Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Nadja held still as the six robotic hands of the beauty droid flew around her head, putting her hair into a traditional Qurilixian upsweep. She glanced to where Morrigan Blake sat nearby. The woman was quieter than the rest and always appeared distracted, as if her mind swam with thoughts that had nothing to do with her surroundings. Nadja had tried to talk to the woman a few times over the last month and found her to be rather intelligent and polite. Truthfully, Nadja was surprised that an independent woman like Morrigan would choose to go to a place like Qurilixen as a bride. But, then again, she supposed all the brides had their reasons for being there.

  Still looking at Morrigan, curiosity got the better of her, and she asked softly, “What about you, Rigan? Have you finished your Qurilixian etiquette uploads?”

  Morrigan blinked in surprise at the sound of her name. Nadja guessed she had disturbed her thoughts. The woman gave her a distracted smile.

  “Rigan?” Nadja repeated, really hoping to have someone to talk to. As much as she wanted friends, she’d discovered she wasn’t very good at making them. Her reserved nature and a lifetime of trained behaviors made it hard for her to socialize. A lot of the women on the ship were loud and vivacious. It was hard for her soft-spoken nature to get noticed.

  It took Morrigan’s dark eyes a moment to focus, and before she could answer, another voice boomed into the conversation. “Didn’t you know?”

  Nadja politely looked toward the sound of trilling laughter to where a beauty droid was placing the customary short veil over Gena’s curly red hair. The woman was crass and obnoxious, but Nadja found herself patiently waiting for her to continue. Gena practically snorted, as she added, “Rigan finished her Qurilixian uploads first. It would seem she is most eager to please her new husband.”

  “Or to be pleased by him,” Nadja heard someone insert. This last comment was followed by nervous giggles. When Nadja again looked at Morrigan, she swore she observed the woman’s eyes roll upward in annoyance.

  Most of the women spent the trip speaking of princes and noblemen husbands. The truth be told, Nadja wanted a working man—someone with a small house and a garden. She didn’t want a pampered life anymore, where society dictated her actions. She wanted to fade away from the responsibility and spotlight and perhaps help people. All the charity in the world couldn’t reverse the things her father and his cronies had done, but she had to start somewhere. Marrying a small town family doctor would be ideal. However, she would be happy with a farmer or miner or anyone who could provide a decent enough life so they would never starve.

  “I wish I could be so ambitious. I’m afraid I didn’t sit through a single one of those boring uploads.”

  Nadja had been so wrapped up in her thoughts, that she didn’t catch who spoke.

  “I tried on my gown this afternoon,” Gena announced. Nadja flinched as the woman brazenly poked at her own chest. “They are gorgeous, but I think I am going to go get my breasts enhanced again—just a little bigger—and I’m going to have my nipples enlarged. Those princes won’t be able to resist me. Maybe, I’ll marry all four of them just for fun.”

  “How will you know who the princes are?” came Pia Korbin’s cynical reasoning. Nadja was intrigued by Pia, who was perhaps the most beautiful on the ship. A large part of that beauty came from her not seeming to realize her own physical charms, or that she was the envy of half the passengers. “I’ve heard all the men wear disguises. You could end up with a royal guard.”

  “Or a gardener,” a brunette offered with a laugh.

  “I hear they wear practically nothing at all,” another teased. The woman had flaming red hair and sparkling eyes the color of Old Earth emeralds. “Except a mask and some fur.”

  “You can’t miss royalty,” Gena announced with a bounce of excitement. “You’ll see it in the way they move. I have a very keen sense with it comes to sniffing out money and power.”

  Nadja certainly hoped so. She wanted to avoid nobility at all costs. However, if Gena was chosen by a prince, she hoped the monarchy was more of a figurehead than an actual political force.

  Nadja doubted the princes would be there. Royal matches were hardly made by whim or chance. They were more of a calculated maneuvering. A royal family would never gamble on a stranger. It was more than likely an advertising ploy used by Galaxy Brides Corporation to make the trip more enticing. If so, it was a good one, for it had worked on most of the women here.

