Varan did surprisingly well during breakfast with the royal family. Raena didn’t seem to care he was there. She only smiled and winked at Adelina. Her eldest sister made sure to remind her not to be late to the council meeting and asked if Varan would attend. When Adelina admitted he would, that wolfish grin had crossed Raena’s face.

Varan’s hand found hers under the table and she squeezed it in reassurance, though he probably meant it to reassure her. No doubt Raena would test him in front of all the nobles and courtiers.

After breakfast she had to practically drag Varan under the Obsidian Mountains where her spiders were. He pressed so close throughout the trip she’d almost fallen, more than a few times. “Varan,” she hissed as the head farmer left them. “If you do not get off my gown I will stab you.”

He stepped away but she knew in a few seconds he would be back, pressing into her side.

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.

“Thank you,” she said.

Varan tilted her chin up with one finger and studied her face, her eyes, and her lips. “May I?” he asked, taking a step closer.

Adelina couldn’t look away from him as the distance between them closed. “May you, what?”

Varan’s hand caressed her cheek and then threaded through her hair until he held her gently. Her breathing quickened and she realized what he meant. “I’d like to kiss you,” he murmured.

Adelina couldn’t speak she was so nervous. Instead she nodded. She wanted to feel what was between them as well. He didn’t bend to kiss her right away. The lines around his eyes smoothed when she gave her permission and he stared at her for a few seconds. She wondered if he looked for the features she never altered with her program, the soul behind the eyes that never changed no matter the color.

When he was satisfied with whatever he found, Varan smiled and leaned forward just enough to press his lips to hers softly. It surprised her, how gentle and caring he was. He took his time kissing her. Adelina’s hands wrapped around his biceps of their own volition and she took a step forward, closing the remaining distance between them.

The moment she kissed him back, Varan licked the seam of her lips, requesting entrance. It was so natural to open her mouth and let her tongue play with his. She felt a flutter in her belly. It wasn’t an explosion of lust and desire, but there was something there. The spicy scent of winterflowers relaxed her and the familiarity of him was like sipping on her favorite wine.

Her hands went up his arms and tickled the hair at the nape of his neck. It was soft, just like it had been all the times she’d tousled it before as his friend.

But this time was different. Adelina held onto him as he slowly explored her lips and her tongue. One strong arm wrapped around her back, holding her to him with the other hand buried in her hair.

Adelina’s desire built slow and steady until she nipped his bottom lip and her wolf practically howled for more.

Just as softly as he began, Varan gently disengaged and took a step back. Those gorgeous green eyes of his were dark and contemplative as he licked his lips. “Well…” he said. “That was not what I expected.”

She tried to fix her hair, tucking it back into place, but her lips tingled and her heart pounded. Adelina couldn’t help but touch her bottom lip as she stared at him. “What did you expect?”

“Nothing.” Varan shrugged. “I worried it might be like kissing Roxy.”

“You’ve kissed Roxy?” she teased.

Somehow Varan had steered them back into familiar territory, but Adelina still felt that desire. As Nadyah had said though, she could control her reaction now. It was Adelina’s choice if she wanted to go further or not.

The kiss had just been an experiment, but one that made her realize just how right Nadyah had been. She was just not built to be monogamous, and there was something freeing about accepting that, about Varan accepting that about her.

“We only kissed once, and we were both into our third drinks during the Winter Solstice.” Varan offered her his arm once more. “After so many cycles we were curious and drunk. It felt like kissing a wall.”

Adelina laughed as she tucked one more piece of hair behind her ear, checked her makeup, and straightened her dress. Then she took Varan’s arm and followed him back to the palace. “Well, I’m glad it wasn’t like kissing a wall.”

“It definitely wasn’t,” he murmured.

Adelina blushed and tried to focus on the next task. “Are you ready for the council meeting?”

Instantly the skin around his eyes tightened. “No, but let’s get it over with.”

She almost felt sorry for Varan, but this was her life, and if Raena chose him to marry her then it would be his as well. “Make sure not to draw attention to yourself,” she instructed. “Follow protocol precisely, and only speak if called on. A formal request to speak won’t be granted as you are not royal, or a noble ruler unless an appointment has been made.”

It was a lot to put on his shoulders, but Varan was intelligent and he watched council meetings on the livestream all the time.

“Last thing,” she told him as they walked up the stone steps to the terrace. “Don’t show emotion, and don’t react unless you think zero reaction would be more dangerous. Do not laugh or smile unless the smile is to be polite. Anything can be seen as weakness, or favoritism. You do not want Raena’s attention on you if you can help it, as such you will take Nadyah’s seat behind me with the guards.”

Varan’s face went utterly blank when they entered the palace.

“Perfect,” she murmured, slipping on her own smile. “Now, let’s enter the wolf’s den.”

The courtiers were finally up and about and with Varan by her side all eyes were on them as they made their way to the twelfth floor. Despite all the attention Varan didn’t waver or flinch. He kept that smile on his face, a perfect mask just like Adelina’s own.

There was a flurry among the people of the palace Adelina didn’t like, strained faces she couldn’t understand. Her grip tightened on Varan and he took a step closer to her, noting it as well.

“Adelina,” Alpha’s breathless voice startled her.

She ignored the way he frowned at the Prince of Thieves. “What is it?” she asked, voice tight as that feeling of foreboding rose up to choke her.

Alpha practically dragged them to the private royal lift, avoiding the main one she usually took. “The council meeting has been pushed up; there have been a few new developments. Get up there now.”

The doors slid open but she didn’t move. “Do you know what happened?”

Alpha shook his head and gently pushed them into the lift before selecting the right floor. “No one knows except Raena, but the way she’s been barking orders since breakfast…Asher warned me. Just go, they’re starting the meeting now.”

The doors closed and Adelina would never forget that look in Alpha’s eyes. It was a look of pity. He knew what had happened and then lied to her face about it.

“Should I stay out of the meeting?” Varan asked gently.

Alpha had lied to her. Her hand tightened on Varan’s and Adelina closed her eyes as she started those breathing exercises Nadyah had forced on her over and over again. She pushed back the tears as she rode the maelstrom of emotion and the sharp stinging pain in her heart. He’d lied to her, and it was something important – life altering. She needed someone on her side.

Varan was the one at her side, silently offering her his help and strength.

“Please stay with me,” she whispered, feeling the lift slow as they reached the twelfth floor. “That feeling I mentioned last night? It’s making me sick.”

One more deep breath and the shaking in her hands lessened. Adelina slowly let out the air and rolled her neck side to side. Everything was shoved down to deal with later. She needed her wits about her.

“Whatever you need,” Varan said. “I’m here to help.”

The canines in her mouth felt sharper and she ran her tongue along them as the door opened. “I have a feeling I’ll need it,” Adelina murmured.