by Emma Dean
She would never forget his look of shock.
“You’ve lost Nash. Now stop before you do something unforgivable.”
“Take your hands off him,” Kaita snarled, unsheathing one of her plasma blades.
The threat made the air thick and time seemed to slow as both Nadyah and Roxy reacted.
Before Kaita could take a step Nadyah had one of her curved blades pressed to the princess’s throat. “Keep out of it or it’s your neck. Did you think I make idle threats?”
Before the Corinthian princess could respond the door slid open to reveal Kaiden. He took in Adelina’s claws holding the back of Nash’s shirt, Varan’s disheveled look, the wooden splinters that were all that remained of the table, and Nadyah’s blade to Kaita’s throat. Then his eyes flicked to Kaita’s unsheathed plasma sword and the relaxed way Roxy had her hand on the tool she kept on her belt.
“Here’s the information you asked for, Princess,” he said, wisely not mentioning the current situation. “I’ll…be back…at some later point.” Then Kaiden set the shreve down and disappeared.
If the situation weren’t so tenuous Adelina might have laughed.
When the door slid closed once more Adelina released Nash. “Don’t challenge him, Nash. If you need to challenge someone, then challenge me. There are things you don’t know and couldn’t possibly understand. Now…can we talk about this like people instead of animals, or do I have to punish someone?”
Kaita was the first to sheath her weapon and the action made Nadyah and Roxy stand down. The courtesan slipped her curved blade back into its hiding place and then readjusted her skirts. Nadyah ignored Roxy’s look of concern and crossed to the dining table that was somehow still standing.
She selected a few items and then sniffed at the beverages.
Adelina shook out her hands, trying to ease the ache from her claws, concentrating until they were mostly human once more. The canines retreated ever so slightly, but not completely. It was all she could manage with the wolf so close while so deep in her dominance. She didn’t ease up on it either as she eyed Nash getting to his feet with as much dignity as he could muster.
Adelina wondered if he would indeed challenge her.
“Your explanation is welcome,” Nash said stiffly, flicking a piece of wood from his shoulder. He even kept his eyes down, recognizing her rank and dominance.
Thank the goddess. An outright challenge would have been disastrous.
Adelina rolled her shoulders back and cracked her neck, hoping the worst was over.
Nadyah sat down and handed the plate of food to Roxy. Varan didn’t sit. He leaned against the only door, hands loose and ready to reach for a blade. The one he’d had before gone into one of his hidey holes.
Kaita and Nash didn’t sit either, but they waited. Both of them had their arms crossed over their chests with impatient, unhappy frowns on their faces. Adelina could see the resemblance between them even if they weren’t related. She wondered if Nash could see it between her and Nadyah – a pair even if it wasn’t necessarily physically obvious.
The windows were high and curved, each one twice her height, but narrow. Adelina crossed the room and looked out, scouting their location in comparison to the landing station. She could see her starships as well as Nash’s off in the distance. There was a good amount of them…he must have found the other two royals who’d been hiding in the Hai Galaxy.
Adelina didn’t ask about them, instead she took out one of the anti-spy tech devices she’d stolen from the royal vault over the cycles. It was the same one her mother liked to use in the Queen’s Solar during their weekly tea – not that they’d had one since her grandmother had been banished from the palace and stripped of her title.
The pulse deactivated any spy tech in the room, ran the dimensions, and then created a small shield around them to prevent anyone from listening in on what she was about to say. Adelina wondered sometimes why she kept it a secret. It would be so much easier to simply tell everyone.
At least she could start with the male who had stolen her heart so effectively.
Adelina turned and faced Nash, leaning against the window. She let herself study him, noting the way his fingers tapped on his arm impatiently, but otherwise he was still as the dawn except for the way he studied her.
They both took their time taking in each other’s changes.
There was a new scar that went from his shoulder up his neck and across his jaw. Adelina clenched her teeth and tried not to think about how he’d gotten it or how close he may have been to dying. Tears pricked her eyes as she noticed another marring the bands of ink on his arm. She blinked and took a deep breath.
Nash took in her pants, the strange mix of styles that she wore as Adelina and Lina, and she wondered if he’d seen anything that had been on the livestream the last few weeks. He probably knew nothing about what had happened since he left Draga Terra.
Goddess, it felt like an eternity ago.
“Much has happened since you left,” she murmured, noticing the way he favored his left side. Adelina would have to call in one of her physicians to tend to him and the rest of his people. No doubt they would need much since being on the run for over six months.
Nash snorted like she was being intentionally obtuse. Adelina gave him a slight smile and a shrug to ease Varan’s predatory intensity. He hadn’t once blinked, staring at Nash like a wolf on the hunt.
“Raena tried to pawn me off on the Neprijat King when he called to request her hand in marriage. He stated her acceptance would cease fire on Seprilles and bring peace once more. She denied him and he would not accept me unless she abdicated as well as Giselle, or they both died.” Adelina inspected her black lacquer nails, focusing on them until they were completely human. Nash had to understand every change, and until she showed him firsthand…he had to know exactly what he was getting into.
Then she hoped he would choose her regardless, that he would still love her enough to accept her as she was.
