Page 20 of Fate of Draga

“No, your majesty. We will begin right away. May we work in the labs on theJasmine?” P’draic asked.

She nodded, giving him a small smile. Adelina had always wished her father had expanded their technological developments division so they may try to catch up with Khara in the field of tech but he never had – King Orion had been more interested in medicine as had her ancestors. For good reason, but Adelina had never understood why the other sciences had been considered less important.

Perhaps that had been another Neprijat trick to keep them from being a real threat.

P’draic led the others in a mixture of languages back to the expansive labs she’d ensured were onboard her flagship. Adelina watched them go, sending a silent prayer to Katsia that she would gift them a weapon of war that could take on the Neprijat – sosomeof their people may walk away from this.

“Captain, I will be in the training center if I am needed,” Adelina murmured, pulling up her starship’s interior holo that displayed every person currently aboard. She did a quick search and found Nadyah in Ian’s quarters, which certainly wasn’t a surprise after what she’d seen during the battle.

At some point they’d solidified the mate bond.

Adelina was happy for them – truly. But she still felt a pang deep in her heart at the loss of the female she loved so dearly. Sending off the cast to the courtesan Adelina gave the captain a nod and left Command, stepping into the lift at the end of the hall.

Once the doors closed, she slumped against the wall and ran a hand through her perfect curls. The last two days had been exhausting – nothing short of a nightmare as they’d carried bodies upon bodies to the ships.

Cleaning up the debris in space had been even worse, but Adelina would not leave their dead to float in that vast nothingness forever. She’d also ordered anything that could be saved to be scavenged. Everything else was sent down to Vudu Shaa to be melted down and reused.

So much had already been lost. Adelina didn’t want to think about the battlefield in her own system that no doubt still had pieces of ships floating about; waiting for the day someone could come back and clean it up. Hopefully Asher had been able to collect their dead.

Mass cremation was the only way to handle so many bodies, but…she made sure to keep track of the DNA so families could have the ashes once they finally returned. It was a grueling process, cataloguing the dead.

As queen Adelina hoped this would be her first and last war because counting the deceased, caring for them, and seeinghow manythere were…it was something she never wanted to do ever again.

Quickly she changed into the loose pants and belly baring top Nadyah favored for training – one Adelina had adopted once she realized how much more comfortable it was than the gear she’d worn all those cycles training with the royal guards and Alpha.

Then she was in her private training room on her floor and a servant had set up refreshments, someone no doubt having anticipated this.

The people on her flagship were intensely aware of everything she did, every mood, and every desire. Adelina didn’t know how they did it, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Stretching, she waited for Nadyah. Adelina wished Varan was finished for the day, but each of her mates was just as vital as she was.

Kaiden was currently handling the Drakesthai forces, collecting them and doling them out while they worked on their system a little at a time.

Varan and Nash were helping with repairs to the warships, the fighters, and generally making sure they had everything they needed in the right place at the right time for the next phase of the war.

It had taken some getting used to, but delegating to them allowed Adelina the freedom to manage the rest – the alliance with the Unchanged for example.

Such a strange, but free people. Adelina almost envied them their democracy. Perhaps there was a way to implement something like that when she returned home. She didn’t dare thinkif.

“My queen?” Nadyah asked as she entered the training center, dressed in her own loose pants and top. “Is everything all right?”

Adelina smiled at the gorgeous female before her and nodded, already feeling more settled than before. “It’s been two days since any sort of exercise or training and I’m feeling restless. I’d hoped you would be willing to train with me a bit since my mates are currently occupied for a few more hours.”

Nadyah simply nodded but she did not smile as she selected two long knives from the wall and tossed them to Adelina. Then she selected her own and stepped into the ring, bare feet silent.

Tilting her head, Adelina studied Nadyah for a brief moment. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. Spinning both blades Adelina bent her knees slightly and indicated with a nod she was ready.

“What’s bothering you?” Adelina asked. She kept her voice soft so prying ears would find it difficult to eavesdrop.

Nadyah circled and Adelina followed her step for step. “Nothing is wrong,” the courtesan stated.

Adelina refrained from rolling her eyes and attacked, moving like a fish through water as Nadyah parried. Then they began their deadly dance, getting into a rhythm that soothed Adelina’s soul. The courtesan’s fighting technique spoke to her more than the others she’d learned.

“I would think you would be happier after being fully mated to Ian,” Adelina murmured. She hoped the prying statement wouldn’t upset Nadyah too much, but she wanted to get to the bottom of this mood sooner rather than later.

Adelina grunted as Nadyah blocked and kicked her back. It was easy enough to spin and redirect the force back into another attack, but the sore spot on her chest still protested.

“I am happy,” Nadyah snapped, nearly slicing off a piece of Adelina’s hair.

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