Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition

by Michelle M. Pillow

  The idea of visiting Pia lifted her spirits some, as she packed her charged hair extender and other random beauty devices in a bag. Afternoon could barely come fast enough. The knocking sounded again, and Nadja had to time her departure carefully to escape undetected down the hall. She hadn’t relished another day of avoiding the villagers, and that added to her excitement as she stood outside of Pia’s door.

  “Nadja?” Pia’s hazel eyes widened in surprise as she opened the door to Nadja’s knock. The woman leaned out and glanced around the hall in confusion.

  “Hello, Pia.” Nadja nervously patted her hair into the bun at the nape of her neck and gave what she hoped was a pleasant smile. It wasn’t as if they had been great friends on the ship. Pia unconsciously mimicked Nadja’s movement, touching her shorn locks. Olek was right. Zoran must have cut it. Gripping a small bag in her hands that held the hair extender, she hesitated before asking, “Do you mind if I come in?”

  “Oh, yeah,” Pia said, with a small smile of apology. “I’m sorry. It’s just that I have been cooped up in here for so long, I forgot my manners.”

  For a moment, she’d thought Pia was going to kick her out and she desperately wanted to stay and talk. Nadja relaxed as she stepped inside the beautiful home. Pia ordered the door to close behind her.

  “Can I get you anything?” Pia asked, beginning to move toward the kitchen. “I think we have juice.”

  “No, I’m fine.” Nadja glanced around the Lintianese style home and wondered how a Qurilixian prince could be influenced by a planet that was so far away. It had the classical circular motifs, asymmetric minimalist décor and natural building materials. There were even the tiny alcoves that looked as if their altar-like contents had religious meaning. The walls were evenly spaced wooden planks to create straight lines. Long wooden strips had been cut to create an intricate pattern on the front hall’s floor, in the center of which was the impression a giant dragon. Rounded globes created a chandelier, which hung beneath a giant center dome. Crystal shards created a pattern inside the globes and reflected the light to brighten the room.

  Paper-thin interior doors separated the rooms and did not appear to be voice controlled. There were no locks on them. From the front hall, a single step down led to an open living room with a marble fireplace, which had asymmetric lines carved into the plain surface, and a dragon head in the center top. A step back up, led to a dining room, complete with low table and cushioned floor seats.

  A tapestry hung on the far wall, just behind the table. It was red with the depiction of a black forest. In the middle was a noble bird rising up from fire.

  “I see you were assigned the princess suite, too,” Nadja mused by way of starting conversation.

  “You, too?” Pia laughed, sounding relieved that Nadja said something about it first.

  Nadja nodded and an instant camaraderie was struck up between the women.

  “It’s so nice to see another woman from the ship,” Nadja admitted. “This planet has entirely too many men, which wouldn’t be so bad except they are all so mannish.”

  Pia chuckled, instantly seeming to understand.

  “So which prince did you get?” Pia inquired.

  “Olek.”

  “Ah, the ambassador.” Pia nodded.

  “What about you?” Nadja asked, though she already knew.

  “Zoran,” Pia answered. The woman’s eyes clouded slightly as if she were in pain. Nadja politely looked away. Pia pointed at the bag Nadja clutched before her. “What do you have there?”

  “Oh!” Nadja lifted it up, suddenly remembering the reason she’d been sent there. She hesitated, feeling a little presumptuous in offering. “Before I show you, I have to apologize in advance.”

  Pia frowned, looking worried.

  “It was my husband’s request,” Nadja rushed, not wanting to be rude. She reached into the bag and weakly pulled out the hair extender. “He said your husband cut off your hair and asked if I could…” Her voice trailed off weakly and she shrugged.

  Pia gave a wry grin, putting her at ease. Easily, she finished, “If you could grow it back for me.”

  Nadja nodded.

  “Zoran didn’t cut my hair,” Pia confessed. “I did.”

  “Oh,” Nadja said, horrified. “I didn’t mean to insult you. I like your hair short.”

