Page 59 of Fate of Draga

“Sometimes,” Kaiden told her. When he smiled Asher could see how his sister would fall in love with him. Kaiden was quite beautiful. “And I tuck in my wings at the edge of the bed so no one can roll onto them…sister.”

Sozav looked at each of them with a frown, but then looked back down at the ground.

“Something to say, Neprijat?” Asher asked, louder than necessary. If they were going to be working together he wanted to know who this male was.

“No,” Sozav admitted. “I was simply wondering why you gave her a rock to symbolize love and the Corinthian has a tattoo.”

“It’s not just any rock,” Adelina said rather defensively. “It is a jewel, and precious.”

“What do your people use to symbolize marriage?” Asher asked, genuinely curious.

Sozav studied Nash’s tattoos again. “Nothing. I’m not sure what was done before, but in our current cultural climate a female is purchased. There is no gift.”

Asher mentally recoiled at that idea. “So you don’t feel love?”

The Neprijat shrugged. “I do not know. It’s not been encouraged. To love as your people do is seen as not only a weakness among the more vicious of our kind, it is considered disloyal. If I were to love someone more than I love my kingdom or king…it is akin to treason. They say we would choose the one we love over our ruler.”

The thought was…depressing. It made Asher appreciate the female beside him that much more. He looked down at Veri and rubbed his thumb over the sapphire on her finger. She was everything to him.

“I hope one day you get to fall in love, Sozav,” Asher murmured.

Veri’s scowl finally eased and she leaned over to kiss his cheek. “So do I.”

Varan clapped his hands together loudly. “All right, let’s win this war then! I have too many plans for the future to lose. So…everyone on their best. We need to convince everyone else this is a good idea. Are we all ready?”

Adelina smiled up at her husband and Asher was glad she had him through all of this. But now he was there, and William…they were all there to support her. His sister and queen was no longer alone in this.

Then the doors opened and William strode in, heading right for Adelina. They embraced each other with tears in their eyes and Asher squeezed Veri’s hand. His family was finally all together again.

He would do anything to make sure it stayed that way.

Chapter Fifteen

Adelina

The Jasmine

Khara/Hai/Draga Border

The Hai System

Even though she had been smiling after her presentation, Adelina had been terrified. Now she felt relief so intense her knees were weak and she didn’t think she could stand without collapsing.

Convincing Asher that she was strong enough to rule – that shecouldrule – without him coddling her, had been something she’d needed to prove. And then there was the matter of the Neprijat.

Adelina had needed Asher on her side.

She wasn’t naïve. She knew most of their people still looked to him. After all he had always been the one in council meetings and war councils. He’d been advising their father alongside Raena from a young age. Their father had noted his strong drive and knack for leadership and had groomed it.

But her? She’d been kept out of most of the politics for as long as possible. It was why she’d started spying. It was why she’d started paying servants for information and discretion. It had been the only way she could get real information.

And it had served her well. For cycles Adelina had collected information on the people of importance in her system and Nash’s. She’d paid travelers for whispers and rumors. Her other life as Lina had made that easy enough.

Then there was the information she’d gained working for Varan as a jewel thief.

Not only that, but she’d absorbed and learned as much as she could from her siblings. Raena, Goddess keep her soul, hadn’t been secretive about council meetings or the lessons she took. Giselle and Asher had always been interested in the militaristic side of things. Simply sitting in the same room while they spoke or debated, pretending to focus on her reading, had been helpful.

Even her baby brother William had taught her much about how their army worked – he’d been obsessed with the warriors from a young age, professing his desire to be one before he could even talk, and had wielded a tiny wooden sword for play.

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