been dressed in shimmering gowns
similar to Raven’s in various shades
of the rainbow. She was relieved to
see that all of Mila’s and the other
females’ bruises were gone, but
knew nothing could take away the
pain they felt inside from what they
had been through.
Raven’s hand flew to her head as
she felt the circlet appear back on her
head. She looked at the God of the
Sun in shock and almost fell over
when he winked at her. She had been
kicking herself for not grabbing it
before she left the cavern, but her
mates’ fear had driven her to find
them as soon as she was free.
“Thank you,” she said, smiling at
the god. The females and the guards
looked around in confusion then
looked back at Raven like she was
nuts. She sighed. Obviously they
couldn’t see Silas. She turned to
speak to her mates, but closed her
mouth when she saw all three of them
gawking at the God of the Sun.
“You can see him?” Raven asked.
When she got no response she
reached out to poke Savitar. He
caught her hand and held it over his
heart then nodded, never looking
away from the giant towering over
them.
“Aye, we can see him,” Tristan
whispered.
“My lord,” Kadan said as he
bowed his head to the god.
Silas nodded arrogantly and it
made Raven smile as she held back
the urge to roll her eyes. Posturing
males were all the same, no matter if
they were Gods or men.
Silas let out a sigh. “Always you
insult me.”
“I do not,” Raven argued, then
winced as the guards looked around
for some unseen threat. Apparently
they couldn’t hear Silas either. “Can
you show yourself to them so they
don’t think I’ve gone crazy?” Raven
asked through their bond, keeping her
mind open so her mates could also
hear.
“Nay, send them away. I may
tolerate your mates, but I will not
waste my time on these other
mortals,” Silas said casually.
Raven did roll her eyes this time.
Yeah, this coming from the man…
err…god that came to her aid as soon
as he was able and who had saved
all the females in the cavern without
a thought. She patted Kadan’s arm as
he stiffened next to her.
“You are going to ruin my image
as a badass,” Silas growled in her
head.
Raven burst out laughing. “Yeah,
like that could ever happen. Silas,
you will always be the biggest
badass around.”
“Flattery is always appreciated.
Address your people and send them
to care for the females, little dragon
warrior,” Silas commanded.
Abiding by his wishes, Raven
turned to the group watching them
warily. She could feel her mates
were still in shock at seeing the God
of the Sun, but their desire to know
what happened was so strong their
need was beating at her. She looked
around at the large group and saw
elite warriors mixed with warriors
she had met in the forge and others
that worked in the palace. It touched
her heart to see them all there…for
her.
“You are their queen and our
heart,” Savitar said softly through
their bond. “They would defend you
to the death.”
Taking a deep breath, Raven
channeled her inner queen and took
the first step at leading their people.
“I want to thank you all for coming to
my aid. I was kidnapped earlier and
discovered a plot to kill your kings,
my mates, led by Brynt, Koreth,
Vadar and Selina who were working
with a group of rogues. These
females were held captive in a
cavern in the heart of the mountain
and they are not alone. There are
other locations just like this one. I
promise you we will find these
locations and take down the rogues
so they will never harm anyone ever
again.”
The sound of whispers filled the
air. She saw Kell, Damos and Malik
hang their heads in shame and held up
a commanding hand so everyone fell
silent once again. “The only ones to
blame in all this are the assholes that
were in that cavern and the rogues
still out there,” she growled with so
much power the three brothers’ heads
snapped up.
“Where are the rogues, my queen?”
one of the elite warriors called out.
“The ones that took me are all
dead.” She shot a quick glance at
Kell, Damos, Malik and her own
mates to gauge their reactions and
was relieved to see no anger directed
at her.
“They were dead to us the moment
they touched you and betrayed our
kings,” Malik growled as his
brothers nodded.
“If you had not killed them, we
would have,” Kadan vowed.
She nodded then stepped forward
to address the crowd again. “I know I
am new to your world, but I am one
of you now…a true Arcadian and
proud of it. I have been given a great
gift from Lunaria, the Goddess of the
Moons, and Silas, the God of Sun,
one that you have lost through years
from neglect and through your
ancestors’ battle for power and
dominance. I have merged with the
dragon spirit and have become a
guardian of this land and to its
people. I am Raven Akira, Queen of
the Palace of the Iron City and
Dragon Warrior. I will fight by your
sides to defend this world and will
bring death to any who seek to harm
my mates or our people!”
The crowd roared its approval at
her words. Kadan, Savitar and
Tristan stepped up and thanked the
warriors before telling them all to go
back to the Citadel. Most of the
warriors began to leave, but a few of
the most trusted elite warriors stayed
behind. Raven looked over to the
group of females huddled together as
Mila stepped forward.
“My queen…”
Raven smiled. “I told you to call
me Raven, Mila.”