  Morrigan stood as her droid finished, prompting Nadja to try and do the same. Her droid wasn’t done placing her short veil, and metal hands firmly pushed her back down. Nadja sighed, resigned to remaining in her chair.

  The spacecraft was a nice one, though her suite on the medic ship had been nearly twice the size as her one aboard this ship. The service was adequate and the staff completely biomechanical, so that none of the women could be compromised. Nadja was used to the pampering and thought nothing of it. Besides, robot servants were cheaper than living ones—if you fairly paid them a wage, of course. One lifecell battery would keep them running for a century or more.

  One by one the women finished their beauty treatments, and went to get dressed. Nadja eagerly stood, but Morrigan was already gone. She sighed, guessing that Morrigan was one mystery she wouldn’t be able to solve. Too bad, she would have liked having the intelligent Morrigan as a friend.

  A sad loneliness filled her as the others walked out in preformed groups without her. She had been too bashful around the bolder women to make too big of an effort. Besides, they would never understand her desire to marry a commoner and not a prince. And she couldn’t talk about her past. She may have run away, but that didn’t mean she’d break the code of silence instilled into her at birth.

  What if things didn’t change? What if she always remained that one silent decoration in a crowded room, smiling at everyone but connecting to no one? What if she was incapable of forming a true bond? Nadja looked at her hands. What if she was broken?

  “Miss Korbin,” a robotic voice said. “This way, it’s time for your last treatment.”

  Nadja glanced over her shoulder, not realizing one other bride remained. Pia frowned at the robot before returning Nadja’s look. Nadja politely turned away from the woman’s hazel stare.

  Nadja slipped down the metallic passageway to her own room. Once inside, she locked the door behind her and took a deep breath. This was real. It was happening.

  Seeing the wedding gown laid out on the bed, her heart beat quickened and her eyes teared up with nervous fear. Whispering to the empty room, she said, “Please let this be the right thing. Please let me marry a good man without grand aspirations.” She took another deep breath. It was time to see her future.

  Chapter 2

  Nadja’s future came in the form of a reddish-brown planet surrounded by blue-green dusk. Stars had begun to show overhead, winking down at the planet’s surface from above as they framed a large spotlight moon. Alien trees grew high with enormous canopied leaves, tented like the Old Earth parasols Nadja had seen at a Florencian moon living-museum. A few of the older specimens were wider than a small luxury spacecraft. The forest circled around them on one side. A distant mountain stood high on the other.

  She turned back to the trees, wondering what kind of plants she would find. It was too dark to explore and collect samples of the local flora and fauna, but she could hardly wait for the opportunity. Once she got them back to the lab, she could…

  Nadja swallowed. She didn’t have lab access. Not anymore. All she had was the few bags she had been able to carry off her father’s ship.

  She turned her attention back to the festival. Nadja waited near the front of the bridal line. The light green silk and gauze of her wedding gown looked nothing like the gown she would have worn to marry Hank. When it was laid out on the bed, the gown had actually looked like a full dress, and she hadn’t dreamed the outfit would be so revealing once she put it on. The skirt looked like it had been mauled by a wild beast. Well, perhaps that was
unfair. The strips of material were evenly sewn, but they were still strips, hanging like thick strings around her legs. The quality of the hand-stitching was excellent. Whoever made the garment was a fine seamstress. The wind stirred the material around her calves and thighs, exposing peeks of her flesh she’d rather not show in public. Luckily, the bodice was snug to her hips and chest, and wouldn’t be blowing anywhere. Not so luckily, the gown was low on her chest to reveal an indecent amount of cleavage.

  Nadja shivered, suddenly feeling very much like a sacrificial offering. At least she wasn’t alone. The other women had on similar dresses.

  Symbolic shackles had been placed on her wrists. They were made of cloth and fastened across her back. The cuffs wound over her forearms. It reminded her of the toe dancers who tied ribbons around their legs. The restraint effectively held her arms down at her sides and made free movement impossible. It took a beauty droid’s help to get her tied into the thing.

