by Emma Dean
Kaiden’s laughing smile in the corner of her eye irritated her. Adelina spared him a withering look before turning back to Nash.
Prince Nash looked down at her hand and noted the fat, emerald-cut diamond there, and then the ring on Varan’s finger. The intensity of the anger that flashed through him made her wince, but Adelina hid it expertly by adjusting her signet ring.
“I’m relieved you’re alive and well,” she said with a gentle tone. Goddess, she was so glad to see him and Adelina wished she could take his hand so she could explain everything. She’d hoped for more time, for a moment before they spoke to the Council, but with Prince Kaiden and the other Drakesthai watching she couldn’t let her guard down.
Nash deserved so much more than a paltry introduction.
“A pleasure, I’m sure,” Nash finally said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. “The Council has been waiting for your arrival before they deign to answer my request. Perhaps now that you’re finally here we can get on with the business of war.”
The Corinthian prince stalked back to the castle and Adelina sighed. This was not how she’d wanted their reunion to go. But Nash had never been simple. He’d been a chaotic whirlwind ready to tear her apart from the moment she’d laid eyes on him in the council room on Draga Terra.
Adelina had yet to find out if the sundering of her soul benefited her or not. All Nash had done was steal her heart and rip it to pieces so he could put it back in a way that suited him. She’d been his from the very beginning, but how to explain to him her heart was bigger than expected? That she could truly love both him and Varan?
“I apologize, Prince Kaiden. Please, take us to the Council.”
Kaiden stayed by her side this time, and Varan came up on her other side. Adelina felt coveted and protected somehow by the both of them. It eased the cold Nash had left in his wake. She tucked her hands in her pockets to hide the shaking, but still both males noticed. Varan walked so his shoulder was pressed to hers and Kaiden’s wings spread, protecting both her and Varan from the wind.
“It’s odd the prince seems so disappointed,” Kaiden said gently, softly in that lilting accent of his. “All Drakesthai females have three mates minimum, but usually more. Is he disappointed he was not the first?”
Adelina eyed the dragon prince and noted his protective stance. He was definitely submissive, but it was difficult to tell how much so when he smelled like nothing to her nose. All Adelina could scent was the fire and smoke and rock. He was definitely not vicious and cruel as all the reports had said. It made her question everything.
“I assume so,” Adelina admitted. “Prince Nash believes he is the most dominant, and that I must not love him because I love Varan. They only have one…mate, in the Khara Galaxy for the most part.” It was strange to say mate and not have it mean something so secretive and clandestine.
“Strange,” Kaiden said with a small frown. “Females start to bond with each of their mates once they scent each other. It is not her fault when that happens. Though with the Unchanged it is different. They only bond with one male if the genetics line up.”
Adelina glanced up at the dragon prince. Somehow it was easy to talk to Kaiden, and he was so open with her. It was a bit odd, but she was also glad to finally get some answers from the source.
“Multiple mate bonds? That is a fascinating concept. We do not have mate bonds in Draga.”
That wasn’t necessarily true, but Adelina wasn’t ready to have that conversation yet. Technically she wasn’t even supposed to know about the courtesan mate bond. If their two people could ally, Adelina would set Ian to finding some answers as to why the Drakesthai and the Kalans in Draga were so similar – despite their differences in appendages.
Prince Kaiden shrugged and gave her a smile before he took the lead once more.
When Varan offered her his arm she took it gladly. The familiarity of protocol was a crutch she needed at the moment as the eyrie castle loomed above them. Kaiden walked them through the massive gates where Nash had already disappeared. The dragon prince was silent when they entered.
Varan’s eyes flicked everywhere and she felt Nadyah behind her, guarding her back. The guards were on alert, but they took in everything as the rock and mountain weighed heavily above them.
Adelina was grateful for her thick coat as the chill grew deeper even without the wind. Kaiden tucked his wings back into his body and she missed their protection instantly. Adelina scoffed. A beautiful winged male and suddenly she was beside herself. It was difficult not to roll her eyes at her own ridiculousness.
