Adelina watched as the staff directed each player to their designated target. Archery would be the first Game and Raena had always excelled at the sport. They watched in companionable silence as Raena won the Game of Archery, then Asher won the Game of Mounted Archery on the galinas. Raena came in a close second.

She and Joslynn chatted about nothing really as they watched, smiling when a recorder came by to check the reactions of the king and queen. It was no surprise royals had won but the livestream had to feed the masses.

Ian was still absent from the Games and the events, no doubt he lost track of the time in the labs. Adelina found it interesting Nadyah thought so fondly of Ian. The two couldn’t be more opposite, but they’d become friends over the weeks and Adelina loved that. Her brother needed someone like Nadyah to pull him out of his tiny little world.

William was wisely on patrol, wearing his Army uniform and standing with the other soldiers guarding the people and the palace with all the new strangers roaming about. He also didn’t like competing against their more dominant siblings. He, like Adelina, didn’t think it was a good idea and had kept out of the recent activities as much as possible.

Stefano actually won the galina race with Lady Veri hot on his heels. Adelina laughed and cheered with the other spectators when Stefano leapt over the finish line after bursting out of the forest. Veri and her galina had pounced from the trees, the massive paws outstretched and those claws gleamed in the bright sun. For a heartbeat Adelina thought she would take down the male with brute force, but she pulled up right after Stefano with no harm done.

Her galina pranced around as she laughed with the male commoner, talking about some race on Priea and the various techniques each had used. Veri even saluted him as she rode, picking up speed. When she reached the hostlers, she jumped from the back of the galina and with eerie grace she rolled and then managed to walk right out of the roll, back towards the playing field. One of her servants rushed up with a soft towel and iced water.

Those aquamarine eyes shifted and found Adelina staring. For a split second she debated dropping her gaze, but something about this female intrigued her. The turquoise hair was up in a tight ponytail, contrasting with the cobalt blue of her riding outfit. She wore pants as well and the cognac boots looked well-worn. A sea-foam green shirt fluttered in the wind, so thin and see-through under the open jacket.

Veri raised an eyebrow at her inspection and Adelina merely smiled. The Lady Veri blew her a kiss.

Adelina outright laughed at the show.

Then Asher prowled towards Veri after delivering his own galina to the hostler. He glanced between the two of them and gave Adelina a tiny quirk of his lips in his version of a smile before turning to the lady. His body language practically screamed his possession and desire of her, but he kept it leashed and Adelina doubted many could see it when he slipped his hands in his pockets and put on that bored expression he favored so much.

If Asher saw something in the female, then maybe there was more to her than Adelina first thought. Veri didn’t like many of the nobles per the rumors and from what Adelina could see. For whatever reason, Veri liked Adelina. It made her wonder what the lady saw in her.

Stefano approached on his galina, slow enough not to set off the guards but he looked sure and confident, as if he were born in the saddle. He bowed to the king and queen first from the waist down while the galina pulled on the reins. A quick yank and the beast settled. Adelina couldn’t help but feel impressed. “Princess Adelina, I’d like to present the prize I won in your name.” He tossed the piece of gold toward her in a gamble.

Out of instinct she plucked it out of the air. Adelina inspected the piece. It was small, but solid gold. A magnificent work of art and a beautiful depiction of one of the fierce galinas. She looked at her father and he only smirked, so un-kingly. Despite staying out of the competition, she’d still managed to win through Stefano.

“Are you going to thank the boy?” her father demanded.

Adelina slid a sideways glance to the king and kept her playful snarl to herself. Her father chuckled anyways, knowing her too well.

“Go,” Joslynn teased, her fiery red hair shaking with her repressed laughter.

The galina grew restless when she stood and the nerves she felt around the beasts her entire life rose up to choke her. Then the whisper from her courtesan, “They only react to fear,” Nadyah reminded her.

Since Adelina had been a true submissive for so long, it had been her biggest challenge. The galinas didn’t like submitting to her, and raising the one she had now from a cub helped only a little. It was a constant struggle to make the galina submit, but she supposed now that she knew how flexible her dominance truly was things would become easier.

Her skirts rustled against the black-wood floor as she took a step forward. Adelina jumped down to the soft grass and the galina balked. She snatched the reins with one hand and yanked down. Startled, the galina obeyed. Adelina looked up into Stefano’s beautiful chocolate eyes, ignoring the great cat completely.

“You honor me,” she said, her words low and husky. Nadyah had taught her much.

Instantly the galina settled, even leaned into Adelina at the tenor of her voice. “But I have plenty of gold. I’d love if you’d keep it as well as my token, and think of me.” Adelina took one of his hands and then uncurled his fingers so she could place the golden galina in his palm. With a tender touch she wrapped those callused fingers around the tiny cat and smiled up at him.

Stefano stared down at her, noting the way his feline responded to her. Adelina could practically see the wheels turn in his head, most likely comparing all he knew of her from the livestream to the female before him. The recorders whirred, hungrily taking in every moment. There was one last thing she could do for the male.