“I decided it was too much of a risk to stay unwed and in Draga I am free with at least one husband as that husband would hold the rank of prince. Anyone else is a consort.” She glanced at Nadyah and her courtesan gave her a reassuring nod. She was here for her as she always was. “Or an official Mistress.”
Nash looked between her and Nadyah as did Kaita. Both of them relaxed a bit, if only because of their surprise. Adelina slipped her hands into her coat pocket to hide their shaking. She’d known Nash disliked Nadyah, but she’d promised herself and her courtesan a male’s opinion would not change who she was.
“Varan had already danced with me at my coming-of-age party and due to our previous friendship; I was inclined to marry him. At least he was someone I could trust.”
Adelina swallowed hard and looked at Varan – her Prince of Thieves, her husband, and the friend who had saved her in so many different ways. She didn’t try to hide the tears rimming her eyes or the love she felt for the male who had fused with her very soul.
“Raena…lost control…after that incident with the Neprijat.” Her heart rate picked up and damn all the hells, it was still difficult to talk about what had happened in that council meeting. “She executed three nobles in front of everyone – and I had to kneel in their blood to gain permission to leave as quickly as I did; to come here and request aid for the war after so many of our people were already dying. I don’t – know what would have happened to me…if not for Varan.”
Finally Nash looked less angry and instead he appeared – apprehensive. As though he almost didn’t want to know what else had led her to this very moment, to the female she was now.
Adelina cocked her head, wondering if the Corinthians would even understand the ramifications of what she was about to tell them. “Do you remember when I told you to stop the night of my coming-of-age party? How angry you were when I wouldn’t tell you why?”
Cautiously Nash nodded, looking at Varan and then Nadyah.
“There were some issu
es with my biology. Ian ran a full diagnostic which revealed my genetic condition.” Adelina narrowed her eyes at Kaita, warning the girl without words this was something that had to stay in the room. “I am one quarter courtesan,” she admitted.
She let that sink in for a moment, watching the two Kharan royals closely. Kaita didn’t seem to understand, but Nash had some idea because he looked at Nadyah and then at her with some dawning comprehension.
“Yes, that’s why my jasmine scent can be sweet or dark, and why I am no longer submissive. I choose not to be,” Adelina told him, trying not to hunch her shoulders under his possible judgement.
But Nash kept his face blank as he processed her words. It gave her the courage to continue.
“Courtesans can be mated when they copulate with another who matches them genetically. I was afraid you were my mate so I had to test your DNA first before we could safely…” she trailed off and shrugged again, looking out the window. For some reason this was the most difficult part of her confession and the rapt attention of everyone in the room was a weight she wasn’t used to.
“It turns out my mother, Adele, and Elara are mated. I am the result of a desire for a child borne of them and my father. A physician deactivated the gene that bound my body and soul to another after intercourse while I was still in Adele’s womb. So I chose not to have anyone tested, not wanting to live my life that way. But it does mean I possess the same needs as the courtesans without a possible mate bond to tie me to one and only one.”
Adelina held out her hand for Nadyah and instantly she rose to come to her side. Nadyah took her hand and kissed her cheek. She needed her courtesan’s strength now more than ever because she could see Nash shutting down as he finally started to truly understand who and what she was.
“Finding out I could move up and down the dominance spectrum as a courtesan could have awakened the wolf inside that I’d long since denied. I’d shoved her down so deep I’d convinced myself I was indeed a true submissive and only that. But in fact I can be that and a true dominant – as dominant as, or more, than Asher even.” Adelina smiled a little when she remembered the way her brother had deferred to her out of respect and love.
She’d gained so much…if Nash couldn’t handle it all then at least she would still have the people she’d brought into her inner circle. A broken heart could easily be healed with the love of a male like Varan and a female such as Nadyah.
“The Games released my wolf and forced me to use every skill I possessed. Then all knew I was a true Draga Royal.” A simple flick and her claws extended. She’d been practicing the control of her claws so she could have them on demand, or not. Then they eased back into her hand and both Kaita and Nash looked intrigued. “I don’t know if your people have similar features but in Draga only the royals can shift. Others are capable if they have strong enough wolves, but they don’t possess the same length a royal does.”
Roxy flicked her own fingers and revealed the same claws Adelina had, but only half the length. Then they were gone and the engineer looked bored once more, having done her part.
Nadyah took the coat from Adelina’s shoulders and laid it across the back of a chair before leading her to the armchair she’d been in before. And Adelina let her. She felt wrung out and exhausted after revealing so many truths. Then Nadyah brought her some hot tea and Varan crossed the room to stand by her side, but he said nothing and never once took his eyes off Prince Nash.
Roxy ate as though none of it mattered to her at all, and it probably didn’t; not really. But the way she kept Kaita in her sights eased some of Adelina’s anxiety. She had good people around her she could trust, she could rely on. There was nothing more she could have asked for during a trip to another galaxy while war waged and so few could be trusted.
“Now, as my mate bond will never be activated it means I am not built for monogamy. There is a pull I feel that I can’t deny, and my heart needs the connection I have with Varan…with you. Please, before you decide…think about what I said, about our proposal? I know it is not customary for your people to share, to be wedded to more than one person, but you would only be marrying me. You would not be required to do anything you aren’t comfortable with.”
