Page 31 of Crown of Draga

Nadyah dropped into a fighting crouch at his approach, assessing his weight and size. Fighting him would be disastrous if she wasn’t quicker than the gods, and cunning. “You followed her to the Ladrole. Khara is still your priority, as it should be, but this could cause the two of you to be at odds in the future. Who’s to say you wouldn’t use anything you could to save your people?”

Nash gave her a look of grudging approval when the skill and precision she had was blatantly obvious in every movement. He kept a healthy distance away as he studied her. “You’re in love with her.”

Nadyah blinked. That was the last thing she’d expected him to say. “I serve my princess as any courtesan would.”

He shook his head with a rueful smile. “Don’t lie to me. I know it when I see it. The loyalty you have and the fierce protection, it’s a strong drug isn’t it? There is something that drags you in, deep and darker than the ocean or the endless stars.” Nash sighed. “Adelina will make her choice one day, but I am no lovesick fool to pine away while she refuses to be honest and open with me. No amount of attraction or emotions can overcome a lack of trust.”

The prince turned and left her, walking deeper into the maze.

Nadyah watched him go, appreciating the strong lines of his shoulders and the tapered waist. Adelina had fine taste. She looked down at her blade and the blood still there. In her other fist was a few strands of the prince’s hair. She had what she came for.

This time Nadyah ran when she could. Genetics weren’t her area of expertise, but she wanted the samples as clean and as fresh as she could get them. Ian would be able to run a scan on the prince’s samples and cross-reference them to Adelina’s. Her princess would never ask Nash for the items they needed, so Nadyah had taken them.

The A.I. announced her in the labs and no one looked up as she moved swiftly through the level. Ian’s lab didn’t allow her access so she pressed the panel to request communication. “Prince Ian, it is Nadyah. I have something you need.”

Not even a second later the door opened and she slid in. The strange, fair prince stood in the center of his lab; eyes tired with bags under them. He studied her. Carefully she handed the knife over to him and the hairs as well. “These are samples from Prince Nash. Neither him, nor Princess Adelina know I have them, but if her DNA is what I think it is you will need to scan them for a possible mate match. I also need you to take samples from me as well.”

Ian said nothing as she stood before him with the bloody knife and a disheveled appearance. “You think the Corinthian prince might be a match?” he finally asked, taking the knife and the hair from her.

Nadyah breathed a sigh of relief. That was one thing done. Now they would know for sure, for better or for worse. “I know that our DNA is slightly different despite having the same human ancestry, but there is a strange connection between the two of them. I’m suspicious and with her marriage rights revoked. I’m…afraid.”

If Adelina mated and then was denied that match…goddess, denied mates were a heartbreaking tragedy and the courtesan never recovered, if they continued to live at all. The mate bond was a curse.

The goddess Amora had chosen the bond to be one-sided, and the havoc it had created over the centuries was endless. The Houses kept the suicides quiet of course, as well as the mated pairs. It was rare a courtesan would even tell their mate. They would simply court them until a proposal was made, because if mates were widely known, their life choices could be taken away.

Many courtesans never wanted a mate. They’d rather have their freedom. Many others pined for that perfect match; the perfect alignment of souls.

Ian set up his supplies and carefully scraped the blood on her knife. “I’d suggest washing this in my chemicals over there,” he said, gesturing without looking up from his work. “If the prince turned up dead, you don’t want remnants of his blood on your blade.”

She did as he suggested, keeping one eye on the bastard prince. Nadyah didn’t know very much about Ian outside what he showed the world. The interviews he gave were clever; the people who had met him in person always said how intelligent and polite he was. But there was a lot more to Ian under the surface.

Yes, she could clearly see how brilliant he was. Ian worked quickly and efficiently. The samples were in his machines before she’d finished cleaning her knife. Then he beckoned to her. With a quick jab he had a good-sized sample of her blood as well as some skin. Nadyah plucked a few hairs on her own and then handed them over. “How long until we know?”

Ian kept quiet as he worked.

Nadyah tried not to fidget. Finally her samples were prepared and placed into his equipment. Ian turned and studied her like one of the cells under his microscope. “Adelina was here earlier; once she is finished with her tea I will show her the results. Before then they will be private.”

Nadyah started to pace. Something about Ian let her take down some of her walls and be more open than she would with anyone else other than Adelina. “But you know, you know if she has courtesan DNA or not.”

Ian watched her and then started fumbling with a portable burner. “I have the results of her genetic workup, yes.”

“Did you look at them?” Nadyah demanded. What if Adelina was a courtesan, or part courtesan? Courtesan offspring were extremely rare, which was why there were so few of them. Each House had their own breeding program, but it could take decades for one couple to reproduce. They’d taken to creating tube babies and then implanting them. It was much quicker.

The details of the reproduction were a closely held secret as most didn’t like the idea of tube babies.

Mated courtesans didn’t mate with another courtesan either. Nadyah didn’t know why it was that way. And if Elara had two children Jael would want to know about it. She would want to harvest Elara’s eggs and use them to create more courtesan children, pureblood courtesans.

The half-bloods didn’t always have all the traits a courtesan required.

Nadyah’s loyalty would be tested. Would she tell such a vital secret to Jael? This could put the royal family at risk, and most of all, Adelina. Her duty was to the Crown, but her orders came from the Spider.

“Yes, I looked at the results,” Ian finally said. “But I will not tell you before I tell my sister. So you may as well sit down and relax until she gets here.” He glanced at the floating spheres in the corner of the room. “I’d say another hour or so, and then she can decide if you should know.”

The lanky male turned back to his desk and began to work on something Nadyah couldn’t even try to understand.

The couch looked inviting and she had nothing else to do except wait. Nadyah flopped down. “You don’t like me very much, do you?” she asked the prince. It was brazen and risky, but she didn’t think he cared much about protocol.

It was strange how many males in the palace didn’t enjoy her presence. It was not a reaction she was used to.

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