by Emma Dean
Joslynn smiled so wide at the crown princess, Adelina wanted to smile with her. The countess had such an infectious mood. “Of course, I am so delighted to have been invited.” She grinned at Adelina and bowed her head ever-so-slightly in thanks.
Countess Joslynn was young from what Adelina remembered. She would have to check the files on her shreve later to be sure. If she was correct Joslynn was only twenty-five cycles old. The countess’s parents had died when she was only a babe in a terrible accident. Their ship had been attacked by pirates near the outer rim on their way home from Scyria.
Pirates and mercenaries were a constant threat for any of the Pedranus family as their planet was extremely rich and fertile. There was a never-ending supply of precious gems and metals. The constant rain provided rich fruit and vegetables the galaxy couldn’t do without. Pedranus was a place of true beauty. It was one of Adelina’s favorite planets though the rain hid the sun during most seasons and she felt homesick without it.
Adelina smiled slightly at the countess’s attention and listened as the queen started listing off the guests who would be there. Their mother smiled at Raena every time she mentioned someone who could be a possible match. The endless talk of who Raena may marry. It seemed the subject never exhausted itself. The one small grace from the three-faced goddess was that Countess Joslynn was such a delight otherwise the stale conversation would bore to tears.
The queen must have heard Adelina sigh. “Adelina, be respectful,” her mother snapped in Ilashyan. The language only known to females rippled through the room and Adelina straightened in her chair under the weight of all those eyes.
Her brothers stilled at the musical sounds. They did not understand the words but the tone was clear. Adelina clasped her hands delicately and set them on her lap with a small smile on her face, but she wasn’t paying attention. At the moment she didn’t care about current fashions, or what the best color for a royal wedding dress would be.
No, Adelina wanted to see the infamous mines with Joslynn or tour the warehouses. The warehouses of gems were on the agenda for the next day and she couldn’t wait. She wondered if there was a discreet way to ask the countess about purchasing some of the precious gems for her own projects.
Colin entered the solar alone and went straight for her brothers after bowing to the females. Adelina listened to the steward ask if they would like to head to the stables to see some of the galinas they had available to ride. Adelina hid her shudder. She loved the giant cats, but as a submissive she had to be extremely careful around them due to their intensely aggressive nature.
William, Asher, and Ian stood with the steward Colin. They bowed before exiting the solar and Adelina watched them go wistfully. As soon as the men had left the tone of the conversation changed. “Joslynn, I wanted to congratulate you on the wonderful job you have done with Pedranus,” the queen said in Ilashyan. “I love to see my fellow sisters succeeding. Occasionally the males still assume incorrectly we are the weaker sex, though we all know our strengths are simply different.”
Joslynn laughed and it tinkled through the room. “It is no longer the way of thinking here,” she admitted. “After ten cycles of my rule, females are practically worshipped for their ingenuity and silent strengths.”
Queen Adele nodded. “I very much look forward to seeing you when Mala returns to the skies of Draga.”
The tiny countess inclined her head respectfully. “I will have to ensure all is well with this quarter-cycle’s production. Without my direction it can become difficult to stay on target.”
“I understand completely,” her mother said with one of her little knowing smiles. “Tell me of your people’s thoughts regarding the royal family here on Pedranus?”
Raena watched the fiery little countess with a predator’s eyes. She never missed an opportunity to get a closer look at her subjects, a better insight to their needs and wants. She also had a nose for lies. Adelina didn’t know how she did it, but she could smell one across the galaxy.
Joslynn’s face grew serious and Adelina listened intently. These were the conversations she lived for. “We are loyal to the Draga crown,” she stated with near-reverence. “My people are dedicated. I have heard some talk about their concern over the Avvis family and their competition with Treon, though the distance has always favored Avvis.” Joslynn glanced hesitantly at Raena and seemed to second-guess herself.
Raena gave her a nod and a small smile of encouragement. “I am sure I’ve heard worse,” the crown princess said.
