by Emma Dean
Adelina knew she was right no matter how difficult it was to hear and she kept the small detail she was already in love with this man to herself. She would find Alpha and talk with him. He still owed her a walk across the palace grounds.
“Father will announce the events occurring over the next year to us first,” Raena told her as they turned back to the palace. “He wants to prepare us as well as he can before the public announcement. Did you get the notice on your simulcast?”
Adelina pulled out the small device from her pocket and checked through the important messages. It was right there on the top. Somehow she’d missed the cast. “So early?” she asked her sister. They were supposed to meet in the family study in only a few minutes. If it weren’t for Raena, Adelina would have missed the meeting and most likely would have been punished for her break in protocol.
Raena gave her a look. “I may still be your sister and not yet your queen, but make sure you always have the simulcast on. I do not wish punishment on any of you, but you know the law. Even love is not a valid distraction.”
The intricate glass doors opened for them as soon as they sensed their presence. The gold held the pieces together and the fragments reflected Kala like a massive diamond, fracturing and making the ground glitter in the light. As soon as they crossed the threshold the weight of protocol fell on Adelina’s shoulders and she was once again the subordinate. Her eyes went to the floor and her hands clasped in front of her.
Raena’s shoulders went back and her chin up. The distance between first and third-born was blatant in that moment as they took on the mantle of their roles. Adelina followed a step behind her sister and to the left as they walked through the marble halls. The outside wall was mostly windows and the plas-glass was down to allow for a breeze since the days could get very warm.
A few courtiers were up and walking the halls. Raena nodded when they passed and Adelina knew they would soon stop in the hall to bow as her new position would require. Raena breezed into the study. Adelina couldn’t be more opposite. Quietly she kept to the wall and made her way around the room until she was near her father in his favorite chair.
It had been days and all she wanted was to be close to him. She gave him a kiss and then sat as near as she could manage with her mother and sisters in the room claiming priority. Adelina studied her father from under her eyelashes. He looked exhausted, but a bit better than he had been on Pedranus. She tried to take heart from that.
Giselle was the last to arrive and they all sat quietly, waiting for their father to tell them his news. Their mother held their father’s hand with grace and poise, no tears to be seen. King Orion cleared his throat and looked at each of his children. “As you know the prognosis is dire, and a cycle or more is a generous assumption. This is unexpected, but I am sure Raena will handle it with all the dignity and grace we have come to know and respect.” He coughed and the wracking sound in his chest made Adelina wince in sympathy. “Tomorrow I will announce that after Adelina’s coming-of-age ball Raena will ascend to the throne.”
All eyes turned to her. The coming-of-age parties were always an enormous event for each child and Raena’s coronation would detract from it. It would split the attention and purpose of the nobles’ visit. While this could be problematic if Adelina were looking for a spouse she didn’t mind really.
“The coronation will take place two weeks after Adelina’s celebration, and the transfer of power will be immediate. There will be more duties passed on to Raena before then to ease the transition. I will need each and every one of you to assist her and do your part to help.” Their father sighed and rested an elbow on the arm of his chair and placed his chin in his hand with a rueful smile. “This wasn’t supposed to happen for another fifty cycles at least. I apologize for the inconvenience.”
Adelina didn’t know what to say, or if she should even speak at all. Her father’s hand found hers and he squeezed weakly. She looked up and squeezed back. “I don’t mind,” she whispered, knowing the small concession would ease his guilt.
“I know darling. I’m afraid we don’t have the time to space it all out appropriately.”
Giselle had never settled down after her coming-of-age ball, but Adelina doubted she ever would unless ordered to. With Raena as queen everything would be different and freedoms reduced before their time. Adelina needed a night to sneak out, a night she could spend free of her responsibilities.
Raena didn’t marry as having options open made the most logical sense when it came to the crown princess. Raena and their father had decided the bargaining chip of future king consort was more valuable than an heir. That decision seemed foolish in hindsight, but only because Adelina knew how much Giselle would hate being the crown princess. She already felt her freedoms were hindered and that would only worsen.
Their father coughed again and their mother fussed. He shooed her back and set his jaw. The king would finish this family meeting no matter what. “This goes against tradition, but I need all of you to consider your options for marriage. In the next ten cycles you all need to be wed and producing heirs. If I am susceptible to this disease, then you all may be.” Their father wasn’t contagious, but the disease could have targeted a weakness in his genes. The doctors were supposedly working night and day to find out any answers they could.
This news was no surprise to Adelina. She had figured this would be part of ‘everything they could do to help.’ Giselle made a face and the queen hissed at her. Adelina hid her wince. If her sister wasn’t careful she would end up punished again. It was almost as though she enjoyed the pain with how much she broke protocol right in front of their mother and grandmother.
Without warning King Orion stood and left the study, almost as though he couldn’t stand the grief that permeated the air, thick and cloying. Adelina’s eyes were dry. She would never shame her father so. He was strong and brave and would fight this sickness as he fought for his people every day of his life.
Queen Adele followed him out. Adelina and her siblings were the only ones left once again. “There really is no cure, nothing they can do?” Adelina whispered. Her eyes stayed locked on the ground, but knew they all wondered the same.