  Nadja had matching green silk shoes, and a short veil of the same shade that fluttered around her ears and tickled her face. Fear tried to creep up inside her. It was too late to turn back. She had nowhere else to go.

  In an effort to calm herself, she looked down the platform. It was the worst thing she could have done. The bachelors of Qurilixen were lined up like half-naked soldiers awaiting inspection. The men stood shoulder to shoulder, facing each other in two lines. The formation created a center aisle the women were meant to walk through.

  Nadja drew in a long, nervous breath. Fires burned brightly encasing the grooms in a softened orange light. The men were in exquisite shape. She had not been expecting that. Yes, the uploads had said these men were categorized as a warrior class, but she hadn’t translated that to mean godlike bodies. Not a one was overweight, or too short, or disfigured in some way. She saw a few battle scars, but that was it. Since they had been peaceful for nearly a century—according to Galaxy Brides—she kind of assumed warrior class meant drunken evenings filled with bawdy songs around a campfire, and a general easy-going lifestyle. Isn’t that what primitive people did for fun?

  It occurred to her that she really didn’t know all that much about such classes of people. They always looked like they were enjoying themselves from where she stood with the nobles and medical elite. What did warriors do when they weren’t warring?

  Music and laughter filled the night. Couples kissed and petted each other freely and no one but the brides seemed to notice the displays. Though the grooms were calm, there were other men in the campground who yelled and cheered. Young warriors posed their muscles, flexing and bending as if to draw the brides’ notice. Nadja guessed they weren’t part of the actual ceremony but rather boisterous onlookers who came to have a good time. She wanted to be a part of their merriment, a number in the crowd, one of many.

  The event was presided over by a couple sitting in throne-like chairs. From their position, she would have assumed they were in charge. However, as the woman leaned over to kiss the man, Nadja wasn’t so sure. The royalty she knew didn’t act like that in front of others.

  The smell of burning wood and fresh air stirred intoxicatingly on the breeze. Pyramid tents spread out over the open field with colorful banners varying in size and design. Torches were set up to light the paths between them. The firelight caused the canvas walls to light up and the flickering gave the impression that the tents breathed.

  Nadja swallowed, fighting the urge to run back into the ship. What had she done? Just because she desperately wanted to belong in this world, didn’t mean she was equipped to.

  I will not be ruled by my fears, she told herself.

  Much like the bronzed statues she’d seen on a trip to New Earth, the grooms held perfectly still. Pride radiated off of each and every one of them. She could see it in the lift of their jaws and the immodesty of their clothing. Only a man confident in his body would be seen in nothing but a loincloth and black leather mask. Oil glistened on their chests and legs. The gleam caused by the firelight accentuated the tight muscles. Each warrior stood at least seven foot tall with broad shoulders and thick chests. Because the black masks hid everything but their mouths, it was impossible to see their features. An intricate bracelet wrapped some of their upper arms and they each wore a crystal necklace.

  Nadja closed her eyes, trying to recall what the upload program had taught her about them. “The Qurilixian worship many gods, favor natural comforts over modern technical conveniences, and prefer to raise, grow, and cook their own food. They have been peaceful for nearly a century, aside from petty territorial skirmishes that break out every fifteen or so years between a few of the rival houses. So brides have nothing to fear.”

  Nothing to fear?

  Nadja opened her eyes and focused on the aisle of flesh. The men waited for them to walk through so they could choose their mates. A small shiver worked over her. She continued to stare at the grooms. When she blinked, she realized dusk had fallen into night. She had no idea how long she’d been standing.

  The erotic smells of fire and food combined with the foreign rhythm of their tribalistic music. Everything around her was so primal and barbaric. From solid neck to muscular legs, the grooms were perfection. Nadja was horrified. She didn’t want perfection. She wanted the middle-aged doctor with the friendly smile and kind eyes. Not a demanding warrior who exercised too much and was assuredly self-absorbed, or liked to talk about…what did warrior men talk about? She didn’t want her blood to race in her veins. She didn’t want her heart beat to quicken and her body to quake with sensations she wasn’t used to feeling.

