Nadyah kept a close eye on Adelina. After watching the Game of the Wolf she was—concerned. That Game always left one…restless. Letting the wolf out like that was a risk, no matter how fun and free and wild it could be.

It wasn’t only that either. Adelina was on edge and hurting. Nadyah had seen the way Joslynn had shied away from her and the pain in her princess’s face when she’d realized Joslynn actually feared her after what she’d seen during the Game of the Wolf.

Nadyah hoped their friendship could overcome this. Joslynn was dominant enough to play with royals, but the shock must have been too much. The red-haired countess would come to understand, and Nadyah prayed Adelina would forgive her.

Adelina needed Joslynn. A wolf couldn’t survive without a pack.

Nadyah wore leather pants, identical to the ones Adelina wore. Her princess was silent ever since they left the palace. Their cloaks fluttered behind them as they walked towards the palace gates. The boots Adelina had lent her kept her footsteps quiet and they were sinfully comfortable. It was no wonder her princess preferred them. She couldn’t keep from adjusting the loose shirt, or touching the black hair.

It was so strange to see. Nadyah had never worn a disguise before.

Despite all the drama, her princess looked rather…sated.

Nadyah had feared Adelina as the Wolf would further distance her from Raena and put her in danger after everything that had transpired that morning, but oddly it seemed to have done the opposite. During dinner Raena had chatted with Adelina and there was a strange – almost recognition between the two of them. As though Raena had looked inside Adelina and saw a part of herself there and instead of reacting as if it were a threat, she’d embraced her youngest sister like Adelina had been missing for cycles. Even Asher had smiled at Adelina, in public; blood running down her face.

In that moment Nadyah had seen them all click – all three of them became one when they recognized the merciless creature Adelina harbored so deeply no one had ever seen it before. Those Draga genes had bred true and Adelina was most definitely one of them. The realization somehow cracked Asher’s viciously bored mask and the beauty of the three of them together…

Asher and Adelina had taunted and teased Raena, hunting with her as she searched for her prey as the Wolf. They cornered and held onto those running from her, and all the while Veri had tagged along – blending perfectly amongst them.

It was enough that Nadyah had been silent ever since, watching as they all interacted during the dinner in the Banquet Hall. What she knew had to realign with what she’d seen. As a courtesan the Wolf was a game she would never play, she simply didn’t have that same instinct. It was one of the drawbacks of being able to move up and down the dominance spectrum.

If someone had asked her what she thought of Veri before the Game of the Wolf, Nadyah would have said she was a vain and vapid creature with no sense of loyalty. Lady Veri was still vain and selfish, but there was a kindred spirit in her that harmonized with Asher, with Raena and Adelina. How Veri ever thought Hayden was a good match for her was beyond Nadyah.

Veri was utterly made for Asher.

It made her shiver as she contemplated what those two could do together.

Perhaps—perhaps they should wait to see Varan. The wolf still roiled under Adelina’s skin, so close to the surface Nadyah wasn’t sure what would happen with the thief. Nadyah glanced at her. The playful look was gone from Adelina’s face and her mouth was a grim line, as though the consequences of the day had settled in. She wanted to ask, but didn’t think Adelina was ready to talk.

Alpha was already at the palace gates, waiting for them. “Did you enjoy the banquet?” he asked, as though they were any other citizens.

“Yes, thank you milord,” Adelina said, her whispery voice nearly unrecognizable as she shied away.

Alpha’s eyes twinkled with laughter. “I’m no lord, but I do hope to see you again for the Choosing Ball.”

“It will be the event of a lifetime,” Nadyah agreed.

Then they were through the gates and walking the streets of the first-circle.

Nadyah would have to be very careful around Adelina that night until her wolf settled. The wolf lived in all of them. It could have gone very badly if Adelina had not let it out. Hayden could have turned on Adelina and hunted her, or someone else – even Raena. It was in their instincts and their dominance…now they had to deal with the consequences.

