Adelina watched from Command as Kaita took off in those glittering black ships – so many it was difficult to keep count with the way they blended into the starry sky. So many Kharans off on their most dangerous mission yet – infiltrate their home and sabotage the Neprijat from the inside so that when the signal was given, the enemy would fall.

It was all Adelina had been able to come up with. Hammer from as many sides as possible to split up their enemy’s defense. That wouldn’t take care of the horde that was steadily making their way to them, but it was a start. The fewer enemies attacking all at once, the higher their chances of survival would be.

And Adelina held onto a tiny sliver of hope that if the Neprijat king was dead before the horde arrived, they would stand down and surrender without further bloodshed. It wasn’t just that she didn’t want to fight them – there were females and children onboard many of those ships.

Adelina refused to kill innocents.

It was a line she would not cross.

Roxy joining Kaita had been a surprise, but not when she’d taken a moment to think about it. It was easy to see that things weren’t exactly strained between her and Nadyah, but the two of them were no longer focused on each other. Roxy’s attention had shifted severely and Adelina had no doubt the pretty purple-haired pirate captain was the reason she’d left with the Corinthians.

Despite the murmurs around her and the crew going about their business, Adelina felt isolated as she stood in the center of Command, watching as those ships disappeared. On the border outposts there was a higher risk of the Neprijat discovering them – discovering not all was well within Hai, but the Drakesthai knew their enemies’ patterns and codes. They’d kept them on the precise schedule to hide the truth for as long as possible.

Adelina didn’t want to think about what would happen if they were discovered too soon. How would she fight off the might of the Neprijat in Khara with her army when Asher had barely survived a fraction of that?

Squaring her shoulders she banished the thought from her head. That was not how they would make it through this war. Adelina could not doubt. She could not waver. Her people needed her – not just to lead them, but as an example, as a beacon of hope.

If her death would save her people Adelina would not falter, but welcome it with open arms.

She was not just their queen, but a symbol of their strength.

Still…there was much that would happen before those final moments occurred. Her path could veer dramatically – it could alter completely…depending on what Kaita accomplished in the next few days. And it would depend on whether they could piece together the weapons to replace the worldbreakers. Already gone and used before they’d even reached Khara.

“I need the top scientists from the Unchanged, the Drakesthai, Draga, and Khara,” Adelina said to no one in particular.

The outpost hid her ships well, and Adelina was grateful to be off that nasty station.

Recovering from their attack on Hai had been going on for two days now. The wounded moved to starships where they could be cared for – the dead put to rest, and those still on planets doing sweeps to ensure nothing and no one snuck past them.

Adelina had not moved the fleet back to Hai Delta, there was no point when they needed to launch another attack. So the fastest ships gathered supplies and brought them to the front lines. The warships from across the Hai System had made their way to her until she had millions ready to depart for Khara.

But not yet, not until the time was right. Not until their allies made it to the border to reinforce them – waiting for Kaita’s signal.

So much rested on the princess’s shoulders.

Adelina forgot sometimes that they were nearly the same age. Still so young, but there was nothing either of them wouldn’t do for their people.

In moments there were five scientists including P’draic on Command.

Adelina tried not to think about her mates, about what they were doing. She just wanted to lie down and rest with them surrounding her – safe and protected, but there was work to be done yet.

“I want the five of you to come up with a weapon as powerful and deadly as a worldbreaker, but with the supplies we currently have access to, and I need them built as quickly as possible. Production for each one cannot take longer than a day.”

She turned to face them and clasped her hands behind her back. The gown felt strange after days in nothing but her armor. But to be clean again was a blessing.

Adelina watched them as they all eyed each other warily. “This means technology between our people must be shared openly. We must work together or we will not make it through this war. You need to be honest with each other and forthcoming. And now that we are allied…there is no reason to withhold information. I will ensure that when we win this war that everything is in writing and properly signed. You may keep the patents as well, but a portion will be taxed of course for when we will need to rebuild. It will be distributed equally among the kingdoms.”

Silence.

No doubt everyone was wondering if she had the authority to make a unilateral decision like that without addressing the council and the other leaders, but they did not have time to squabble. This was war and she was the highest ranking person among them all. No others held the equal to her title.

“Any questions?” Adelina asked.

“We have access to any and all elements and tech?” P’draic asked – his eyes shining like he’d been given an early Winter Solstice gift.

Adelina nodded once, looking at each of them. “Can you do this for me? For your people?”

Again they looked at each other. Whatever animosity that may have been between them, due to the differences in culture or perhaps their past, seemed to melt away in the face of a challenge that was exactly why they’d become scientists in the first place.

“No, your majesty. We will begin right away. May we work in the labs on the Jasmine?” P’draic asked.

