Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] by Laurie Roma Page B

do?”
    “Well,” Raven hedged. “I would
    like to see some of the city. But
    before that I was hoping I could see
    where you guys train.”
    Kadan’s eyes narrowed. “You wish
    to see the warriors training?”
    Idiots. The flash of jealousy she felt
    coming off of both of her mates had
    her rolling her eyes. “I don’t want to
    ogle your men,” she said through
    their bond. “I just wanted to see your
    training facilities. Remember? I was
    a warrior, too. I’m used to exercise
    and stuff.”
    “Keep your mate in bed and that
    will be enough exercise for her,”
    Koreth said with a laugh.
    On a deadly growl, Kadan reached
    out and with a casual display of
    strength, picked Koreth up by his
    shirt and flung the large male away
    from the table. Koreth landed in a
    heap several feet away. “You will
    want to stay away from me and our
    mate for some time,” Kadan warned
    in a savage snarl. “Until I no longer
    have the urge to kill you or until you
    learn to hold your tongue.”
    “Forgive us, King Kadan,” Brynt
    said as he quickly stood, obviously
    knowing they had pushed them too
    far. He then held out a hand to Selina.
    “Come, sister. We shall take you
    home.” Selina and Brynt hurried
    away from the table, all but racing
    from the room to catch up to Koreth,
    who had already left.
    Kadan turned sad eyes to Raven.
    “Do not fear me.”
    His jaw dropped as she laughed.
    She reached out, cupping his face in
    her hands, and smacked a hard kiss to
    his lips.
    “This may be inappropriate, but
    that was totally awesome!”
    Chapter Seven

    Raven walked out into the sunlight
    holding both Kadan and Savitar’s
    hands. The sun was a bright white
    against the light-pink sky, making it
    difficult to see until her eyes adjusted
    to the change. Nyla and her mates
    walked with them as they made their
    way across the courtyard.
    There were people milling about
    that stopped to bow as Kadan and
    Savitar walked by. It made Raven
    feel weird, but hey, they were kings.
    It was going to take her a lot longer
    to get used to the genuflecting being
    directed at her. She could tell that the
    others were curious about her by the
    way they stared, but she tried not to
    notice them and kept her head held
    high even though she wanted to
    burrow into Savitar’s side to avoid
    the scrutiny.
    “Queen Raven—”
    “Ah, do you think you could drop
    the title and just call me Raven when
    we are among friends?” Raven asked
    her mate’s cousin. “We are related
    after all…sort of.”
    “I would be honored.” The other
    woman smiled and her eyes glowed
    bright with pleasure. “I am so
    pleased my cousins have chosen such
    a beautiful and kind mate. It has been
    many long years that I have waited to
    see Savitar, Kadan, and Tristan so
    happy.”
    “Speaking of…” Raven began. “I
    thought you guys were all born as
    triplets. Are Kell and Damos your
    only mates?”
    “Nay, our other brother Malik is
    guarding King Tristan while they
    hunt,” Damos said.
    “Ah. And by hunting you mean…”
    “They hunt the rogues that hide
    within our region,” Kadan explained.
    “Malik is Tristan’s personal guard,
    just like Damos is mine and Savitar
    has Kell. About that, we will need
    you to have guards as well. One of us
    will try to always be with you, but
    for the times when we cannot, you
    will need to be guarded.”
    Well, that made sense. There
    would always be threats against the
    rulers of any land and as the Queen of
    the Iron Palace it would make sense
    she would have to have guards to
    keep her safe. “Okay.”
    Kadan nodded. “Good. We shall
    choose
    a
    trio
    that
    you
    feel
    comfortable with. Two of them will
    always be with you and they shall
    rotate on a schedule.”
    “Why two when you only have
    one?”
    “Perhaps it is because we believe
    you will cause twice as much
    mischief?” Savitar quipped, shocking
    the others at his lighthearted mood.
    Raven could tell that this was not
    how he normally was in front