Page 27 of Princess of Draga

Varan pulled back and she flinched. Nadyah had expected him to strike her, but he didn’t. He studied her, his face thoughtful. “You can’t tell me, or you won’t?” heasked.

The bastard was too smart for his owngood.

“I can’t tell you,” Nadyah said. Her whispered words barely carried across the small distance between them. She wasn’t a traitor and she never would be, but perhaps she could have what she wanted and keep her vow to the House as well as theSpider.

“Can you tell me who you workfor?”

She shook her head, never once looking away. Her life was on the line and one wrong word would send her to the Gentle God’s door before her time. Her life would be taken by Varan or Jael; it was only a matter of who would kill her first. Death’s embrace wasn’t something she was ready for yet, and certainly not to be delivered to her by the hands of the man who held her heart in a vise. If Nadyah was very careful she could walk out of this unscathed and perhaps with another ally andinformant.

Varan rested his elbow against his leg and stared into her sapphire eyes. “Do you work for the House or theSpider?”

“Yes.”

There was a long pause. “Huh.” Varan leaned back further and glanced up at the ceiling as he contemplated her words. “Well, that explains alot.”

Nadyah was curious if he had made the connection the two were actually the same person, but she didn’t dare give anything away by confirming hersuspicions.

“Why do you want to know?” she asked. Other than the endless games each player set up, Varan knowing about her double life didn’t seem beneficial tohim.

He ran his hand through his hair and sighed. “I watched a Kharan warship land without permission. I heard the soldiers were dressed for battle. There have been rumors about the Neprijat’s intentions for Draga now that they’ve conquered theCorinthians.”

Nadyah couldn’t sit still any longer. She didn’t care that the current position made her look inviting. Varan was never affected by her charms unlike the rest of the Dragagalaxy.

“Prince Nash arrived at court,” she stated, tapping her fingertips on the arm of thechair.

She had to pace. She needed to think and standing still did nothing to dispel the nerves andadrenaline.

Both of Varan’s eyebrows went up in surprise. “He is supposed to be dead. How did Prince Nash manage to survive theNeprijat?”

Nadyah paced the length of the room, fingers brushing various surfaces to help ground her. Goddess protect her, she shouldnotbe confiding in Varan. “The king is suspicious as well, but so far what the prince has said has proven to be true. Princess Adelina also believes in his innocence and that girl is surprisingly an excellent judge of character.” There was so much more to the young princess than she ever could have imagined and Nadyah felt herself falling in love with the girl little bylittle.

Varan grinned wolfishly. “I can’t wait to meet the sweetprincess.”

Nadyah whirled around and jabbed her finger into his chest hard enough to bruise. “You will be nice to her, Varan, or so help me I will remove your balls from your body with my barehands.”

His face paled. Varan rubbed his chest and his face instantly became serious. “Of course, Mistress, I apologize for beingcrass.”

She was stronger than she looked and there was no doubt she could follow through with her threat. Adelina was hers to protect and she would do so even if it meant her death. Courtesans were taught the fighting arts for precisely thatreason.

Her other job had extended her training to be sure she could escape a deadly situation if need be, but Varan only knew of her public training. She waved a hand at him in irritation. Removing parts from his body required brute strength, not skill, and she kept up with her training daily now that Adelina joinedher.

The princess needed it more than she did. She was so small and innocent in appearance. Every move was delicate and she seemed so breakable. It would be a rude awakening to any who tried to force her. Then they would have to deal with Nadyah and they wouldn’t survive thatencounter.

Varan watched her pace again as she tried to think of the consequences to all the information she had gathered. Adelina had a wealth of information stored in a secret shreve. Everyone had such a device to be used as a personal computer, but the princess had two. The first was unlocked and contained the usual blather Nadyah hadexpected.

A book caught her eye and her finger traced the spine. The gold-leaf shone against the warm light in Varan’s office. Nadyah pulled the book out and flipped through the pages detailing the proper time to plant and harvest. It went on to explain the best combination for fertile soil. Varan’s love for plants had always beenendearing.

His large, tanned hand plucked the book from hers and he carefully placed it back on the shelf, his arm over her shoulder. Nadyah could feel his body against her back and she closed her eyes, yanking hard on her self-control. He teased her on purpose and it drove her mad. He drew back his hand and let his fingers brush her bare neck and she shivered, tilting her head to give him betteraccess.

Nadyah thoughts returned to Adelina’s second shreve and what she had found in it. The seemingly naïve little princess kept coded records of her business deals and trade on the shreve as well as notes she had made of every single person she met in the palace and wherever she had visited. Pages of details on every noble at court and the nobles she met on visits to the other planets in the Draga galaxy. Adelina even tracked the businesses of each noble family, their whereabouts, and who was romantically involved with whom, or even just her suspicions. Most of it Nadyah had known, but so much was new to her and the information invaluable – and that wasn’t even all of what was on theshreve.

After cracking a portion of the code she had transferred the data to her own secret shreve and studied it after Adelina had fallen asleep. There was a lifetime’s worth of information on it. What shocked Nadyah the most was how accurate Adelina’s assessments were. They were identical to what the spies among Draga Terra and the Draga galaxy reported to the Spider. To know the princess could have been a skilled spy if she were born in a different life intrigued thecourtesan.

Varan’s hand rested on her waist and she inhaled sharply at his hot touch. Nadyah leaned back and closed her eyes, enjoying the feel of him against her and how it made her skin tingle. Just for a moment she wanted to allow herself thisweakness.

“I don’t know if you’ve heard, but the Neprijat King has contacts in the Draga galaxy,” Varan said. “The word is he has a line of allies to get him within ten thousand light-cycles of the capitol, Draga Terra. He wants this kingdom and apparently he wants Raena as hisQueen.”

“This is how he will circumvent the unrest,” she muttered, her thoughts going through who might be on the list for possible treason and who wouldn’t. “With Raena as queen the people won’t fight back, but she would be hispuppet.”

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