Into the Ashes [The Arcadians 2] (32 page)

rolled her eyes as her mates had all

taken a few steps back toward the

exit and had sat with the females to

explain her new idea of how to

introduce them to the unmated

warriors. As she expected, the

females were ecstatic and looking

forward to the party, but she was

surprised by the gratitude the females

showed her. They surrounded her,

falling to their knees and pressing

their foreheads to the back of her

hand as they continued to cry.

Kadan told her the females used to

do that with his mother when she

would visit the havens. It was the

highest sign of respect a female could

give their queen. Raven was touched

by their acceptance of her and

promised to see them at the

celebration.

Likewise,

when

she,

Savitar,

Kadan and Tristan announced the

new plan to their warriors the

resounding cheer almost shook Raven

off her feet.

All in all, it seemed like her idea

was going to work.

Raven had woken up to spectacular

morning sex with both Tristan and

Kadan then went downstairs to help

with some of the last minute

decisions before Nyla shooed her

away. After that, Raven took a long,

leisurely bath with Savitar. They had

a private round of loving before

Tristan and Kadan joined them. When

she kicked them out and told them she

wanted to prep for the party alone,

she laughed at the sight of three giant

warriors pouting.

Once she was alone in the bath, she

used a weird looking razor to shave

then rubbed her skin with a lightly

scented oil that Kadan had gifted her

with that smelled like spicy vanilla.

Over the last few days, her skin

seemed extra sensitive, like there

was a live current just below the

surface. It was disconcerting, but

Raven chalked it up to the change

Lunaria had warned her about. If she

was an Arcadian now, there were

bound to be changes to her body

besides being able to drop fang when

she wanted to bite her mates.

So much had happened this past

week and she hadn’t really had a

chance to sort it all out in her own

head. Raven was committed to her

new life in Arcadia and she truly did

love Savitar, Kadan and Tristan, but

finding out she was going to be a

mother so soon after all these

changes was scary as hell.

What did she know about being a

mother? Her own was a sorry excuse

and didn’t give her anything to go by.

If anything, her mother was the

epitome of what not to do. Raven’s

three mates soothed her every time

she started to freak out about it, but

no matter how scared she was, she

loved the tiny being inside her with

everything she had and would do

anything to protect it.

She dried her hair, leaving the jet-

black gypsy spirals loose around her

shoulders because she knew the

fascination her mates had with her

curls.

Deciding

to

wear

the

shimmering silver dress that the God

of the Sun had gifted to her, she put it

on with a pair of lace-up sandals then

studied herself in the mirror on the

wall of her bedroom. Her torque

went perfectly with the dress, the

ironstones in her necklace the exact

color of the gown.

Blowing out a breath, she opened

the door and barely contained a yelp

as she almost tripped over Var. The

argo had made a habit out of hanging

out in her bedroom whenever she

was in their suite. If the door was

open, Var would sit at the doorway

giving her sad eyes until she invited

the lion-like creature in. If the door

was closed, he would lay across her

bedroom doorway, guarding her like

some big, furry watch-cat, even

growling at her mates if they

approached. She’d laughed her ass

off yesterday when she had opened

the door to see Savitar growling back

at the animal.

Life was pretty fucking strange

sometimes…

Now, she simply smiled and leaned

down to rub her hand over his head.

Var let out a rumbling purr then got

up to trot by her side as she entered

the main area of the suite. She came

to a stop as her three mates stood in

front of her, all of them wearing

silver shirts made of a soft,

shimmering material. Their light-

brown hair fell to their broad

shoulders, with two tiny braids

framing their unbelievably handsome

faces. Their glowing golden eyes

shone with love as they looked at her,

and her heart skipped a beat.

God, she loved them so much it

hurt.

Raven’s eyes had widened as

Tristan stepped forward, holding the

beautiful circlet in his hands. The

small, delicate headpiece looked

funny in his large hands, but he held it

so gently it was obvious that it was

precious to him.

“This circlet belonged to our

mother,” Tristan said softly. “It is

customary to gift a newly mated

queen with a new one, but it would

mean a great deal to us if you would

choose to wear this one.”

Raven blinked back her tears as she

smiled up at him. “I don’t want a new

one. I love that you would let me

wear your mother’s circlet. I’m

honored.”

Tristan placed the headpiece on

her, careful to secure it in place

without pulling her hair. He stepped

back and smiled, his glowing eyes

burning bright with emotions. “You

are truly the most beautiful queen

ever imagined.”

She

blushed.

“You’re

biased

because you love me.”

Tristan grinned. “Aye, that I do, but

it is still true.”

“We have another gift for you,”

Kadan said as he stepped forward

and Tristan moved aside.

She let out a groan. “You guys have

to stop giving me stuff!”