She nodded, giving him a small smile. Adelina had always wished her father had expanded their technological developments division so they may try to catch up with Khara in the field of tech but he never had – King Orion had been more interested in medicine as had her ancestors. For good reason, but Adelina had never understood why the other sciences had been considered less important.

Perhaps that had been another Neprijat trick to keep them from being a real threat.

P’draic led the others in a mixture of languages back to the expansive labs she’d ensured were onboard her flagship. Adelina watched them go, sending a silent prayer to Katsia that she would gift them a weapon of war that could take on the Neprijat – so some of their people may walk away from this.

“Captain, I will be in the training center if I am needed,” Adelina murmured, pulling up her starship’s interior holo that displayed every person currently aboard. She did a quick search and found Nadyah in Ian’s quarters, which certainly wasn’t a surprise after what she’d seen during the battle.

At some point they’d solidified the mate bond.

Adelina was happy for them – truly. But she still felt a pang deep in her heart at the loss of the female she loved so dearly. Sending off the cast to the courtesan Adelina gave the captain a nod and left Command, stepping into the lift at the end of the hall.

Once the doors closed, she slumped against the wall and ran a hand through her perfect curls. The last two days had been exhausting – nothing short of a nightmare as they’d carried bodies upon bodies to the ships.

Cleaning up the debris in space had been even worse, but Adelina would not leave their dead to float in that vast nothingness forever. She’d also ordered anything that could be saved to be scavenged. Everything else was sent down to Vudu Shaa to be melted down and reused.

So much had already been lost. Adelina didn’t want to think about the battlefield in her own system that no doubt still had pieces of ships floating about; waiting for the day someone could come back and clean it up. Hopefully Asher had been able to collect their dead.

Mass cremation was the only way to handle so many bodies, but…she made sure to keep track of the DNA so families could have the ashes once they finally returned. It was a grueling process, cataloguing the dead.

As queen Adelina hoped this would be her first and last war because counting the deceased, caring for them, and seeing how many there were…it was something she never wanted to do ever again.

Quickly she changed into the loose pants and belly baring top Nadyah favored for training – one Adelina had adopted once she realized how much more comfortable it was than the gear she’d worn all those cycles training with the royal guards and Alpha.

Then she was in her private training room on her floor and a servant had set up refreshments, someone no doubt having anticipated this.

The people on her flagship were intensely aware of everything she did, every mood, and every desire. Adelina didn’t know how they did it, but she appreciated it nonetheless.

Stretching, she waited for Nadyah. Adelina wished Varan was finished for the day, but each of her mates was just as vital as she was.

Kaiden was currently handling the Drakesthai forces, collecting them and doling them out while they worked on their system a little at a time.

Varan and Nash were helping with repairs to the warships, the fighters, and generally making sure they had everything they needed in the right place at the right time for the next phase of the war.

It had taken some getting used to, but delegating to them allowed Adelina the freedom to manage the rest – the alliance with the Unchanged for example.

Such a strange, but free people. Adelina almost envied them their democracy. Perhaps there was a way to implement something like that when she returned home. She didn’t dare think if.

“My queen?” Nadyah asked as she entered the training center, dressed in her own loose pants and top. “Is everything all right?”

Adelina smiled at the gorgeous female before her and nodded, already feeling more settled than before. “It’s been two days since any sort of exercise or training and I’m feeling restless. I’d hoped you would be willing to train with me a bit since my mates are currently occupied for a few more hours.”

Nadyah simply nodded but she did not smile as she selected two long knives from the wall and tossed them to Adelina. Then she selected her own and stepped into the ring, bare feet silent.

Tilting her head, Adelina studied Nadyah for a brief moment. Something was wrong, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on what. Spinning both blades Adelina bent her knees slightly and indicated with a nod she was ready.

“What’s bothering you?” Adelina asked. She kept her voice soft so prying ears would find it difficult to eavesdrop.

Nadyah circled and Adelina followed her step for step. “Nothing is wrong,” the courtesan stated.

Adelina refrained from rolling her eyes and attacked, moving like a fish through water as Nadyah parried. Then they began their deadly dance, getting into a rhythm that soothed Adelina’s soul. The courtesan’s fighting technique spoke to her more than the others she’d learned.

“I would think you would be happier after being fully mated to Ian,” Adelina murmured. She hoped the prying statement wouldn’t upset Nadyah too much, but she wanted to get to the bottom of this mood sooner rather than later.

Adelina grunted as Nadyah blocked and kicked her back. It was easy enough to spin and redirect the force back into another attack, but the sore spot on her chest still protested.

“I am happy,” Nadyah snapped, nearly slicing off a piece of Adelina’s hair.