Adelina looked up at Varan then and finally he looked at her, ripping his feral gaze from Nash. His nod was more than enough. It filled her with warmth and happiness and she smiled. This male was truly a soul mate in every way. She supposed she would find out if Nash was as well.
The silence between them wasn’t as awkward as before, but it was thicker and tenser if that were even possible. Kaita stared at her in disbelief and shook her head. Nash didn’t reveal anything though. He just gave her a brisk nod and headed for the door with Kaita following close behind.
A piece of her heart broke as she watched him go. Adelina didn’t try to stop him. She didn’t try to force an answer from him. Everything she revealed needed time to be absorbed. Her proposal went against his very nature and Nash had to decide for himself. If he wasn’t one hundred percent sure of his own choice he would resent her. And no matter how hard it was to let him go, she knew it was the right choice.
Adelina slumped into her chair and propped her chin on her hand to stare into the fire. She was exhausted, straining her dominance and strength to the breaking point. A move like she’d done with Nash was a lucky, one time deal. Never again could she pull a stunt like that with him. He was stronger and only the surprise had forced his body to the ground.
She started to shake as the nerves and the release of so much power took her. It was too much strain and she was so very tired.
“Lina, darling, please…look at me love.”
Her weary eyes found Varan’s and she smiled weakly at him. “What would I do without you?”
“Are you all right?” he asked, touching her face briefly and frowning when he found her clammy. “Here eat something.” He took the plate from Nadyah and tried to hand her a morsel.
Adelina smiled slightly and pushed it away. “If you don’t mind I’m going to take a walk.” She kissed him softly on the lips and stood. “I need time to think.”
Varan didn’t look happy about it but he nodded, putting a hand on Nadyah’s shoulder to cut off her protests. “Whatever you need, darling.”
Adelina flashed him the bracelet he’d gifted her. “Don’t worry; you’ll know exactly where I am.” She slipped on her jacket and left the room, taking the shreve Kaiden had left with her.
The corridor was filled with more Drakesthai than she’d expected, but Adelina ignored them all as she took in the carvings on the stone and the windows that looked out over a fiery, barren landscape.
Nash had been so careful to keep his thoughts and emotions from his face, no doubt knowing she could probably read him as Nadyah could. He’d purposefully cut her off and Adelina was frightened that it could really be over, that love wasn’t enough in this instance.
Because she knew he loved her, knew he wanted her. That kiss before he’d scented Varan had been more than enough to reconfirm their attraction and desire – and the pain of their separation.
Now…she simply had to wait for him to make his choice.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Adelina
The Royal Eyrie
Planet Hai Delta
The shreve Kaiden had left her was a bit different than the ones she was used to, but Adelina was able to navigate her way through the information relatively quickly. There wasn’t good news on it either. Not that she had suspected the Drakesthai of lying to her about such a sensitive issue, but she had hoped her people hadn’t been so cruel.
Adelina read the reports from over two hundred cycles ago and shook her head. Every so often she had to set the shreve down and stare out at the wasteland before her. It was beautiful almost with the red clouds that swirled above, the occasional lightning bringing sudden light before plunging them back into the perpetual gloom.
Two hundred cycles ago the Drakesthai had answered her gr
eat-grandfather’s call and helped Draga push the Neprijat back in their brief alliance. There were pics and vids and battle reports to prove it. So much detail and proof – why did they not possess any of it in the Draga Galaxy?
After the war was won and the shield had been erected around Draga, their contact with the Drakesthai dwindled to nothing. The shield kept them separate from everyone else and the one Drakesthai envoy that came requesting help was denied as King Beo didn’t believe any of his people could have poisoned the Drakesthai. He blamed the Neprijat who certainly had the tech for it.
That request for help wasn’t in her own textbooks either, or anything she’d ever read in her studies over the cycles. Not even Varan’s minimal intel had said anything about the cause or source of the dragon’s infertility or medical issues. None of his spies had ever gotten close enough to a royal dragon to find out the truth.
After the initial war with the Neprijat it took almost ten cycles for the Drakesthai physicians to even consider a targeted disease, a biological weapon.
Females started dying in droves during childbirth, and the infants didn’t survive either. Female babes were increasingly rare until there wasn’t more than one female child per Drakesthai mother – those that survived the process.
And that was if they could even conceive.
It was how the multiple mates had come about. She’d read about how they tweaked their genetics again to mate one female to more than one male so as to increase the odds for offspring. Only one out of every three males were fertile and that was being generous per the shreve Kaiden had given her.
Oddly enough the genetic tweaks didn’t always hold true which was why they occasionally mated to an Unchanged Human female and were able to bear offspring, but the babes were almost always born without wings, and almost always male. There was one report of a female being born a hundred cycles ago to an Unchanged, but the female didn’t bear any winged Drakesthai. All her children were Unchanged and un-winged, male and female alike. Apparently she’d successfully borne two sets of twins which was a miracle in itself and then survived both pregnancies and deliveries.