The only one who would have answers would be Ian. Their fair brother shook his head. “I’ve been spending every night in my lab, studying the archives, journals, and articles we have on the subject. There is nothing, not even a trial or experimental option. The strain is resistant and there are too few cases to adequately get the answers we need.” Ian looked hopeless, the bags under his eyes testament to his research.
Adelina couldn’t stand it anymore. She shot to her feet. “May I be excused, Crown Princess?”
Raena nodded though she looked concerned. Adelina left the study as quickly as she could without running. She flew past Alpha standing guard at the door, waiting for her as usual. She heard him shout after her, but for once she ignored him. Adelina needed to get outside; she needed to be as far away from her life as possible. She couldn’t leave the palace at the moment, but she could lose herself in the palace grounds.
They stretched over most of Draga. The forests and fields a shimmering green. Adelina considered fetching her mount for a ride, but speaking with the hostler and dealing with their constant hovering would only anger her. Instead she walked through the rose gardens where ladies laughed and talked without a care in the world, ignorant to the life-changing news.
The forest was too far on foot, but if she walked through the maze she could lose even Alpha. Adelina’s skirts flew behind her as she picked up the pace and ran. Tears streamed down her face and she didn’t want anyone to see them, not even the man she loved. Her father was dying and there was nothing she, nor anyone else, could do about it. Leaves brushed against her bare arms as she turned into the hedge maze, a project her father had loved. Adelina had even helped him sketch out the design so she knew it as well as she did the palace itself. She turned and turned until she was near the center and finally she stopped and
slowed down. Sweat dripped down her back in the heat. She breathed heavy as she made her way to the bench that was centered perfectly in the maze.
With no one around she lay on the soft grass and looked up into the sky. Both moons hung heavy over Draga. The third was still hidden and wouldn’t be seen until her celebration of birth. Adelina held up one hand palm facing out so the smaller moon looked as though it rested between her thumb and fingers. It was something the king used to do with her when she was small. He had told her the stories of the gods and goddesses and how she could use their stars to find her place in the galaxy as the ancients had.
Tears slipped down the side of her face and into her hair.
Someone lay next to her on the grass and said nothing. Adelina knew without looking it was Alpha. Briefly she wondered if he’d set up a tracking program on her simulcast, but it didn’t matter if he did. Her safety was his job, nothing more and nothing less. He was not required to care about her feelings, or have feelings for her at all. “Alpha, will you tell me why you chose to be my guard and not Giselle’s or Asher’s?” She had given the final approval after his interview, but he could have applied to anyone in the royal family.
Alpha was silent for a few seconds and then his voice rumbled over her, quiet in the serenity of the maze. “Aside from the bit about Asher being a prick, I know you Adelina better than I know myself. We spent cycles together playing and attending lessons. You’ve been my best friend since as early as I can remember.”
Before she could reply he rolled on top of her and his bright blue eyes studied her intently. He brushed the tears from her face. “You are the kindest, most gentle person I’ve ever known and the way you treat your people…Adelina you would have been the most wonderful queen if you’d been first-born.”
She shook her head even though his words made her feel warm and loved. “You know that is not true. I would have hated it and constantly questioned every decision.” She laughed through the tears at the idea. Alpha always knew what to say to make her feel better.
Alpha’s smile was soft as he traced her face. “Do you remember when Giselle went through her rebellious phase and it seemed as though she were punished nearly every day? You took the blame for her once. She’d been caned the day before and another would have left her indisposed for at least a week. You took her punishment and never once cried. I promise you I would not have been as strong.”
Without waiting for a response, Alpha leaned down and kissed her lips gently, tasting as his hand held her neck like she were a fragile piece of glass. He smelled like the sun and the clean scent of his soap. Adelina’s hands buried in his silky soft hair and she sighed into him. Alpha gave her strength and courage when she felt she had none. He held her up when she couldn’t stand on her own.
Adelina didn’t know what she would do without him.
The thought relit the fire she’d barely quenched earlier. Adelina was slightly horrified. It wasn’t the time to be thinking about things like taking the man who covered her body with his, of finally losing her virginity. She felt guilty. How could she be so selfish with all that was going on?
But this was exactly what she needed right now; a distraction. Adelina needed a reminder that not everything was dire and miserable. There were still good things she could be happy about. There were people in her life who reminded her life was worth living no matter how awful it got. Alpha was someone she loved. He was someone she knew would be there for her no matter what.
The heavy weight of his body against hers was comforting. Adelina knew he was hers in the same way she knew he would protect her with his life. The last fifteen cycles they had been nearly inseparable until his guard training. Then he had come back fit and strong. She ran her hands over those muscles she couldn’t stop thinking about.
That first moment she saw him after his training she’d nearly lost her mind. Alpha looked like a completely different person and his new strength only made her want him more. Now his body was against her and she could feel the length of him through her thin skirts. Adelina wanted nothing more than to rip off the uniform and have her way with him under the sun and out in the open. She knew this was unusual from someone as inexperienced as she, but she didn’t care.