Mila smiled nervously as she
hugged her arms around her waist as
if trying to protect herself. “Raven, I
wanted to thank you for what you
did…for saving us. I just…I do not
know what to do now…my brothers
were all I had…” Tears filled her
eyes as she struggled for control over
her emotions.
“Don’t worry about that and you
don’t have to thank me. None of you
do,” Raven said, addressing all of the
females. She had an idea that she
shared with her mates through their
bond, not knowing what they would
think of it.
Kadan smiled at her. “It is a
wonderful idea.”
Raven returned his loving gaze then
focused back on the females. “My
mates and I welcome all of you to the
palace where you may rest and
recover. We will contact your
families for those of you who have
someone looking for you,” Raven
offered and noticed several of the
females’ eyes went wide with fear.
“And for those of you who don’t, you
are welcome to stay with us at the
palace or we can find you a spot at
one of the havens if that is more to
your liking. Either way, you are safe
now. I swear it.”
“We swear it,” Savitar said as he
wrapped an arm around Raven,
pulling her so her back was resting
against him.
Tristan asked several of their most
trusted guards to stay and transport
the females back to the palace but the
traumatized females cowered away
in alarm. Seeing their reaction,
Raven didn’t know what to do. They
could send for larger transportation
and wait—
Silas let out a tortured sigh before
revealing himself to the small group
that remained. The females and elite
warriors gasped in shock at the sight
of the golden god. He focused on
Kell, Damos and Malik as all the
other females and warriors went to
one knee, bowing to the God of the
Sun, but Silas paid no attention to
them.
“Take the females to your mate and
let her help them.” Silas commanded
to the shocked guards. “And stop
blaming yourself for what happened
here tonight. Your brothers were
deceivers, you are not. Your kings
and queen trust you, now go.”
Silas gave them no warning. He
snapped his fingers and the females,
guards, and all the remaining hover-
cycles disappeared from sight.
Tristan cleared his throat. “I am
guessing that you have returned them
all to the palace.”
“Aye,” Silas said, folding his arms
over his chest as he glared at Savitar,
Kadan and Tristan. “I will expect you
to take better care of your mate in the
future.”
“Silas!” Raven gasped.
He shot her a look. “You were
taken on their watch.”
Damn it, if she was sure he
wouldn’t smite her for it she would
kick him in the shin for that. Her
mates already felt bad enough. Did he
really have to rub their noses in it?
“He is right,” Savitar said sadly.
“We will not fail you again.”
Raven glowered at the God,
swearing to tell Lunaria what he had
said the next time she spoke to the
goddess.
Silas sighed. “You really do try to
ruin my fun.”
Raven growled at him and, to their
surprise, he let out a booming laugh.
“You do remind me of my mate.” His
expression softened as he looked
back at the males. “It was not your
fault. I have a feeling for the long
years to come you will have to get
used to chasing after your mate as she
causes trouble. Trust me when I say I
know how that feels.” He glanced
back at Raven. “Just try not to harm
my niece and nephew until they are
born.”
Her heart stopped as she heard all
three of her mates gasp. “Niece and
nephew,” she choked out weakly.
“Aye,” Silas said with a smirk,
then disappeared.
Damn, the God of the Sun certainly
did have a flare for the dramatic.
“How is this possible?” Tristan
whispered.
“Mixed-gender twinsets have never
been heard of before,” Kadan said,
placing a reverent hand on her
stomach.
Raven laughed nervously as she
placed her hand over his. “Jesus, I
was just getting used to the idea of
one, now there will be two. I can’t
breathe…”
“We are usually born in trios,”
Savitar remained her.
“Don’t be logical when I’m
freaking out,” she gasped.
Savitar lifted her chin so her
glowing green eyes met his. “All will
be well, my love. You have given us
the greatest gift imaginable. Our son
and daughter will one day rule our
kingdom, leading our people into a
new era. They will be a guiding light
for all Arcadians.”
“Have no fear, little goddess,”
Kadan said. “You will be an
excellent mother, of that I have no
doubt.”
“I hope so,” Raven said softly, still
not convinced. She looked at her
mates, letting them see the depth of
her emotions. “I love you all so
much.”
“As we love you, little dragon
warrior,” Savitar replied.
“Show me,” Raven whispered. “I
need you. I need all of you.”
“Let us return home, then we will
show you how much we love you,”
Tristan replied in a rough voice
filled with lust and longing. “We
came too close to losing you tonight.
That is something we could never
bear, Raven. You are our light, the
other half of our souls.”
“Ah, I believe we have a slight
problem with that,” Kadan said,
looking around. “The God of the Sun
seems to have removed our hover-
cycles with the others.”
“Damn…”
A smile spread slowly across