Nadyah caught it without blinking. “Thank you.”
Varan only nodded, fixing his gaze on the palace before them. “That contains my DNA as well as Roxy’s. Documents have been signed to approve testing, but nothing else.”
Adelina had always liked how Varan was so cautious and pragmatic. She glanced sideways at him and wondered how that would translate if he did indeed become a royal by law, and not just in name.
“Could you send a cast to Ian, Nadyah?” The sooner they had the results the better it would be for everyone.
“I can bring this to the lab right now,” her courtesan said.
The sun beat down on them in the large courtyard before the palace. Adelina looked up and stared at the Announcements Balcony where she’d almost died, where Nash had almost died. There was something in Nadyah’s voice that alarmed Adelina, but she didn’t know how to draw it out of her courtesan and lance it like an infection. Perhaps some time with her quiet brother would do Nadyah some good.
“If you think that’s for the best,” Adelina told her. She watched as Nadyah curtseyed and then set off towards one of the servants’ entrances closest to the labs.
Ian most likely was still asleep so early in the morning. But Varan’s words from the night before seemed to weigh on Nadyah despite his punishment. It bothered Adelina to see her courtesan this way.
Varan hissed in a breath and Adelina instantly released his arm. Her nails had pricked hard enough to leave marks, but thankfully she didn’t draw blood. She sighed. “I apologize, Varan; I’ve been rather on edge.”
“I understand completely,” Varan murmured. He offered her his arm again. “I did want to tell you how glorious your wolf was yesterday.”
She looked at him in surprise. No one had dared breathe a word about it since the incident. “Despite everything?” she asked.
Varan shrugged. “Because of everything, I would assume after so many cycles of avoiding your true nature it wasn’t easy, and you caught the prey. Not all do.”
Adelina considered his words in silence as they walked into the palace towards the main lift. The silence wasn’t unpleasant between them as the footman took them to the fifth floor. When the doors opened Varan’s eyes widened and he pulled her to a stop.
“We aren’t eating in the main dining hall?” he asked.
She turned to study him and shook her head. “My family and I usually eat in our private dining room for breakfast and lunch. Dinner is held in the main dining hall so the spectacle can be broadcast as always.”
Varan hesitated. “I’m not sure I look presentable.”
Adelina agreed, but she kept her mouth shut. His pants and shirt were fine. Perhaps all he needed was a vest and a bit of cleanup. He looked to be about P’draic’s size. “Come with me,” she said, tugging him along.
Still, Varan pulled back.
“I promise I’m not taking you straight to the royal dining room.” She tugged harder and Varan gave in, falling into step beside her.
They didn’t speak the entire way to P’draic’s rooms. Matters felt a bit strained between them with everything that had gone on the night before. Adelina pressed her palm to the door and waited. A few seconds later her brother’s lover opened the door only a crack. His eyes looked sleepy and his black hair disheveled in a rakishly charming way.
“What do you want, Lina?” he asked. “Do you have any idea how early it is?” Cycles of being Ian’s lover had given the two of them a strange familiarity.
“Varan needs a vest and your expertise for his first royal breakfast.” Adelina angled her body and P’draic’s eyes widened when he saw the thief.
Without a word he stepped aside so they could come into his sitting room. The space was messy as usual with his work everywhere. Ian was a fantastic medical scientist, but P’draic excelled at all science. All that kept him from advancing the tech in the Draga galaxy was gold, but most of it was allocated to medicine. The math formulas on clear boards filled the room and Varan took everything in with an expert eye.
“Come, Varan. You can take your pick from my closet.” P’draic motioned him forward. “Button that shirt…here – just let me do it,” P’draic said in annoyance. He manhandled the prince of thieves as if he did it every day.
Adelina watched from the doorway of his bedroom while P’draic buttoned up the thief’s shirt, and then grabbed a small device that cleaned his boots until they sparkled. Every bit of dust and dirt was then removed from his clothes. Adelina hadn’t noticed it before but when it was gone the thief shone. The wrinkles in his clothes disappeared and the simple black vest P’draic gave him set off the fire opal cufflinks Varan wore in his shirt.
It shocked her to see him wearing them, the gift from her coming-of-age party. Varan hadn’t worn them last night, but she supposed it made sense to wear them when visiting the palace. P’draic took out his nila to fix Varan’s hair, clean his face, and hide the bags under his eyes.
“I’m wearing makeup,” Varan said in annoyance.
“You look lovely,” Adelina teased. “Quite beautiful really.”
The thief rolled his eyes but gave her that smile she was so familiar with.
“Thank you, P’draic,” she said. “I appreciate it.”
He shook his head and pushed them out of his bedroom. “I’m going back to sleep. Tell that brother of yours he needs to sleep as well.”
“Did he not come to bed last night?” Adelina asked, pausing at the threshold.
“No, he’s been living in that lab for the last week, and he won’t listen to anything I have to say.” P’draic’s eyes held enough hurt in them for her to know it had been a recurring argument.
“I’ll talk to him today,” she promised, mentally adding it to the list of tasks she needed to do.
Adelina took Varan’s hand and pulled him into the hall. P’draic shared the same floor as Adelina, Ian, and Nadyah. His rooms were meant for Ian’s spouse, connecting to Ian’s room as Nadyah’s did to Adelina’s. She wondered if Ian would ever propose, or if P’draic was doomed to be his mistress.
Varan stopped in front of the royal study. “Is this where that balcony is, the one you can see from the sea?”
She frowned, wondering how often Varan spied on the palace, but she waved her hand over the standing pad. The door opened and the ocean glittered from the windows with the shelves upon shelves of books. She supposed it wouldn’t hurt to show him. “This is one of my favorite places,” she told him.
Varan scanned the room in a heartbeat and then crossed to the balcony doors. They wouldn’t open until Adelina waved her hand over the standing pad there. She caught up and opened them for him. When he placed his hands on the railing he breathed the salty air in deeply. “I brought something,” he said.
“Oh?”