Page 96 of Fate of Draga

Adelina turned to face him. She nodded slowly and then clasped her hands behind her back. His wife would take whatever it was he needed to say.

“You lied to me,” he said quietly.

“To us,” Nash corrected.

She tilted her head ever so slightly. “I did not lie. I simply did not inform you of the plans I had in case everything fell apart – a last resort.”

“You promised not to give yourself up to the king,” he snarled.

Varan didn’t give a rat’s ass about the horde or what she’d done. His mate was a queen and he could accept the choices she had to make. But he could not accept her risk with the Neprijat king.

“What if he had overpowered us and taken you?” Nash asked. “What if he’d been able to command you?”

Kaiden’s wings rustled, but he kept quiet. They hadn’t been able to tell him the whole story as he’d been manning the cannons.

“Then you would have killed me,” she stated matter-of-factly, eyes on Varan.

“I almost did,” Varan roared, breathing hard. He couldn’t contain his anger anymore and he didn’t care who saw him bloody lose it. He’d nearly lost the only person in the world he couldn’t live without.

“Thank you,” Adelina murmured, stepping forward to take his hands in her much smaller ones. “For keeping your promise. I was hoping you would.”

And that confession – the realization that she had been just as unsure as he…Varan’s anger deflated and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her in close. He needed to touch her, hold her, and feel her breathing against him...

A tear escaped and dropped into her blacker-than-night hair. “I will never forgive you for scaring me like that,” he grumbled.

“I know,” she whispered so quietly he was the only one who could hear her. “I’m so sorry, Varan. But I don’t regret it. I would have given up everything for you, for them.”

He didn’t care that everyone could see him cry. Varan was grateful when they averted their eyes though. This moment…he needed his wife – his mate. Not his queen. “I would have done the same for you,” he whispered back.

Adelina nodded, her face pressed into his chest. Then she looked up and held his face gently. Varan stared into those amethyst eyes that had always entranced him. Before she could say anything else he kissed her hard, biting her lower lip so it would bruise and his claim would be there for all to see.

“I forgive you,” he told her. “And I am so very proud of you.”

Varan loved her so deeply that he could do nothing but forgive her despite how that moment would haunt him. How could he stay angry when he would have done the same for her?

Adelina stepped back with a watery smile, unshed tears filling her eyes at his praise. She turned to Nash then and hugged him close. The great brute lifted her up with the force of his hug and then kissed her as well, muttering words Varan tuned out.

He only had eyes for his wife. She would be the death of him – but oh, how glorious would that death be?

KAIDEN

Kaiden wrapped his wings around Adelina, giving them a tiny bit of privacy as theJasminebegan its descent back to Khara Prime.

“What now?” he asked, tracing her face – pushing back the knowledge of how close he’d come to losing her.

What she’d done for them…Kaiden wished he could take that burden from her. He wished he could shield her from all the bad, but that’s not what she needed. She needed his support and his help.

Kaiden could do that.

He pressed a kiss to her forehead, barely registering as theJasminelanded.

“We make sure Khara is safe for now, and then go home,” she told him. “I need to be officially crowned. Then we can travel – repairing and restoring. They will need help and I don’t plan to stay sheltered in the palace.”

Kaiden smiled slightly and tilted her chin up so she had to look into his eyes. “I look forward to it.”

Adelina hugged him tight and then stood on her toes to kiss him. “Thank you for everything. From now on I’ll be more forthcoming.”

He snorted a little and released her. “We shall see about that my little trickster.”

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