AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Ian shook his head as they all looked to him. “I should not have asay.”
Their father grunted in annoyance. “Boy, answer the damnquestion.”
Adelina hid a smile by looking out the window. The bright sun glittered on the water of the ocean. Ian always tried to put distance between him and the rest of the family but their parents never let him. The king’s mistress, Elara, had been an unforeseen addition to the royal family. She had been her father’s courtesan, training him in thecamerraletoand then her mother as well. Adelina suspected the subtle ties to each other are what gave Ian so much more power than a normal half-prince.
Ian sighed at the old argument. “I fear what war will do to the kingdom, but I am not naïve enough to believe they will stop with the Khara galaxy. Eventually they will turn to us. They are devourers and conquerors; they will not be satisfied with their conquest forlong.”
There was a pang in Adelina’s chest at his words and they all turned to her. She looked at Raena instead of their parents. It was a matter of weeks before the crown would officially be hers and she was the one who would have to deal with the ramifications. “Imagine if only one of us survived an attack,” she said quietly. “They are our allies and our peace has made us strong. I would want them to assist us if the situation werereversed.”
Raena seemed surprised, but she nodded. “I agree with Adelina. Prince Nash has lost his entire family and now holds the weight of his enslaved people on his shoulders. But I don’t think it is wise for us to draw this line. There is a good chance the Neprijat will leave the Draga galaxy alone. Sheltering a prince of Khara would only aggravate them and drag us into a war we don’t want,” she said, shaking herhead.
Adelina’s nails pierced the cushion of her chair as she barely contained her trembling. How could her sister be so callous? An alliance was upheld and followed to the letter, not dropped when suddenlyinconvenient.
Barely holding her tongue she glanced at Giselle who frowned but said nothing. They had all said their piece. It was up to her fathernow.
If Prince Nash was turned away he would no doubt be killed. It was only a matter of time with so few resources unless he fled to a galaxy far from the Neprijat. Adelina wanted to help him. Hedeservedtheir help. Honor was only a part of thereason.
Why she felt so drawn to him was a completely different problem she wasn’t yet sure how to approach. Not only was he a foreign prince, but he was now the crown prince and heir apparent of the Khara galaxy – unless he lost the sacred challenge. But with no other princes or princesses to fight him for thecrown?
Adelina knew why Asher suspected the lost prince’sintentions.
King Orion nodded slowly as he considered their words. “Normally I would take any decision I’ve come to, to our advisors, but this is such a sensitive matter I believe the weight of this decision should be on the royal family and the royal familyalone.”
He looked at each of them and Adelina dropped her eyes after he acknowledged her. Her father was still the dominant and when he spoke as king she felt the full weight ofit.
‘Ouradvisors,’ her father was already mentally moving on from his position as king and it hurt Adelina to hear the words. It reminded her they didn’t have much time left withhim.
Asher cleared his throat and Adelina shot him a glare, her submissive mask slipping away momentarily. Unless he had legitimate and helpful concerns he could keep his damn mouth shut on the matter. His surprised look reminded her she’d challenged him. Adelina quirked an eyebrow which raised a corner of Asher’s mouth – his version of a smile – before she dropped her eyes to thefloor.
“Prince Nash declared the contingent of soldiers he’d been on patrol with is here with him. We know Nash personally,” Asher said thoughtfully. Adelina peeked at him. Asher had actually taken her direction and it shocked her. “We will need to have his soldiers interviewed and take inventory of everything he brought with him. We were not nearly careful enough with our security six months ago and I for one do not wish to see the palace bombedagain.”
Their father nodded in agreement. “We will interview him and his patrol. Guards will track his movements and he can stay for a week, but Prince Nash cannot stay on Draga Terra if we have any hope of peace for ourpeople.”
Adelina felt devastated but she understood her father’s position even if she did not agree with it. How was Nash tosurvive?
“What about our alliance?” Giselle asked. “The contract clearly states in times of war either side will sendaid.”
Thank the goddess for her sister and her warrior’s honor. Adelina fluttered a hand and tucked a piece of hair back into place, letting her sister know how grateful shewas.
Raena frowned. “Giselle, as second-born you simply don’t understand the gravity of thesedecisions.”
Adelina’s mouth dropped open in shock at her sister’s carelessly vicious words. She knew Raena would change under the weight of the crown, but not likethis.
“If we shelter and aid Prince Nash it’s a call to arms, a declaration of war to the Neprijat,” Raena said. “The Khara galaxy has far more advanced tech than we do and they were slaughtered and enslaved within a day. What do you think would happen to our people here in the Dragagalaxy?”
Giselle shook her head as Raena spoke, her cheeks growing red inanger.
“Enough!” the king roared, silencing any thoughts of arguments from themall.
Her fingers trembled as she hid her hands in her lap. Adelina couldn’t even bring her head up from the demand in her father’s voice. They would do as he said and there was no way to question thecommand.
The fire crackled, the only sound in the silent room as they all waited for hisjudgment.
“We will give him one week to gather what he can and refuel his starships, and then Prince Nash must leave. His presence will be kept to a minimum with no official announcement and nothing on thelivestream.”
William nodded in agreement. “His movements will need to be monitored, but that will be easy enough. As a soldier, I can be assigned to him and assist him in searching for his people. He will require help gathering what remains of his forces, if it is evenpossible.”
The king waved his hand at their mother who pulled her simulcast out to write down notes. “William, I will have you reassigned immediately until further notice so your superior is aware. I want you to report directly to the Lord High Admiral, myself, or Raena and no one else. Gather what information you can, but be discreet. Giselle, I want you to be hisescort.”
