Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (43 page)

N
adja peered
around the common hall. The dining area was immaculate, from the red stone floor to the steep, arched ceilings. The center dome for light was larger than the one in their wing. Banners of the family crest lined the walls, one for each color of the family lines—green for Olek, red for Zoran, purple for the king and queen, black and blue-gray for the two other princes she had yet to meet. If they were anything like Zoran, she wasn’t in a rush for an introduction. Each banner had the embroidered silver symbol of the dragon.

Lines of dining tables reached across the floor, filled with villagers and attended to by servants who carted out endless pitchers of various drinks and set them out on the tables. Their combined voices created a low, constant murmur over the hall.

With a slight frown, Nadja realized no one had thought of decorations. There were tablecloths and a vase of flowers on the royal table, but the walls were bare and only goblets and pitchers graced the lower tables. Trust men to throw such a party.

Nadja would just have to offer her services next time. This was one area where her skills as a socialite would definitely come in handy. At least there were musicians setting up in the corner. That was something.

Glancing at Olek, she felt jittery. He was seated to her left. On her right was the king. He had smiled politely and welcomed her. But, beyond that, he didn’t speak to her and kept turned toward his wife. Even so, she was keenly aware of the man’s presence.

Pia sat next to the queen, appearing very uncomfortable with the arrangement. Prince Zoran was by her side, as forbidding as ever in his red Lintianese-style tunic. Next to him was Prince Yusef. Nadja had never seen him before. He was much darker in appearance than the rest of the family and acted as unhappy as Zoran. The seat next to him was empty. His princess did not come to the event.

The princes, the king, and the queen all wore silver crowns as a symbol of their sovereignty. Queen Mede’s was smaller in size, though of the same plain design. Nadja glanced at Olek’s head. The crown suited him.

“Where is your fourth brother?” Nadja asked curiously, leaning into Olek. “I thought it was important that all the brides attend tonight.”

“He’ll be here in a moment. His wife must come in and end her slavery first,” he said.

Nadja stiffened. She wasn’t sure she’d heard him right. Her gaze hardened in dismay. “Your brother made his wife a slave?” Her mouth pressed into a thin line.

“She did it to herself,” Olek defended.

Nadja frowned.
It is just like a man to blame the woman!

Suddenly, the hall grew very quiet and her attention turned forward. Morrigan Blake walked slowly to the center of the room, her head down-turned in a way that made Nadja want to scream. The woman looked absolutely subdued. Where was the spunky, sarcastic Rigan she’d known on the ship? Where was the woman who always looked proudly to the distance, as if she were overrun with thoughts and ideas?

“What did you do to her?” Nadja whispered. Olek glanced at her questioningly, but she didn’t repeat herself.

“Queen Mede, King Llyr,” Morrigan said giving the royal couple a curtsey. Her voice wavered and she swallowed nervously. Nadja’s frowned deepened, desperately wanting to go to the woman’s rescue. What sort of a man would make his wife humiliate herself like this in public? She glared at Olek, wishing he would do something to help the poor woman. Morrigan continued, “I come to you as a humble slave, begging for your royal pardon. I have restored my honor and wish to seek your blessing.”

Nadja lifted her jaw.

“Prince Olek?” the queen asked.

Nadja glanced at her husband in shock. He had something to do with this? He allowed this to happen? Maybe he wasn’t the man she thought he was. Maybe she didn’t know him at all. He never told her about his work. What if his work included enslaving women or selling children? She really had no clue who these people were. All she’d seen was the glossy surface of palace life and the nearby village. Just as soon as she could manage, she was going to raid his office and find out what he was up to once and for all. So help him if he turned out to be another version of her father. She had not left one tyrant to live with another.

Her emotions told her that she was wrong. Olek couldn’t possibly be cruel. Then he spoke and logic argued otherwise.

“Yea,” Olek answered. Nadja turned her eyes forward, waiting quietly as the queen named her sons and husband, getting the same answers. How could the queen be a part of this? She seemed so lovely when they were together. Is this what they did to women who didn’t follow their royal dictates?

