Dragon Lords Books 1 - 4 Box Set: Anniversary Edition (48 page)

“
N
one of the
men will fight us,” Zoran said to his brothers. He glanced from Ualan to Olek and then back to where the cowering soldier had moved across the practice field.

Olek frowned. What were they supposed to do if the bravest of their whole race refused to let the princes take out their frustrations on them? He thought about having Zoran stick them in the swamp for a full year.

Snarling, Zoran growled in irritation. “They say our mood is too black. They are frightened we will kill them.”

Olek couldn’t say he blamed them. The soldiers’ frowns deepened at the sound of Zoran’s dark growl.

“Well, what in all the sacred temples are we supposed to do now?” Olek grumbled as he stormed away to the palace.

A
fter Olek left early
in the morning with no more than a grunt directed at her as he passed, Nadja took it upon herself to invite misery to share her company. She wasn’t disappointed as the princesses arrived. Each woman was properly somber.

Pia came first, glowering as if she carried on an argument in her head with Zoran who wasn’t there to answer. She was soon followed by Morrigan, who appeared sickly and pale and reeked of stale liquor. Though it was clear she had bathed, it did not mask the subtle smell from a night of binging. Olena arrived last. Her red hair was pulled back into a bun and her green eyes flashed with continual mischief, even when she wasn’t up to something. She looked none the worse for wear after her ordeal with the kidnappers, but she also wasn’t speaking of it.

Gazing around at the women, Nadja sighed.

“Heinrich is now training as a soldier. I released him from his duty to us,” Pia said, as Olena arched a brow in confusion. Nadja nodded, happy to hear the boy had been taken care of.

Stretching her arms over her head, Morrigan yawned. It was the most movement she had made in a while.

“So, have any of your husbands lied to you about who they are?” Olena asked in dejection.

“I thought mine was a prison guard.” Pia chuckled.

“I used to call mine a barbarian,” Morrigan admitted, tucking her hand beneath her head. “And a caveman.”

The women laughed.

“I call mine a dragon,” Nadja shyly said. Well, she did in her mind, anyway. Thinking of his latest bout of anger in the office, she did indeed think he had a dragon-like temper.

“They’re all dragons, if you ask me.” Morrigan winked at Nadja.

Nadja halfheartedly laughed as she rose to answer a summons at the door. She really wasn’t surprised to see the queen had tracked them down. Queen Mede’s obvious good mood didn’t match theirs, but she invited her in anyway.

The queen stepped into the intimate circle of women and nodded. “I heard you were all hiding out here.”

Nadja smiled in a weak effort to be polite.

“How’s Yusef?” Olena asked.

“Still awake,” the queen said. “And still with his brothers. They speak of fighting, and fighting always makes warriors happy, for it is something they know how to do.”

Olena lounged in her chair and acted like she didn’t care either way. Nadja wasn’t fooled.

Queen Mede’s gaze stopped on Morrigan and she arched a brow. Morrigan pretended not to notice though she visibly stiffened.

“Would anyone care for a drink?” Nadja inquired, hoping to break the tension.

“Oh, please, no,” Morrigan instantly declined, covering her mouth. The others laughed and the mood lightened some.

“No, dear, we’re fine,” the queen answered.

An uncomfortable silence ensued.

Nadja knew Queen Mede wished the princesses would talk freely around her. She tried to think of a way to ease the halted conversation, but was saved when the queen stated, “My sons are great men, but they are sometimes too stubborn for their own good.”

The princesses looked at her expectantly. Nadja was a little surprised the woman deigned to stay in their depressed ranks. Queen Mede took a seat amongst them, looking over each princess in turn.

“Enough of this wallowing. This planet is in desperate need of more women and I intend to see that each one of you explores the powers you possess.” The queen evidently not only intended to stay, but also intended to cure them of their woes.

Nadja couldn’t help but smile at the motherly tone.

“Your husbands are warriors,” the queen said. “I expect each of you has a clear idea now of what that means. But just because they made the rules, doesn’t mean you can’t use them. You have more power than you think.”

Nadja sat up straighter, listening intently.

“I’m going to tell you something my mother said to me before I married the king. I never forgot it. She said, ‘Medellyn, men like to be men. Let them think they are in charge of everything. It’s a happy delusion. If you act like they do, you will only have male tools at your disposal—and let’s face facts, men’s natural abilities do not rest in their common sense. They need women to help them. They don’t always admit it, especially these alpha dragon types, but in many ways a woman’s gifts are so much more powerful than brute strength.’”