Everyone’s eyes would be on Adelina now, knowing what hid beneath that golden skin. Thank the goddess they’d be leaving soon. By the time they returned everyone would forget what they’d seen. It would give Adelina the time to decide if she wanted to remind them, or allow them all to remain ignorant once more.

That infinite silence between them stretched and Nadyah could no longer stand it. “Is everything all right?”

The white curls bounced as Adelina picked up her pace. For a long while she stayed quiet, and just when Nadyah didn’t think she’d respond Adelina said, “Showing that side of myself, it was a risk and thankfully I made the right call…”

Nadyah studied her, the purple of the waning Mala moon made Adelina’s skin glow. That flicker of pain she’d seen earlier, it swirled in her now-golden eyes once more.

“Keeping up the appearance is exhausting,” she went on. “Asher and Raena know that it’s there now, and they expect to see it from time to time. Asher understands that part of me better than I do and it makes me feel…”Adelina grew quiet as the rain started to sprinkle, beating the remaining heat into the ground.

She stayed silent until they reached the second-circle and her eyes instantly found the Jeweler’s Guild, its spires spearing the sky, glittering under the moons’ light as if it was a jewel itself.

“It makes me feel like a dirty, lying traitor,” Adelina finally said. Her voice broke on the last word and Nadyah’s heart ached for her. “There are so many parts of my life—I said I didn’t want to think about Nash, but I love him and still do. But I plan to marry Varan if he is not your mate; there are feelings between us, even if it may just be attraction and friendship at the moment. Then there is you…I just don’t quite know how to choose, or if I even can.”

Those thoughts were so familiar Nadyah could only nod as she recalled her own. It was something all courtesans went through at one point or another, and it was not easy to come to terms with.

“The people of the Draga galaxy have never been set in our ways when it comes to love,” Nadyah said as they wove their way through the streets, avoiding the larger puddles when they could, and keeping watch on the people passing by them. “Others find true happiness with more than one lover, but to find a union of more than two people who work seamlessly together is not always easy. It is in the instincts of the wolf and the human to be possessive. It can be difficult to share.”

Adelina said nothing.

So Nadyah continued on, hoping to explain it in a way that would help. “It is normal for courtesans to feel this confusion,” Nadyah said, trying to help her princess understand. “How you feel for me does not negate your feelings for Nash, or even Varan. Each person you find attractive settles some part inside you, and this is simply what it means to be a courtesan, we have the ability to love many people. It is why when we mate; the bond alters our entire genetic makeup. As there aren’t many mixed-race courtesans, I only know of you and Ian, I cannot say what it will be like as time goes on, with the mate bond never triggering.”

Adelina would have a difficult time of it. It would not be easy to manage unless her spouse understood or an agreement was made. Even as a courtesan Nadyah felt the strange instinct to possess, the jealousy that flared when she watched Adelina with someone else. She knew she would have to instruct her with another male one day in the same room with them and it would be—hard to watch and not join in.

They stopped outside the gates to the courtyard of the Ladrole in the slice of warm light from lanterns swaying in the breeze, rain pattering gently on the stone.

Adelina finally turned to Nadyah and studied the courtesan’s face. “You are saying I am not genetically built to be monogamous.”

Slowly, she nodded. “As a part courtesan with the mate gene deactivated, no you are not built for that.”

Adelina cocked her head and inspected Nadyah’s disguise, only the sapphire eyes and white skin remained true. “I love Nash,” she admitted.

“I know you do.” Nadyah had seen it clear as day before Adelina had known it herself. “But you may love others, and love him until you decide what you want to do. Because there is nothing wrong with loving more than one person. Look at your parents.”

“I suppose that is true.”

“There is no rule against marrying more than one person either. It’s simply a matter of who will be prince and who will be consort,” Nadyah said. “Nash might agree to that.”

“Perhaps, but it would not be simple.” Adelina was quiet for a few moments and then, “What would Nash think of what I did today?” Adelina asked. It was nearly a plea for Nadyah to tell her she hadn’t crossed a line.

