by Emma Dean
“If we shelter and aid Prince Nash it’s a call to arms, a declaration of war to the Neprijat,” Raena said. “The Khara galaxy has far more advanced tech than we do and they were slaughtered and enslaved within a day. What do you think would happen to our people here in the Draga galaxy?”
Giselle shook her head as Raena spoke, her cheeks growing red in anger.
“Enough!” the king roared, silencing any thoughts of arguments from them all.
Her fingers trembled as she hid her hands in her lap. Adelina couldn’t even bring her head up from the demand in her father’s voice. They would do as he said and there was no way to question the command.
The fire crackled, the only sound in the silent room as they all waited for his judgment.
“We will give him one week to gather what he can and refuel his starships, and then Prince Nash must leave. His presence will be kept to a minimum with no official announcement and nothing on the livestream.”
William nodded in agreement. “His movements will need to be monitored, but that will be easy enough. As a soldier, I can be assigned to him and assist him in searching for his people. He will require help gathering what remains of his forces, if it is even possible.”
The king waved his hand at their mother who pulled her simulcast out to write down notes. “William, I will have you reassigned immediately until further notice so your superior is aware. I want you to report directly to the Lord High Admiral, myself, or Raena and no one else. Gather what information you can, but be discreet. Giselle, I want you to be his escort.”
Adelina felt a strange pang and her stomach dropped. She glanced at Giselle and her sister’s face was carefully blank. “Yes, father.”
She and her sister needed to speak privately and soon. Adelina ‘accidentally’ brushed her foot against Giselle’s when she uncrossed and then re-crossed her legs. Giselle glanced at her as their father moved on to Raena, giving her instructions on moving their forces defensively. Adelina adjusted an earring and fluttered her hand in a very careful gesture before placing it back in her lap.
Giselle nodded, agreeing to the request. As they grew up the two of them had slowly added to their tiny hand gestures, silently speaking when needed without anyone else the wiser. After the family meeting was over Giselle would meet with Adelina in her rooms.
Their father dismissed the meeting and Adelina stood with Raena. She gave her father and mother a quick kiss on the cheek then left the study. Still angry, but cycles of practice made it easy to hide.
Her simulcast chimed and reminded her of the appointment with the dressmaker.
Slowly Adelina made her way through the halls of the east wing to her rooms. How could her father and sister go back on an agreement they’d upheld for so long? The alliance was made for peace and strength, it was made knowing that one day war may come to their doorstep and they could be called to help. It hurt to know the Corinthians wouldn’t have turned their backs on Draga.
The end of the hall was empty. Adelina’s rooms were near her sisters and the ocean. Their parent’s room was even deeper in the palace on the floor above and towards the center.
She placed her hand on the door and the scan identified her genes. Then she slipped into her sitting room and crossed to her bedroom, still shaking with her anger. Adelina almost let herself lose control but the open door to the adjoining bedroom shocked her and instantly she stilled. The door had been closed the last time she’d been in her rooms.
Then she remembered Nadyah.
Her golden head poked out of the consort’s room and smiled at her. “Good morning, Princess. Is there anything I can help you with?”
Adelina studied her courtesan and thoughts flashed by so quickly she was frozen in place. Could she trust her courtesan with her secrets – all of them? Wasn’t she supposed to? Nadyah was to be a type of lady-in-waiting, a loyal friend and confidante as well as her camerraleto courtesan.
“Can I trust you?” she asked bluntly.
Nadyah’s face would have been comical if the matter weren’t so serious. She came out of her room and approached Adelina slowly, her face grave. She paused, clasped her hands before her, and bowed low. “I swear on the maiden, the mother, and the crone I am loyal to the Draga royal family, to you before the rest. Your secrets are my secrets, your highness.”
Adelina found the order of loyalty interesting. The courtesan’s words were sincere and she’d invoked a sacred oath. If she broke that oath her life would be Adelina’s to take.
