Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition

by Michelle M. Pillow

  Nadja tried to stand, but his grip tightened. Nadja looked in surprise at the fury still boiling in him. She didn’t think he would be that mad. Her father used his new concoctions on her all the time, ever since she was small, and she’d never been hurt. All right, he had given her an annoying case of warts once, but he did eventually fix it.

  “First, I’ll have your promise you will never do anything like that again,” he stated.

  “Why?” she asked, thoroughly confused. “Do you think I would do anything to hurt you?”

  The idea stung. She was nothing like her father, was she? She looked at the cream. A sickening feeling came over her. Maybe she was.

  But she wanted to do good, to help. She didn’t do it for profit or power.

  “Maybe not intentionally,” he answered, his voice dark. “But you don’t know what you are dabbling with. Remember the green acid? What if you had killed me?”

  Nadja gasped. The green acid had been an honest mistake when she had been testing for poisonous properties in one of the plants. He didn’t trust her at all. He thought her stupid. It was worse than a slap on the face.

  A knock on the door stopped her heated reply. It was late in the evening and she wondered who could be interrupting them.

  Olek frowned, standing to answer the summons. Turning to her, he said, “This conversation isn’t finished.”

  She paled to see he was extremely irate with her.

  Olek opened the door. A man stood there, hat in hand. Nadja came around the side of the fountain to smile politely at their visitor. He nodded to the prince, and acknowledged politely, “Draea Anwealda.”

  Olek nodded back, wondering what the man wanted. He didn’t have to wait long. The man limped forward and bowed to Nadja.

  “Princess Nadja,” the man said, his Old Star language words strongly accented.

  She waited, smiling curiously at him. When he didn’t move, she waved him forward. “Hello, welcome.” The man smiled in relief, limping over to her.

  Olek frowned, following slowly behind. She purposefully ignored her husband.

  With more motions than words, the man explained that he’d injured his foot and it wasn’t healing. The boys from the forest had told him of her miracle leaf and he wished to trade her for one so that he could better tend his farmland.

  Nadja glanced at Olek and frowned to see him inching closer to listen in. Leading the man back to the sun room laboratory, she shut the door firmly behind her.

  * * *

  Olek scowled, scratching the back of his head in confusion. If the man hadn’t been so old, he would have barged in after her. However, he didn’t want to start any more rumors about the royal marriages than were already circulating throughout the village.

  Sitting on the couch, he waited. Not fifteen minutes later, Nadja led the man out of the atrium. He was no longer limping and he had a wide grin of appreciation on his face. He took her hand enthusiastically in his and shook it. Nadja leaned over and kissed his cheek. The man almost jumped out of his skin in embarrassment, looking to see what her husband would do to him for the breech.

  Olek merely smiled at him, though it was a hard, tight smile.

  The man bowed happily to Olek and murmured, “Many thanks, Draea Anwealda, many thanks.”

  Olek stood, letting the man out. When he returned, he asked, “Mind telling me what that was all about?”

  “Yes, I do mind,” she said. “It’s none of your business.”

  “Nadja,” he warned.

  “Weren’t you just yelling at me a minute ago? Something about you not trusting me? Or was it that you think I’m too stupid and would kill you by accident?”

  “What are you up to?” Olek asked, suddenly realizing that he may have intense feelings for his wife, but the crystal didn’t make him know her. There was a wealth of secrets behind her eyes he needed to discover. The passion was there. The connection was shaky at best.

  “Come sit on the couch and I’ll tell you,” she purred with mock sweetness.

  Olek grew wary, seeing her expression. There was an impending scheme lurking within her. He moved to sit by her side.

  Nadja licked her lips, coming closer to his mouth with hers. He tensed. Her hand slowly worked its way up his strong biceps. He froze in expectation. He anticipated her light touch all over his body. His cock lurched in excitement, becoming full.

  “I was working,” she said, blinking innocently. “And I just earned five hafoe eggs for my breakfast.”

