by Laurie Roma
INTO THE RAPTURE
The Arcadians
Laurie Roma
Table of Contents
Title Page
THE ARCADIANS
DEDICATION
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
For all titles by Laurie Roma, please visit
THE ARCADIANS
Into the Dream
Into the Ashes
Into the Rapture
INTO THE RAPTURE
As Commanders of the Guards of Sand City, Braden, Jasyn, and Aeron Mazer have earned the loyalty and respect of those they lead. They take their responsibilities seriously, especially guarding the royal family, but their secret obsession with Princess Liandra could end up costing them everything. She is the one female they can never have, yet that doesn’t stop them from wanting to claim the sweet, gentle beauty as their mate.
However, sometimes love is all it takes to change fate...
Princess Liandra Dracor has loved the Mazer brothers for as long as she can remember. They have been her protectors and confidants, though she longs to call them more. Duty demands she find mates with royal blood, but her heart already belongs to Braden, Jasyn, and Aeron. Now, she just has to find the courage to defy tradition and claim them as her own.
INTO THE RAPTURE
Cover design by Black Butterfly Designs
Copyright © 2019 by Laurie Roma
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles. Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI, and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental. It is fiction, so facts and events may not be accurate except to the current world the book takes place in.
DEDICATION
For everyone who has asked for Liandra’s story.
This one is for you.
CHAPTER ONE
Princess Liandra Dracor raced down the empty hallway on silent feet. She didn’t have much time to make her escape, and she was determined to get away from the palace before she was caught. All she wanted was a few stolen moments of freedom. She didn’t think that was too much to ask for, but others would certainly disagree.
It was early morning, a time of day when she was rarely up and about. Since she usually rose after the rest of her family, she wouldn’t be missed until much later. She was supposed to make an appearance at the evening meal with her family and their guests, but even that was something she would try to avoid if possible.
Her brothers Zarek, Solan, and Cian typically spent each rising with the other warriors out in the training area on the other side of the palace, so she wouldn’t have to take extra precautions to avoid them. Otherwise, they would be following her around and annoying her until she wanted to scream. That was what they usually did whenever visitors were at the palace. As if she needed more protection when she already had three guards who followed her wherever she went.
Her mother and fathers were probably still asleep at this hour. If, by some miracle, they were awake, they would be busy entertaining the guests that had arrived for the week-long festival. The entire week of festivities was in honor of the day of Liandra’s birth, but the big celebration wouldn’t be happening until tomorrow evening.
Fewer females were born in comparison to the vast number of male trios produced on Arcadia. Females of royal blood were even more rare, which meant each was celebrated simply for existing. Tomorrow was an important day since she would finally be coming of age and would be old enough to take mates. That reality was both thrilling and a little daunting, and she was beginning to feel suffocated by the pressure of it all.
She had been excited about her birthday festival until she realized her mother and fathers had used it as an opportunity to invite all of the unmated kings and princes from neighboring regions. Their insistence that she select mates from the pool of visiting males made her feel like she was nothing more than a vessel created to breed more heirs with royal blood.
She knew that was unfair. Her mother and fathers loved her and only wanted the best for her, but that didn’t mean they were always right. Even if it was tradition, there was no way she would allow them to push her into bonding with anyone for the sake of an alliance. There were some aspects of her life that her family shouldn’t try to decide for her, and who she was going to spend the rest of her life with was at the top of that list.
When she chose her mates, it would be for love.
Before she had left her bedchamber, Liandra had changed into the clothing she had hidden away in her closet. The black leather tunic and pants were similar to what the males wore, but they looked completely different on her. The tunic fit tight around her neck and arms and was snug against her full breasts, while the pants molded to her long, slim legs like a second skin. The leather gave her more protection than any dress, but she had to admit that the outfit was a little more provocative than she’d originally planned.
When she’d glanced in the mirror, she had barely recognized herself. As far as disguises went, it wasn’t great. However, very few people ever saw her when she wasn’t surrounded by guards, so she counted on remaining unrecognizable. She was no warrior, but the clothing made her feel courageous, and she needed a little daring to face what was to come.
One needed to be brave to change their fate, after all.
She’d braided her long, black hair, then tied a bag of coins to her belt. After pulling on a pair of black boots, she’d swept on her red cloak with a black dragon stitched onto the back to complete her ensemble. When she’d opened the doors to her suite, relief surged through her when her guards weren’t in the hallway waiting for her.
The warriors standing guard at the bottom of the staircase that led up to the family’s residences greeted her with curious expressions on their faces. Nodding politely, she hurried past them. If she stopped to speak to them, they were bound to ask questions she didn’t want to answer.
