The head farmer had given her the current production numbers and she’d had to ask if he could double it. Then she’d checked on her queens who were doing lovely. A few had recently laid eggs and Adelina couldn’t wait for them to hatch.
One of the dark purple queens crawled across the invisible shield and Adelina traced the design on her abdomen lovingly. Every Winter Solstice she would go in there for a few hours and comfort the queens who hated the bitter cold. On the longest night even the hot springs couldn’t keep the chilled air at bay.
“Did you know the reason why spidersilk became popular?” she asked.
Varan shook his head and crossed his arms. The male tried not to glare at the spiders, but failed miserably. “I’ve no idea, love.”
“There is a passage in one of the books my father found from King Beo’s reign that explains how the spidersilk confused the scent of the soldiers from the Neprijat hounds. It allowed them to sneak up on them or hide if necessary. The recipe for the armor was in there as well. I cannot take credit for that, but the design has been upgraded and strengthened. Hopefully it not only protects them from the hounds, but is strong enough to resist a plasma weapon a few times.”
Varan stepped closer as she meandered through the caverns. “Is that so? Are you going to test the strength?”
“I plan to. Alpha has already volunteered.”
The Prince of Thieves frowned and ran a hand through his hair. “I can test it after the council meeting.”
Adelina arched an eyebrow at him. “Is this some strange male competition?”
Varan snorted and nudged her with an elbow. “Alpha and I do not get along. I didn’t like him when I thought he was just Lina’s friend, and I definitely didn’t like how sad Princess Adelina was when that relationship ended.” He shook his head ruefully. “I’m an idiot for not having noticed the connection before.”
The warm glow of the lights made his golden hair glitter and his eyes were so bright. Adelina smiled and linked her arm with his. “I don’t think you’re stupid. No one else guessed either if it makes you feel any better.”
“It doesn’t.”
Adelina smiled at that. “All right, let’s be on our way before you have a heart attack.”
Varan easily kept pace with her, and managed not to run ahead as they came out of the dark caves.
“The wavelength that was mentioned – the one to prevent their powers of persuasion, will it be in the armor as well?” Varan asked as they made their way to the spidersilk factory.
Adelina nodded. “It will be in the helmets. Raena has had scientists on it day and night. The armor will also double as a spacesuit, sealing properly if needed. Otherwise the helmet will act as a normal oxygen mask. We don’t know where the battles will occur, if they will be in space or on various planets so I assumed it would be best to be prepared for all options.”
They were silent as she delivered the new orders to the manager with her armor design. She would have a sample in a few hours and then she could halt production of the spidersilk cloth to produce the armor. Each factory on Draga Terra would get those orders and in two weeks every Dragan soldier would have a set of spidersilk armor.
They took their time walking back to the palace. Adelina glanced up at Varan and couldn’t help but think about when she’d taken Nash to see the sacred ragna. Her spiders were a special part of her. Sharing it with both males felt – interesting.
There was something different about opening up to Varan than there had been with Nash. In the back of her mind, Adelina knew Nash was still an unknown variable. It was why she hadn’t confided the truth of her parentage to him. It also made her wonder why it had been so easy to tell Varan.
She could have easily given Varan some other explanation, or ordered him to protect the secret, but she’d wanted him to know. It hadn’t even mattered that Roxy overheard. The female didn’t like royals, but she liked Lina and was loyal to Varan.
Her wolf inside had decided it would be easy enough to kill Roxy if she betrayed her. But instead the girl had willingly given up her DNA to be tested which meant she did not care if she were mated to Adelina…it was odd, but she really liked Roxy and her sass.
“Tell me something no one else knows,” Varan said, pushing aside a large palm leaf for her. “Something I don’t already know.”
Adelina looked up at the thief she’d known for cycles, the rogue who had always served her family in one way or another. “I believe my father was poisoned. That he was given hypomalarya on purpose, but I can’t figure who would have had the access or the motive.”
Varan jerked away as though she’d slapped him. “I thought perhaps you would have confided in me that you secretly hated mango or some such thing, not drop a bomb on me.”
She shrugged. “Despite the insanity of the last few weeks I haven’t been able to forget about it, not since Ian told me he suspected such a thing.”
The Prince of Thieves stopped as the palace came into view and crossed his arms. He turned to face her and studied Adelina from head to toe. “I felt something about it wasn’t right, but wasn’t sure. Is there something or someone you want me to look into?”
Adelina shook her head. “I will probably never know who his killer is unless they come forward. It is impossible to trace, but it had to be someone close enough to inject it into his bloodstream.”
Varan stepped forward and wrapped his arms around her. “I’m so sorry,” he murmured. “I know how much you love him. It’s the one thing about Princess Adelina I actually knew.”
Varan kept talking about her as if she were two separate people. “I am both, Varan. I am Adelina, who also happens to be Lina. Here I am before you, as the princess. I still love my gems and jewels, I know how to use them and design jewelry. My fighting skills are still there, and I still know how to read and decode your cryptic programs.” Adelina shrugged. “I also like to design my own clothes, and I’ve been terrified of galinas all my life until recently. Now I wish I could spend all day riding, I wish I could hunt with Veri and see her homeworld one day, maybe even help them find a way to make their world safer from those water dwellers.”
Adelina sighed and picked up her skirts. She walked towards the palace and her shoulders drooped. There was a weight on her chest and she felt disappointed. There were so few people who truly understood her, and she had hoped Varan would be one of them. Adelina had thought Joslynn could, but now she was frightened of her, avoiding all attempts Adelina had made to reach out. And that had hurt more than when Nash had left.
“Adelina,” Varan said, grabbing her arm and gently pulling her back. “I know you are both, and you are the same. It is simply easier to keep the two separate, but I will work harder to realign everything I know about both as one.”
It meant more to her than she thought it would for him to say that. Adelina looked down and blinked back the tears. She saw an iguana resting on a rock, staring at them. The sun was higher in the sky and it was almost unbearably hot.