  Olek furrowed his brow, confused. Her mouth hovered closer. Her hand worked to the side of his face. He tensed, waiting.

  “As for you and your distrust, I have two words,” she murmured softly. “Sweet dreams.”

  “Sweet…?” Too late he saw the large plant in her hands as she crushed it under his nose. With a curse dying on his lips, he was out again.

  * * *

  This time, Nadja pushed him over onto his pillow.

  Taking his papers out from underneath him, she stacked them neatly on the floor, grabbed his glass of wine for herself and went to bed, leaving him fast asleep on the couch.

  It felt great helping the farmer and she wasn’t about to let Olek ruin it for her. Although she wasn’t sure what a hafoe was, in the end it didn’t really matter. She’d earned her pay.

  Chapter 17

  Nadja was missing when Olek awoke, but he was in too foul of a mood to go and look for her. He was dejected, confused. There was so much she wouldn’t tell him about herself and he didn’t know exactly where he had gone wrong with her. That night in the tent had held so much promise for their future, but it had all just come spiraling down since.

  His body was sore from Zoran’s thorough workout and he decided to skip his exercise yet again. Let his brother take his foul temper out on someone else for a while. Olek had his own demons to deal with.

  Smiling sadly, he saw he wasn’t the only one hiding out. Ualan stared out from the shores of Crystal Lake. Olek followed his brother’s gaze and glanced over the waters. The surface shimmered like glass, reflecting the light in waving patterns.

  Beneath the surface, low on the lakebed’s floor was where their sacred crystals formed and grew. Whenever a son was born, the father would dive, grab the first piece he could find, and give it to the baby. From then until marriage, the crystal protected the son and gave him power. When the son married and the crystal was crushed, it transferred some of that power to his wife and secured their joined fates.

  Well, that wasn’t entirely true. It wasn’t just the sons. If a rare Draig female, like the queen, was born, she would get a crystal as well. Olek assumed it worked the same for female children, though his mother was the only female born Draig, so there wasn’t much basis for comparison. As a boy, he’d asked the queen about her crystal and had been met with his parents’ laughter. They never did explain the joke to him.

  Once his—or her—crystal was destroyed, a Draig’s life was only whole with their other half. Without their mate, they would feel hollow.

  “You missed practice again, brother,” Olek said, looking down at where Ualan sat against a giant tree.

  Ualan smiled, having assuredly sensed his approach. Olek did nothing to hide it. His brother lifted his hand in greeting, not bothering to explain his absence. He didn’t need to. It was written on his face. Like Olek, his other half was fractured and his life wasn’t whole.

  Ualan bared a strong resemblance to Olek, with the same build and same brown hair. The main difference was that Ualan had solid blue eyes whereas Olek had green.

  The nearby stream filled the silence with its flowing water. Olek, always the more amiable of the two, managed a wry laugh as he took a seat next to his brother. He plucked a weed from the nearby grasses and placed it between his lips to chew. “I see we are both cursed.” A sofliar tweeted loudly above them. Olek glanced up at the clouds moving over the green skies. He continued, with a bit of a sulk to his words, “Or else you wouldn’t be avoiding your duty or me mi
ne.”

  Ualan didn’t bother to deny it. “My wife has proclaimed herself a slave. Since she’s the one to indenture herself, I cannot release her.”

  Olek sighed. “I cannot help you there. The law states clearly that only she can seek the royal pardon.”

  He gave his brother a meaningful look. Olek would pardon his new sister in an instant if only to ease Ualan’s torment.

  “She won’t,” Ualan responded to the unasked question. “And I have no idea how to persuade her.”

  “Does she know who you are? Does she know it is you who can help clear her?”

  “Always trying to act the part of the ambassador,” Ualan said.

  “I am the ambassador.”

  “I have no wish for her to know who I am yet, not before she admits she is my wife.” Ualan’s shoulders lifted with a tired stretch and he rubbed his eyes. “I would not have her considering my royal birth. That would defeat the purpose of the masks. Gardener or king, it is the same to the crystal bearers. And if I cannot find a way to tell her she is a princess, I’m not sure how I’ll tell her I’m a dragon-shifter.”