  “It’s all right.” Pia laughed. “I guess it’s called disfigurement. It means I shamed myself or something. You should see the looks the people gave me when I went outside. It was like an evil spirit came into their midst. I was waiting for mothers to rush their children away screaming.”

  Nadja giggled, relaxing once more. How could she not relax in Pia’s laid-back presence? “Well, it’s a planet of men. Go figure they’d come up with a tradition to keep their women looking soft and feminine.”

  “The queen stopped by just to look at it,” Pia continued with a look of vast amusement. “I thought she was going to throw up on me.”

  “Queen Mede was probably mad at her son. She says the princes are a handful,” Nadja said. “She isn’t so bad. From what I can tell, her intentions appear genuine.”

  Pia eyed her in disbelief, clearly not knowing what to think of the Draig queen.

  Nadja thought it best to change the subject. “So, do you want me to grow it for you?” She lifted the extender. “If anything, it should give us something to do today.”

  “Why not,” Pia answered with little consideration and an easy shrug. Then, her gaze moved to Nadja to examine her.

  “What?” Nadja glanced down over her clothes, needlessly brushing them off.

  “Do you think you could help me with the other stuff too?” Pia’s tone lost some of its confidence. From what Nadja had gathered, Pia was one tough lady. She envied the strength in her.

  “Other stuff? What other stuff?”

  Pia waved her hand to encompass Nadja. “You know, beauty stuff—dresses, hairstyles, makeup.”

  Nadja was surprised to hear the woman speaking so modestly. She smiled. “Sure, it would be my pleasure. But, honestly, I don’t think you need all that.”

  Pia looked down.

  “I mean,” Nadja said, detecting something amiss in the woman’s response to the compliment. “You have a strong, natural way about you that the men around here seem to respond to. I wish I could be more like that.”

  “What?” Pia asked. Her brow furrowed in question. “You want me to teach you how to defend yourself?”

  “Oh, could you?” Nadja practically gushed in excitement. Her face lit up. She hadn’t been asking that, but the idea fascinated her. Her father never let her learn such things as self-defense. Quickly, she warned, “I mean, you’ll probably hate teaching me. I don’t even know…I don’t know anything.”

  “It would be my pleasure,” Pia said.

  Nadja grinned, giddy with anticipation. “All right, let’s get started.”

  * * *

  By the time Nadja left, she felt as if she and Pia were longtime friends. The woman was modest and didn’t seem to know her own beauty. When they finished growing her hair, Nadja had invited the woman to join her for dinner. Pia refused and Nadja had the feeling she was anxious for her husband to come home.

  Prince Zoran worried Nadja. She felt Pia’s apprehension when she mentioned the man. She’d also seen the slight bruise on the woman’s chin and wondered if maybe Zoran hit his wife. Nadja was too polite to ask.

  Pia showed her a couple of self-defense moves that Nadja could practice on her own. They tentatively scheduled to meet with each other in a day or two, thinking it would be best to hold off the real training until a later date when they were both up for it. After saying their goodbyes, Nadja bounced all the way home. She couldn’t wait.

  Chapter 21

  “Where did you learn to do this?”

  Nadja blinked in surprise, looking up from her notes to where Olek stood in his office doorway. He appeared as if he’d been watching her in silence for some time. Not quite proce
ssing his question right away, she glanced down to the table where she sat figuring different formula combinations. It was a like a giant riddle begging to be solved, and she loved every agonizing, headache-making moment of it.

  “Nadja?” Olek prompted. When he hadn’t been working with his father, he’d been in his office getting ready to work with his father. She hardly saw him, and when he was there, she hardly felt like he was. He was always so preoccupied.

  “What?”

  “Where did you learn to do this kind of thing? Like what you did to the medic unit.” He placed a glass of wine in front of her and took a seat.

  “My father taught me,” she answered, lost in his eyes for a moment as she stared across the table at him. They seemed so kind and gentle, not like the hard gaze that had stared back at her for the last couple of days. Just one soft look from him and her heart fluttered.

  “Your father?” he questioned, obviously surprised by the admission.