The rain started to fall harder, sluicing off their cloaks to the ground but neither of them moved. Nadyah didn’t dare break the princess’s gaze, the animalistic gleam still there, but not as terrible as earlier. “Nash—” she began, trying to think of the right words. “Nash knows that part of you exists. I don’t think he would have been surprised, or—disgusted. Their people are much more in line with their animalistic natures than we are.”

“And you,” Adelina’s words were sharp and pointed. “Were you disgusted?”

Nadyah flinched at the accusation she heard in the tone, knowing Adelina had seen a small change in her – and now she had to pass the test after Joslynn had failed. “I am not disgusted, and I was not when I watched it happen.” Truth, she had to tell her the truth. “But I was perhaps afraid. I knew there was more to you, Lina, but I don’t think I ever realized how much of a true Draga you really are. You hide it so well, and…no one else knew it was there either. I was afraid for you, and afraid of what it would do to you. The wolf in all of us can be—merciless, and difficult to resist.”

Lightning cast strange shadows on Adelina’s face and her breathing was far too rapid. “I feel it now, awake and hungry,” she whispered. Nadyah could barely hear her over the rolling thunder. “I’ve denied it for so long the wolf is…ravenous. There is so much I want, Nadyah.”

Those hungry eyes devoured her.

“How do I know what it is I want, what it is the wolf wants, and what is simply a reaction from my courtesan genes? How can I tell what is real?”

Nadyah took a careful step forward, and then another as those hungry eyes watched every move she made with predatory stillness. When she shared air with Adelina, Nadyah pushed back a white curl from her face and kissed her, soft and slow. The smell of her jasmine, dark and mysterious twined around them and Adelina’s hands went to Nadyah’s waist and those nails, now back to their original length, pricked her skin through the fabric of her shirt. Nadyah shuddered and slipped her tongue in Adelina’s warm, wet mouth.

The barely restrained lust and violence in her princess set Nadyah’s skin on fire, but Adelina held onto it and didn’t let it consume her. The princess shuddered when she realized it as well. Then Nadyah took a step back, breathless.

“It is all real,” she murmured. “All these different facets are still parts of you. They are what make up who you are, Lina. To deny one is to deny a part of yourself. Accepting all of the pieces will help you understand who you truly are, and that you are the one who is in control.”

Nadyah took Adelina’s hand and led her towards the warmly lit courtyard of the Ladrole. “You do not have to do something you do not want to do,” Nadyah told her. “Or something you do not agree with simply because of an instinct. I don’t sleep with every male or female I see no matter how beautiful they are and how much my body tries to convince me to do so. But I do use that part of me to seduce the ones I feel something for – with all the passion and desire I possess.”

The hunger in Adelina’s eyes flared and then settled. The tension eased from her shoulders and then the raging fire was banked. She saw the female she knew in Adelina’s face once more, but that sharpness remained. Nadyah doubted the wolf would ever be so buried again now that the princess had let it out of her cage.

As she studied her, Nadyah realized Adelina looked like Asher. Their features were so similar, but with that new gleam in her eyes – the princess could be Asher’s twin. It was the goddess’s blessing the two of them were on the same side.

Laughter and chatter grew louder as they approached Varan’s tavern.

“I’m nervous,” Adelina admitted, pausing on the threshold and glancing at Nadyah. “I’m afraid to see Varan.”

That jealousy flared for a second – Adelina was hers – but then it died. She could deny her princess nothing and would gladly share her so she could still have Adelina. “If you want him, I won’t stop you.”

Adelina licked her lips, and then stepped over the threshold. “He is a delicious male, and would make a good prince. We need to find out if he’s your mate, Nadyah. I can’t take a mate from you.”

Nadyah squeezed Adelina’s hand. “I want you both,” she said simply, shrugging one shoulder.

Adelina’s gaze whipped to hers. “Don’t say things like that,” she gritted out. “My control is very—tenuous right now.”

If Nadyah were honest with herself, she wanted Adelina more. Ever since they started having sex together Varan was almost a distant memory. The feelings were still there when she remembered to think of him, but at the moment what she felt for him as a friend was mixed up and confused with how she felt for him romantically.

