“Nadja, I’m sorry. I know he was your father,” Olena said.
Nadja held up a hand to stop her from saying more about it. “I am one of the few who could have done it without backlash. No, it was time for his terror to end.”
“Still,” Olena tried.
“Thank you.” Tears came to Nadja’s eyes and she sniffed. Shaking her head, she again held up her hand for silence. No more words were needed on the subject. A part of her was saddened. He was her father and a part of her loved him. But she didn’t regret her actions.
The unit beeped again and Nadja glanced down to the screen.
“Are you in pain?” Nadja asked at the panel’s prompting.
“No,” Olena said.
Nadja pressed a button.
“How’s your baby?” Olena asked.
Nadja sniffed and wiped her eyes. She thought of Olek, desperately wanting to see him now that she knew Olena was all right. It was as if she’d finally crawled out of a nightmare. Reading the panel, she grinned. Laughing lightly, she said, “Hopefully as healthy as yours.”
* * *
Nadja was quiet as Olek walked her home. There was so much she wanted to say to him, but she was scared. He didn’t mention what he thought about her father or about what had happened. And she was too ashamed to ask him.
As they went to bed, Olek didn’t say a word. Nadja lay down beside him. He pulled her into his arms, hugging her tightly against his chest. That night, he didn’t let her go.
Chapter 41
A sweet, exotic scent curled around Nadja in her dreams, causing a smile to touch her lips. All around her were the small brushes of silken softness. Blinking awake, she realized Olek was gone, but petals of solarflowers were sprinkled all around her.
She sighed, running her fingers over his pillow. Her fingers met with a piece of paper and she instantly sat up. It was a portrait of her sleeping, surrounded by the petals. In the corner, Olek had written, I have to go meet with my brothers. We have discovered King Attor’s camp and will go to face him. I couldn’t bear to wake you when you looked this beautiful asleep. I’ll be home as soon as I can.
Nadja felt tears coming to her eyes. She rushed from the bedroom, out into the hall to see if she could catch him. The portrait was clutched in her fingers. He was long gone. Her fingers trailed to her flat stomach. He couldn’t go to battle without her speaking to him first. She had so much she needed to say to him.
“Open,” Nadja ordered the door, ducking under into the hall before it was even up. “Olek!”
Nadja ran down the passageway barefoot.
“Olek, wait,” she yelled, not caring who heard. Coming around the corner, she nearly toppled over the king. “Oh!”
“Hey, easy,” King Llyr said. “What’s going on? Are you hurt?”
“No,” she mumbled, trying to get past him. “Olek.”
“Shh, daughter, wait,” the king said. “You can’t go to him now. He’s in the lower dungeons. Agro discovered from the spy that King Attor is camped along the southern border, planning an attack.”
“Then take me down to the prisons,” she ordered.
“No,” he denied gruffly. “They are no place for a lady.”
“But,” she tried to protest.
“Now, come on,” the king said. He took her elbow and led her down the hall toward her house. She still held the picture and he glanced at it briefly. “Let’s just get you back inside. You shouldn’t be straining yourself in your condition.”
Nadja blushed, following her father-by-marriage’s guiding hand. The king ordered the door to her home shut behind them. He led her to the couch and urged her to sit.
Staring up at him, she asked, “He told you about the baby?”
“Of course he told me,” the king said. “He’s told everyone.”
Nadja sighed. “Then he does know.”
“He heard your father mention it.” His eyes turned serious as he took a seat. “How are you, daughter?”
“Fine,” she said absently. “And he wasn’t upset about it? He was…happy?”
“Of course Olek was happy,” the king answered loudly, but Nadja could see the caring in his eyes. “We all are.” He paused. “I don’t know what that man did to you, girl, but he’s not your family. We are.”
Nadja blinked, tears forming in her eyes.
“Ah,” the king grimaced, “don’t go getting all emotional on me.”
Nadja bit her lips, sniffing her tears back, and dutifully nodded.
“All right, then, good.” He relaxed when he saw she wasn’t about to start bawling. “Now, why would you think he wouldn’t be happy? Surely you sensed his feelings about it.”
Nadja shook her head in denial.
“Well, why didn’t you read them for yourself if you were curious?” The king looked at her like she was crazy. “That is why the gods gave you the gift of it.”
“The gift of the baby?” she asked, confused.
“Did those Galaxy Brides people tell you girls nothing?” He frowned in dismay. “The gift of himself.”
Nadja just stared at him blankly.
“Ah,” he sighed heavily. “You remember the whole crystal smashing, right?”
Nadja nodded.
“All right, then,” he grumbled. “Pay attention. Our crystals have magical powers. They glow and we find our wives. We choose to take them back to our tents for…well,” he paused and cleared his throat. “You stay and choose us, you crush the crystal, our life extends yours and there you have it. You’re joined.”
Nadja blinked at the rough description of a wedding.
“You understand?”
Nadja shook her head in denial.
The king sighed. “Qurilixian babies are given a crystal when they are born. They’re magical.”
Nadja nodded, trying not to laugh at his exasperated face.
