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She would doanythingfor the three of them.
Everything—she’d do anything and everything to keep them safe.
They held each other close as they found their release together – memorizing this moment and tucking it away with all the others.
So when she needed it Adelina would remember that there was hope even in hell.
Chapter Thirteen
Veri
The Royal Rosanera
Khara/Hai/Draga Border
The Draga System
Veri eyed the shimmering shield that separated them from the rest of the universe. There wasn’t a gate for a few light-cycles in either direction. How did Adelina plan to get them through?
If she managed it though, it would keep their movements from possible Neprijat scouts.
“Where is she?” Asher muttered beside her.
The bridge was silent as everyone manned their posts – the captain waiting for Asher’s next command.
Veri double checked the coordinates on Asher’s console to be sure. They were definitely in the right place.
“Incoming transmission,” the lieutenant in charge of communications announced.
“Put it on the viewer,” Asher ordered.
Veri shifted, pulling at the neck of her armor. It was all she wore now, or light and loose pants and shirts so she could easily put on the armor whenever necessary. The Neprijat had kept her on her toes long enough she refused to be unprepared.
Adelina’s image appeared. She smiled slightly at Asher, and then Veri.
The difference in the female was shocking.
It wasn’t simply the crown on her head, or the black gown she wore with lace sleeves that went down to her wrists. Jewels glittered at her throat and ears as they always had.
The new golden mark on her forehead struck Veri’s every instinct though.
But even that wasn’t what made Adelina so different.
It was the way she held herself. How her chin was lifted and gaze forward rather than down as it had been most of her life. Adelina was confident—dominant now.
Veri grinned.
“I’m glad you made it safely,” the queen said.
“We ran into a few small patrols, but nothing we couldn’t handle,” the Hand replied. “How shall we proceed?”
Adelina glanced at someone Veri couldn’t see from this angle. “Prince Ian gave me the key when he first arrived and I’ve had programmers working on this since. Apparently Giselle had put him in charge of the shields before she abdicated.”
Asher and Veri shared a look. The blatant use of Ian’s title and the lack of Giselle’s was clear. The eldest royal sister was princess in name only. Adelina had purposefully left out her rank to indicate Ian’s was higher.
If Adelina died Giselle could never re-inherit the throne, even if she was the only living royal left. It wouldstillgo to the cousins, and then any future offspring created from the eggs saved in the Draga Royal Palace. Under the queen mother’s supervision of course.
Or so the royal decree that Asher had drafted stated and she’d snooped on. All it needed was Adelina’s seal.