“Never,” Savitar growled playfully

as he also came to stand in front of

her. “Hold out your arms for us.”

Curious, Raven did as they asked

and was shocked at the warrior’s cuff

they attached to her bare biceps. The

pieces of jewelry were absolutely

amazing. The one on her right arm

looked like a dragon’s claw, while

the one on her left arm looked like a

dragon’s head, with an ironstone in

place as the eye.

“Oh my god! These are amazing!”

She could see the pleasure that lit up

her mates’ eyes.

“Since Tristan was the one who

made your torque, we wanted to give

you a gift as well to show our love

for you. We have something similar

that we wear to show our royal status

when we have our warrior’s vests

on, but we thought it would be fitting

for you to have a matching pair as

well,” Savitar explained.

She jumped up and wrapped her

arms around his neck as she sealed

her lips to his. His strong arms came

around her instantly, holding her so

their bodies were pressed together.

She pulled back, reaching out to

Kadan

and

was

automatically

snatched into his arms. His mouth

came down on hers, his tongue

touching, tasting, sharing the love he

had for her. She jerked back with a

breathless laugh as his hand sank into

her hair.

“I love you bunches, baby…but,

you can’t ruin my hair right before a

party. It’s a rule.”

Amusement shone in his glowing

eyes. “It is?”

She nodded while trying to hold

back a smile. “Yep. It’s in the how-

to-be–a-good-mate handbook. I’ll get

you a copy later so you can read up,”

she said with a wink.

He threw his head back and

laughed. She loved the sound of their

laughter. Knowing the time was right,

she nibbled at her lip as she tried to

figure out the best way to give them

her gifts.

“What is it, little goddess?” Kadan

asked, rubbing his thumb over her lip

to soothe away where her teeth had

marked it.

“I have something for you guys, too.

I probably should have given it to

you earlier, but I sort of, well…it’s

nothing like what you gave me and I

didn’t really do it myself because I

have no clue how to—”

“We will love anything you give

us, little one,” Tristan said, coming

up behind her to rub the tension from

her shoulders.

Last week she had noticed that none

of the Arcadians ever wore anything

but plain colored clothing and she

had gotten an idea for a gift she

wanted to give her mates. The only

problem was she had no clue how to

make it. While Raven had been at one

of the havens, she had asked if any of

the females knew how to sew.

Several of them had and they offered

to help her with her project. They had

done an absolutely amazing job and

Raven had even suggested that the

females consider doing it as a

business together. The unmated

females were thrilled with the idea,

but wanted to wait to see how the

kings reacted to it before they

planned anything.

Now, she just had to see what her

mates thought of her gifts…

Raven blew out a breath then

walked over to the sitting area where

she took out a large bundle from

behind one of the couches where she

had hidden it earlier. She opened the

package and pulled out three dark-

silver shirts, similar to the ones her

mates were wearing, only these had

an intricate embroidered dragon

made with a dark-golden thread on it.

The dragon’s head was on the front

and the body of the large dragon

covered the side and the entire back

of the shirt, with the tail ending on the

other side of the front. In each of the

dragon’s heads, the eyes had been

made with a bright green thread that

made it look the like the dragon’s eye

was glowing.

“Raven!” Kadan exclaimed as she

handed a shirt to him.

“I can’t sew.” Her confession burst

from her lips in a nervous rush. “It

was my idea, but the females at the

central haven offered to help me with

it and they did the work.”

“This is a work of art!” Tristan

said as he held his shirt up, studying

the dragon from every angle.

Raven’s anxiety eased as Savitar

simply ripped the shirt off that he

was wearing and put the new one on.

The look of awe in his glowing eyes

was easy to see when he stood in

front of the mirror. His gaze met hers

through the reflection as Kadan and

Tristan switched their shirts behind

them. She walked up to Savitar and,

when he turned to her, she placed her

hand on the head of the dragon where

it lay over his heart.

“So, do you like it?”

“Nay, love,” Savitar said, his voice

rough with emotions. “I do not like it,

I love it.” His hand came up holding

hers in place on his chest. “It is

perfect, my little love.”

Relief flooded her as he leaned

down to rub his lips lightly over hers.

She wanted to take the kiss deeper,

but she had something important she

wanted to ask them before she got

distracted. “The females who helped

me wanted permission to start a

business together making clothing

like this. Is it okay for them to do it?”

Raven explained, looking at all of her

mates.

Kadan paused with one arm in his

shirt. “Raven, you are their queen. If

you gave them your permission that is

all they need.”

“Well, I was just wondering if

there was some reason why it’s never

been done before. I mean, most of the

Arcadians I’ve seen wear plain stuff

with no patterns or decorations.”

“We have just never thought of it,”