“When you were paired by the crystal, your lives became joined in such a way that can never be taken back. You exchanged part of your souls, or so the women keep telling us. By crushing the crystal, you assured the exchange would never be reversed. And in the process, he gave you some of his years so you could live longer together. Do you understand what I am telling you, so far?”
Nadja dutifully nodded. She didn’t dare smile too brightly at the king, lest he stop his explanation.
“All right, good.” His hands clenched into large fists on his lap as if he forced himself on. “Each of you are like half of a, uh, a sword. Without the other side, you can’t…”
“Lob someone’s head off?” Nadja offered.
“Exactly!” the king exclaimed with a smile. “It means he’s yours and so on—”
“So on?” Nadja probed.
“Yeah, he’s done sleeping with other women,” the king answered. “Now, since you’ve bonded together, you can read each other’s, you know—ah, hell! Ask your husband. It’s his job to explain all this. I only came by to tell you Zoran approves of your warrior cream. He’s requesting a larger batch to issue supplies to the men. Make a list of what you need and I’ll get a worker right on it.”
Nadja smiled and nodded, thinking more of Olek than her herbal creation.
The king stood and placed his hands on his hips. “Now stay here. Olek should be back by tomorrow morning at the latest. I don’t want you running about risking my grandson.”
“Is that a royal decree?” Nadja asked with an impish grin. She couldn’t help it.
“Yes,” he grumbled, trying to frown at her but failing. “Yes, it most certainly is!”
* * *
The news came that night that the men were off to battle with King Attor and his Var warriors. The Draig trackers managed to confirm the spy’s words as to the position of Attor’s encampment. Nadja was worried, lying in bed for most of the night, the dome curtains drawn, as she tried to sleep.
She’d found the box of jewels her father had given her, and had spent most of the day crying over them as she tried to remember the good things a
bout him, though they were very few in number. Replacing the last piece in the box and closing it forever, she finally wiped away the last tear she would ever shed for him.
Doc Aleksander was the past. Olek and their baby was the future.
* * *
Olek didn’t make his way home until late the next afternoon. Nadja was waiting for him when he walked through the door. To his surprise, he was greeted with a sprinkling of kisses on his face and a long pair of legs wrapping around his waist.
His hands instantly cupped beneath her ass to hold her to him. His mouth parted in astonishment and she moved to kiss him deeply, her tongue dipping to explore his mouth as she tried to steal his breath.
“Mmm,” Olek moaned, pulling back. A quizzical grin on his face, he whispered, “What’s this?”
Her hands roamed over his shoulders and suddenly she flinched. “Ow, your sword.”
She swung her legs back around to the ground. Olek chuckled. The hilt of his sword had poked her in the upper thigh. When she had safely landed, he let her go and unstrapped the weapon from his waist.
“I am so sorry I didn’t tell you about my father, Olek,” Nadja rushed. “He was one of the leaders of the Medical Mafia. The Alliance is just a front. They could easily save lives, but they don’t. They take them. I couldn’t stay there and marry his associate, Hank. That’s why I ran away and wanted a farmer. I was scared he would find me. And then I saw that dart in Morrigan and I knew he,” Nadja inhaled a deep breath, “had come for me. He used to make me carry them across border checkpoints in my hair. Anyway, that’s how I knew what it was. I knew he was watching us and that’s why I yelled at you. He hated anything not completely human and I was afraid he would try to torture you. I was so scared. And you don’t repulse me, and I don’t care that you shift—in fact it was kind of…oh,” she blushed, but hastened on. “So what happened with King Attor, was anyone hurt? Why were you gone so long?”
Nadja stopped, looking expectantly at him. Her wide blue eyes blinked beneath her fanning lashes.
Through her whole babbling tirade, Olek managed to piece her story together. She searched his face as if her whole life depended on what he would say next. Gone was his reserved Nadja who always had a calm answer. He found he liked the babbling version. She was adorable.
“We all are fine. Attor is dead. I’ve been negotiating peace with his son, the new Var King. It looks promising—” he couldn’t finish his answer.
“So you know I’m pregnant?” Nadja broke into his words.
Olek was going to say that peace looked promising. That it would be slow going, but could be achieved. Some of the older nobles would protest on both sides. However, in the end, they would bow to the decision of their leaders.
“Yes,” he said. “I heard your father mention it in the forest and you told me in the medical ward before you spoke to Olena.”
“I did?” she asked, surprised. “It is all such a blur.”
“Yes, you did.” Olek was about to say more, when she broke in again.
“Do you hate me?” Nadja hesitated. “I’ve never killed anyone, I swear. Well, no one but my father. I never did the things he did. I understand if you want me to leave. I know this has to be an embarrassment to your family. So, do you hate me?”
Olek swept forward to her, gracefully wrapping his arms about her waist. “How could I even think of hating you, Nadja, when I have loved you since first seeing you?”
Nadja trembled. Tears poured down her face and she jumped up and wrapped her legs back around his waist. “You love me, you really do?”
A rush of feeling poured out of him, connecting her to him and him to her. This connection was strong and free. It would never be severed.
“Y—” Olek couldn’t even get the word out.
