Page 73 of Crown of Draga

Chapter Twenty-One

Adelina

East Wing

Draga Royal Palace

Planet Draga Terra

Adelina layback on her couch and sighed as she studied the data on her shreve. Nadyah had Adelina’s bare feet on her lap and rubbed them as she read aloud. Nadyah nodded occasionally, but the look of concentration on her face was adorable.

The last three days had been incredible, nearly too good to be true. During the day she worked with Nadyah and Alpha when he had the time. They studied the information on the Drakesthai and the Neprijat. Then both had helped Adelina set up protein cube production to ship out to the borders. Food would be difficult to come by if war came and she wanted to make sure her people were fed.

At night Nash used his stealth tech and snuck into her rooms so they could spend the night together. Nadyah had helped her by giving advice, tasking her with positions to try, and tips on how to please a male with her mouth. It was rather embarrassing to talk about her sexual activities with Nadyah in such detail, but Adelina knew it was part of her training and Nash didn’t seem to mind.

When Nash had to leave Draga Terra Adelina would finish the rest of her camerraleto, and she wondered if she’d still need a male at the end of it or if what she’d learned and done with Prince Nash satisfied those requirements.

“This report is about the movements along their borders. The Drakesthai keep it well guarded. Apparently the Neprijat presence is minimal,” Adelina read from her shreve. “The next report is about their culture.”

“Oh, read that one,” Nadyah said, easing the aches in Adelina’s feet with skilled hands. “I’ve always wondered about their ways. Varan’s little snakes have quite the reach to live among the dragons and send out secured reports.”

Adelina nodded and swiped with a finger. The flash of gold on her palm still surprised her. “The Drakesthai share the Hai galaxy with the Unchanged Humans. The Unchanged live on two out of the seven planets and it seems they have autonomy of themselves, but conform to the Drakesthai laws as they are protected by the brutes, revered even. The report goes on to say how rare Drakesthai females are and – it looks like they’re mated,” Adelina whispered.

“What?” Nadyah demanded, her hands stilling.

“It says they mate with females. That, other than finding their true mate they do not pair up and reproduce. They mate for life and offspring are rare. Whatever they used as a genetic map has sterilized males until they’re mated, and very rarely do the females survive the birth of the Drakesthai child.”

“They mate…” Nadyah couldn’t finish the thought. “Perhaps we are more alike than we thought.”

Adelina watched her courtesan closely. “Do you think one of them could be your mate?”

Nadyah shook her head, a blush coloring her cheeks. “I don’t think so, but stranger things have happened.”

“Their race is dying,” Adelina mused. “Perhaps if we offered our medicine they’d agree to a trade.”

“They’ve denied us before,” Nadyah said, checking her simulcast when it chirped.

Adelina’s did as well. She reached for it and shrugged. “Perhaps we weren’t able to present them with a solution to their problem. If they don’t want our help reproducing, we could offer them the science to keep their females alive during child birth.”

“They might have our tech already,” Nadyah said, shaking her head. “We’ll have to keep reading before we consider leading with that.”

The cast was a summons. “An emergency council meeting?” Adelina whispered.

Her courtesan’s face went white as a sheet as she read her own simulcast. “There was an attack,” Nadyah stuttered.

Adelina’s heart dropped into her stomach and she felt sick. The last time there had been an attack…

“Where?” she demanded.

“Treon, Mistress, the traitors had Neprijat forces as backup—those glittering black ships…”

“Giselle?” Adelina didn’t even wait for an answer.

She dropped everything and slipped on her shoes. Adelina ran out the door and down the hall with Nadyah close behind. Her mind was numbingly blank. Goddess, please let her sister still be alive. Adelina picked up her skirts and ran like the wind.

It only took a few moments to reach the council room, but it felt like an eternity. Adelina ran through the doors and looked around wildly. The grim faces made her hands shake. Adelina found Raena on the throne next to King Orion and she stumbled towards her sister, falling into a curtsey. “Giselle?” she asked, pleading for an answer that wouldn’t break her.

Adelina had broken about ten rules of protocol, but protocol could go straight to all seven hells. “What happened to Giselle?” she demanded. Her dark jasmine scent filled the room, the deeper version of her sweetness and a few heads jerked back in surprise as Adelina stepped forward. She held Raena’s gaze and refused to submit.

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