by Emma Dean
Asher didn’t smile but his eyes sparkled. He offered her his arm. “Would you like to walk with me, Lady Veri?”
Veri blinked again. Her body was on fire and she could still feel the phantom of his feather light touch on her body and her lips.
“Yes, I would enjoy that, your highness.”
She placed her hand on top of his and let him lead them down the empty corridor. She noted him in the dominant position and smiled. It was rare she found someone more dominant than she. Even Hayden was only an equal. It didn’t surprise Veri she had needed a royal to fulfill the need to serve.
This prince had her flustered in a way she didn’t know how to manage.
“Please, you may call me Asher.” His voice was so much deeper than she would have thought for someone of his age.
“If we are to do away with formalities Prince, then you should call me Veri.” Males were easy. Veri never had trouble with them. She could get males to do what she wanted when she wanted, including Hayden. And she loved Hayden, but occasionally she wished he would challenge her.
Prince Asher was intense and currently staring at her. She hadn’t expected him to be so delightful. Veri wondered how she could play this game. “I am here for an indefinite amount of time,” she said as they walked out into one of the many gardens.
The night-blooming flowers glowed in the moonlight and their scent permeated the air. It was balmy and the summer night felt delicious against her bare arms.
“I don’t know anyone and I’m not sure sitting in the Queen’s solar is something I would like to do all day and every day.” If the prince was interested in her he would take her up on the subtle offer. Veri needed to get to know Asher better. A marriage to him would prove to be very useful.
Prince Asher eyed her as he led her over a cute little bridge and he stopped there as he thought. “I’m not sure a lady with such dignity would be interested in participating in my daily activities.” He looked out over the small lake and then turned back to her.
The blue moon made his eyes shine with an iridescent light and Veri was entranced. She clenched her hand against her skirts as she tried to keep the other hand on his arm light and delicate. Veri hoped he wouldn’t notice her palms were sweaty. “What activities would those be?” she breathed the question in anticipation. For him she might do away with dignity.
The thought shocked her.
There was a long pause as he contemplated his answer and Veri reminded herself she loved Hayden. She was doing this for him, but it was difficult to remember when Asher looked at her as he did now, like she was something he planned to devour whether she wanted him to or not.
“Before breakfast I take my daily exercise and after the morning meal I ride. Then lunch and the afternoon I usually spend studying or hunting. After dinner, I am at the mercy of my mother and sisters’ plans. If they do not need me I am free to spend my night however I like.” Asher leaned his back against the railing of the bridge and studied her, gauging her reaction.
Veri was curious what he studied but she didn’t ask. “What kind of exercise do you prefer?” she asked instead, clasping her hands in front of her demurely. Asher seemed to like a submissive attitude even if he also enjoyed her honest comments.
Asher’s eyes narrowed but he answered her. “I run the palace grounds before participating in the morning class on fighting styles with our guards.”
It wasn’t much different than the exercise Veri did at home. She had to do something to keep her form slim and strong. Endurance couldn’t be maintained with sex alone. She grinned at him. “Perhaps I’ll join you one of these days. The stables sound like a wonderful distraction.” Veri curtseyed deep and low with her eyes downcast. She couldn’t rid herself of the smile though.
The prince watched her as she rose and before she could leave he extended his hand. Veri wasn’t sure what thoughts ran through his head, but she decided to take a chance and placed her hand in his. Asher was a difficult person to resist. He tugged her forward and she fell against him. She could feel the hard ridges of his muscles against her curves, and those muscles weren’t the only hard thing pressing into her.
She wiggled her hips ever so slightly as their breath mingled and she couldn’t tear her gaze away from his. Asher reached up with his other hand and roughly gripped her jaw.
His eyes raked over her lips and her breathing quickened. “I hope to see you there,” he said. His voice was gravelly and vibrated through her in the most pleasant way.
Asher stepped forward and she moved with him. His grip was hard and unyielding. Suddenly her back was pressed into the opposite railing. Her fingers clutched his arms and he felt delicious and warm against her. His dominance made her wet and Veri moaned as his lips brushed against her throat. Asher promised dark and wonderful things. His barely there kisses left her wanting more. She wanted to feel his teeth on her skin and to see the bruises on her hips and thighs the next morning.
“As you wish, my Prince,” she murmured into his hair. He smelled of stardust and the night air with that wonderfully spicy scent of rosanera.
Asher stepped back and bowed. He walked farther into the gardens alone, leaving her wanting and confused about her feelings. Veri clenched her hands into fists and licked her lips, tasting his lingering presence.
Asher wanted to be the one who left first in a small show of power and dominance. Damn him, he was good at these games. Perhaps Veri had found her match after all. Never had she been the one without control and she was surprised to find how much she enjoyed the experience.
Chapter Sixteen
Adelina
Conservatory
Draga Royal Palace
Planet Draga Terra
“I’m sorry about what happened with Raena,” Alpha said quietly as Adelina nodded at the passing nobles in the hall.