“We’re going to be on a ship together for weeks,” Nadyah reminded her.

Weeks in space, away from all those watching eyes…oh what they could do to fill the time.

“Stop it,” Adelina hissed.

She couldn’t help her laugh. Her princess desired her…and even loved her. It didn’t matter that Adelina wasn’t her mate; Nadyah would selfishly enjoy her while she still could.

Some of the Ladrole patrons nodded when they recognized Adelina. She’d been there enough she was considered part of Varan’s court, if not his inner circle. He kept the details of who served him close. Adelina’s personal shreve had a few profiles, but the rest were guesses.

Nadyah wanted to know who those others were, but doubted Varan would tell her. She followed close to her princess as they wove through the tavern towards the large table in the back, where the ancient fireplace burned away the chill of the night.

“Lina darling!” Varan’s voice rose above all the others. Cheers followed his announcement when Adelina took his outstretched hand. “So lovely of you to visit us. Do you have anything for me?”

Adelina slipped her hand into her pocket and pulled out a hunk of raw ruby. Varan made to snatch it from her fingers, but she was too quick. Nadyah smiled at the two of them. They put on a good show. Lina the thief couldn’t come to her Prince empty-handed. Varan tugged Adelina into his lap and Nadyah saw her stiffen.

“Could we perhaps take this upstairs?” Nadyah asked, using her most sultry voice. Anyone listening would assume they’d go upstairs to a private room for pleasure rather than a meeting to make plans for war.

Varan’s eyes snapped to hers and she shook her head ever so slightly, hoping he understood how on edge Adelina was.

As if he’d planned it, Varan stood smoothly with an arm around Adelina’s shoulders. “Let’s see if this is as good as you say it is. Want to make a bet on how much the beauty weighs?” The Prince of Thieves steered Adelina towards the exit behind his unofficial ‘throne’ and Nadyah followed, weaving her way around the furniture and patrons carefully.

Nadyah wasn’t sure how much teasing Adelina could stand at the moment, and she wasn’t sure if Varan was even aware of what had occurred during the Games. It was safer to talk in his office where distance between them all wouldn’t look suspicious.

Varan’s footsteps on the stairs made no noise, and Adelina was just as silent. Nadyah watched the two of them and wondered if Varan had ever given Adelina lessons in stealth. As she trailed behind them Nadyah couldn’t help but notice how tight his pants were and how they accentuated the curves of his ass. She let herself admire him for once. He truly was a fine male specimen.

All those weeks they’d be alone together in space, it would be a true test. Her mouth went dry at the thought. Adelina was right. She needed to scan Varan’s DNA. The last time they’d been in his office after he found out Lina was really a princess, she’d kept her distance. But the time before when he’d asked who she worked for…Nadyah had almost let him take her.

Varan gave her emotional whiplash and she was fully trained. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like for Adelina. When Nadyah had gone through the courtesan maturing she’d been sixteen like all the others. There had been no one for her to love, and only her training to focus on to help her with all those desires.

By the time she’d found someone to have feelings for, Nadyah had unflinching control. It had been a shock the first time she’d met Varan. Of course she had feelings for each of her clients, but those were somehow different. What she felt for Varan had tested her control in ways she’d never anticipated – that is until she’d been assigned her first camerraleto pupil, Adelina.

They just needed to get through the night, ask Varan for some DNA, and set up the alterations to the starships they needed. It wasn’t too much to ask, but with so many emotions running high it felt like one of the most difficult tasks she’d ever had to perform.

Nadyah stepped into Varan’s office after the prince and princess. Her eyes immediately went to the eyeballs bobbing around in the jars. They lined the ceiling on a shelf around the entire room. There were a few empty jars—waiting.

“Is everything all right?” Varan asked, glancing between Adelina and Nadyah. He leaned against his desk, arms crossed.