Once she was sure that she was out of their sight, she unfastened her cloak and flipped it around, displaying the red dragon stitched onto the black material. The colors were what the warriors and those who worked in the palace wore, declaring that they were under Dracor protection instead of the one she usually displayed to signify she was a member of the royal house. She had created the reversible cloak in secret, hoping it would give her a semblance of anonymity, but this was the first time she would be wearing it outside the palace gates.
When she made it to the side entrance that led out into the garden without being stopped, she paused for a moment. She’d gotten this far, but she still had to make it beyond the wall surrounding the palace. The sky was a beautiful pale-pink, and the puffy clouds brought temporary relief from the strong, white sunlight. There was a chill in the air that came with the changing season, and she pulled up her hood to cover her head before she quickly made her way across the courtyard.
She prayed the guards wouldn’t s
top her, and she continued to hold her breath until she was outside the opened gate. She fought back the urge to throw her arms wide and spin in happy circles as she felt a little of the weight she had been carrying on her shoulders slip away. Instead, she strolled away from the gate, trying to act as if venturing out into the city was a regular occurrence. Months ago, she would have never considered walking into such a crowded area by herself, but things had changed in the Sands.
Ever since her eldest brothers, Tynan, Cael, and Ryder, had found their mate, Allie, the Sands had become one of the safest places on the planet. Word had spread far and wide that all females were safe in the Sands, and no males were allowed to touch them without their express permission. To touch one against their will would bring down the wrath of the Dracors, including the four dragons shifters that now resided inside the palace.
All females were protected, but if any harm should come to her, Liandra knew her brothers would rain down hellfire on whoever caused it. And that was before they turned the offenders into bloody dust. She knew since she had seen them do it.
Magic truly was a glorious thing...and slightly terrifying.
Her eyes went wide as she glanced around at the city. Bold red banners with the insignia of the royal house were strung between buildings, and decorations covered every available space. New booths were set up for merchants from other cities who had been invited for the week, making the marketplace twice its normal size. She had been told that visitors from all over had decided to attend the festivities being held in the city, but she had never imagined how many people would actually come.
A flash of color caught her attention, and she turned with a gasp as she saw a wall of flowers and other tokens along the outside of the wall surrounding the palace. Tears stung her eyes as she realized they were for her, left there by her people. A surge of guilt made her heart ache.
What had she done to deserve such love?
Most of the people in the city had never even seen her, yet they’d left such beautiful tributes in honor of her birthday. She might complain about being kept isolated within the palace, but she should have been trying to do more to help her people rather than just accepting the role others wanted her to settle for.
That was something she would have to change.
As she walked toward the marketplace, she marveled at how crowded it was, even at such an early hour. She breathed in the scent of sweets and freshly baked bread, and it made her stomach rumble with hunger. Since there was so much to choose from, she didn’t know where to begin. She wanted to see it all, sample everything, but her freedom was limited, so she would have to use her time wisely.
She thought it would be difficult to keep from being jostled since it was so busy, but the males were careful not to touch her as she passed by them. She did get quite a few glances sent her way, but she tried to keep her head down to avoid making eye contact with anyone. It wasn’t hard to do since all of the males were so much bigger. Ignoring the crowd, she focused her attention on the booths and stalls filled with food and trinkets.
Sheer willfulness had set her on her current path. The festival had been going on for three days, but she hadn’t been allowed to attend. Tynan, Cael, Ryder, and Allie had offered to take her, but they had been called away to help with an issue at the Iron Palace the previous day. When she had tried to speak to her mother and fathers about going, they had insisted that she spend time with their guests instead.
Zarek, Solan, and Cian had said they would take her, but they had been saying that for the last few days without following through. Besides, she disliked going anywhere with them. They had no patience and would have rushed her through the streets without allowing her to enjoy anything. Sometimes, she thought they were even bossier than her eldest brothers, but the truth was they were all insanely protective.
All the males in her life would be much happier if she remained locked away.
It irritated her that she had to wait for someone to agree to take her to the festival since the whole bloody thing was for her anyway. It might be foolish, but she couldn’t wait any longer. Normally, if she left the palace without her brothers, her guards would be tripled. The big warriors huddled around her so close she could barely see around them. She wanted a taste of the freedom other females in the city spoke of, and she wanted to do it without being surrounded.
To be fair, the trio responsible for guarding her now were newly assigned to her and didn’t yet know how devious she could be. Actually, she had gone through several sets of male guards during this last cycle. She wasn’t sure why, but she thought the males had been driven crazy by the way she always tried to give them the slip. Then again, her life was usually so boring they had probably begged for a different assignment.