“They are concerned there is no move towards a search for a husband. There are too many eligible nobles and Raena has not favored any at court.” Joslynn dared a little shrug and Adelina admired her blatant break in protocol.
Raena didn’t wait for her mother’s next question. “What talk has there been of the Neprijat?”
Adelina physically recoiled at the mention of the race that raped and ravaged entire planets and galaxies. There had been rumors and whispers from the outer rim that the horde was on their way to their neighboring galaxy and ally. Adelina didn’t put much stock in rumors. The Neprijat had been a horror story she was told as a child, a race so dreaded they were still talked about in hushed tones. They’d disappeared over six hundred cycles before. Her great-grandfather was said to have fought them back before he created the peace they still enjoyed to this very day.
The Neprijat were supposed to be a sister-race descended from the same ancient humans as the Kalan’s, the Corinthians, and the Drakesthai. From the stories of the old ones they feasted on flesh and had teeth as sharp and numerous as sharks. Adelina couldn’t help the shudder of fear as she saw Joslynn grow even paler.
“We’ve only heard word from the traders.” Joslynn couldn’t look up and meet Raena’s gaze as the scent of rosanera grew stronger. She twisted the folds of her gown in her hands. “As you know Scyria is the steadfast ally of Pedranus and always has been. They protect the borders and the planets on the outer rim. They would know more than I.”
Raena shook her head and leaned forward infinitesimally. It was a subtle ploy of body language and it made her words feel urgent. “We were just on Scyria two weeks ago. They know only the rumors. Supposedly they move for the Khara galaxy, but there have been no sightings of them for the last four hundred cycles.”
Joslynn nodded but her entire body trembled. “Yes Princess that is what I have heard as well. I personally do not know where these rumors are coming from, but I wish they would stop.”
The queen frowned at her eldest in warning and Raena leaned back, hands languishing on the arms of her chair. Her mouth moved into a tiny smile as her eyes narrowed. It was her ‘queen’ look. It could be frightening, but Raena planned and strategized behind that mask. She didn’t actually want to watch an execution despite the expression on her face.
There was a knock at the door and Adelina looked up to see a physician in the doorway. What could she possibly want? Adelina looked to her mother and the queen’s face was white as a sheet under her naturally golden skin.
“My queen, he has taken a turn for the worse.”
Adelina had never seen her mother stand so quickly. She practically ran out of the solar and Queen Adele never broke protocol. A sick feeling brewed in Adelina’s gut and she shared worried looks with her sisters. She would never get away with following her mother unless Raena went first.
Her oldest sister gave them a nod and moved. Raena actually ran. Giselle and Adelina were hot on her heels. Something was wrong and it was bad enough to make their mother toss aside her decorum. They turned a corner, no thought to Joslynn and how they had abandoned her.
When Raena finally stopped deep in the castle she stood in the doorway to their parents’ guest room. It was the most luxurious room the Pedranus seat had to offer and the wealth of the planet was obvious in every detail. Gems glittered from the vases, the sol-powered lamps, and the artistic border just below the ceiling. The expansive room was even fitted with the most advanced tech
imported from Khara.
None of this caught Adelina’s eye as her gaze was glued to the bed where her father lay. His skin was a sickly gray rather than his normal golden tan. His cheeks were hollow and his eyes fluttered weakly as he tried to open them. King Orion was a strong male in his prime and he was an excellent ruler. He shouldn’t be laying sick in a bed at only a hundred and forty cycles old. Adelina couldn’t believe her eyes. With all their advancements in medicine and science her father lay sick?
Their mother knelt on the floor next to the bed with her hands wrapped around one of their father’s. Her forehead touched the back of her hand and murmurs to the three-faced goddess were all Adelina could make out. Their mother looked up when she heard Raena’s sharp intake of breath. She beckoned the three of them forward with tears in her eyes.
Adelina felt shaky as she took a step forward, and then another.