“I’d like to offer you a seat of honor with me and my family tonight during the dinner.” Then she dropped her gaze, stroking the beast between the eyes. Adelina swore she could hear a pleased rumble deep in the galina’s chest.

Stefano turned his mount and snatched her hand, pressing another kiss to Adelina’s knuckles. “You honor me, Princess.” With a shout he spurred the galina on towards the hostlers across the field.

Adelina watched him go. She allowed the recorders to see the small smile on her face before she turned back to the raised platform. The fear she used to have around the beasts was no longer there. It had been almost too easy to shift her dominance up the spectrum until she could bend the galina’s will to her own. Once she knew she could do it, the tangy fear misted, blown away by the summer breeze.

“You are torturing the boy,” her father said with a small smile. “No one should have to be subjected to our way of life, and here you are trying to make a prince out of him.”

Nadyah nodded in approval and then handed her a glass of iced water. Even Joslynn smirked into her iced tea. “He is very beautiful,” Joslynn said.

Adelina sipped as she watched the festivities, the drums beating a wild rhythm in celebration of the Games and the winners. “Anything I can give him to better his life, I will,” she murmured.

They all knew war was on the horizon and the male could easily be drafted to fight and die for them, but it wasn’t just the war. Adelina had spent many hours on the streets of Stella di Draga, among her people – the commoners. Making a living could be difficult, if not impossible. If her favor helped him gain new contracts and jobs when Stefano returned to Priea, then she would gladly give it. It was one of the few things she could do from her position.

The people led a different way of life that Adelina didn’t think any of her family truly understood except perhaps Asher.

Her eyes found Raena with Hayden and Alock, both males readying for the next Game. The Game of Swords should really be one William played, but Asher was just as good. The drums beat louder as Raena flirted with both lords, for all the world looking like a tease as she tried to decide who to give her token of favor to.

Raena tied that glittering gold scarf around Alock’s bicep. Her sister hoped the Priean lord would win, the same male she’d unofficially declared as her fiancé.

A split second of fury passed over Hayden’s face and Adelina could have sworn she saw a smirk from Veri before she turned to tie her own turquoise scarf around Asher’s arm.

The Game of Swords was vicious, brutal, and extremely dangerous. Not many females participated as the skill required going up against males like Asher, Hayden, Alock, Jayden, and Alpha – males who had spent most of their lives training with the plasma blades that could cut through flesh and bone as if they were made of butter – was significant.

Not many females were allowed that training. Some societal norms were difficult to break despite the century and a half of equality. Though as she watched Veri, Adelina supposed the female could make all the males run for the protection of their mothers’ skirts. She tilted her head and watched the way Veri submitted to her brother, held back even – for his sake.

If the female had plans to join the royal family, Adelina would have to make a point to reach out to her. Asher had an undeniable skill at sniffing out liars and the power-hungry nobles, but he was not as good a judge of character as Adelina was. A lifetime of observing had taught her more than any of her dominant siblings.

Veri was dangerous, but Adelina wasn’t sure how yet. Was she dangerous to the royal family, or was she simply another predator among many? Because Adelina had no doubt if one crossed her, Veri would become their worst nightmare – royal or no.

“What do you know about the Daughter of Priea?” Adelina asked, leaning closer to Joslynn so she didn’t have to raise her voice.

She’d done her own research over the cycles, but Veri’s people loved her and they were intensely loyal. Priea was rather secretive with their ways. There was only so much on her shreve about Veri.

Joslynn leaned in and glanced at the lady watching Asher as the fighters were paired off. A few began and the clash of the blades as they collided was loud as lightning crashing to the earth. “She is a huntress,” Joslynn explained. “Since birth she’s been trained to hunt and kill those deadly creatures on Priea. For the longest time she was with Hayden, but the archduchess shut down any possibility of a marriage.”

Adelina nodded, she’d heard as much from her own sources and Varan’s court.

Spectators cheered and screamed when Alock just barely dodged a blade. Adelina’s heart leapt into her throat while in the second ring Asher jumped back, his shirt sliced in two, baring his chest and the gold tattoo on his back of the Draga seal, declaring his rank to the entire galaxy.

“Colin told me Lord Greyson abandoned his family after Alock was born, too afraid to face the monsters as he was born on Deytis. It was put to Veri to raise Alock since their mother had to rule Priea. It’s made her rather…protective of him.” Joslynn adjusted her skirts and leaned back, watching the fights and flinching every time someone was injured.

The third ring of fighters had Hayden against Jayden. It was only a matter of minutes before he’d struck the younger lord three times. The burns from the plasma blades branded on the skin of the Seprilles male. Referee’s declared Hayden the winner and a physician ran over to the heir of Seprilles with a tin of their best healing salve. The rueful smile on the Lord Jayden’s face won over the crowd.

Stefano then lost to Alock and it wasn’t long before the victors were paired with the remaining fighters.