A table in front of a shop caught her eye, and she hurried over to examine the blades that had been laid out on a large cloth. They would have been fine for a male, but the knives would be too big for her to wield comfortably. A few months ago, she had worked up the courage to venture out to the palace forge, a place she had never gone before. Once inside, she had asked for a dagger. The males working there had looked at her as if she had asked them to commit murder, and she had been turned away empty-handed.
Her brothers had laughed when she had told them what she wanted, saying she would cause herself harm if she ever picked up a weapon. She didn’t like the way they had all dismissed her, though she hadn’t fought them on the matter. If they had acted like that when she’d requested a blade, they would lose their minds if she asked them to teach her how to fight.
A shopkeeper came to stand in front of her on the other side of the table. “Can I help you...?” His words trailed off, and his glowing eyes widened as she looked up at him. “Pr-pr—”
Damn it, he had recognized her.
“This is very fine work. The craftsmanship is excellent.” She had no idea if that were actually true, but she tried to sound like she did. “Do you do all the work yourself?”
“Aye, me and my brothers,” he wheezed. “Thank you, Prin—”
“Do you have anything smaller? Perhaps a blade more suited to my size?”
His blinked. “I—”
“Now, why would a little female like you need a blade?”
Liandra stiffened as a male moved beside her, and she knew from one glance that he was not from Sand City. He was wearing dark blue leather, and his hair was a beautiful pale blond that was rare amongst Arcadians. Males and females with lighter hair colors were highly sought after as mates, but the male did not appeal to her in the least.
He flashed a cocky grin and crowded closer, sending a shiver of alarm racing down her spine. His glowing blue eyes would have been mesmerizing if she weren’t so afraid. The shopkeeper let out a low warning growl, but the blond male ignored him. Another male moved in from the side, and she tried to step away from them.
“The males in this city must be inept if they do not know how to protect a treasure such as you.”
She gasped as she bumped into a large body that had crowed in behind her. Her hood was pulled down, and strong hands gripped her shoulders, holding her in place. Suddenly, the contact was gone. She turned just in time to see a male sailing through the air. Before he hit the ground, she was jerked back, and a massive body dressed in black moved to stand in front of her.
“Touch her again, and it will be the last thing you do.”
Jasyn Mazer.
She instantly recognized his deep voice, and this time, she shivered for a whole different reason. His low, deadly snarl didn’t scare her. In fact, it made her want to wrap her arms around his waist and press herself against his back. Despite the chill in the air, he wore his standard black leather vest that left his muscular arms in full view, along with a pair of black pants and boots. Jasyn was larger than the other males, and his broad back completely shielded her from view so she had to peek around him.
“You were warned not to touch any females before you entered the city,” Jasyn growled. �
��I do not care who you are. Do it again, and you will pay in blood.”
The male he had tossed jumped to his feet and glared. “We did not—she bumped into me!”
“Do you know who we are?” one of his brothers spat out.
“I know exactly who you are, and I do not care. Say one more word, and I will beat some manners into you,” Jasyn snarled so harshly it made the other males flinch.
Glancing around, Liandra realized the confrontation had caught the attention of other males in the marketplace. She relaxed a little when she saw that all of the onlookers were glaring at the trio dressed in blue as they hurried away, properly chastened.
Jasyn spun around so fast the ends of his long, dark-brown hair brushed against her cheek. That whisper of a touch made her heart beat faster. His face was male perfection, with sharp cheekbones and a hard, chiseled jaw. She knew he had dimples when he smiled, and the very sight of them could make her weak in the knees.
But he wasn’t smiling now.
He had a fierce scowl on his face, and all of that anger was directed right at her.
CHAPTER TWO
Jasyn glared down at her, his glowing silver eyes bright with anger. He had a couple of blades strapped to his chest in specially made loops built into his vest, and his long sword hung from his black belt, making him look exactly like the mighty warrior she knew he was.
She’d never seen him look so angry before, but she didn’t fear him. She had never been afraid of Jasyn or his two brothers. Their size alone should have been intimidating, but she had come to depend on their strength. It secretly delighted her how gentle the powerful males could be with her when the rest of the world feared them.
She had been in love with Braden, Jasyn, and Aeron Mazer since before she was old enough to understand what love truly was. She had tried to stop, to hold back, but the depth of her feelings for them continued to grow stronger with each passing day. Their voices haunted her dreams, making her hunger for things she hadn’t been ready for...until now.