Nadyah gave him a kiss on the cheek in greeting and the thief tugged on one of her curls. “It’s been a rather – trying day,” Nadyah said. She took off Adelina’s cloak and then her own, hanging them to dry before inspecting the office again.

“I’d never considered what you’d look like as a dark-haired beauty, but it suits you,” Varan teased. Then his face grew serious as he studied the two of them. “The Games, was it?”

Adelina flicked a wary look to the thief. “Did you watch them?”

He shrugged. “We had them streaming on the largest viewer in the Ladrole. It was difficult to miss.” Varan went to the panel near his door and tapped a request, pressing his hand to seal the room.

A second later a tray of hot tea and delectables appeared in a chute. Nadyah raised a brow in question. She was positive such a contraption hadn’t been there the last time they’d been in the office.

“Since finding out our sweet Lina’s birthright I have set up a system to prevent as many prying eyes as possible, including removing a few servants from the Ladrole.” Varan took the tray and brought it over to the low table in the sitting area.

Nadyah brushed invisible dust off the couch before sitting. It looked more…battered than before. The chaise was also new. “Redecorated?” she asked.

Adelina sprawled on the chaise, one leg up on the cushion and the other firmly planted on the ground. She was the picture of nonchalance, but Nadyah knew better. There was a tenseness to the princess’s jaw and every once in a while she could see Adelina clench her teeth as though every movement was a trial to keep up the appearance of humanity.

“I had a bit of a brawl, nothing irreplaceable was damaged.” Varan served them both tea and selected a few choice bits for each of them before he sat on the couch as far away from Nadyah as he could get. He must still be irritated with her about what had happened at Adelina’s coming-of-age party.

Finally, those emerald eyes studied Adelina and she stiffened, so slight none would notice but those who knew her well. “That prick Hayden deserved it, and more,” Varan finally said.

The muscles in Adelina’s shoulders relaxed and so did Nadyah. “I need an update,” was all Adelina said. She left the food and drink untouched.

Nadyah sipped at the steaming, fragrant tea. It was delicious and gave her something to do. Varan was too observant; he’d eventually notice her sneaking glances. She’d have to ask him at some point, and the thief would want to know why she needed his DNA. Should she tell him the truth, or a half-truth?

Varan tossed his shreve to Adelina. “I have a few mercenary companies that have agreed to work for me. They are willing to take the oath. There are also the warriors I have access to. You will have to decide if you want them knowing the truth or not. No matter how good your disguise is, a few of them will notice similarities. All in all I have fifteen thousand profiles for you to go through, approve, and choose who comes with. They all know they will be taking our ships and not theirs, and that you will require them to wear your uniforms.”

Adelina’s eyes sparkled at that and she took out her own shreve to compare. Her fingers flew as she made notations. “I’ve actually been working on a new type of armor,” she confessed. “My factories will start producing it tomorrow if you have a few people willing to meet with me, and then test it. It should be stronger than anything – short of Corinthian tech. It will also be light enough you can’t even feel it.”

Varan leaned forward to watch her transfer data and pull up various different designs.

Nadyah hadn’t been told about the plans for the spidersilk armor, but she still monitored Adelina’s shreves, picking and choosing what to share with the Spider; whom she still had to speak to before they left. Perhaps Jael would come to the palace, or perhaps she and Adelina could request a visit to the House of Kismet.

If Adelina’s design held true it would be a breakthrough in strong and lightweight armor thanks to the help of a few of the weavers. It could save countless lives. Nadyah wondered if Adelina would share the design with Raena or not.

“I brought the tech Nash gave me to put into the starships,” Adelina continued, not once looking away from the shreves. “I’ll be taking one starship from our personal fleet, and the other two will be purchased for this occasion,” Adelina explained. “Once I became of age, I was supposed to be assigned a flagship of my own so this works out perfectly.”

Varan smirked and yanked her shreve right out of her hand. “Raena is allowing you to purchase starships? That is a lot of gold.”

Adelina snatched back the shreve and glared at him. “I will be paying for the starships myself. They will be owned by me personally so any attempts from the Crown to commandeer them have to go through me.”