Thank the goddess she still had Alpha as a friend. Adelina had never felt as alone as she had after her romantic dreams of true love were stripped from her. No one had come after her despite the break in protocol when she locked herself in her rooms and refused to attend the welcome banquet.
A shower had kept the evidence of her tears from her face. She had willingly given up her right to find someone she loved, maybe even a mate. Adelina didn’t regret the choice she had made, but the loss had been harder to bear in the quiet of her rooms. Every wish and dream she ever had disappeared with her promise. Raena could marry her off tomorrow and Adelina wouldn’t be able to travel the stars until her third century.
When she had stepped out of the shower Nadyah had a bath ready for her. “Did you think I wouldn’t notice you were gone?” she had inquired with one eyebrow raised in speculation. “Get in the tub and tell me everything.”
So Adelina had spilled it all and only the courtesan’s stable presence had kept her from crying again.
“I should have known better,” Adelina said quietly to Alpha. “Raena has always been quick to anger and sly as a fox. I am not allowed to be alone with him, but that does not mean I cannot see him as long as you or Nadyah are present.” She shrugged as they ended up on the outside terrace. The meandering walk was calming and allowed her to think.
“Are you going to risk it?” Alpha asked as he helped her down the steps toward the conservatory.
She shook her head. “Not right away. I promised to help him with information. At some point I will need to relay it, and I’d rather use the chance wisely.” Confiding in Alpha that morning after their exercise had been cleansing. Adelina felt like she could breathe again and his answering hug only confirmed she had been right to tell her guard of her feelings.
It was paramount Alpha understood that her attraction and the desire to help the Corinthian Prince were not connected. The male drew her in like honeybees to roses, but doing the right thing was what drove her.
It still shocked Adelina that when their loyalty had been tested, her rulers had failed.
At least her father had an excuse.
They entered t
he silent conservatory and Adelina took up one of the spritzers to water her roses. She subtly tapped a scrambler so no one could overhear their conversation with any device. Nash’s stealth tech had been a wakeup call. “What do you think of the way Raena has ruled thus far?”
Red roses darker than blood were about to bloom. Adelina made sure they had enough water before choosing favorites to mark for her party. Alpha looked around for any listening ears and crossed his arms over his chest while he thought, following after her at a leisurely pace.
“From what I’ve seen the crown princess knows what she is doing. She has the training, but the way she rules is very different from the king.” He used titles in place of names, so as not to confuse their personal relationships. Adelina nodded as he continued. “She seems to be overly cautious and defensive, a ruler who still has to prove herself. Avoiding a war was a smart decision, but it was shortsighted. She was afraid to make the hard choice and create waves despite it being the right one.”
He frowned as she inspected the black roses next. “Are you asking because you worry who she will choose for you?”
Adelina considered his words. “What if a marriage might prevent war? Do you think she would take the risk?”
“A marriage to whom?”
The black roses would look lovely with the red for her party and she marked the ones ready to be cut.
“I can only think of one marriage she would consider that would prevent a war, and now she has the opportunity to use it for someone other than herself.” She shuddered at the idea. Married to a monster, but it would not surprise her.
Adelina still had time before she officially came of age to try and work another angle.
Alpha went pale under his tan. “You don’t think she would?”
The shrug she offered said more than words. She had no idea what her sister would and would not do anymore. “It’s the smart choice if she can save millions of lives to sacrifice only one.”
He hissed in a breath and grabbed her shoulders. “I promised you I would never let that happen, do you remember?”
The suffocating warmth of the conservatory was not enough to ward off the chill deep inside Adelina. She looked up into Alpha’s blue eyes. “Do you think I could ever forget?”
The morning after the first time they’d made love, and the last. The Neprijat had attacked Khara Prime and the vile, monstrous things they’d done… “Say it again,” she whispered.
Alpha crushed her to his chest. “I promised you I would kill you myself before I ever let that happen, and I reaffirm that promise.” He took the rosanera from her hand and the thorns sliced deep into his fingers. Blood dripped down the stem and into the ground. “A blood oath.”
Adelina took the sacred rose and nodded, feeling a bit better. “I will hold you to it Alpha.” She placed it on the small tea table and sat down, suddenly feeling weary. “Not many marriages are available at the moment that would help Raena and the kingdom.”
Her guard didn’t sit, but he stood behind her, always on the lookout. “She may withhold marriage from you as well. Perhaps she thinks loneliness would be a better punishment.”
It didn’t make sense. That would be a cruel path, but there were no other stipulations to her agreement. Adelina shook her head. “No, that would allow me any lover I choose, even with the knowledge it could be taken away at any moment. It would allow me to serve as ambassador. I don’t think she wants me miserable, but she does want me punished.”
Then Alpha came around to sit at the tea table. His arms were crossed again and he glowered. “How could she change so much in such a short time? Raena used to be the kindest person I knew other than you.”