“I am going to hold you to that Nadyah. Anything you hear or see will need to be kept private.”
“Of course, Princess.”
With those final words Adelina was satisfied for the time being, but she planned to keep a close eye on her courtesan. It was prudent to be suspicious. “They are sending the prince away; his request for sanctuary has been denied,” Adelina said.
There was no reaction from the courtesan but a slight tightening around her eyes. “You don’t agree?”
There was a slight knock at the door and she was saved from having to answer.
Nadyah rushed to the door before Adelina could and she realized this was what her life would be like for a while. She had never had a lady-in-waiting. There were maids and servants, but not a private attendant as Raena had – not for a third-born not yet of age. Nadyah bowed as she opened the door and Giselle came in with her hands in her dress pockets.
Her sister looked serious and there was no hint of a smile as there usually was. “What is it, Lina?” The familiar nickname waved protocol aside and Adelina shook her skirts out to give herself a few more seconds.
Instantly Adelina dropped the mask she kept in place for the recorders, the nobles, the courtiers, and the family members who simply wouldn’t understand who she really was, or approve of her true nature.
“Would you mind coming to my fitting with me in a few minutes?”
Finally, Giselle smiled. Ever since Raena’s coronation was drastically moved up, Adelina had lost Raena as her extremely feminine companion and Giselle knew how much she missed her and the little things they’d done together.
“Of course little sister, I would love to.” Giselle came into the bedroom and sat on Adelina’s bed.
Nadyah disappeared into the consort’s room to give them some sense of privacy. Giselle crossed her legs, propped her elbow on her knee, and rested her chin on her hand. She gave Adelina her full attention and Adelina wilted under the weight of it. She began to pace instead of meeting that gaze and shook her hands out to relieve some of the nerves.
Why was she so anxious to speak to Giselle about this? She was never nervous around Giselle despite their difference in dominance. They had always been close and kept each other’s secrets, and there were a lot of them.
“Spit it out, Lina.”
“Do you think I could be the one to escort Prince Nash?” Adelina glanced at her sister but kept pacing. She had too much energy to stand still.
Giselle’s shocked look could be for a few different reasons. Adelina waited for the answer. “Do you like him, Lina?” Giselle asked instead.
After everything that had happened with Alpha Giselle had been sweet and supportive, always saying Adelina would find someone when the time was right. She knew Giselle spoke the truth, but had doubted on occasion.
Now there was this strange feeling and she wasn’t even sure what she actually felt for Nash. She wasn’t even sure what she wanted to accomplish by escorting him, but Adelina felt as though she had to do something.
Adelina threw her hands up in exasperation. “I don’t know. I feel…like a fluttering moth to the flame. He draws me in, but I can’t say if I feel anything at all other than sympathy and the desire to help him. That father and Raena outright denied the alliance agreement…” She stopped and crossed her arms as she studied Giselle. “I need to speak with him privately. There is no other way. Finding out the truth is what is important, and if I can convince father he is trustworthy and honorabl
e perhaps it will get him to reconsider his denial.”
Adelina knew Nash hadn’t killed his own family. The male she’d spent time with only a few cycles ago didn’t have an evil bone in his body. But her father needed to be convinced this was the right choice, the honorable one. If she couldn’t convince the king, then she would have to do whatever she could to aid him on her own.
She felt called and she would not deny a nudge from the goddess.
Giselle waved her hand in annoyance. “There is no real risk for father and Raena to deny him. There is almost no chance he would ever get his kingdom back, and even then he’d have to fight any remaining princes and princesses for the right to rule.”
Adelina tapped her fingers on her arm in contemplation. “Yes, there is that strange custom.” She frowned. “Even so, the new ruler would remember and call for justice. If not the Corinthians then it would be the Neprijat.”