Nadja thought of her mother and father. They were nothing like the queen described. Doc Aleksander was ruthless. Nothing about her parents’ lives had prepared her for marriage on Qurilixen. She wondered what her mother’s advice would have been, had she been there.

Do up your face, dear. You won’t want your husband to see you’ve been upset.

“I like your mother,” Olena said. Nadja eyed the woman in confusion before realizing Olena spoke to the queen and not in answer to her private thoughts.

“She was an amazing mother and I was such a hardheaded daughter,” the queen said. “I used to think she was so weak for never standing up to anyone, until the day she manipulated me into going to the wedding ceremony. That’s when I knew her real strength came in her gentle ways.”

Nadja was pretty sure her mother’s real strength came from daily injections of happy drugs.

“I don’t mean to interrupt,” Morrigan said, “but is there any chance you have more of those sugar cookie biscuit things lying around? I ate all of the ones you left with me.”

Queen Mede gave a small chuckle. “That was my mother’s recipe.”

Morrigan nestled her head against her arm. “Mmm, I like your mother, too.”

“Will we meet her?” Nadja had never met her own grandparents.

The queen shook her head in denial. “No. She has long passed.”

“I’m sorry,” Nadja said.

“So, daughters,” the queen paused, eyeing each one, “tell me your problems with my sons and I will give you the Qurilixian solution. I think it’s time that the royal women had the upper hand for once. I have waited too many years to see my sons married to let them ruin my plans now.”

Slowly, one by one, the princesses smiled.

“Pia, why don’t you go first?” The queen looked at the woman expectantly.

Nadja grinned, nestling into the chair as she listened to Pia’s problem and awaited her turn for council.

“
O
lek
, I am your wife, your other half. When you don’t speak to me, it makes me very upset and when I am upset,
you
will be upset.” Nadja crossed her arms over her chest and stared at her husband when he came through the door that night. Tired eyes, red from little sleep, met hers. Since he’d probably leave again in the morning, this might be her only chance to make him listen. “If that is the path you want for us, our lives will be stressful and unpleasant. I don’t expect you to trust me right away, but you will have to trust me sometime. Life is too long to spend in misery.”

Nadja kept an emotionless mask over her face, repeating the words exactly like Queen Mede had told her to. She didn’t think it possible, but after speaking to the queen, Nadja felt three-hundred percent better. She had a plan of action, a clear way of handling her stubborn husband. The queen was a great source of information, and had been only too glad to inform her daughters about how to receive the upper hand in their marriages. The chat had made the women closer too—like family. Nadja never knew family could feel so…normal.

Olek was suspicious by nature, always trying to read into half-words and hidden agendas. He had to be that way with the sort of double-tongued people he dealt with. Considering the nature of his work, it was only natural he would try to read into everything Nadja said with suspicion. He was an expert at avoidance, never answering or giving more than was needed at the time.

According to the queen, the best way to handle Olek was directly and honestly. He had a lot on his mind and, at any given time, a concise, blunt attack was the best way to get him exactly where you needed him to be. Otherwise, he’d miss the subtler cues completely.

Olek arched a brow at her strange greeting, but stopped to listen.

Nadja smiled. It was working. She would have to remember to give her mother-by-marriage a big thank you gift the next time she saw her.

Let the negotiations begin,
thought Nadja.

“I’m listening,” Olek answered when she tried to gather her thoughts. He eyed her intently as he moved to take a seat on one of the high-backed chairs. She sat across from him.

“In accordance with Draig law, because you are an ambassador your wife has the right to be an ambassador,” Nadja stated. “Now, I had every intention of finding a job. Ambassador duties might not be what I had in mind when I came here, but it is the most logical option. According to your mother, you have quite a heavy work load. I know it will take some training before I am ready to be a real help to you, but the sooner started, the sooner ready.”

Olek was quiet, still listening. Nadja knew he was reading her, judging her. She opened herself up and let him. There was no mischief or malice in her face as she spoke. He wouldn’t be able to detect any falsehoods or deceit. He nodded for her to go on.

“I don’t expect to take over your job, but to help you with it,” she continued. “I am educated. I can learn if you will but teach me. Having done some research, I find I could be of immediate use in local disputes. I have already earned the trust of the villagers…”

Olek frowned, clearly not following.

“Do try to keep up,” Nadja said. “See what I mean, you are way too overworked. You don’t even know what goes on in your own house every day. The villagers have been here quite often seeking medical attention. I am the new…oh, what is it they’ve been calling me?
Gullveig
?”

“It means witch,” Olek translated. “It is a term applied fondly to natural medics.”

