Page 38 of Princess of Draga

He swung his arms around and addressed the crowd. “Would you all like to see our dear friends try theirhand?”

She frowned. “No games today Varan, I need to call in thatfavor.”

“You brought another friend Isee.”

Giselle frowned at her in question and she shook her head so slightly it was barely a twitch. She had never told her sister Alpha had followed her out into the city once. It had never come up and she hadn’t thought there was reason to worry. Perhaps she should have mentioned it before they’d goneout.

Adelina swept an arm out with a flourish. “This is Nadyah d’Lara, renowned courtesan from the House ofKismet.”

Nadyah curtseyed appropriately in deference to their equal rank. Interesting, she didn’t see him as the dominant. Adelina turned back to the prince and opened her mouth to ask him about speaking in a more private area. She was cut off by Varan thrusting knives into herhands.

“Throw them, Lina. Then we will talk about your favor.” He crossed his arms over his chest and the muscles bulged. Adelina arched a brow at him inquestion.

“The little worm helped the mercenaries bomb the palace six months ago,” he explained with a feralgrin.

Adelina turned to the man shivering in fear against the wall. When her golden eyes met his he shrank under the fury of her gaze. This bastard held partial responsibility for that day? Thousands of innocents were killed and she had nearly lost her own life. Even Giselle with her iron-like control jerked at hiswords.

Giselle snatched a knife from her hand so quick there was nothing she could do in response even if she wanted to. Her sister threw so fast and so hard the knife embedded halfway into the wall. Blood streamed from a slice on his arm. “The goddess favors this one,” she muttered nastily. “Imissed.”

Adelina rolled her eyes. Giselle didn’t miss. Tossing a knife into the air and catching it she studied the mouse of a man. His dirty brown hair and ripped clothes suggested there had been a chase and he had been the prey. One arm was already broken and the front of his pants soaked in piss. The stench of his fear reeked and covered every other scent in theroom.

The fear sparked a desire to chase, to hunt, and to inflict pain. Adelina shook her head and tried to remind herself those altered genes were the animalistic instincts they borrowed from the wolves, not herown.

She tossed the knife again and he flinched. It landed with a smack in her palm. Adelina tossed, and caught, tossed and caught. Each time he flinched he grew smaller, trying to make himself a more difficulttarget.

“Tell me,” she whispered in a voice she hardly recognized as her own. “How did you justify the killing of innocents, the women and children who died that day and not the royal family as you intended?” Her words were seductive, but there was poison waiting for him; taunting him to excuse his actions if only to reveal hisconfession.

“The money was too good to pass up,” he stuttered. “Please, you understand what it’s like. We all have to fight and claw our way to survive, royalty simply can’t understand.” He begged for her to see why he did what hedid.

“What did they pay you for?” sheasked.

Adelina would never condemn a man before knowing if he was innocent or guilty. The oily little male grimaced. She threw the knife and it sunk into the wall right above his head, shearing a few hairsoff.

The prince laughed loud and long. “Beware of the little cat you worm, she has nothing against eating something slimy fordinner.”

Adelina never looked away from her prey. She spun the next knife on her palm lazily; grateful Giselle had forced certain skills on her. She schooled her face into a bored mask. “Do not make me ask youagain.”

“I served in the hov-carriage house as one of the mechanics. I gave the mercs my implant for theday.”

Thatwas how thosecula’tingmercs got into the palace. The investigator managed to find out who they worked for. The Neprijat had planned the entire scheme and hired the soulless mercenaries, but they hadn’t been able to find out how they’d even gotten through the palace walls before they’d died in their cells. The mercs deaths were still underinvestigation.

“Did you at least have the balls to remove it yourself?” she asked gently, almostsoothing.

The room suddenly grew quiet as even she sensed the change in her scent. Varan, Nadyah, and Giselle stiffened. They were the only three who knew her personal scent enough to react. Adelina couldn’t control the change, but she felt the shift to fierce protector and the jasmine grew dark and wild until it choked the room and covered the stench of piss and fear. It was a cleansing smell that warned those who were too stupid to realize how angry she was, a cold fury that would burn away thestink.

“No, Mistress I didn’t, they cut the implant out of my neck.” His final word was punctuated by the thick sound of the knives landing so tight and close to his body blood puddled on thefloor.

Then Adelina took out her own knife from her boot and stalked the little mouse. She held the point under his chin, forcing his head up to look at her. “There were children,” she hissed. “Babes died before they saw their first cycle because of your greed.” She pressed harder and the point of her curved blade sunk into his tenderflesh.

The fierce protectiveness for her people controlled her and sheknewif she could rid the galaxy of this one male they would all be a littlesafer.

“Lina.” Giselle’s dominant voice cracked through the room like a whip and had the submissives in the crowd flinching and bowing their heads whether they wanted to or not. Adelina shrugged it off like the rain on her cloak, an oddity she barelynoticed.

She was not the hunter, and the prince would not understand her prior claim as princess. She flipped her knife back and slid it into its sheath. “Prince, do with him as you will, but I personally hope you make himsuffer.”

Varan studied her through narrowed eyes and then spoke. His voice boomed through the tavern. “Take him to his cell and let him rot for the night. I will take his eyes at dawn. Then his life will be forfeit by the will of thecourt.”

Hundreds of voices answered the call. “Justice must beserved!”

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