  On the journey over, the ship conversations had almost always turned to sex, and Nadja learned more than she cared to from some of the other women. It was one area where her education had been lacking, thanks to her sheltered upbringing. But now, looking at the flesh and bone before her, she could see why the women had been obsessed.

  A man in a pilot’s uniform returned up the docking plank with his electronic clipboard. He nodded in a businesslike fashion to the brides, his shipment having been made. Soon the line was moving forward and the surrounding campsite became deadly still except for the music. Nadja’s feet were forced to move with the line. She didn’t look around as she kept her eyes on the red earth where she stepped.

  Soon the lustful gazes peeking out from the walls of glistening flesh forced her to look up. The men’s lips were pressed firmly in thought and their eyes shone like the sun reflecting on water, boring forward in golden concentration. Her mind went momentarily numb as a spell was cast over her senses. Her lungs expanded, filling with air, and yet she was breathless. She tried not to stare. She tried to keep her eyes forward, but then…

  Nadja’s heart stopped and her ears became plagued with silence. She was sure she was dying, drowning in the liquid pool of dark green eyes. Somehow her feet kept shuffling forward. Her body was too stiff to do aught else but follow where she was led. Her limbs didn’t obey her half-hearted commands.

  The warrior who stared back at her was one of the tallest in the line. Her mind screamed no, but her body demanded, yes him! His crystal necklace pulsed white and her body swayed in hot physical response. When his lips parted, she felt as if he kissed her. The impression of his mouth’s texture, so real against her lips, stole her breath. Her hand lifted weakly as if to push him back. That’s when she realized he was too far away to touch her. Never had lust hit her so strong or so fast.

  No. He wasn’t the right type. This was all wrong. He wasn’t what she was looking for. She had it all planned out on the ship.

  The man bowed his head toward her as she walked by. Promises reflected in his aggressive gaze as it dipped boldly over her body. When his eyes made the slow journey back up, she saw his possessiveness through the narrow eye slit of the dark mask. In that moment, Nadja knew she had been chosen.

  * * *

  Prince Olek of Draig’s body sung with liquid fire, and he was filled with a deep longing and hope. The tall creature before him com
plimented his height, while her slender figure begged for his protection. She had the perfect coloring of a solarflower—the white porcelain skin of the petals, light blue eyes of the center ring, and light brown hair of the soft velvet stem. She was confident and refined, yet reserved in her expressions.

  Olek imagined putting his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. His fingers curled, instantly wanting to touch her hips only to glide down her long legs to worship at her feet. His body stirred beneath the fur loincloth. It was going to be a very long night.

  To his surprise, she swallowed nervously at his attention and tried to break the contact of their eyes. The crystal pulsed on his neck, holding her gaze to him. He was pleased by her modesty as he sent her a kiss. Her cheeks flamed slightly with a blush. He practically tasted the sweetness of her lips on his mouth.

  Bowing to acknowledge her as she passed, Olek gave himself the pleasure of watching her walk away. By her nature he deduced she was composed and dignified. He grinned happily. This woman would make him a very fine wife.

  The line of brides filtered past, and soon he could no longer see his future mate as she made her way to the feast his people had prepared for the women. Olek moved toward the temple with the other bachelors who had been chosen by the gods to proceed with the ceremony. His cousin, the High Duke, caught his attention. Olek tried to see if the man had a glowing crystal. Though this was Olek’s first attempt at marriage, this was Bron’s seventh or eighth year. Several of his cousins had very bad luck when it came to finding a bride. Year after year, the gods neglected to give them happiness. He hoped this year would be different for all of them.

  Olek’s smile never wavered as he walked toward the temple to give thanks. His cousins’ luck was not his own. Tonight the gods had indeed blessed him. He’d found his princess.

  Chapter 3