  “I think our king is considering never doing business with Galaxy Brides again,” Olek said. “For they have sent all his sons and nephews mor-forwyns.”

  “That they have,” Ualan agreed.

  “Is it true she announced she was leaving you right after breaking your crystal?” Olek inquired.

  Ualan’s grumble was accompanied by a weary nod. “Woe that Morrigan should find a spaceport.” The burden of his frown deepened.

  “Woe if she found a spaceport of our enemy.” Olek gave a meaningful nod. He had spoken with his father, and it would seem that whoever broke into the offices had been searching the palace’s blueprints. When Ualan glanced over in surprise, he said, “There have been rumors that our brides have not been seen within the castle.”

  “And who would dare to spread such a rumor?” Ualan’s eyes narrowed in irritation.

  “Supporters of the Var would be my guess. Our father has decreed a feast in honor of his new daughters to coronate them. We have a week to convince them.”

  “A week? Has he lost his mind? I do not relish the idea of our brides meeting. I should not like to see them banded together.” Ualan grumbled under his breath. As the future king, his eldest brother would feel the weight of that responsibility on his shoulders. Olek didn’t envy him, though his job was just as troublesome. “I can’t hide the fact she is a slave. I can’t bring her out.”

  “Ah, so you didn’t hear?” Olek let a soft smile come over him. “Our mother has started a rumor amongst her maids that Princess Morrigan does it out of embarrassment for how she acted after binding you with the crystal. Soon it will be common news. She will be respected for purging her honor.”

  Queen Mede’s diplomatic ways were a great complement to their gruff warrior father. The others always said he’d gotten his tact from her. Though, Olek liked to think he had enough of his father in him to make him a formidable opponent on the battlefield. But, come to think of it, he’d bet his mother would fiercely take out the entire Var kingdom if given a chance.

  “The king fears that the Var have spies within our walls.” Olek turned his thoughts back to the serious topic at hand. “That is why he has ordered us to get our affairs in order. He wants to show the people our family is whole and the rumors against us are merely rumors.”

  “And you, Ambassador?”

  “I was heading to the shadowed marshes before the wedding began but I couldn’t get away from festival duties. The cat-shifters have become uncommonly bold.” Olek thought of Nadja and wondered how he could convince her to pretend she was in love with him for one evening. He wasn’t sure it could be done. “I can sense it in them. They plan something.”

  “Hmm.”

  “I know something that will cheer you, brother.” Olek suddenly chuckled, brightening for a moment. “Yusef’s bride turned his own blade against his manhood. He was honor bound to put her in chastisement.”

  The brothers shared a robust laugh. Their amusement rang out around them.

  “Did she…?” Ualan snorted.

  “No.” Olek laughed harder, barely able to catch his breath. “Just a nick.”

  “I hear Zoran’s princess screams like a tree witch every time he’s tried to touch her,” Ualan said. “I’m glad he lives on the far side of the palace.”

  Olek nodded, taking the weed from his mouth and tossing it on the ground. He watched it roll away in the breeze. “Mother is quite upset by it all. It seems Zoran felt compelled to disfigure his wife and cut off all her hair. The castle is humming with the rumor, and no one has seen her about the palace.”

  “That makes no sense.” Ualan was obviously perplexed. “Zoran would not shame his wife.”

  “Our father says he saw it. He’s upset because of the celebration.” Olek gestured helplessly. Nothing about this year’s marriages made sense to him. “My wife has these female contraptions, I’ll see if one won’t grow the poor woman’s hair back for her.”

  “Yeah, if what you say is true, we cannot let more shame come to the family. We’ll be lucky to get through the night without one of our brides trying to kill us,” Ualan said.

  Olek nodded resignedly.

  “And you, brother?” Ualan turned to study him. “What ails your bride that she won’t have you?”

