raven

couldn’t see beyond that. “Where are

we?” Raven whispered, her voice

rough from her dry mouth and throat.

“This is one of the rogue camps,”

the female replied. “I am Mila.”

“My name is Raven.”

“I know.” Mila smiled at her

weakly then winced at her cut lip.

“They have spoken of little else since

you were brought here.”

“How long has it been since I was

brought in?” Raven asked, shifting to

try and relieve the ache in her back

and neck.

“It was several hours ago. I was

worried that you would not wake up

at all. Your head was bleeding a

great deal.” Mila hugged her knees to

her chest, trying to cover as much

bare skin as she could. Raven noticed

that Mila was covered in bruises

from head to toe and her heart went

out to the other woman.

They had to get the hell out of here.

Like five fucking minutes ago…

Raven touched the back of her

head. She felt the dried blood matting

her hair but found that the wound had

already healed. Savitar, Kadan and

Tristan would be frantic if she had

been missing for hours. Raven closed

her eyes and reached out to her mates

through their bond only to come up

against what felt like a smooth, solid

wall.

“Something’s

wrong,”

she

whispered.

“If you are trying to reach your

mates it will not work,” Mila