“And I say ‘yea’. She has spoken well,” Queen Mede said. “We have agreed. Now it is up to you, my son. Will this slave receive her pardon, Prince Ualan?”

Nadja couldn’t listen to anymore as Prince Ualan made his way down to his wife. She hadn’t noticed him joining them at the head table until that moment. Turning to Olek, she whispered, “How could you have allowed this to happen?”

Olek frowned, clearly not understanding. “I didn’t allow anything.”

“But, you’re taking part in it,” Nadja returned under heated breath.

“Yea,” Ualan announced. “I shall pardon my wife. She has proven herself very worthy of her title and of my family’s honor.”

“Arrogant wretch,” Nadja mumbled, watching Ualan lead his wife to the table.

“What?” Olek leaned in to better hear her.

“Nothing,” Nadja grumbled. When Morrigan looked up at her, she could tell the woman was upset. She looked ready to kill. Nadja smiled at that and gave her a stiff nod, glad to see the woman’s spirits hadn’t been completely broken.

“It is glad I am that all my sons have found brides. We are a house blessed,” the king announced when Ualan and Morrigan were seated. “Preost, crown the princesses.”

Nadja felt a crown being placed over her hair and automatically reached up to help the preost ease it on her head without messing up her upsweep. She didn’t turn around to look at the man as he spoke Qurilixian words she didn’t understand. She glanced around, happy and very much relieved to see there weren’t any visible cameras in the hall recording her image.

She felt Olek affectionately take her hand beneath the table and stiffened. He glanced at her, smiling kindly. For a moment, his gaze almost drew her in, but she looked away before she let it.

O
lek blinked
, not understanding what he had done. Ualan’s wife enslaved herself by her own will. Not even Ualan had any say in the matter. In fact, her enslavement actually made things worse for Ualan, because it was forbidden for a master to touch a slave in passion—even if that woman was his wife.

Nadja looked over at Princess Morrigan and her lips pressed harshly together, turning white. He wondered why she was getting so heated over the incident. It’s not like the family actually treated the woman like a slave.

“Nadja?” he asked, thinking she might be more upset about the coronation and using the Morrigan incident as an excuse. He knew she didn’t want to be a princess.

Instead of answering his entreaty, she inquired, “So who are the ambassadors we are trying to impress?”

Olek’s expression fell, but he gave a slight nod toward a distant table. A solemn group of blond cat-shifters sat by themselves, ignored by most of those gathered except for the occasional hateful stare. No one liked having the Var guards in the Draig palace—not even Olek and he’d been the one to arrange it. Only one servant approached the enemy guests, seeming to hesitate as he filled their goblets. The Var men held still, not looking at the servant as he made his way around them.

Olek found himself holding his breath, hoping they wouldn’t shift or do anything stupid in front of the princesses, who as of yet had not been told that they were on a planet of shape-shifters. He’d been so distracted with thoughts of his bride, Olek forgot to take into account that detail. If the Var shifted to cat form, the Draig warriors would be obliged to turn into dragons and the hall would erupt into chaos. He looked at Nadja. He wasn’t sure his delicate solarflower could handle that kind of coronation entertainment.

“Who are they?” Nadja asked. The Var men were the only ones not enjoying themselves. Nadja shivered as one of the largest warriors subtly returned her stare. She hastily looked away.

“The House of Var,” Olek answered evenly, keeping his attention carefully trained on them without appearing to do so. He frowned, not liking the Var king’s attention on his bride. King Attor snarled at her as if he would like nothing more than to snap her neck between his flexing fingers. “They are from the kingdom to the south. We rule this half of Qurilixen, they rule the other half.”

“Your family rules half a planet?”

“Our planet isn’t so big,” he said modestly, taking a drink.

“So the Galaxy Brides uploads were imprecise when they referred to you as the Qurilixian people.” Nadja said. Olek liked the way she twirled a strand of her hair when she was in deep thought. He noticed she did that often when working on her formulas. “They should have specifically classified you as the Draig of Qurilixen.”

“I suppose,” he answered, just thankful they didn’t publicly classify them as dragon-shifters. If the Federation Military’s attention was drawn to that little fact, the Draig would never get rid of Federation recruiters.