  “He’s a doctor.” Her hand trembled and the pen fell to her paper. She closed her notebook and took the wine.

  “Where does he practice?”

  She avoided meeting his gaze. “He travels all over.”

  It was the best answer she could think of. This was not a conversation she wanted to have, but she also didn’t want to start another fight. She sipped the alcohol, unable to meet his expectant look for more than a second. His expression was too kind, too inquisitive.

  “I couldn’t tell you where he is at the moment,” she said.

  Well, that much is definitely true, Nadja thought.

  “Will he travel here? He’d be welcome to visit anytime. We have a wing specifically for guests.”

  Nadja wasn’t so sure how welcome her father would be in a place like this. Reason would dictate that he’d like being able to say his daughter was a princess. Reason would be wrong. Doc Aleksander wouldn’t be impressed with a planet like Qurilixen or Draig royalty. To him a princess of barbarians was still herself a barbarian. Plus, he’s promised her to his crony. He’d punish her out of spite for marring his pride.

  She nervously drank more of her wine to avoid answering.

  Olek gave the empty glass a quizzical smile as she set it down. “More?”

  Nadja shook her head in denial. “No. I have work to do. Too much wine and I won’t be able to concentrate.”

  She tried to stand. Olek reached a hand out to stop her. His fingers wrapped her wrist. Her pulse raced beneath his fingers.

  “I don’t want to talk about this,” she said. “My father won’t visit us here. He doesn’t know where I am and I prefer to keep it that way.”

  “Nadja,” Olek began, only to sigh. “Here family is very important. He’s your father.”

  He’s a madman! her mind screamed. She took a calming breath. “He’s not in my life anymore. I don’t want you trying to contact him on my behalf. So can we forget it?”

  “Yes. If that is what you wish.”

  “It is.” Nadja tried to relax, but she found herself glancing over the room, searching the darkened corners for something that wasn’t there. Thinking this ended the conversation, she again tried to stand.

  Olek wasn’t finished talking. “What about Pia? Were you able to fix her hair?”

  Nadja smiled. “Your brother didn’t do it. She actually cut it herself and it looked really cute, but she did let me grow it back for her. I don’t think she knew everyone would consider it a disfigurement. I didn’t have much contact with her on the ship, but she’s really nice and witty, and offered to teach me how to throw knives.”

  At that Olek chuckled.

  “She’s very good,” Nadja defended.

  Olek’s smile widened. “I’m glad you like your new sister. I’m sure she’s a wonderful person, but do be careful when playing with weapons. I would hate to see you hurt yourself.”

  Nadja blushed in pleasure at his concern. She nodded dutifully.

  “So, how’s your work coming along?” Nadja hated to admit it, but his secretive nature when it came to his occupation made her very curious. Several times she’d almost dug through his office for a clue. Only her self-respect kept her from going through with the snooping—and a tiny thread of fear as she remembered what would happen to traitors who’d ransacked her father’s private office.

  “It’s coming along,” he said, sipping his wine. “I’m almost finished with what I was doing and will start a new project soon.”

  The vague answer caused her to frown. “Can’t you tell me any more than that? What is it you’re doing? What will you start on next?”

  “It wouldn’t interest you. It’s just intergalactic politics—very boring stuff.”

  “A very diplomatic answer,” she said hesitantly in the Qurilixian language.

  Olek laughed, “Not bad. I see you’ve been practicing.”

  “Thanks.” She tried not to let her cheeks pinken. What was it about this man that made her blush all the time?

  “Ah, Nadja?” Olek looked down at his glass. He swirled the wine. “There is something I need to ask you.”

  Nadja sat back, worried. “What?”

  “I know you don’t like being a princess,” he said, clearly apprehensive.

  “Yes,” Nadja answered carefully. Her heart beat quickened as panic unfurled inside her. Was he going to get rid of her? The idea terrified her more than she thought it would have.

  Olek sighed. Hesitantly, he reached forward, taking her hand in his. “There is a big celebration in two nights and I want you to go with me…as my princess.”