Her frustration leaked into her every movement and Adelina noticed the courtesan was getting sloppy. Hooking her foot behind Nadyah’s ankle, she brought up one of her blades that would slice from navel to nose if it connected.

Nadyah stepped back to avoid the strike and tripped over Adelina’s foot. Instantly Adelina followed up and pressed her advantage. One blade rested beneath the courtesan’s chin and the other at her belly.

“Are you sure you’re happy?” Adelina asked.

The courtesan yielded and Adelina stepped back, rolling her shoulder to prepare for the next round. The training was good for her muscles, for her body to remember what it needed to do during a fight. Adelina couldn’t afford to lose her edge just before they infiltrated Khara.

“Even though you are no longer my courtesan, we are still friends,” Adelina pushed. “You can confide in me.”

Nadyah flipped to her feet in a graceful maneuver that she’d taught Adelina when they first started training together. The courtesan’s skill in the bedroom was equal to that of her fighting – and in both each move was beautiful, calculated, and perfect.

Or rather, it usually was.

Nadyah flipped one blade and caught it without looking while she studied Adelina. Was she angry with her?

“You let Roxy leave with Kaita.”

A flash of guilt and then it was gone. Adelina nodded once, taking a step back so there was more space between them for the next round. “She asked for my permission and I had no reason to keep her here. All the starships have been upgraded and repaired, plus she has trained enough mechanics that they can manage while training others. Roxy may be my subject and unofficially part of my inner court, but she still retains her rights and freedoms.”

A flicker in Nadyah’s eyes told Adelina the courtesan wasn’t just angry, she was frightened…and perhaps a bit guilty. “Do you think she would have left with the Corinthian princess had we not ended our relationship?”

Adelina slid both blades into the loops of her pants to signal a break. Nadyah needed her more than Adelina needed to work off the energy simmering under her skin. “I think her feelings for Delphine would have pushed her to do so regardless, especially since she is not needed here.”

Nadyah eyed the sharp blade in her dominant hand. “It didn’t hurt me as much as it did when you and I ended things and I thought perhaps…perhaps Roxy was in more pain than she let on. It wasn’t always easy to connect with her, so I could have missed the signs.”

That sore spot in Adelina’s heart flared and she rubbed at it absently as she considered her courtesan. “Not to be cruel, but I don’t think Roxy cared about you in the same way that I cared for you. Neither of you seemed to be more than friends who enjoyed certain sexual benefits.”

The way Roxy had barged onto Command to ask about Delphine…Adelina was more than willing to let the mechanic leave with Kaita for all she’d done for her. Adelina could never properly thank Roxy for coming on this voyage. And now she was in Khara and Adelina prayed to the Three-faced Goddess nothing would happen to her sister-in-law.

Varan might never forgive her.

He’d been cross, but Roxy had told him off well enough. It was made quite clear she controlled her own life.

“A pirate captain and the queen of thieves sounds like a devastating romance waiting to be told,” Adelina admitted.

Nadyah’s mouth quirked up in a little smile. “I have to agree. I just…felt like I could have handled it better, handled everything better.”

And Adelina knew she was no longer talking about Roxy, but rather how she’d kept the information about Ian from Adelina.

Again Adelina rubbed at her chest as she looked at the female she still so desperately loved—craved even with three mates to satisfy her.

“And how do you feel now that your bond with Ian is permanent?” Adelina asked – so carefully she asked this question. Adelina had to remind herself not everyone was like her – not everyone loved like she did.

This small chance was not something she could hope for – not when the Three-faced Goddess had already given her so much. It would be too selfish.

Nadyah slid both blades into the loops of her pants as well and dropped gracefully to the floor, folding her legs underneath her. Adelina followed her example, kneeling as she let her palms rest in her lap face up.

A moment for the two of them to meditate – consider the paths now before them. Not just this one, but all the paths that lay before them. The battle for Khara, the choices they would have to make, and the grieving they would one day have to face.

“I love Ian,” Nadyah admitted – her voice little more than a whisper. “He satisfies me in ways I’ve never experienced before with any client. I don’t feel desperate only hours later for more, but if I need it he gives it to me without question.”

Adelina closed her eyes as she listened, absorbed, and catalogued her emotions to tuck them away. Nadyah was happy. She was fulfilled. There was nothing more she wanted for the female she’d never intended to fall for.

“But there’s still something missing,” Nadyah admitted.

Adelina’s eyes flew open. “What do you think it is?” she asked.

Those sapphire eyes held her own amethyst ones and Adelina felt like she couldn’t breathe.

“The love and desire I felt for you before – it has not lessened,” Nadyah confessed. “It is not the same as the love I have for my mate. But…how I feel about you…it is still there.”