Protocol was left at the door when Raena climbed into the bed with their father. Giselle went up next and their father finally opened his eyes to smile at them weakly. Adelina couldn’t bring herself to cross the room. She needed answers. She needed to know if this was curable – whatever it was.
“What ails him?” she asked the physician.
The woman wrung her hands. “We are not positive, your highness. Nothing I have given him has helped. All the king’s test results have come back abnormal. We’re still testing to pin down what exactly is wrong, but the cure-all didn’t work.”
They still had no idea what her father was sick with which was highly abnormal. With all the modern gene-scrubbing, in-utero vaccinations, high-tech gene therapy, and the vast types of medicines developed for every variation of the most common and rare illnesses scattered across the Draga galaxy and beyond, it was nearly unheard of that a disease could make one as sick as her father. Adelina could count on one hand the amount of incurable diseases scientists studied day and night.
“Do you have any speculations?” Adelina asked with trepidation, hand to her stomach as the sick feeling settled.
The poor woman continued to wring her hands so hard the princess worried she would tear her skin and shatter the bones. “Nothing good your highness, I recommended to the queen she take him back to the capitol where teams of physicians could help him.”
If it was one of the incurable diseases he would need the royal physician team to keep him alive as long as possible while every scientist known to Draga would scramble to try and discover the cure, but the process was not as quick as one would hope. At most her father would have a cycle with an incurable sickness.
Tears filled Adelina’s eyes and finally she crossed the room to her father and the king held out his hand for her to take. She climbed onto the bed with her sisters and laid her head on his chest. She felt like a child again, small and scared. Her instincts told her this was bad. Her father, who had seemed so invincible to her, might die well before his time and Adelina could feel her heart cracking. All the plans they’d had gone like so much ash.
Chapter Two
The Royal Study
Planet Draga
The rest of the tour was cut short and cancelled. They were back on Draga within the week thanks to the cutting-edge tech of the royal starship. Adelina was grateful to be home, but it was tainted with bitterness.
For the first time in too many cycles her schedule was cleared and she had no obligations, though it didn’t bring her joy. She stared out at the crashing waves blindly. The warmth of the sun on her skin and the ocean breeze in her hair did nothing to brighten her spirits. The gold circlet weighed heavy on her head and pressed uncomfortably, giving her a headache. Adelina rubbed at her temple and sighed.
The team of physicians on Draga hadn’t had a better answer than the one on Pedranus. They were able to narrow it down to one disease, a rare form of hypomalarya that was bacterial in nature and difficult to kill per the top scientist on the subject. The funding towards the research for the cure had been doubled as it had on the other three incurable diseases. It settled in the brain which was why it was so difficult to remove without damaging the organ irreparably, and all the gene therapy in the world couldn’t help once it was already planted.
Alpha rested his hand on hers and laced their fingers together. His quiet show of support bolstered Adelina and she loosened her grip on the railing of the balcony. It was one of her favorite places in the palace. The large balcony overlooked the ocean. The room behind her was a private parlor her family used. It was a study attached to the library on one side and her father’s private office on the other. The doorway to the royal family’s parlor was hidden and coded to their genetics only.
It was a quiet place of solitude where Adelina liked to work or simply rest and digest the day’s information. She also liked being so near her father while he worked endlessly.
Her great-grandfather had given them the legacy of peace, her grandfather the legacy of prosperity, and her father had the legacy of being the first Draga to ally with the Corinthians in the Khara galaxy officially. King Orion managed the delicate balance of his nobles’ desires and the general populace’s needs with finesse. Now there was talk of early retirement and soon Raena would be lost to her brothers and sisters as well, but in a completely different manner.
“Alpha, do you remember your parents?” Adelina asked.
His father had been a trusted royal guard as well, but was killed saving her grandfather from an assassination attempt. His mother died a few cycles later. They said it was from heartbreak. She had left a very young Alpha alone in the galaxy.