Nadyah’s eyes widened. She wasn’t sure how much starships cost these days, but if the princess had that kind of gold lying around where did she keep it all? Then she smirked at Varan’s look of surprise; at least she wasn’t the only one who hadn’t known. It was good to know he didn’t have his fingers in as many pies as she’d originally assumed.

“Will we be shopping soon?” Nadyah asked, sipping her tea.

Adelina shook her head and made a few more transfers. “No, Varan will be.”

The male actually scoffed and those predatory eyes slid to him. Instantly Varan turned it into a cough and leaned back casually. Nadyah knew it was actually to get out of reach of those nails of Adelina’s. “I actually have already started searching, having anticipated the need,” he said simply, hands palms out.

She gave him a small smile and went back to work. “Perfect, we will need two starships – previously used, but with enough room for at least fourteen thousand between them. I can fit another five thousand if need be on my flagship which you, Varan, will help me choose as the most trustworthy and loyal out of them all. Then I will transfer the gold. Make sure to find a mechanic for me. One we will entrust with Nash’s tech. We will completely redo each of the starships including my flagship…and I want them done in a week.”

Adelina finished and tossed Varan the copy of Nash’s tech.

The thief wisely said nothing and Nadyah crossed her arms to wait and see what he would say.

“You said we weren’t leaving for at least two weeks,” he said, accepting his shreve from the princess.

Adelina placed a piece fruit into her mouth and Nadyah watched as she set it on her tongue, sensual enough Nadyah tucked her legs underneath her and looked away. It was the first time the two of them could really relax in days, or was it weeks? Even in the privacy of their rooms the weight of the palace was constantly on their minds. Raena’s room was too close for comfort.

Nadyah had gotten some good information from Caspian earlier and had already begun her own work to gather the supplies they would need for the trip. The budget Raena had sent over on a cast was so pitiful she’d nearly laughed. It was as though the crown princess wanted them to fail, to be unable to make the trip.

Varan shrugged. “I have a mechanic, but they will need a team to do what you want in that amount of time.”

Adelina simply stared at him. “I don’t care what it costs, Varan. Get this mechanic an entire army if you need to, but I want those ships ready as quickly as possible.”

Varan tapped those long, sinful fingers against the arm of the couch. “She is downstairs,” he said slowly. “Would you like me to bring her up here?”

Nadyah glanced between the two of them. Bringing another into their circle would be a risk, but it had to happen at some point, may as well get it over with. “Is there a way to ensure this female’s absolute loyalty and discretion?” she asked, her voice sharper than she’d intended. “And this ‘team’ she will need, how do we keep them all from selling Nash’s tech to the highest bidder? Or the intel that Lina is the one who commissioned this work for a princess?”

Being suspicious was part of her job, and she could count on one hand the amount of people she trusted implicitly. It wasn’t likely Varan could promise none of the information would leak.

He flipped through the documents on his shreve and for a second Nadyah thought he was going to ignore her. That flash of rage inside eased when he said, “It is easy enough to make them sign contracts, parcel out the work so no one knows the whole plan except Roxy. You would have to bring her in to your circle,” Varan said. “If you’re really worried about it we can hire adequate grunts and then kill them all once the work is done.”

The nonchalant shrug, the lack of any emotion whatsoever about the prospect of killing so many people chilled Nadyah to the bone. It may become necessary but… “There has to be another way.”

Neither Varan nor Adelina replied.

Adelina looked thoughtful, not disgusted or horrified. Her princess had changed so much from the meek female she used to be, Nadyah didn’t always realize how much. Would Adelina put hundreds of people to death to keep a secret?

“If we keep the intel parceled out we should be fine, but I want your spies to keep an eye on them. I suppose I should meet them as well.” Adelina smirked. “I don’t think we’ll need to kill them all, but I appreciate the offer.”

Nadyah breathed a sigh of relief. For a moment she hadn’t been sure what Adelina would say. “Can we meet this mechanic now?” Nadyah asked.