Nadja started kissing his face. “I love you. I love you,” she whispered into him, panting her words between her light, scattered caresses. “I love our baby. I love our life. I love this. I love you, Olek. I love y—”
Olek captured her lips to his, chuckling happily into her. Nadja instantly melted, moaning against him. He pressed her to him. Suddenly, she pulled away, her eyes shining with mischief though her face was serious.
“What?” he asked, his lips curling with his perfect smile.
Nadja licked her lips and squirmed naughtily against him. “I think your sword is poking me again.”
Olek growled, “Keep moving like that wife, and it will be sure to impale you.”
Nadja’s laughter was cut off by her prince’s kiss. She clung onto him, taking everything he gave her. Life was perfect. They were perfect. And, as he carted her off to his bed, she whispered, “I hope you never let me go.”
The End
Dark Prince: 10th Anniversary Edition
By Michelle M. Pillow
Dark Prince (Dragon Lords) © copyright 2004 - 2015 by Michelle M. Pillow
Previously Titled: The Dark Prince (Dragon Lords)
10th Anniversary Edition, Third Electronic Printing June 2014, The Raven books
Second Electronic Printing August 2010, The Raven Books
First Electronic November 2004
Cover art by Ravven © Copyright 2015
ISBN 978-1-62501-086-5
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
All books copyrighted to the author and may not be resold or given away without written permission from the author, Michelle M. Pillow.
This novel is a work of fiction. Any and all characters, events, and places are of the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, or events or places is merely coincidence. Novel intended for adults only. Must be 18 years or older to read.
About Dark Prince
Dragonshifting Romance
Out of the fire…
Intergalactic thief, Olena Leyton is one of the best space pirates in history. Sailing the high skies in search of adventure is in her blood. When her crew is scattered in a run from the law and her ship explodes into a ball of flames, the injured Olena is forced to find sanctuary on a bride procurement ship. Posing as a blushing ‘mail-order’ bride on the primitive planet of Qurilixen to elude the bounty hunters pursuing her is a necessity of circumstance. But, being a bride isn’t something this pirate takes seriously.
Into the flames…
Dragon-shifting Prince Yusef leads a simple life away from the palace. He knows from the first moment he sees his fiery temptress that he will possess her and make her his mate for all time. The prince soon learns that playing with fire will always leave a man burned. However, with passions that surge as powerful as theirs, he is not willing to give up his bride without a fight.
To JRA, for making me laugh, for smiling and nodding at my crazy ideas, for getting my jokes, and for agreeing to build me a spaceship. You might not remember that last one, but it happened. You agreed to it. Trust me.
Chapter 1
Olena Leyton’s calculating eyes shot hot sparks of angry fire, as she met her reflection in a broken piece of glass on the ground. A drop of blood splattered over her right eye. She grimaced in annoyance and pressed her fingers to the seeping wound in her arm. The black spandex of her top had been ripped. She cursed. Biting her lip, she felt a chunk of metal embedded deep within her skin. She gritted her teeth and dug her fingers into the wound to pry out the jagged strip. Dispassionately, she eyed the metal before dropping it to the ground.
Her arm continued to ooze blood, a little worse than before, but she ignored it. Now was not the time for weakness. She was in the crate storage of some metal space dock. The large open door let in a cooling breeze from outside, making her shiver as it hit the layer of sweat on her skin. Leaning forward, she squinted, trying to read the address label on one of the crates. X Quadrant, Earthbase 5792461.
X Quadrant!
She let loose a long breath. Her ship really had gone off course. Glancing over the lush alien countryside she’d run three miles through, she took a calming breath. He
r heart hammered, more from the sprint than the pain in her arm. Her escape had been too close for comfort.
Vexatious bounty hunters, trying to get back what she rightfully stole. They had shot up her ship, scattered her crew, and now she was stranded in the X Quadrant. Things couldn’t get much worse.
Olena was wrong. With a frown, she watched as an orange ball of fire lit up the distance. She cursed and closed her eyes as she saluted the last breath of her ship. With that kind of beacon, the bounty hunters would be all over this planet like a Ven-5 sand ray on an injured fighter pilot, not to mention the local law enforcement. Wouldn’t they love to get their hands on this little pirate?
“Not going to happen,” Olena grumbled, darkly. She looked around, refusing to give up. She had been in tougher spots than this. Granted, she usually had her crew with her.
Discovering a row of small luxury crafts, and personal transport ships, that had been lined up for pre-flight maintenance, she grinned. Oh, this was almost too easy. She stood and was instantly sorry. Lightheaded, she swayed on her feet and had to concentrate to keep from blacking out.
Olena glanced at her arm. Her blood trickled over her arm pooling onto the floor, staining the black spandex of her pants, and dripping onto her leather boot. She needed a medic, and fast. But, worst of all, she was in no condition to fly. She could very well pass out during the gravity shift of takeoff.
Moving stealthily forward, she peeked through the windows of the personal transports for a first aid kit to tide her over, and the rich people who owned these crafts were always good for a supply of painkillers. Right now she needed both.
Olena found a kit and glanced around to make sure the place was empty. With a swift kick, she smashed in the window and unlocked the transport. Moments later, she had her arm bandaged and a couple pills stuck and dissolving in her dry throat. She tried to swallow them.
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