  Nadja’s heart let loose and she was able to again breathe. Green eyes studied her expectantly.

  “It’s very important to the kingdom that you attend,” Olek said, “or else I wouldn’t ask it of you.”

  And, her heart stopped. He wasn’t asking her out on a date. He wasn’t asking her because he wanted her there with him. He asked because duty required him to bring her. Nadja tried to hide her disappointment.

  “It’s to be your and the other princesses’ coronation into the royal family.” Olek traced the long line of her unmoving fingers. “There will be some diplomats visiting from a neighboring kingdom to bear witness. It’s very important they think you’re happy—that all the brides are happy—to be here with us.”

  A coronation? Those usually were intergalactic events. That would mean cameras and reporters and, worst of all, her name being printed all over the galaxy like a walking advertisement for trouble.

  But did she really have a choice? What excuse could she give?

  “Fine,” she answered. “I’ll go.”

  * * *

  Olek studied her displeased expression, wanting desperately to ask her if she was happy with him. She never said anything one way or the other, except to state she hated being a princess and wished for a simple life. Thinking of the politics involved with this celebration, he knew simple was the furthest thing from it.

  He was all too aware of how little he knew his wife. Now that his trade negotiations were well in place, he could concentrate more on his home life. He’d been avoiding this conversation, but with the coronation in a couple days he had no choice but to bring it up. His father had been relentless in asking him about it. Olek couldn’t blame the king. After all, he’d practically been hiding in his father’s office.

  He drew his hands from hers. Her touch distracted him. She distracted him. Most of the time she didn’t seem to notice he was there, but he was always aware of her.

  “I know it’s a lot to ask, being as you are…that you didn’t want this.” Olek was sorry for her unhappiness. An ache started in the pit of his stomach. He really wanted to take her with him. He wanted her to want to be there as his wife, proudly proclaiming herself as his bride.

  “I said it’s fine, Olek,” Nadja answered softly. Her eyes dipped, hiding her expression. “It’s a planetary event? There won’t be intergalactic dignitaries attending, will there?”

  “No, we don’t really host inte
rgalactic events. Occasionally, we will entertain a foreign ambassador, but it’s rare, and often they arrive in groups of one or two people, never a large number. Even then they are usually greeted by my cousin, Lord Mirek, at the mountain fortress. He negotiates trade agreements on our behalf. If a royal signature is needed, he’ll send a runner with the documents here for me to look over.”

  “Runner? Lord Mirek doesn’t trust technology?”

  Olek chuckled at the very idea. “Quite the opposite. As mining ambassador he often travels offworld to meet dignitaries who have come to our airspace. If anything he embraces technology much better than most Draig. The reason we use runners is because the communication lines between the palace and the mountain fortress are old and need to be repaired.”

  “I thought you were the ambassador.”

  “I handle mostly onworld politics. Mirek sees to ore trade agreements. We work together when we need to.”

  “So, at the coronation, what will happen?” she asked, softly. “What do I need to do?”

  “Just show up and smile.”

  Nadja gave a small laugh. He loved the sound of it. “Show up and smile?”

  “The coronation is simple,” Olek assured her. “The preost will crown you as you remain seated in your chair at the head table in the dining hall. People will be watching to see your reaction. Give them one of your smiles and they’ll be as charmed as I hear the villagers are. You aren’t required to make a speech or do anything special. We’ll have dinner, dance if you wish, and that is all.”

  “I think I can do that,” Nadja murmured. Her eyes again dipped to his mouth. He wondered if she would taste like wine if he tried to kiss her.

  “I greatly appreciate your cooperation in this matter, Nadja.” Olek couldn’t read her expression as she stared at his face. When she didn’t speak, he stood to go. “I didn’t mean to interrupt your work.”

  * * *

  Nadja wanted to stop Olek from leaving, but couldn’t think of anything to say as he stepped away from the table. His boyishly handsome grin made her heart tighten. Her eyes dipped to his mouth, longing to kiss him. Her hand twitched to reach for him, but he turned away before she could get up the nerve to touch him.