Her guard breathed deeply as he thought. She turned from the ocean to watch him. His blue eyes were darker than normal and his blond hair unkempt, but every inch of him screamed ‘deadly threat’ to everyone but Adelina and her family. The uniform hid none of the predator in him. She couldn’t help noticing the way the fabric pulled across his broad shoulders and showcased his muscles.
“Some days I feel as though I remember them,” he answered slowly. “My father is mostly just impressions.”
There was a strange pang of guilt in her heart. He had no father because he had died serving her family. He had been a hero for it, but Adelina didn’t like how one life was worth more than another. It was how things were, and it worked well. The people were happy and the royal family was loved. Still…Adelina knew Alpha could have the same fate one day and she despised that. The worry she had for him was like a sickness.
“Your mother?” she asked instead of bringing up the old argument. Alpha had chosen this life. That was what he always reminded her. He wanted to serve the royal family and protect them as his father had. No one had forced him.
He scratched his chin. “She was always sad, but she made sure to tell me stories about my father so I would know him. ‘He was brave’ was what she always told me, and ever since I could remember I wanted to be like him; to be a strong and courageous hero.” The way he looked at her made her insides melt.
“You are a hero,” she reassured him. “What you do is not a simple thing. You put your life on the line for me and my family.” Adelina wanted to say more but she held her tongue. Telling Alpha of her feelings was something she didn’t yet have the courage to do.
Alpha shrugged and turned back to the view. “I do what is required of me, but I can’t help feeling as though I could do more to keep you safe.”
Adelina laughed. “You are by my side most of the day when you don’t have to be. A guard within the palace isn’t necessary. You know that.”
He grinned at her then. “True, but you know you’d be lonely without my company since I am quite entertaining.” Alpha whipped off his cap. His ruffled mop of hair stuck up in all directions and then he crossed his eyes and bowed while making a flatulent noise.
Adelina covered her mouth, but she couldn’t help bursting out in laughter. He used to do the same thing when they were children to get her into trouble and it worked every time. She checked the study to make sure her mother wouldn’t suddenly app
ear to scold her. “Alpha stop that, you know how much I hate it.”
He grinned up at her and then stood straight, stiff as a board. Her guard stomped around the room like a wooden doll and purposefully bumped into furniture which redirected his march. Adelina giggled; glad there was no one else in the study. It was a rare moment when she wasn’t constantly being watched.
Alpha returned to her side and carefully placed his cap back on. “I am glad I can still make you laugh in such dark times,” he said softly. His blue eyes were full of sorrow and regret as he studied her amethyst ones. “You know the king has been like a father to me since he took me in. I’m still shocked at the news.”
She leaned into him ever so slightly. They both stared silently at the waves far below them. Adelina took a deep breath and tried to gather her courage. “Alpha you know I couldn’t do any of this without you. Ever since we were young you have been there and helped me through it all. The lessons, the protocol, the punishments, and the weight of everyone’s eyes; through all of it you were my rock.” She turned to face him and her hip brushed against his leg, the distance between them was so small. She looked up and his face was suddenly serious. Her gaze traced the line of his jaw and lips before settling on his eyes.
Alpha studied her carefully. He didn’t step back or try to put more distance between them, but neither did he say a word. She took it as encouragement, placed a hand on his arm and took a half step closer until her skirts brushed against his legs and his eyes widened in surprise.
“What I’m trying to say, is…” Adelina couldn’t bring herself to actually speak the words; they caught in her throat. She was so full of nerves. Her heart pounded and her stomach was in knots. She would show him instead. Slowly Adelina leaned forward so he would know what to expect, giving him the chance to stop her if he wanted. She slid her hands up his arms and wrapped them around his neck before pressing her lips softly against his. So light, she barely felt her skin on his but she could smell the clean smell of his soap and his natural orange blossom scent. She felt the invisible bristles of his facial hair and it tickled.