Adelina pulled his shirt out of his pants so she could grip his bare skin. He was warm to the touch, nearly feverish. The way his mouth devoured her made her dig her nails into his back. Alpha’s tongue danced with hers and she couldn’t help the small moan as he pressed into her. The hard length of his cock rubbed against her clit and the electric shock that ran through her nearly made her lose control.
Alpha growled against her mouth and lifted her up with him until she sat on his lap. He gripped her waist so hard Adelina knew she would bruise, but he didn’t let his hands roam. They stayed right where they were. She made a small sound of protest and rocked against him. His cock strained against his pants and pressed into her. The ache between her legs was nearly unbearable.
“Alpha,” she whispered his name like a prayer and his fingers spasmed. Adelina pressed her palms flat against his back and rolled her hips again, slow and tantalizing. She wanted to do to him what he did to her and plenty more. “Do you love me?” she asked. It was something she needed to hear, something she’d always wanted to know. Adelina wanted to hear the words her heart already knew the truth of.
“Lina, I’ve loved you since the day I met you,” he murmured, rubbing his nose along her neck. “The day you shared everything you had with a poor boy with no parents.”
His fingers found the clasp of her dress and slowly undid the tiny piece of metal holding her dress together. The spidersilk dropped and exposed her breasts to the warm air. Her nipples hardened and Adelina gasped knowing anyone could see them if they made it this far into the maze. She threw her head back as Alpha trailed his lips down her throat and over her collarbone to the tender flesh of her breasts. He brushed his lips against one nipple and then the next, delicate and soft.
Adelina dug her sharp nails into his shoulders. She wanted him to suck on them and then bite her. She wanted so much more than his soft touch. “Please, Alpha,” she whispered, careful to keep her voice low despite how badly she wanted to growl at him for being so gentle. His name on her lips undid him.
Suddenly he was a ravenous man, starving to death and she was the meal. His tongue laved her nipple and then he sucked hard. The sensation sent a shock to her clit and she gasped. Adelina couldn’t help squirming. There was so little fabric between them and all it would take was undoing a little button.
Alpha’s hand reached under her skirts to travel up her thigh and settle at the sensitive, bare skin between her hip and her leg. He was so close to where she needed him to be. Adelina shifted against him, hoping to coax him into taking them both further.
“Adelina!”
Instantly she froze. Adelina’s eyes shot open and she met Alpha’s panicked gaze. Had that been her mother?
“Goddess bless – Adelina! Come out of that damned maze!” Holy gods it was her mother.
Adelina scrambled off of Alpha and pulled her dress up. She turned so he could do the clasp and then she turned back to inspect him. His hair was wild and his uniform disheveled. The tight fabric made his arousal obvious and she couldn’t help her grin. “I’ll go and redirect her,” she told him, kissing his cheek.
Her mother practically screeched she was so annoyed. “Adelina!”
She tried not to laugh as she responded. “Coming mother!” Adelina turned to run after her mother who was probably lost among the hedges.
Alpha grabbed her before she could leave and kissed her hard. His tongue slipped into her mouth and he held her face gently. When he let her go she felt dazed. The sound of approaching footsteps reminded her of their close call.
She ran off before her mother could find Alpha in his current state and hoped she didn’t look too wild. Her hand went to her hair, but it seemed in place. Adelina slowed down when she saw the glitter of her mother’s crown
among the green leaves and walked to her side. “Yes, mother?” she asked, hands clasped in front of her and eyes downcast; once again the perfect, subordinate princess.
Chapter Five
Streets of Stella di Draga
Planet Draga
It was nearly midnight and the sun was finally setting. Draga was close to the center of the galaxy and it made their days long and their nights short. Adelina pulled up the hood of her cloak and made her way through the tunnels below the palace.
The tunnels were old sewer and water systems no longer used since advanced tech had been put in to keep the water clean and recycled. The sewage was diverted and used for energy; nothing ever went to waste. The tight pants stretched as she placed a hand and leaped over a set of bars. Her tall boots cushioned her feet when she landed. The way out of the palace and into the outer rings of the city was familiar. Adelina didn’t even have to think about it anymore.
Normally she came out with Giselle, but her sister was preoccupied with their mother’s cajoling. The queen pushed too hard for her to find a husband and marry. Adelina half expected her to find a woman instead simply to infuriate the queen. But an unknown father was looked down upon; the only reason Giselle was expected to wed a male.
Goddess help whoever she chose.
Adelina placed a gloved hand against the stone wall and took a left. Only a few more city blocks and she would be close to the taverns. Her destination was the biggest tavern of them all; owned by the prince of thieves who had always been kind to her. Her boots splashed through puddles and she knew there would be more rain once the sun finally set. The temperature had already begun to drop. The few hours there was no sun on Draga were freezing in comparison to the day.
The jewels in her pouch clinked slightly. Adelina had a delivery to make to the guild before she could enjoy herself. The citizens never recognized her. She was always shocked what a bit of makeup, a set of colored lenses, and a different hair color could accomplish. Pants did wonders as well. She didn’t mind her gowns, but there was so much freedom in being nobody anyone would recognize.