Varan chuckled beside her and she eyed him, eyebrow raised. Her husband couldn’t hide the laughter in his eyes. “I should have known something so shiny would be irresistible to my jewel thief.”
Adelina tried to hide her smile and poked Varan in the ribs before she leaned into him in thanks. His love and acceptance had no bounds. The goddess had truly blessed her when she’d crossed their paths.
Then the stone corridor opened up into a main foyer larger even than the one in the Draga Palace.
Adelina stopped when she saw Nash with someone she didn’t recognize, but would bet her life was the Princess Kaita. The female had a wildness about her that set Adelina’s teeth on edge. She was so much like Nash – yet not.
Her blonde hair was nearly white and worn in long braids. The pink eyes were rosy and gorgeous like morganite, but it was the tattoos on her face, on her arms in a sleeveless vest that made Adelina wary. She even carried double plasma blades on her back – a warrior through and through.
Somehow she made Adelina feel like a little girl playing dress up. If it came down to it Princess Kaita could end her with barely a thought and the way she glared at Adelina, Nash had told her about Varan.
“Darling, you possess more dominance than she does, keep that in mind,” Varan whispered in her ear.
“As do you, Prince,” she murmured back.
“I don’t like the way she looks at you,” Nadyah hissed.
“Calm down,” Roxy snapped, her words an angry whisper. “It seems we’re about to receive an audience.”
Adelina squared her shoulders once more when Kaiden approached. “The Council is ready,” he told them. His wings were one among many and Adelina refused to let her eyes wander even if the Drakesthai stared at her.
Her heels clicked as she strode after Kaiden with Varan at her side, his hands in his pockets and that lazy, bored smile on his face. Varan was ready to take whatever eyes necessary and Nadyah looked graceful…so deceptively gentle that Adelina knew her knives were close by. Roxy had a tool on her belt – the goddess only knew what it did, but Adelina didn’t doubt it could remove some essential body part or another.
Over the last few days they’d discussed in great detail the parts they would play, the cards they would keep to their chest and the ones they would reveal. From all her research Adelina had bet that medicine would bring the Drakesthai to her cause. No one knew why, but they weren’t reproducing and if she could solve that problem…
Then Adelina would have another army to fight the Neprijat monsters with.
If the Drakesthai didn’t want that then she had a thousand other offers thanks to Giselle. Varan had gone through the inventory and compared it to the very little intel he’d accumulated over the cycles and ranked it all from what the Drakesthai would be the most interested in, to the least.
The doors to the Council room opened and Adelina paused on the threshold, taking it in. Yes, it was partially for dramatic effect as she released her claws and canines, and partially to allow her husband and inner circle to scout the space.
It was more of a cavern than a room, hewn into the stone and rock in a circular shape. Pillars framed them with magnificent carvings and embedded jewels. Adelina refused to admire the work even though she was intrigued.
The Council sat on chairs that were set in a circle as well, smaller but mirroring the room. There was a small crystal pool of water in the very center that ga
thered from the occasional drip from the ceiling. It was a cave almost with the way the stone spired down from the ceiling like Adelina had seen icicles do.
There were only three females of the Council and the rest were males, their wings draping behind the backless chairs. Adelina did a double take when she realized the females didn’t possess wings. She filed that away to ask about later.
Satisfied with what she’d gleaned Adelina strode forward, aware of the way Nash watched her, slightly behind her party with Kaita.
When she reached the bottom of the circle so to speak, she was alone. Varan, Nadyah, and Roxy stayed behind her with Nash and Kaita, and her guards were outside the Council room. Then she bowed as a princess to a prince – equal rank to everyone present.
From all her studies there was no one ruler. The Drakesthai didn’t possess a king or queen like her people the Kalans, or Nash’s the Corinthians. But there was a House for each Drakesthai planet with a ruling family. They were all princes and princesses as Nash’s people were, but they ruled together through a type of democracy while they waited for their queen.