Varan gave her a flashy grin. “I’ll send Roxy a cast.” Adelina lounged on the chair as Varan got out the liquor from his desk. “I have a feeling we’ll need this,” he said, pouring four glasses of his famous winterflower liquor. The sweet, spicy scent filled the air and Nadyah’s mouth watered.

She took the glass he handed her and watched as Varan gave Adelina hers. The smell of the liquor reminded her so much of Varan’s personal scent she wondered if licking the sweat from his skin would taste similar to the burning liquid on her tongue.

A few moments later there was a knock on the door and Varan crossed the room in two strides. “Hello Roxy, thank you for coming up so quickly.”

The female just snorted in response.

Maybe Nadyah would like her after all. Adelina gave her a look as though she agreed, a playful smile tugged on her lips but it was still a bit sharper than normal.

“What do you want Varan?” she demanded, her voice was husky and warm, a tad deeper than Nadyah’s own.

She tried to crane her neck to see around Varan, but he stubbornly blocked the doorway.

“I have a possible job for you if you’re interested, but there’s someone you need to meet first.”

Roxy shoved Varan out of the way.

Nadyah couldn’t help her choked laughter from escaping. Oh, she would definitely like this one.

The female was about the same height as Nadyah, if a little shorter and with so much fiery red hair that washing it had to be a nightmare. The curls were bouncy and thick, a beautiful mess that set off the freckles across her nose quite nicely. Nadyah hadn’t seen many people with that coloring, and only Lady Joslynn had hair so intensely red. The only difference was her dusky brown skin. It was as if Roxy were a living flame.

There wasn’t an accent so perhaps the girl had immigrated from Pedranus or her parents had at some point.

Those sharp green eyes flicked to Nadyah first and then Adelina. They were the color of malachite, of a beautiful pond or lake against white stone. Those full lips pursed when she recognized Lina. “I’ve met your thief before,” she snapped.

The temper on that one fueled a never-ending fire by the way her eyes simply blazed.

Roxy crossed her arms over a very full chest and glared at Varan. Her pants were a moss green, slung low on her waist and baggy, barely held up with the black belt. The boots she wore were similar to the ones Nadyah had borrowed from Adelina, but they looked well-worn with stains on the black leather.

What caught Nadyah’s eyes though was the shirt she wore. It was spidersilk with billowy sleeves that went to bands on her wrists. The black was see-through except for the black camisole underneath. Gold shimmered from multiple piercings in her ear and a gold choker necklace held a green stone in the hollow of her throat. It was such a contrast of lazy, messy comfort and femininity that it had Nadyah openly staring, holding her breath as she waited for what would happen next.

“Yes, but she is the one with the job,” Varan said, gently steering the female towards them. He pushed her into one of his armchairs and placed the glass of winterflower liquor in her hand. Then he leaned against his desk once more and waved a hand as if to say they may begin.

Adelina rolled her eyes, but didn’t bother sitting up straight. Instead she downed the rest of the liquor and leaned forward to set the glass on the low table before them. “Who’s your favorite royal?” Adelina asked innocently, gossiping about the royal family like any other citizen.

Roxy crossed her arms. “I hate them all.”

Nadyah’s brows rose and she turned to Varan. He just smiled. He’d known and he still brought this bitch to talk to the princess. Every muscle in her body yanked against her leash of control, demanding she stalk across the room and slap that smirk off Varan’s face.

Roxy only had more unpleasant things to say, and Nadyah almost felt sorry for her. “They’re all spoiled and have no clue about what life is really like for their citizens,” Roxy went on. “If I could, I would give them a piece of my mind.” She sipped casually from the glass, with no idea who she was speaking to, peacefully ignorant.

“Well, here’s your chance,” Adelina said, that wolfish grin back on her face and Nadyah stilled when she saw it. Her princess dropped the disguise program and flashed her gold palm in a small wave. “Give me a piece of your mind, Roxy.”

Glass shattered against the floor and Nadyah sighed in exasperation. Varan could be so dramatic.