“Is Lord Mirek attending? I would like an introduction. I want to talk to him,” Nadja said.

At that Olek turned his full attention to her. He remembered telling her that Mirek often traveled offworld. “Why? Are you planning a trip somewhere?”

“A trip?” She furrowed her brow. “No. I wanted to talk to him about his wife’s condition.”

Olek relaxed. “I’m sure your sympathies will be appreciated. No, none of my cousins are here tonight, but we can have a runner deliver a missive if you like. They would have liked to come, and please don’t think of it as a slight against your coronation, but they each have very pressing matters of their own to attend to in the mountains. I expect they will send you gifts in the coming week.”

Nadja nodded.

Servants came around with plates of food, serving royalty first and the Var guests second. The Var lifted their hands, silently refusing the meal. The servants moved on, giving their plates over to the next table. The hall became more subdued as the people began to dine. Musicians played soft music in the corner.

Nadja kept glancing nervously at the Var warriors. The cat-shifters drank in silence, rudely taking in everything with obvious displeasure. The gathered paid them no attention, pretending as if they didn’t exist.

“What are the Var doing here?” Ualan questioned in the Old Star language. His tone was hard and Olek could tell he wasn’t happy to receive the Var king and his guard in their home.

“They are our guests,” Olek answered. Nadja looked directly at them, clearly listening. Olek’s jaw tightened to match Ualan’s expression. He was more worried about it than he would let on.

“See that they are watched,” Ualan ordered. “I won’t have their deceits in the House of Draig. There will be a big price to pay if we must punish them.”

“Yusef is taking care of it.” Olek paused, very aware of his wife’s blatant eavesdropping. Easing purposefully into their native tongue, he continued, “We wanted them to see the royal marriages for themselves.”

N
adja frowned
. She would have thought her husband and his brothers completely unconcerned by the visitors until she heard Price Ualan lean over to speak to Olek. She wanted to hear more of what they said, but she wasn’t very good at the Draig language. It was annoying, like parents spelling out the bad words so the kids couldn’t understand. She’d really have to step up her practice of their language if she were to learn anything useful.

Nadja realized Morrigan was looking at her, a serious expression on the woman’s strained face. Nadja tried to smile, but the woman just nodded stiffly and turned away. After enslavement, it would be understandable if the woman didn’t want to be crowned. It was possible the punishment had been a way to force Morrigan to attend. Olek did say they needed happy brides at this event.

For the most part Nadja ate in silence. A servant came to take her plate and she let him. Olek occasionally spoke to his brother in their language. Nadja glanced at him, seeing his head turned from her. She thought of how Olek and Ualan really did look alike, though Ualan’s eyes were blue and Olek’s were the much sexier green.

Pia smiled at her and Nadja smiled back. She wished she could switch places with Zoran so she’d have someone to talk to. Seeing her attention in his direction, the king glanced at her and grinned. He leaned to his wife, murmuring softly to her.

Nadja was about to turn her attention to the crowd when she saw Pia’s expression fall in horror. A shout of laughter resounded in front of them. She watched, amazed, as Pia jumped up from her chair and rushed down to the hall floor below. Leaning forward to get a better look, Nadja witnessed a young boy struggling to his feet. One foot turned in slightly and started to drag, causing him to limp.

Several large Draig warriors at a nearby table laughed harder as they watched the slender, sickly boy. The boy nearly toppled back over as Pia stopped next to him. He tried to bow, but his position was precarious and he stumbled before righting himself.

Unbidden, Nadja’s hand found Olek’s leg beneath the table and she began to knead it in agitation. He tensed at the contact and turned to study her.

“Leave him be,” Pia ordered the Draig warriors. One of the Var stood up amidst the distraction. The scolded warriors quieted and looked at Pia in question.

“What do you want with Heinrich, my lady?” a burly man with a beard asked. “Does he offend you? I will have him removed.”

Pia’s face turned red with anger and her blonde hair flew as she spun to glare the man down. “
He
does not.”

“My lady,” the Draig warrior defended himself, “the boy knows we mean no harm. Don’t you, lad?”

Heinrich dutifully nodded his head at the man’s hard look.