Page 33 of Crown of Draga

Chapter Eleven

Adelina

Queen’s Solar

Draga Royal Palace

Planet Draga Terra

Adelina satin her usual spot in the Queen’s solar, near the window so she could look outside and watch as courtiers passed. Ladies walked arm-in-arm with the males courting them and they laughed and smiled, looking happy, even blissful despite everything.

Guests were out on their activities with the various guides. It was easy to see which of them were nobles, and which were the lucky citizens. Mouths were agape and eyes wide. The visiting nobles were no less impressed, they simply did a better job of hiding it.

The council meeting had gone better than expected, and despite how afraid she’d been to speak in front of all those watching eyes – knowing the recorders gave no room for error, she’d managed to help the people on the border. With the Corinthian tech they may be able to find the cloaked ships, if that were even the situation.

No one really knew what to expect, but it was better to be prepared for all possibilities.

Adelina glanced at Raena who chatted with Giselle. Her sister had been pleased with her work. It was no secret her family thought it would be a challenge for Adelina to assist Raena and the Crown. All but her father and Giselle thought that her value would be in marriage, because she was not strong, she was not a warrior, she was no scientist like Ian, and she was not the heir. Adelina had nothing but her training and with her submissive nature and anxiety no one expected much from her.

It was something she’d been waiting to prove her whole life, and now that she was of age Adelina finally had the opportunity. She was not going to waste it no matter how nervous it made her for all to stare and whisper.

It had been a long morning, and Adelina was already tired. She’d only slept a few hours once retiring to her rooms.

It had been…difficult to dance with Nash for the final dance. His entire body had been rigid and his eyes never once held her gaze. There was an emptiness when he touched her – empty except for the anger that raged beneath the surface.

Adelina still felt it had been the right decision not to confide in Nash. She wished he hadn’t seen it as a rejection, but if she had tried to explain why they couldn’t be intimate and have sex it would have opened too many avenues for questions. She still wasn’t sure how much she could trust him with state affairs.

A part of her knew last night was the beginning of the end. Nash was a male with a purpose, and he did not like romantic complications. She knew there was only so much he would put up with from her before there was no coming back. This all didn’t really matter when she considered how he was still forbidden to her.

Raena would not change her decree unless it would benefit her.

Adelina had asked Nash to escort her, and she believed it was because she liked to torture herself. One last night where she could openly explore her feelings so she could know exactly what she couldn’t have.

She sighed and turned back to the females of her family. The bright sun and happy people were too much at the moment. The shield around the galaxy gave everyone a false sense of security.

But the blueprints Adelina had pulled showed the weaknesses in the shield. One in five outposts across the whole of Draga supported the shield and housed the power required to keep it up. This allowed other outposts to shoulder the strain if a few were to fail. There were only so many that could fail before the shield dissipated completely. It would stand to reason the Neprijat could figure such a simple system out, and attack where they were weakest with no soldiers to protect those areas.

Her grandmother, mother, and sisters settled into their usual places and the silence wasn’t unpleasant despite her grandmother’s constant glower. Adelina tapped the arm of her chair with a sharp nail and wished she could be anywhere else.

One servant changed the music to something low and soothing while another brought fresh tea and sandwiches. Adelina was hungry, but she had to wait per protocol. Elara caught her eye with a tiny flutter of her hand. The slight frown on her face silently asked if she was all right. Adelina shook her head so slightly it was barely a movement at all.

Elara had always watched over her like a second mother as the queen was always busy with her first and second-born. They required the majority of her attention. Queen Adele chatted away at the moment, mentioning all the handsome men who could be possible suitors for Raena. The inane chatter never seemed to end, but Adelina kept one ear focused on her mother as she let her mind wander.

Giselle looked as bored as she felt, but her sister listened attentively as Raena accepted or denied choices. They settled on three options before moving on to the design of the wedding dress. Adelina perked up. Her design hinged on the coronation gown, but if she knew what the wedding dress would look like she could alter some of the necklace to fit both dresses. If that was what her sister still wanted of course.

The gift she had designed for Raena was originally done out of love and genuine happiness for her future. After her move to restrict Adelina’s choices ‘for her own good’ the gift felt like pacification instead. What else would she do with the necklace?

A new maid brought the tea on a silver cart. The fragile porcelain clattered ever so slightly and Adelina winced. Her grandmother’s glare cut deep and she felt sorry for the maid. She was new; she had to be to allow the cups to clink together. It was a ridiculous standard, but the dowager queen allowed no room for leniency.

“Do you know which designer you will choose for your dress?” Giselle asked, keeping up pretenses.

Raena listed off a few very famous ones, but Adelina couldn’t bring herself to care. The matter of a dress designer seemed silly when compared to the seriousness of battles on the front lines; where Giselle would be front and center. She was supposed to leave the next day and Adelina was sick with worry. Her sister had never been off planet without the entire royal family before. Father had granted her biggest wish and now she would have to arrest a traitor with his own forces available to him. Giselle had never been tried in battle.

None of their soldiers had.

Aside from duels, and mock fights during tournaments, there hadn’t been actual battle for centuries and the last of those veterans had passed before her birth. Not even her grandmother had seen the last war and she was nearing three hundred cycles old. If they actually had to fight Adelina knew there would be casualties, millions of her people dead. Only an alliance with Nash and perhaps the Drakesthai could save them.

Perhaps Adelina could gently suggest they ask Nash and his remaining warriors to train their own soldiers. The Corinthians were far more violent and bloody, and that experience and nature could turn the tide of war. They needed to wake up their soldiers and ignite that fierce instinct to fight and protect.

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