One of those other two had been Adelina’s teacher. Both of the males were far too old to travel. “If I could bring Nadyah d’Lara along,” she said softly, carefully – as though she tread over broken glass. “I would have plenty of protection between her and the Prince.”
Acknowledging the thief’s title in such an official setting was a risk, but he’d made a claim for her at the coming-of-age party with no protest from Raena. He’d been a guest of the Crown on multiple occasions and her father seemed to know him more intimately than rumors led them all to believe.
The silence was heavy. Adelina didn’t dare look away from her sister, the true predator in the room.
This was what Adelina was born for. As third in line to the throne she was expendable and a symbol of the Crown. She could travel where Raena could not. With three more legitimate heirs after her, Adelina had played her cards so carefully.
She needed to put distance between her and her future queen.
“I don’t like it, but I do believe it is the right choice. I will send a cast with the allowed budget. Gather what you need and come to me before you schedule a ship to leave. When Princess Giselle returns we will discuss your departure.”
Adelina sank into a deep curtsey. “May I be dismissed to begin arrangements?” Two weeks would barely be enough time to find engineers who could alter the starships she needed per Nash’s instructions.
Raena actually stepped down from the dais and took Adelina’s hands to pull her up. She kissed both of Adelina’s cheeks and then tipped her chin with a gentle finger so that she looked up into Raena’s eyes as an equal before them all.
“You know I never would have let that monster have you,” Raena said. “Your life is precious to me. I was merely trying to buy us time.”
Adelina searched her sister’s eyes. She sensed the truth of Raena’s words, and that made everything worse. Her sister was na?ve enough to assume she could do anything after Adelina was given to the king, that he wouldn’t have ripped their galaxy to shreds if he’d been denied her after they’d promised him a princess.
“We will have to consider options for you, sweet sister. You say Varan can help you in your travels. Do you believe he will make an official offer for you? I’ve already received a few.”
Adelina didn’t want to know who had already offered. She simply wanted to get out of there so she could do anything not to remember what those black, soulless eyes had felt like when he’d considered her.
“I’m not sure, your highness.”
Raena tapped the gold seal on Adelina’s palm. “I’ve no doubt you will make all of Draga proud with your endeavors. Send me a cast and I will help you prepare for your travels. I look forward to seeing you at the Games later, dear sister.”
Adelina dipped another curtsey and then left the War Council. It took everything not to run. Asher caught her eye as she passed him and he gave her a nod. He would find her later no doubt. The doors closed behind her and Alpha remained in the council room.
Her gold heels tapped on the marble as she walked. Nadyah appeared out of one of the hidden alcoves where servants came and went unseen. She fell into step beside Adelina in silence.
Raena had really done it. She’d offered her up to the Neprijat like a lamb for slaughter. Whether she’d meant it or not, it had been done in front of them all. So easily she’d suggested the union, as if the thought had already occurred to her.
The simulcast in her pocket chimed and Adelina slipped it out. Varan’s face was on the screen and a massive wave of relief flooded through her. She opened up the transmission and Varan snarled over the vid-cast. Clearly he had seen the meeting.
“Yes, Prince?” Adelina asked, trying to hide the quaver in her voice.
“Whatever you need, I’m at your service.”
Chapter Three
Adelina
Draga Royal Palace
Planet Draga Terra
Adelina’s mind raced as she considered everything she would need. The lift doors opened on the fifth floor and she went straight to the royal study with Nadyah at her side. A wave of her hands and the door opened. The sun was bright and the room practically glowed. Varan waited for her response.
The royal study was an oasis of calm while she felt wind-tossed and haggard from the torrent of emotions she couldn’t seem to get a handle on. Another deep breath released more of the fear Adelina felt lingering after the War Council.
The encoded vid-cast transmission flickered and then his savage face reappeared. There was a light in his eyes that she wasn’t sure how to interpret. “How did you know?” Adelina asked quietly. She needed to hear what she already suspected.
She sat on the couch while Nadyah fussed. She watched her courtesan call the servants for sweet iced tea with milk, dates, and nuts. Nadyah fluttered back and forth while Adelina waited for the thief’s explanation.
“Everybody saw it, Princess. Somehow the recorders sent everything straight to the livestream. It could have been part of the Neprijat hack, but everyone in the galaxy watched every moment since the monster requested Raena’s hand in marriage.”
Oh dear, sweet goddess. Adelina had to put a hand to her chest to ease the pounding of her heart. It hurt and she reminded herself to calm down. Raena would find out about the breach in security soon enough. Adelina only hoped it wouldn’t cost someone their life.
“I need you,” Adelina whispered. It was too much. All the confidence she’d managed to muster drained away as she realized soon she would be leaving the Draga galaxy to beg a dragon for his protection. The thought was so ludicrous she couldn’t help her frightened laugh. The Neprijat wanted a royal, and the King would take her if he thought he could make her queen.
Adelina only hoped the Drakesthai were less dangerous than her own sister.
The race of the Drakesthai was thought to have died out hundreds of cycles ago. The small strip of border they shared with the Hai galaxy had been silent for so long, until someone had tried to cross twenty cycles ago. They’d been forcibly turned back and all attempts at communication had been denied. Then those rumors that surfaced. Whispers of monsters ravaging the Hai galaxy and taking over…when those rumors had claimed the Neprijat were the ones who’d done so, no one had believed. Not until the Neprijat murdered the entire royal family of Khara and recorded it.
And Raena had offered her to the king with barely a blink of her beautiful eyes.
Varan’s emerald eyes sparked and he bared his teeth. “My life is yours.” His deep voice made the simulcast vibrate with the depth of it, and Adelina had to close her eyes.
The sacred words nearly cracked her careful control on the tears she could feel ready to fall. The relief she’d felt when she found out Giselle was alive…the ache at Nash’s absence…the pure, undiluted terror – it overwhelmed her.