There was a lot of lore and speculation about the fated Drakesthai queen that Adelina didn’t really understand, but the dragons had been waiting for her for over six hundred cycles.
When Adelina straightened she met each of the Council’s eyes. “Thank you for allowing me to cross the border for the first time in generations,” she said clearly in the Drakesthai tongue, trying not to think about her obvious accent. “I have brought a gift.”
She pulled the heavy piece from her coat pocket and inspected the gem that was larger than her hand. The gem itself grew out of the rock in shooting sprays, so beautiful and raw. “The aquamarine grows out of granite in Draga when combined with magma deep beneath the surface. It shoots out in these wondrous columns. In the Draga Galaxy the aquamarine stands for peace, communication, and empowerment. A gift from me personally to the Drakesthai.”
Kaiden bowed and took the rock with the gems from her. “We accept your gift, Princess.”
It had taken some digging to find such a beautiful, raw specimen, but Adelina had known the gesture would matter. “I am here to request your assistance. A trade,” she stated. Adelina didn’t raise her voice, but she used the acoustics to her advantage. She was not there to beg.
Five pairs of wings rustled. Then the oldest male stood and stopped at the opposite side of the pool than she.
“I am Prince Rykian of House Obsidian, the ruling family of Hai Delta. While we respect your reason for seeking us out I do not believe you understand our position,” the male said in Dragan. He was about the same height as Kaiden, and just as built. But there were a few wrinkles on his face, and a salt and pepper beard to match his hair. Adelina had no idea how old he was just by looking at him, but she would guess he was older than her father had been, goddess protect his soul.
“Then why did you allow me to cross the border? Why did you send Prince Kaiden to escort me to your capitol?” Adelina asked. She stood with her back straight and clasped her hands before her at waist height. “Clearly there is something you wanted from me.”
Her direct question made the older prince pause and really look at her. Then he turned with a hand pointed at Nash. “When the Kharan prince first approached us he demanded we allow him within our borders so he may gather what remained of his people. If we did not he would start another war.”
Adelina closed her eyes for a brief moment. Sweet fate, Nash had the finesse of an avalanche. Of course he would start the conversation with threats and demands. She allowed herself a small glance at him and he caught her look. Nash shrugged, but he didn’t smile. He was still furious about Varan.
“We allowed him to search for his people with an escort despite the risk it would be with our Neprijat overlords. We rule our space for the most part and they only check in every few months. If another wanted to risk their lives and their people to destroy the creatures, we were fine with that and would not stand in their way.”
The prince walked around the amethyst pool slowly as he studied her. “My people are dying,” Prince Rykian stated. “It is why we ceded to Neprijat rule lest we be wiped from the universe completely. They allow us our Council, but we answer to them. For us to join this war we need to know there will be victory, that there will be a solution to our problem.”
Still Adelina said nothing as she waited for the real reason they let her in.
Rykian nodded when he saw the resolution and patience on her face, a bit of respect showing through his stern look. “At first we required that the Prince Nash leave after his search, but he told us about the youngest princess of Draga – how she was different than the other royals…how she’d studied our people her entire life in a futile hope to one day create peace between our two peoples. We decided it was worth the risk to meet you – to put aside our past to see if you could truly deliver what Nash promised.”
He stopped a margin away from her, almost a challenge with how close he stood. Adelina eyed him and wondered if the lack of personal space was a part of the Drakesthai culture, or if they were using it as an intimidation tactic.
“Prince Nash asked for an alliance and when we denied him he told us of what you planned to offer,” Rykian told her as he waved his hand dismissively at Prince Nash and Princess Kaita. “A cure to our infertility. The same infertility created by Draga.”
Rykian and the entire Council waited for her response to this revelation.
Adelina didn’t dare look away from the prince and cede dominance to him. She had to gather her wits and figure out what in all the hells these people were saying.
Somehow the Drakesthai blamed her people for their fate. Goddess, help her.
Chapter Twenty-One
Adelina
The Royal Eyrie
Planet Hai Delta
Adelina carefully kept her expression blank and a bit contemplative to hide the shock at Prince Rykian’s statement. Her people were the cause of the Drakesthai’s infertility?
