It was difficult for her brothers. Emotion was not something they were taught to handle. They were all meant to bury it, to hide it from prying eyes. Cool logic was what the people needed from them, but in these moments the emotions were too much and they all dealt in their own way.
The coronation was the following day and Raena looked exhausted. There were lines on her face and even their mother looked worried when she was able to look away from the king.
“Get some rest, Rae,” Giselle said quietly. “Someone will fetch you if anything changes.”
“Raena?” Adelina asked when her sister nodded and stood.
A question had been weighing on her mind all night, and she’d wrestled with it ever since she’d gathered her jewels and gold from the Guild. Adelina feared what her sister would do while she was away.
Would Raena promise her to someone else without consulting her? Her sister mentioned she could say which of the males she preferred…and it was a gamble, but one Adelina would benefit from.
“Yes?” Raena asked.
“If you believe Varan will be a good husband, then I would like to make it official with your permission.” Too much was at stake and Raena would be Queen in less than twenty-four hours.
Raena smiled and tugged Adelina’s hair like she used to when they were children. “I’ll sign the paperwork before I go to sleep.”
Adelina nodded, still not looking away from Father. The moment she did, she knew he would stop breathing and his hand would go slack. Maybe if she kept watch through the night she’d have him for a little while longer.
Raena left them and Ian never stirred.
Relief filled her and Adelina was thankful she would be able to marry a male she loved, though if she had her way he wouldn’t be the only one.
Ian hadn’t moved in hours, but the small snoring reassured her he too was alive. It wasn’t long before the queen fell asleep as well, curled up in the armchair.
Giselle sat right next to Adelina, but she refused to say anything. Nothing about her favorite sister was familiar anymore. Giselle had put up a wall around her and no one could get through it. Adelina had too much to say to Giselle, too many things she wanted to ask her about – to ask for advice about Varan and Nash, but that sister didn’t exist anymore.
Adelina knew she loved Varan without a doubt and she trusted him implicitly, but Nash – she’d been drawn to him in a whirlwind, a forbidden romance. Her trust with him had to grow. They had a lot of work ahead of them, and she looked forward to it in a way.
“I see you and Raena grew close in my absence,” Giselle said, breaking the awful silence in that room.
Giselle had made quips any time Adelina saw her after that council meeting. Something about the events in that meeting angered Giselle and Adelina couldn’t figure out what it was.
Adelina chose not to respond, squeezing her father’s hand instead. He’d somehow made it through midnight.
Varan’s mercenaries were trustworthy at least. Fifteen thousand souls had pledged their lives to her over the vid-cast. It touched her. Adelina still couldn’t believe how many people rallied to help her gather what she needed for a fool’s errand. She wasn’t special; she was simply doing what anyone else in her position would do.
“I watched the Games, Lina,” Giselle said, trying to get a response. “I saw what you did.”
Then the recording for the pirates had been made and sent out. There hadn’t been a response yet, but Adelina didn’t expect one. When she saw a pirate with her mark on their flag she would have her answer. But deep down, she hoped with all her heart the people would put their differences and opinions aside to fight a common enemy.
“You aren’t natural,” Giselle hissed.
Adelina whipped her head to the side and held her sister’s gaze. “What did you say to me?” She couldn’t help the growl that rumbled among the words. Giselle had been trying to get a rise out of her ever since the executions and she’d finally succeeded.
“I saw the genetic workup of what you are.” Giselle crossed her arms and she looked disgusted.
Adelina wanted to ask how, she wanted to ask if Ian had betrayed her, or if Giselle had accessed the files when he wasn’t looking. She did have access to his labs after all…it wouldn’t be difficult for her to look through his work. Giselle had a sharp mind and knew enough science to figure such things out.
Adelina should have destroyed all the evidence when Ian had suggested it.
“What happened to you Giselle? Did the Neprijat infect your brain?” Adelina was shocked by her own words, but Giselle – her beloved sister, had outright attacked her.
“I simply see how things really are, and how they need to be. Raena is what we need. These days to come will be brutal and deadly. We need someone as vicious as she to get us through the hard times, and now you’re fleeing. Call it what it is, little sister, you are running away.” Giselle’s hissed whisper cut like a plasma blade, deep and true.
Adelina actually flinched because Giselle was right. She wasn’t running from the war though, but from Raena.
“I will succeed. You will see,” Adelina whispered. It was all she could say against such hurtful words. “When you are trapped behind the shield and the Neprijat are at your throat, remember how much you are disgusted by me when I end up your savior.”
Giselle snorted. “You may be a true Draga despite the pollution of your courtesan genes, but you are simply not strong enough or dominant enough to manage any of your claims, no matter how much the thief helps.”
Adelina was done—finished. She shot to her feet and turned on Giselle, the female who had been her only ally for cycles. “Get. Out,” she bit out the words and drug up every ounce of dominance she could, every drop down to the very last dregs – and released it, focusing on Giselle. “Get out now, before I make you.”
Her strange jasmine scent filled the room and Giselle’s head actually bowed. Ian and her mother were awake now, eyes wide as they took in the scene. Her hands clenched and Adelina felt the sharp nails like knives. Giselle tried to speak but she couldn’t under the weight of Adelina’s dominance.
When she realized she couldn’t win, Giselle’s eyes widened. Then she got up and left.
Adelina was so angry she was shaking. Her hands trembled as she sat and took hold of her father’s hand again. It might have been her imagination, but he squeezed back.
No one spoke. Ian and her mother would never say anything. They would keep her secret, but would Giselle?
“I didn’t tell her,” Ian whispered across the violence still lingering in the room.
“I know,” Adelina reassured him, glancing at her mother. Adele nodded and they left it at that.
Adelina kept her eyes locked on her father’s face, refusing to cry. Giselle didn’t deserve the satisfaction of making her cry. Those would be saved for her father, because a male as wonderful and powerful as he shouldn’t leave them so soon, not when they needed him so badly.