  Olek moved to stand. He held his hand down and helped pull Ualan to his feet. How could he answer when he didn’t know himself? Nadja was a mystery that he didn’t know how to solve. He couldn’t discover her secrets by asking or torturing or yelling. She kept herself and her past well-guarded.

  “I truly don’t know,” Olek said after a time, “but I think I am the most cursed of us all. My little solarflower wants nothing to do with me. At least your women fight you. Mine will barely even speak to me, let alone yell. How can I win a battle that won’t be fought?”

  “A battle can always be fought, brother,” Ualan said wisely. “It’s finding the right weapon that proves most difficult.”

  The brothers walked through the forest, silently agreeing to go around the long way, far from Zoran and the exercise field.

  “Ah, curse the married life anyway,” Olek grumbled. “At least with warriors you can always draw your sword and lop off their heads when they get too aggravating. With a woman, what can you do? They should have sent directions along with these vixens.”

  Ualan agreed with a laugh. “That they should have, little brother. That they certainly should have.”

  Chapter 18

  Nadja doubled over in intense pain, pushing deeply at her stomach as she begged any god who would listen to end her suffering. She rocked for a moment on the floor, trying to catch her breath. She had sensed its coming. She felt like such a wimp, as she again held her breath in an effort to stop the unbearable agony.

  Nadja hated her menstrual cycle. Ever since she was a young girl, the cramps had been unbearable. Groaning, she looked around the bathroom. There were no pain pills, no handheld medic unit, no bottle of New Earth scotch. Ok, so the scotch wasn’t the ideal treatment, but anything had to be better than writhing on the bathroom floor. Hearing the outside door open, she tried not to whimper.

  “Nadja?” she heard Olek call.

  Nadja’s cheeks heated in embarrassment, but it hurt too much to stand. Grimacing in determination, she yelled in irritation, “What?”

  “Where are you?”

  Nadja flinched. She finally managed to push herself up, if only to keep from being discovered in such a vulnerable state. Wiping her teary eyes, she ground out, “Leave me alone.”

  “Nadja?” Olek’s voice was closer.

  She glared at him as he came through the bathroom door. “Don’t you ever knock?”

  “Nadja, what’s wrong? What happened?” Olek started for her in concern and she flinched.

  “It’s nothing, go away,” Nadja muttered, trying to turn from him. The pain steadily got worse and
she watched her face pale in the reflective surface of the mirror. She wanted to scream but she bit her tongue.

  “Nadja, has something happened? Are you hurt?”

  She felt his hand on her shoulders and stiffened. He began to massage her and, oh, but it felt really good. Her eyes closed. Her body swayed and she silently willed his hand to move lower on her back.

  A light, passionate moan left his lips and he began kissing the back of her neck. Nadja tensed in shock. When she turned around, his eyes were glassy and he moved as if he would kiss her mouth next. She frowned, about ready to yell at him, when his hands cupped her face. Undeterred by her ill humor, his lips met with hers.

  Nadja jumped a little in surprise at his instant passion. Not that she minded terribly when his mouth moved with such unrelenting skill. But, her breasts were swollen to the point of exploding and her stomach throbbed with a horrific pain. She moaned and hit his shoulder.

  Olek growled in primal response, deepening the onslaught of his gently probing mouth. Nadja gasped as his hands found her backside, eagerly lifting her up only to set her on the side of the counter. She hit his arm and then again, harder. He wouldn’t stop. His lips moved more aggressively.

  Nadja ripped her mouth from his and gasped for air. His lips instantly found her neck and sucked hard at the flesh there. Weak with growing pleasure, she ordered, “Olek, stop.”

  He didn’t seem to hear her. His hands were on his pants, undoing the laces.

  “Olek,” Nadja said louder, wondering what had gotten into him. He was senseless. His eyes opened slightly, completely hazed over.

  Olek leaned as if to again kiss her parted lips. Nadja pulled back. She hit him hard on the shoulder. He blinked in confusion. His eyes cleared and he looked at her, puzzled.