Page 25 of Princess of Draga

“The new king of Khara Prime promised us our own fertile planet, not this wretched excuse of a rock. The surface is barely habitable even after terra-forming,” Grady spat. “I do not want to spend the entirety of my life underground in the mines on the fringe of the Draga galaxy in the outerrim.”

His brother attackedagain.

Grady was never great at combat, but Lucas was wounded and bleeding. Lucas redirected the attack but the blade managed to make a deep slice into his leg. With a twist of his arm and a yank he held his younger brother to his side. Lucas had an arm across Grady’s throat and pulled back hard enough to cut off hisair.

Grady struggled but he had never been as big or as strong as Lucas. Within a minute he slid to the ground, unconscious. Lucas stood in the middle of his room and stared down at the prone form of his brother. His chest heaved from the exertion and blood soaked his shirt. He was no longer safe in his own home. Where could hego?

Lucas sent a cast to his personal starship and any man he knew was completely loyal to him and him alone; not his family. He needed to leave andsoon.

As heir, he controlled the future of Treon and if his father did not like his plans it seemed the lord was ready to assassinate his eldest son to get his own way. Grady was weak-willed and constantly sought the approval of their cold-hearted father, which made him a willingpawn.

Lucas packed hurriedly with one hand pressed to his side. The medic on his ship would take care of him. He only had to get there. Lucas needed to warn the royals on Draga Terra. If Treon allowed Khara Prime into Draga space it would allow the Neprijat access to the inner planets. The King of Draga had to have a strategy for when the Neprijat finally reached those innerplanets.

Lucas rushed through the stone halls. For the first time, his large home deep in the mountains felt like a tomb. His own father and brother wanted him dead. Even on the run he wouldn’t be safe. It was easy to send enough gold credits to convince anyone to become anassassin.

The hangar full of starships built for war at the mouth of the mountain was quiet and still in the middle of the night. The freezing cold air hit him like a wall of ice and it made his breathing even more labored. Lucas stumbled as he crossed the wide hangar. His ship was close. Only a little further and he would be safe for the timebeing.

“My lord!” someone exclaimed as he stumbled again. Lucas had forgotten about the cut on his leg. The cold made his legs numb and useless. He hit the ground hard. “Draga,” he croaked. Blood seeped onto the floor from his side. “Get us to Draga Terranow.”

Chapter Eight

Nadyah

Capitol City Stella diDraga

Planet DragaTerra

Nadyah madeher way through the city streets. She stopped and glanced over her shoulder, pulling her hood up further. She quickened her step and kept close to the buildings. Each circle of Stella di Draga eased into the next. The houses of the nobility, the upscale businesses, to the merchant class houses, and then the markets all transitioned smoothly like apainting.

She loved the capitol but she did not enjoy having to cross it onfoot.

It was the only way she could make the trip to the House unnoticed from the palace. No one could know of this trip, not even Adelina. Nadyah crossed the street with her head down as a hov-carriage passed. Only one more city circle and she would reach the edge of the House’s property. Then she would have to make her way to the secret entrance all the spiderlingsused.

Nadyah had to be back at the palace in a few hours and she was already exhausted after spending most of the day working with Adelina. They had run the length of the palace grounds twice, and then did someai-kudasparring. Nadyah even taught her a few moves in the courtesan’s fighting style. They still had a lot to cover, but she was convinced the princess could handle herself well enough to keep an attacker at bay until help couldarrive.

Nadyah skipped over a puddle that shone with the green of the moon Vekaza. Mala’s large form hung to the west and was not yet full. The purple moon wouldn’t be full until the night of Adelina’s party and the anniversary of herbirth.

Earlier that night Nadyah sat at the royal table with Elara and ate with the royal family. The honor they bestowed on her still dazzled. She had never anticipated such a rise in station even if only by association. Prince Nash had been there as well, but she suspected it had more to do with the king wanting to keep an eye on him than to embrace him with open arms into thefamily.

There was a definite spark between her princess and the lost prince. That Giselle would give Adelina the assignment said a lot. There was so much to learn yet, and Nadyah knew she had to tread a fine line between gathering information and betraying Adelina’s trust in her. The news of Prince Nash was reason enough to report back to the Spider and Nadyah still hadn’t decided what she would do with what she had found on the private shreve Princess Adelina kept lockedaway.

Adelina was a master at dissembling. The princess made herself into what she thought those around her wanted or needed. Masks came and went until even Nadyah was unsure of who the female truly was underneath them all. The skill required to confuse a courtesan astounded her. Adelina was truly submissive, but she played with that nature so well she made herself invisible to those around her, to those who only saw what they wanted tosee.

Nadyah had seen the princess move through those masks like a fish through water, so seamless the deception was beautiful in itssimplicity.

She shook her head; Princess Adelina was a mystery she could not wait tosolve.

After dinner, Nadyah had made her rounds. The Spider had woven many webs in the palace with her little spiderlings and most of them worked together. Nadyah had personally met the Spider’s guards as well as the servants who worked for Jael. She had yet to meet the two nobles. There were other informants but they weren’t important to Nadyah’s work. They simply caught whatever tidbits they could in their little webs, ensuring nothing at all was missed about anything oranyone.

Nadyah hesitated. The street from the market to the residential area had a row of taverns between them. The biggest of them all took up an entire block and she would have to pass through its gates and through the large courtyard to the other side. This particular tavern connected with the ones on each side, and so on until they created a makeshift wall around the city. To find the next gate would add another hour to her journey and she was running out oftime.

This wasn’t just any tavern; it was theLadroleand Varan’s unofficial court. Nadyah wanted to see him because her heart was selfish, but she knew it was not the smartest of ideas. The man distracted her and she couldn’t afford a distraction. The Spider expected her within the hour and it wouldn’t do to make her wait – not with such important information torelay.

The courtesan took the risk and made her way through the gates. The unofficial guard gave her a once-over, but let her pass. She held her breath as she walked through the surprisingly beautiful courtyard. The winterflowers framed the stone and tall trees shaded the various tables and benches. It was a place to gather and enjoy company, but there was a path straight through it which allowed Varan to control whoever came and went in histerritory.

She was nearly there. Only half a block more and she would be at the second gate without anyone recognizing her. Nadyah’s pace quickened as she reached the gate, but the guard didn’t open it. “I would like to pass,” she stated, trying to keep the annoyance from hervoice.

“Did you really think I wouldn’t notice it was you in my courtyard?” Varan’s smooth voice rubbed her in all the right places. He stepped out of the shadows and Nadyah saw that it wasn’t a guard at the gate but rather the Prince of Thieveshimself.

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