“Good, we can agree that they like me,” she stated, not giving him a chance to deny her claim. “I can help out in local disputes, minor things for now. If I have questions about law I’ll come to you.”

Olek didn’t move.

“Also, I have a few ideas I would like to approach Zoran about for the men. I’ve finished the testing on the cream I made, and would like him to try it out on the soldiers during practice to see what they think. Feel free to run it by your doctors for tests.” Reaching beside her, she handed him a bound report. “Here is everything they will need about the chemical makeup as well as the active and inactive properties. I also took the liberty of drafting a small antidote in case of an allergic reaction. I already sent a sample to Lord Mirek in case they needed it for Riona.”

Olek took the report and set it aside without opening it. His gaze traveled to her face, thoughtful and probing.

“I have also talked to the queen about changing the decorating arrangements in the hall for traveling dignitaries,” Nadja continued, not losing her grace for a moment as she hopped from one topic to another. “Really, Olek, some flowers and silk banners wouldn’t hurt one bit and can be put up with minimal effort. First impressions are a key to any negotiation, and our hall just screams, um,
like a
barbaric planet full of warrior men who would rather fight than talk
.”

Olek’s lip curled up along one side. Leaning back, he crossed his arms over his chest and rested his foot over his knee.

“Now, my first act as the newest Draig ambassador is to call an official meeting with you,” she stated brazenly. “I think right now would work perfectly for both our schedules. Update me on the Var situation.”

His finger lifted to press against his chin in thought.

“All right.” Nadja remained professional and business like even though she wanted to hit him over the head and demand he talk to her. “I know spies are suspected within our walls. What have we done so far to locate them?”

“It is being handled,” Olek said. Nadja frowned slightly and he added, “There is nothing to report. Servants and soldiers are being questioned, but it is a long process and so far we have nothing.”

“Fine,” Nadja allowed. “And the attack on Morrigan and Yusef?”

“Morrigan took a drink from a goblet meant for my parents,” he said. “We don’t believe it was meant to for her, but rather to kill the king and queen. Yusef was attacked from behind. Whoever did it knew the back passages of the palace well enough to escape. It’s why we suspect a spy. That, and the royal offices were broken into. Only the palace blueprints were disturbed.”

Nadja nodded. “Anything else?”

“The war council convenes tomorrow,” he answered. “I’ll be gone all day presiding over it. We are giving King Attor the right of defense, though it’s likely he will deny everything and nothing will be achieved.”

“Fine, I will go with you.”

“I am afraid that’s not possible. You are not on the war council.”

“But I am an ambassador.”

“An ambassador in training,” Olek corrected.

Nadja grinned at his words. He accepted her idea. A small smile of happiness came over her as she looked at him. Oh, but he was so handsome and strong. He took her very breath away.

O
lek liked
how his wife took the initiative with her new course of action. He would gladly accept her help. On the rare occasions he traveled to the northern fortress to greet alien dignitaries, it would be nice to have her lovely presence by his side charming the offworlders. Not to mention how much more interesting those meetings would be if he could look forward to getting her into his bed afterward.

“You will have to stay in tomorrow. Attor’s men are here and everyone is ordered to stay within their homes. We won’t have bloodshed. We aren’t going to risk losing anyone.” Olek stood. “But, since you are an ambassador now, I have plenty to get you started.”

Olek strode to his office, a mischievous grin coming over his features. Reaching in his desk, he pulled out the hundred page communication from the Lithor Republic. He also took her translator from the desk. Coming back to where she sat on the couch, he handed both to her and said, “Look over this document and write a summary of what it says so you may report its conditions to the king.”

Nadja, seeming only slightly daunted by the thick document, didn’t complain. She set it aside on the couch for later. “Not a problem.”

“Glad to hear it.” Studying her, he reached for her hand and pulled her up. “Meeting adjourned? Or was there something else?”

Nadja shook her head. “I can’t think of anything.”

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he leaned to kiss her earlobe before giving it a playful bite. “Then may I schedule our second meeting?”

“When did you have in mind?” she asked, giggling as his breath tickled her skin.

“In about three seconds from now.”

“Where?” Nadja’s hands journeyed to his shoulders.

“Bathtub.” He bit her earlobe again only to soothe it with a kiss. “I want to negotiate some marital relations.”

Nadja laughed. He loved the sound of it.

Olek swept her up into his arms, carrying her across the living room to the bathroom. Depositing her directly into the water, clothes and all, he stepped inside with her. Kissing her deeply, he proceeded to negotiate—for most of the night.