And with the silence of the training room, both of them sitting as though they were meditating or praying…it felt like a confession and a plea as those words were barely whispered across the space between them—nothing more than a sigh on the wind.

Adelina blinked back her tears. She didn’t know what to say.

“What does that mean?” Adelina finally asked – her voice as quiet as Nadyah’s.

The courtesan shrugged. “Ian and I have discussed it. He still craves men, but out of love and respect for P’draic he is letting him go. That male deserves a husband who will focus on him and him alone. But…Ian and I have considered finding additional partners. We are happy together – complete. Yet we are still who we are. I am…relieved that so much of who I was has not changed.”

Nadyah tilted her head as she looked at Adelina. “But I do not want additional partners. Only one.”

Adelina closed her eyes again briefly as she considered all of what Nadyah had not said directly. “What does Ian think of that?”

The courtesan pulled out one blade and inspected the sharp edge. “As long as I am happy he is satisfied, but for the sake of our relationship we will speak of potential partners with each other before doing anything. Of course, he is my mate and will be my husband. No one can take his place.”

Meaning Adelina could not marry her. She opened her eyes and clicked her thumbnail against each of the others. “But a mistress does not marry.”

“No,” Nadyah agreed. She laid the blade on the floor gently like a mother with a babe. “Ian will be who I spend the most time with, but our personalities and preferences require us to include others into our life. It’s really not so strange. Many have multiple partners. It is only the mate bond and certain titles that can cause these sorts of problems.”

Adelina unsheathed one of her swords as well and placed it on the floor – a mirror to Nadyah’s. She trailed her finger across the sharp edge while studying her reflection. “If we survive this war and after you’ve settled in with Ian…I would like to discuss this further.”

Nadyah smiled slightly. “I am relieved you would consider the possibility. I was…doubtful after how we ended things. You did what was necessary, but I worried you would not forgive me for keeping that information from you.”

Sighing through her nose, Adelina shrugged one shoulder delicately. For a few hours while training she did not have to be royalty. She could shed protocol like a second skin. “It was difficult, and I wondered why you didn’t trust me to tell me right away, but I’ve had some time to consider it. You found out you were mated to my brother. That must not have been a simple thing to accept. Finding out you may have to live in the palace with an ex-lover…becoming in-laws?”

She wondered what people would think once they found out she and her brother were to share one female. But did it really matter? They loved one another – and it was not as though they were to share children. This would make their family stronger in some ways.

Adelina mentally scoffed. It was much better than marrying one’s sibling and procreating with them as her ancestors had done.

“I forgave you instantly,” Adelina admitted quietly. “It simply took time for me to manage the pain of having to let you go. I’m sorry that I was distant, but I needed you and Ian to have the time required to decide if you truly wanted the mate bond and how that would work…and how you felt after it had settled into place.”

Nadyah placed her hands on the floor and leaned forward. “I feel like my life would not be complete without you in it, even if it’s just as casual lovers. And it may seem silly to tell you now before we leave for Khara, but I didn’t want to wait until it was too late.”

The pain in Adelina’s chest that had settled in deep and heavy when she’d ended her relationship with Nadyah – it finally eased at those words.

Giving up Nadyah had been one of the hardest things she’d ever had to do, but it had been the right thing. And as Nash would say, Fate had rewarded her…finding a way for the person she loved and had been required to let go, to find a way back to her.

Adelina placed her hands on the floor as well – purposeful and slow to give Nadyah the time to change her mind if she wished. But the courtesan didn’t move. Then Adelina pressed her lips to Nadyah’s and breathed in the courtesan’s soothing scent – now a light orange blossom that was the feminine mirror to Ian’s – equals.

Now all she had to do was find a way to deal with the horde, reinforce Kaita, and get them all back home so she could enjoy her new family and the life they could have in peace and prosperity – if they survived this.

No, when they survived this.

One swift motion and Nadyah had her blade in her hand, aiming for Adelina’s throat.

Adelina laughed as her own fingers clenched around the hilt on the floor and she rolled away, unsheathing the second in the same motion.

Then the real training began and every time their blades clashed together Adelina grinned. That strangeness between them had finally eased and it was nearly back to the way things had been before.

As they performed the dance of death together, Adelina knew she would wait for as long as necessary to add Nadyah to her harem. Whenever they made it home and Nadyah was ready – they would make her Adelina’s official mistress.

Adelina laughed aloud as they clashed together and each tried to press the advantage. Who would have ever thought that she – the true submissive – would grow up to collect a harem of gorgeous lovers loyal to her?

It was always the quiet ones, Varan had said once. Always be wary of the quiet ones.

Baring her canines in a grin that spread across her entire face, Adelina fought Nadyah back and forth as they both held on to that slim hope of the future – the promise that would come with peace.

When. Not if.