by Laurie Roma
“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 bac
k, 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 started to stomp away, but only got two steps away before Savitar stopped her by gripping her arm.
“Where are you going, mate?”
“Away from you since you guys obviously want to talk without me hearing you,” Raven snapped as she pulled away from him.
“Forgive us, Raven. We have shared thoughts for so many years that it is almost instinctual for us to share information we find troubling,” Kadan explained. He reached out to rub his hand soothingly over her arms. “Aye, you showed us how your weapon works, but to see it with our own eyes was something vastly different. My brothers and I were talking about what to do with this knowledge now.”
Raven’s brows furrowed in concern. “What do you mean?”
“Would you let us use your gun so we can figure out a way to make our own?” Savitar asked.
Oh, shit…
It made sense, but Raven still had her doubts. For a race that could create something that allowed her to understand different languages by implanting some sort of chip in her, they could obviously figure out how to replicate a gun. Still, it made her nervous that she would destroy Arcadia single handedly.
“Is that really a good idea? I mean, what if—”
Kadan placed a finger gently on her lips to stop her from finishing that thought. “There are two trios of inventors and builders that we would entrust with this task, and them alone. Once the weapons are built, we would only provide them to the elite guards to use.”
“We have learned what war can do to our world and do not want that for our people. But our fight with the rogues cannot be ignored. They kidnap our females and abuse them, Raven. We fight with honor and use our swords in combat, but too often the rogues come at us in large groups and attack our warriors.”
Raven’s heart clenched at the thought of something happening to one of her men. It wasn’t something she even wanted to imagine. Both Kadan and Savitar squeezed her hands, obviously reading her. “Okay, fine. But I want your word that if you do this you will train your men first before you start running around shooting people.”
Kadan smiled. “Aye, mate. We will. Perhaps you would be willing to lead the training?”
Shock had Raven gasping. “You’d let me train your men?”
“Who better to show our warriors than our warrior queen? You are the only one who has used the weapon before,” Savitar said.
“But…will they listen to me?”
“They will…or they will answer to me,” Savitar growled as he ran a loving hand over her hair and wound one curl around a large finger. She smiled at the contrast.
Raven blew out a breath. “Okay, it’s a plan. Just call me queen badass.”
Kadan’s brows furrowed. “Your ass is perfect.”
Raven laughed. “Well, thank you. Being a badass is a good thing. It’s…never mind.”
“I will take the weapon to the Boric brothers now,” Savitar said. “Would you like to accompany me, mate?”
Raven thought about it, but she’d had other plans for the day she still had to see through. “Why don’t you go. I was hoping that Kadan could show me more of the city.”
“With pleasure, sweetling.”
Before he left, Raven showed Savitar the basic components of the gun and reluctantly handed it over to him as a group of warriors approached, led by Kell, Damos and Nyla.
“You are very brave,” Nyla said, her voice shaking with residual fear. Her mates stroked her back and hair as if to soothe her. Nyla shook them off and stepped forward, straightening to her full height. “I would ask that you teach me to defend myself as a female warrior.”
Her mates growled in protest as Raven stared at the other woman in surprise. “I could do that.”
“You insult us!” Damos growled. Both Savitar and Kadan snarled viciously, making Nyla cower in fear.
“Hey! Cut the growling crap,” Raven snapped. All of the men were so shocked they stopped immediately. Raven sucked in a deep breath as she took Kadan’s hand in hers. He squeezed her hand in support. “Now, tell me how I insulted you. I didn’t mean to so you will have to explain it to me.”
“It is a warrior’s duty to defend their mate. My brothers and I would never let anything happen to Nyla,” Damos growled.
“I know you wouldn’t, but what if something happens to you? Why shouldn’t the females of this world be trained to defend themselves in case of an emergency?” Raven asked, honestly not understanding.
Kell opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by Savitar. “Queen Raven is right. Our mates depend on us for safety, as they should, but if something should happen to us they are left defenseless. It gives me peace to know that my mate can and will defend herself against any threat that comes at her. That does not mean that I or my brothers are not capable of protecting her.”
Savitar’s deep voice carried out so all of the warriors present could hear him. Raven noticed that several of the men nodded as her mate had spoken, but several others did not look convinced.
“Your kings have guards, because there is a bigger threat against them than the average male, correct?” She focused on Kell and Damos as they nodded. “If all females are a major target as well, doesn’t it make sense to prepare them to fight to protect themselves? What about females that don’t have mates?” Raven added.
“It is their family’s duty to protect them,” another warrior called out.
Okay, they were so not getting the point. Disgust had Raven snapping impatiently, “And for the females who have no family? Don’t you get it? By making females think they have to always depend on a man to protect them you are making them victims.”
“It does seem foolish to think one as small as you could do any damage to a full grown male,” one of the warriors said. “Females are weak and need to be taken care of.”
Oh, fuck that! Raven tried to let go of Kadan’s hand but he refused to release her.
“What are you doing, mate?” Kadan asked.
“Trust me,” was all she said. Then she thought to ask, “You heal quickly, right?”
“Aye.” He nodded as he released her.
Raven smiled sweetly at the man. “Would you like me to show you how this weak female would fight back?”
The warrior smirked. “You could try, my queen.”
She didn’t hesitate. She walked straight up to the condescending man and kicked him in the nuts. Hard. His breath whooshed out as he fell to his knees. She made a fist and hit him in the face as hard as she could then stepped back as he hi
t the ground.
“Lesson concluded.”
Chapter Eight
Kadan took Raven on a tour of the city riding around the Citadel in one of their hover-crafts while a handful of guards paced them on hover-cycles. Everything was new to Raven and he loved seeing his home through her eyes. He answered whatever questions she asked of him and frowned when she had apologized for her curiosity. It was unfathomable that she didn’t understand that there was nothing she could not ask of him.
Hell, he was a King, but he would kneel at her feet if she wanted him to.
The depths of his feeling for her were both disturbing and exhilarating. He’d never thought they would find a mate that could love all three of them equally. It pained him how the Arcadian females viewed Savitar as being undesirable, and yet he was the one to win Raven’s trust after the complete debacle Kadan and Tristan had made out of her first day with them.
Where Savitar was the eldest, and most often alone, and Tristan was the most daring, Kadan was the one that most of their people came to with their problems. He was considered the most serious of the trio and tried to do whatever he could to ensure that their people prospered.
He was pleased that the Citadel resembled the cities from her home world and that she felt comfortable in the busy atmosphere that some found intimidating. She told him of the cities of her world and he could hardly believe the tall structures that she showed him from her memories. The tallest buildings in Arcadia were fifteen stories high and it was staggering to see what Raven called “high-rises” that she showed him. He and his brothers were proud of the Citadel. As the largest city on Arcadia, it was a wonder to their people, and it pleased him that Raven approved of all that he showed her.
Kadan loved the feel of his mate’s tiny hand in his as they took their tour. He had a hard time controlling his desire, especially since he had woken with the memories of Savitar’s night of loving her. It was a testament to his self-control that he didn’t just ravage her in the hover-craft, but he had learned from his mistake.