Giselle’s face paled at the thought of those monsters entering their borders. “There is nothing we can do. The decision has been made by those who wield much more power than we, but I can pass on escort duty to you. As long as the work is done Father won’t mind who does it. Write your little reports on your shreve and send it to me. I will pass them along. It’s as simple as that.”
Adelina flopped back on her bed and stared at her painted ceiling; galinas on the prowl for their prey. “How could they do this?” she whispered.
Giselle rolled over onto her stomach and gave Adelina a look. “Sweet sister, have you not learned that the path of least resistance is the easiest? I agree granting sanctuary would put our people in danger, but they’re already in danger. It’s foolish to think otherwise. Father has an excuse, his sickness and meds muddle his mind, but Raena? I never thought she would take the coward’s way.” Giselle shook her head. “Perhaps it is too early, the strain of ruling too much for her.”
There was nothing to say. Giselle said exactly what Adelina had been thinking. “At least Mother hasn’t suggested you marry him, Father might actually consider that.”
Giselle snorted. “I already have someone I plan to marry.”
Adelina shot up and nearly smashed her head into her sister’s. “Really? Who is it?” she demanded. “How could you not tell me you were involved with someone?” Her voice rose to a near shriek.
Her sister shrugged and inspected her fingernails. “You know as well as I do my endeavors are not approved by the family. I want to become an officer in the Army. I want to fight for Draga and serve that way. Because I can bear children I am considered too valuable and my rights stripped. William is cycles younger and he already serves in the Army. No one cares about his seed.”
Adelina made a face. “You know he’s already donated his seed to the physicians for safe-keeping and you have your eggs with them as well. Anyone can bear your children.”
It was Giselle’s turn to make a face at her. “Royals need natural born and bred children to be considered legitimate. The samples are kept for the records only and in case of a disaster. No one else has the genes dominant enough to rule an entire galaxy if we are all wiped out.”
The words were a reminder of what happened to Nash’s family and the possibility was very real. Adelina redirected the conversation in a more pleasant direction. “So, who have you been secretly seeing?”
“I’m not ready to say yet,” Giselle said.
Her words hurt Adelina, but she wouldn’t press.
Her sister must have sensed a change in her mood because she turned and gave her a small smile. “I promise when I can you will be the first to know. My lover isn’t ready for me to say and I want to respect their wishes. It’s not easy being in a relationship with a royal.” Giselle shrugged her apology.
“I understand,” Adelina told her. Their lives were very restrictive.
Then there was still the matter of the lost prince. “Send me the schedule father sent you?”
Giselle pulled her simulcast out of her pocket and tapped a quick message before sending out the cast. Adelina’s chimed in response. “It’s quite simple. You join him for each meal, and he joins you for most of your activities. In the hours he cannot accompany you, you must set up something to occupy his time. Don’t worry though; William has a few of his hours starting the day after tomorrow.”
Adelina tensed. “So, I would be with him all day tomorrow?”
The answering laugh didn’t make her feel better. “Yes,” Giselle replied. “I will send a cast to Raena notifying the crown princess of the change. I’m going to say you volunteered so that you could contribute.”
Adelina nodded. “Of course.” She would not be the reason her sister earned another punishment. “What activities is he supposed to attend? How will this allow him to search for his people?”
Giselle shrugged. “I believe the idea is to hobble him.”
Hobbling the prince would only anger him. Adelina wondered who thought it was the best choice, their father or Raena.
“I might have to rearrange my schedule and activities.” Her day was so full already with lessons and planning the upcoming events she hardly had time to breathe let alone think. She would have to notify her instructors of the change in her schedule.
She and Giselle needed a break from all the rules and expectations. “Would you like to escape?” Adelina whispered.
Her sister’s answering grin was infectious. “I thought you would never ask,” her sister said. She inclined her head in question towards the consort’s suite. “Are we bringing anyone else along?”
Adelina looked at the open doorway and considered the ramifications. It was all or nothing. Adelina nodded, they could trust Nadyah.