The glass walls of the conservatory showed the nearly full moon, Mala, heavy in the sky and Adelina tried to find the words. “When we are tested, we change. Some change for the better, and some for the worse. She has the presence and dominance to rule, as does Asher. That does not mean she makes the best choices under pressure. If we had remained at peace with no threat other than the court games everyone likes to play I believe she would have been as excellent and kind as we thought she would be, even with my father’s early retirement.”
A door opened and a servant came in with a platter of tea things. He set them down on the table and left without a word.
“Is this your doing?” Adelina asked as she poured the tea.
Alpha shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how long we’d be here and didn’t think you wanted to take lunch in the palace.” As always he knew her better than she knew herself.
“I need to see Ian and then spend my required time in the Queen’s solar with our visiting nobles.” She took a bite of one sandwich and relaxed in her chair. This was much better than the possibility of running into Nash while Raena and the entire royal family watched. “I planned to skip lunch regardless, but thank you for this.”
He nodded as he stared off into nothing. Something was bothering him.
“Spit it out, Alpha.”
“Do you love this prince?”
Ah, finally he said it. Despite their rough recovery from their brief romance, they’d managed to become even closer than before. Adelina had wondered if her moving on would ever bother him.
“Love is a strong word, my friend.” She sipped at her tea and watched him closely under her lashes. Hopefully he passed the final test of their friendship.
“But you have feelings for him other than attraction, am I right? Please don’t evade me, I can see with my own eyes the way he hunts you, the way you two stare at each other.” Alpha tapped his foot with impatience.
It would dishonor their friendship to lie to him. “There is something,” she admitted. “What it is though I am not sure. Like I said earlier, there will be no way to truly know and if things had gone on it could have been disastrous. I could never marry the prince of Khara.”
He raised an eyebrow. “Why not? You are third-born. It would be a good marriage to solidify the shaky alliance after he was first denied his request.”
Adelina laughed then. She couldn’t help it. It was almost ridiculous they were having this conversation. “Because, he has his people to save and then a fight to even become King. This could take cycles if it ever even happens. What then? I would be a distraction, and it would split his loyalty. I would be more alone than ever with a male who cannot devote himself to me. His oaths to his own kingdom would come first.”
The way her guard looked at her made her uncomfortable, as if he thought she was intentionally being dense. “That sounds like a lot of excuses. If he were king the same would be true, yet he still needs a queen and heirs. Why couldn’t he start that now?”
Adelina squirmed. He wasn’t wrong. “It doesn’t matter now, Raena would say no out of spite,” she snapped. Only Alpha could anger her so effectively.
Alpha stood and popped a tea sandwich in his mouth. “Just something to think about since I know how smart and cunning you can be. You’re thinking of a way around the agreement already.”
It was infuriating when he could read her so easily, though it used to be one of the traits that made her fall in love with him. Adelina stood as well and ate another sandwich before finishing her iced tea.
“I don’t love him, Alpha, and now there is no way to find out if I could. Please excuse me, I must see Ian.” She hadn’t told him her suspicions about her genes yet and didn’t plan to at the moment.
She curtseyed and he bowed.
Adelina left for the outside entrance to the kitchens, taking the servants paths to the underground laboratories where Ian studied hypomalarya day and night. Once the scanner recognized her she stepped into the massive, stone room housing cubicles and scientists. The actual labs were further underground and she kept her eyes down as she made it to Ian’s, praying as she pressed her hand to his door that he would be alone.
The soft hush of the door opening warned her brother of her presence. He turned from his lab table with heavy bags under his eyes. His normally shiny,
golden locks fell lank across his face and it looked as though he may even have lost some weight.
“Do you have a moment Ian?” she asked softly.
It seemed like only a few hours ago they all stood in that private parlor as Raena rained her displeasure on them all.
His tired look turned to one of concern. “Of course, little sister. Come sit with me.” Ian patted the stool next to him and turned back to his work. “What can I do for you?”
It was a small mercy he said nothing of what had happened, or tried to console her. They all knew living as a royal came with risks. That Raena was now one of those risks had hit them all hard.
Ian pointed to a sharp tool and she handed it to him, the motions familiar and relaxing. “Can you keep a secret?” she whispered. They would hear if anyone else entered the lab thanks to the settings Ian had on his door.
Her brother looked sharply at her before going back to the magnifier. He made some notes as he considered the seriousness of her words. “I will keep your secret for as long as it does not endanger our family or our kingdom.”
It was all she could hope for from him. “Thank you,” Adelina said. She took a deep breath to gather the courage, fighting the nervous flutter in her breast. “I need you to do a very private, secure, and thorough workup of my genetic profile.”
The clatter of his tool on the table was loud in the heavy silence. “Is something wrong?” Ian demanded. “Why would you need this?”
She had to tell him the truth of her suspicions. “After talking with Nadyah we decided we should postpone the camerraleto until this is done. There are too many traits that align with hers for either of us to be comfortable continuing.”
Ian set down his tools and faced her fully. Nothing in his eyes or face told her what he thought on the matter. “Go on.”
Her nails bit into her palms as she said the most damning suspicion of all. “I believe we may be more than half-brother and sister.”