Page 38 of Fate of Draga

Somehow…somehow self-preservation had them unconsciously tapping into that bond with Adelina. It connected all three of them to each other as well, if not in the same way.

It would be a very useful skill to have for when they took back Khara.

“Second floor clear,” Nash reported. “All except the command center.”

“I take it every scan says nothing’s in there?” Varan asked, eyeing the large metal door. It had to be quadruple reinforced alloy steel. Almost nothing could get through that shy of a worldbreaker.

“Correct, your highness,” the warrior with his scanner out confirmed.

Varan shared a look with Kaiden and Nash. “I want one alive if they’re in there.”

Kaiden didn’t balk at the command, he just nodded. “Open the door.”

Two Drakesthai tried to open the reinforced door, but nothing happened.

Varan tilted his head and studied the space, knowing how much was riding on what they found that day. “What if we didn’t try to go through the door?”

“From the sides?” Nash asked, adjusting his grip on his rifle. “What makes you think the whole room isn’t reinforced?”

Kaiden looked between the two of them and then jerked his chin at one of the Draga warriors. “Go in the next room and tell me if the wall is too thick to blast through. This is a factory, not a military base. It shouldn’t be all the way around.”

Everyone was tense as they waited to find out what their next step was. With the door locked the chances were very high that Neprijat were in there. The only question was, how many?

“What are they hiding?” Nash muttered.

“That’s why I want one alive,” Varan said, contemplating the door. “Was this place here before the Neprijat occupation?”

Kaiden shook his head. “This moon wasn’t occupied. We had no reason to have a factory out here when it could have been in a place more easily accessible.”

“So they didn’t want you lot to know about it.” Varan couldn’t wait to get his hands on this database. The warships and weapons and whatever other supplies would be a boon, but he wanted anedge.

He wanted a guaranteed win.

Because Varan was terrified.

It was buried deep, and he’d hidden it well. No one had noticed anything off about him. Not even Adelina. That was how far down he’d shoved that abject terror.

When the horde had been displayed after they’d won back Hai, Varan had felt every hope and dream dash right then and there. There was no possible way in all the hells they could fight against that kind of firepower and numbers and win.

Even now, with all the forces from Brogna…the Neprijat had just wiped out half of the Draga Royal Army and its armada. And they still had to fight to take back Khara. They would lose even more.

There was nowhere else to pull from. No one they knew or had contact with for them to beg and plead for help.

Varan had never felt that level of fear before in his life. Not even when he’d fought for his crooked crown.

Adelina had been willing to give herself up for their people rather than force them to fight a losing battle against the Neprijat and their oncoming horde. They’d been monitoring the trajectory in space they’d come from, but no more had come thus far.

That did not mean there weren’t more waiting somewhere.

Losing her…it was more than he could bear. Varan knew he couldn’t live without Adelina. His fear had made that very clear. He would doanythingto keep death far from her. And so would the others. Even if it meant one of them had to die to make sure she lived.

But without something to give them a chance it wouldn’t matter. Varan would end her life and then take his own before letting the Neprijat enslave them.

He’d promised her.

There was a tiny chance though. After studying all the numbers, locations, and supplies…Varan knew there was a tiny chance they could win. Numbers weren’t everything. Smarts and tech and strategy could win this.

To win, they had to find a way to de-cloak the Neprijat. They had to find a way to take them down without usingeverythingto do it.

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