“I believe Nadyah might enjoy such an excursion. After all courtesans are trained in more than the bedroom arts.” They both waited and looked to the courtesan’s room.
Nadyah’s sultry voice came through the door. “That is correct, we are also trained in defense; the perfect hidden escort.”
Adelina grinned.
“Don’t you have a dress appointment?” Giselle asked.
Adelina cursed as she jumped up from the bed. “I have to leave now if I want to be on time.” The appointment was clear across the palace and in a separate building. Giselle followed after her, nearly banging into her when she stopped at the door. “Nadyah, would you mind coming?”
Nadyah came out of her room smiling. “I would love to help ensure you will be the shining jewel of your party, your highness.” There was a wicked gleam in her eye and Adelina knew she would push and cajole the tailor for a more daring fit.
Adelina shivered in anticipation. Living with Nadyah in the palace would be quite a change.
Chapter Four
Nadyah
Draga Royal Palace
Planet Draga Terra
Nadyah watched her princess stand in front of a huge set of mirrors in a gown fit for a queen. It was her coming-of-age party after all. She deserved to shine. The tailor tugged and pulled at the layers and layers of fabric. The skirts fluffed out in a pleasing way over the flexible hoop skirt the princess wore.
She tilted her head and studied the way the spidersilk clung to Adelina’s shoulders, breasts, and waist. The fabric was a dark red, darker than blood and wine. It was so deep it was nearly black and the color complimented Adelina’s amethyst eyes, enhancing the darker flecks of purple.
The young princess looked uncomfortable as she turned in front of the mirror, looking at the dress from many different angles. Nadyah wasn’t sure if it was the long skirts trailing on the floor, the stiletto heels waiting for her to put on, or the modest cut. As soon as the signal was given she had a few ideas for how to change it to properly accentuate her princess’s assets.
The courtesan had to admit the details were exquisite. Somehow the dressmaker had managed to embroider a lace appearance on sheer spidersilk. It went over Adelina’s shoulders and arms. The sheer material showed off a delicate back and the dimples at her hips made a nice addition. Nadya
h smiled in appreciation as the princess turned towards her and Princess Giselle.
The embroidery also went around the front and across the chest to her throat. The thicker spidersilk covered most of her front in a modest pattern that made her look very young. The slight sparkle of the silk in the light would look wonderful in the ballroom with the traditional candle chandeliers and the floating lights. Nadyah couldn’t wait to help her get ready for the event.
“What do you think?” Adelina asked. She glanced at Giselle but her gaze lingered on Nadyah.
Nadyah waited for Giselle to speak first as their difference in rank demanded.
“Oh, Lina you look wonderful,” Giselle gushed. “Is there something you don’t like about it?”
Nadyah was surprised at how perceptive Giselle was to her younger sister’s feelings, but she had a lot to learn about the two of them if what she overheard was any indication. This was turning out to be the assignment of a lifetime.
Adelina glanced nervously at the dressmaker. She was a dominant woman and she practically glared daggers at Giselle, who dared suggest there was something not to like.
“It’s designed exactly per my design and it’s gorgeous,” Adelina admitted.
“But?” Giselle pressed. Nadyah found their relationship fascinating.
“But I am not sure this exact design is what I would like to wear to my party.”
The dressmaker crossed her arms and made a noise in the back of her throat. “We do not have long, if you want a change you must decide now. Working with spidersilk is extremely delicate work.”
“I apologize, Gwendolyn,” Adelina whispered.
Nadyah rose from her seat slowly, eyes to the floor with only a tiny smile and bowed to both princesses. She waited for Giselle to nod her permission as the most dominant and highest ranking in the room, though Nadyah wondered if Gwendolyn might rival the older princess in dominance.
“Might I make a suggestion Princess Adelina?” she asked softly. Barely louder than a whisper yet she made sure her words carried clearly across the room. A skill Jael had taught her over the cycles.