Adelina looked back at Elara and Nadyah. Her courtesan had a grim look on her face, perhaps she hadn’t known about the true reason Lord Greyson stayed on Draga Terra for so many cycles.

“Is Veri…loyal?” Adelina carefully asked Joslynn. The only time the royal family went to Priea was on the tour during the winter when the creatures hibernated. All nobles were on their best behavior during the tour. So it could be difficult to really see behind their good manners and protocol.

Joslynn looked uncomfortable. “The Marquess is loyal. Veri is the heir and she is…not disloyal. But I’ve heard she has no qualms about doing what she must for her people and her family – whatever it takes.”

“I appreciate your honesty,” she murmured, studying the way Veri watched Alock, wincing when he was burned.

The crowd screamed for Hayden as he fought with admirable skill. Watching him, Adelina could see why her family had avoided conflict with his for so many centuries. They’d kept the alliance strong. Because Adelina knew if all in the Avvis army fought like Hayden, the Draga Army might actually lose.

Dragans were normally peaceful. Her family would rather settle conflict without physical confrontation. The power of their genes and dominance kept the peace among their own people for centuries, but they’d married into the Avvis family more than a few times over the centuries. It wouldn’t surprise Adelina if one of the Avvis Sons or Daughters were born with enough of the Draga genes to challenge a royal for dominance.

If that day ever occurred, Adelina hoped they were ready for it.

The plasma blades were incredibly deadly, almost too deadly for the Games in Adelina’s opinion. All it took was one wrong move, one slight or accident and one of the fighters could end up very, very dead.

There was a glint in Hayden’s eyes Adelina didn’t like. A hard gleam the moment he was paired with Alock. As soon as the horns sounded to begin he’d attacked with a brutality that made her flinch. Nadyah gasped when the blades crackled against each other. Hayden used his significant strength to bear down on Alock, pushing the blades towards his face.

The Priea lord had to allow a strike or lose his eyes.

Adelina’s hand went to her throat and she watched in fear for Alock’s life. Veri screamed for her brother as the smell of burning hair permeated the field. She yelled at him to do something. Adelina watched Veri pace along the edge of the ring, snarling and looking ready to rip Hayden to shreds.

Finally, Alock released and tried to twist away from the blue light, but a massive slice went down his back and he stumbled. There was a moment when everyone held their breath, a moment when Adelina felt bile rise. Then Alock collapsed to the ground and Veri leapt over the fence.

Physicians were already at the young lord’s side. Adelina hadn’t realized she’d stood until Joslynn was next to her, clutching her arm. Adelina glanced back at her father. His face was grim as they shared a look.

The recorders showed the wound up close, displayed for all to see. Asher had to hold Veri back as she turned on Hayden, snarling and screaming obscenities. For once, Adelina completely understood the female. If that had been William, Hayden would already have his throat ripped out.

That Asher was able to hold her back at all spoke volumes – she would not hurt the prince no matter how badly she wanted vengeance.

Hayden turned to the spectators with a triumphant smile before he faced Raena. Wisely her sister’s face was blank as she watched the wound slowly knit back together, covering the white bone of Alock’s spine as they all watched. A bandage was placed carefully before the physicians had Alock moved to the temporary hospital tent.

There was never any illusion to these Games. They all knew how dangerous they were, how nasty their ancestors were to create them. And they all could feel that kernel of brutal, snarling strength inside, commanding them to succeed and triumph. To make the others submit…it was the wolf deep inside.

The genetic map they’d followed allowed for that vicious creature to take hold of them from time to time and no one was under any illusion they were anything but creatures of chaos and survival underneath their flawless human skin.

“Looks like you should have picked me as your champion,” Hayden stated. His words were loud as the recorders caught them and displayed them for the entire galaxy to see and hear.

After Raena’s declaration that Alock would be her husband, it seemed the Avvis lord was sour about the decision, hoping to sway the crown princess back to him. Adelina felt her lip curl up in a silent snarl. She hoped Raena would rip that grin off his cula’ting face with her claws.

Raena simply smiled; that terrifying smile full of sharp, white teeth. “There is still the Hunt and the Game of the Wolf, Lord Hayden. We will see what fate decides.” Her kiss on his cheek was almost violent, as though she’d thought about taking a bite out of his face, but decided otherwise at the last moment.

Her sister signaled the staff and the horn sounded thrice. Lunch and the midday rest would take place early after that deplorable display. Adelina didn’t move as her sister breezed past her to help King Orion to his feet. The crown princess escorted their father towards the pavilion where an infinite number of tables were set up, servants already pouring out of the palace with trays of food. Adelina didn’t dare take a step until Raena was a good bit ahead of her.

Joslynn pressed into her side, and Adelina could smell her fear. She slipped her arm around Joslynn’s waist and then smelled Nadyah at her back. It settled her enough to breathe and calm down…

That creature of chaos and survival roiled under her skin, trying to remind her how delicious violence could be.