Before jumping to Draga’s defense she had to know everything. Her people knew so very little about the Drakesthai and most of what she’d read about their countenance had been wrong. Prince Kaiden had been nothing but kind to her and he didn’t even know her – and apparently he believed her people were responsible for this terrible thing.
It told Adelina much about Kaiden and his people that despite everything they were willing to meet with her – for hope.
Everyone stared at her and she tried to ignore the nerves she felt creeping up. Slowly she breathed in and then out while the older male let his words sink in. She waited him out, waited for him to reveal what she needed to know so she could plan her next move. Adelina had practiced for days. She could do this.
Adelina slowly clasped her hands at waist height, flourishing her black lacquer claws as she did so. All eyes went to the sharp tips and she felt them stir with apprehension. “I do not deny the truth of your statement, Prince Rykian, but I would like to inform you this is not in any records Draga possesses. If it were I would have pressed for a peaceful solution long ago…but I doubt you would have accepted a Dragan ambassador or envoy.”
Those odd grey eyes of his pierced her to her very soul. “We are not as simple as you think despite our physical strength. We count knowledge as one of the greatest treasures in our trove. While you may speak the truth, it does not change the facts.”
Adelina studied the Council, noting the three females. One was older, about the age of Prince Rykian. The second was perhaps as old as her mothers, and the third was young – close to Adelina’s own age most likely.
“Please explain it to me so I may fully understand,” Adelina said, speaking in Dragan for Varan and the others.
Prince Rykian walked around the pool, the drops of water loud in the silence of the cavern. “This is Kalene,” he said, holding out his hand for the youngest female. The beauty took the male’s hand and rose, her eyes still on the floor. “She is
the last Dragon Princess of Hai. Only one female is born in each generation who can produce Drakesthai offspring. She is the only daughter of Serilda, and the last of her offspring,” he said, inclining his head to the oldest female. “And Tatsuo has only borne males thus far. The occasional Unchanged Human can bear a Drakesthai, but it is extremely rare. Yes, we are nearly as long lived as you are, but at this rate we will die out within the next generation or two.”
The way he assisted Kalene back into her chair, Adelina could see how precious these females were to the males. All male eyes were tender and protective when they fell on one of the three wingless females.
Her heart ached for these people. Adelina needed more answers. “And we’ve offered the chance to assist you many times over the cycles,” she stated. “Why have you closed your borders to us?”
Rykian didn’t answer her question, but another male shot to his feet. “You could not possibly understand.”
Adelina turned to him, keeping her expression calm when she felt her claws ache for flesh at the rudeness and accusation. So she smiled, revealing her long, sharp canines. The entire cavern recoiled except for her people. It only made her smile wider. “I don’t believe we’ve been introduced.”
“Prince Vasili of House Fyre, ruling family of Tainos.”
“You may call me Princess,” Adelina said, her smile widening as she enforced protocol.
Rykian shot Vasili a glare for his lack of manners but the young prince set his feet wide and flared his wings at her in anger. “Princess,” he spat. “Your people abandoned us after setting a disease rampant, sterilizing most of our males permanently. ‘Multiplied like vermin’ my father told me was the phrase used to describe us.”
Adelina bared her teeth at the accusation in his tone if not in his words – as though she were just as bad as the perpetrators.
Prince Kaiden stepped forward with a hand on Vasili’s shoulder before she could say anything in retaliation. “As you know I am Prince Kaiden of House Skye, ruling family of Anarr. We have documentation proving these incidents and are willing to share them with you. It has caused us cycles of problems,” he said, shooting Vasili a glare. “What Prince Vasili was trying to say was that we had no reason to trust those that came before. Why would these Kalans be any different than the ones who poisoned us? But Prince Nash told us about you, and we were willing to meet with you after hacking into your livestream. What we saw on the vid records about Princess Adelina was enough to convince the entire Council to at least give you a hearing.”