Winter Solstice in Draga Read online

  Winter Solstice in Draga

  The Draga Court Series

  Emma Dean

  WINTER SOLSTICE IN DRAGA

  THE DRAGA COURT SERIES

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles and reviews.

  Copyright © 2018 by Emma Dean

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, locations, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Dedicated to my readers.

  Thank you so much for taking this journey with me.

  It’s been wild and intense and amazing.

  I couldn’t have asked for better,

  or more dedicated readers.

  You truly blow me away.

  I hope I can keep delivering Draga Universe stories

  for you to fall in love with.

  Until next time.

  Author’s Note

  This series was previously published with the descriptor ‘The Draga Galaxy.’ Yes, I did mean an entire galaxy with these people just being near each other, but the concept became unruly and confusing with a few questions in my inbox.

  I spoke with my astrophysics professor and decided to rename ‘galaxy’ to ‘system’ in the sense of a solar system, with all the various human races sharing a galaxy.

  This makes the concept of Faster Than Light Travel easier to understand and simpler in the long run. Otherwise everything is the same. Thank you for understanding!

 
  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Other Books by Emma Dean

  Dominance

  Houses of Draga

  The Draga System

  The Khara System

  The Hai System

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  Adelina

  Foyer

  Draga Royal Palace

  The Draga System

  Adelina adjusted the garland along the top of the floor to ceiling windows in the foyer of the Draga Royal Palace. The red holly was striking against the evergreen and she adored how it looked against the swirling snow storm outside.

  She took a step down and then paused to watch the fat flakes fall. The Obsidian Mountains were completely covered in snow. Winter Solstice was only two days away and preparations for the holiday were in full swing.

  “My queen?” the housekeeper called up. Quentin had been peeved when she’d insisted on climbing up the ladder herself, and dawdling appeared to be making him nervous.

  Adelina smiled down at him. “Did you really think I would no longer help with my favorite holiday now that I’m queen?” she asked in a teasing tone. “Let me enjoy myself for a little longer yet. All that paperwork wears on a person.”

  The housekeeper grumbled but kept his retort to himself. Still, he stayed at the bottom of the ladder. He was terrified she’d fall despite the fact everyone knew she’d kept up her training even in peacetime.

  Adelina sighed happily and adjusted the evergreen a bit more. The palace grounds were covered in snow. Despite the desert climate, the seasons were rather extreme. In the summer it was hot enough most had troubles if they were not used to it. But in the winter the temperature dropped severely.

  It didn’t snow often, but when it did it was like living in a different world. Adelina watched as the guards outside patrolled in that snow and briefly wondered if their uniforms were warm enough.

  “Darling!” Varan yelled as he entered the foyer. “Stop terrifying the staff and get down here.”

  Adelina whipped her gaze to him and glared. “I’ll come down when I wish to.” It was difficult not to smile when Varan gave her that cocky grin.

  “What if I told you the Countess of Pedranus just hailed the Draga Royal Palace asking for permission to land?”

  She couldn’t help grinning down at him then. “You always know the right things to say.”

  Quentin gave an audible sigh of relief and Adelina chuckled as she descended. There were only a few more windows anyhow. The large evergreen tree in the foyer nearly reached the fifth floor. It felt like a hundred servants were bustling about as they put the finishing touches on the decorations.

  A hundred more were decorating the Crystal Ballroom for the Winter Solstice Ball.

  She turned and leapt into Varan’s arms a few steps from the bottom and he caught her with a laugh. “Why do you enjoy torturing them so?” he asked. “You know the servants don’t know what to do with a queen working alongside them.”

  Adelina laughed and gave the housekeeper a quick kiss on the cheek. “He’s known me for cycles. You’d think he’d be used to it by now.”

  Quentin grumbled but his cheeks flushed with pleasure as he moved the ladder to the next location.

  “I still think you make things more difficult for them,” Nash said as he came in through the front doors, covered in snow. He brushed it off and another servant ran up to take his coat. Nash sighed but let the female take it from him. “Isn’t there something else you should be doing? Like, hm, taking a moment for yourself?”

  Adelina went to Nash and gave him a kiss, breathing him in. Under the icy sharpness of the snow she could smell his natural spice. “I suppose. And what were you doing?”

  Instantly Nash cleared his throat and said something about patrols while looking anywhere but at her. Varan’s laugh filled the foyer and Adelina couldn’t help but join in. Nash was a terrible secret keeper.

  “What did you buy me for Winter Solstice?” she asked, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing up against his chest.

  The natural flush on his cheeks from the cold deepened and Nash cleared his throat again before looking to Varan for assistance.

  “Don’t you dare,” Varan threatened. “We agreed we wouldn’t tell her anything.”

  Adelina blinked up at Nash shyly, like she might have back when she was nothing more than a princess and he a prince without a kingdom. “Are you sure you don’t want to tell me?”

  The floor shook as Kaiden landed from above. “Don’t tease him, kyotona. You know you don’t really want to know.”

  Adelina gave Nash another kiss and then stepped away. “You’re right, but teasing is half the fun.”

  Kaiden pulled her in for a hug, wrapping his wings around her for a moment. “You know how much we like to tease you as well,” he whispered in the Drakesthai tongue. “Would you like to go to our rooms so I can show you just how much?”

  For one so easygoing and quiet, Kaiden always knew exactly what to say to set her on fire. Need started to build and Adelina was the one to clear her throat this time. “Joslynn and Sirus will be arriving shortly. Otherwise I would take you up on the offer.”

  “Look mate,” Varan said, shoving his way inside the shelter of Kaiden’s wings. “Taking advantage of the fact some of us can’t pick up your tongue as quickly simply isn’t fair. What dirty things were you saying?”

  Kaiden wasn’t bothered by the intrusion. Instead he adjusted his wings so they wrapped around Varan as well. Adelina rested her head on Kaiden’s chest for a moment, Varan wrapping his arms around her from behind.

  For a brief moment it was just them.

  “Keep it up dragon and I’ll challenge you,” Nash grumbled in Kharan.

  Kaiden chuckled and whipped his wings open and stepped back. Varan did
n’t release her and Adelina wished for just one moment that time would allow her the honeymoon they still hadn’t been able to go on.

  It had been nearly three months since her coronation and it seemed like they’d been working nonstop since. Adelina was still trying to get most of the damage under control, but with four systems it wasn’t an easy task. The rulers under her did much of the work in their territories, but for so much of it Adelina had to approve.

  Kaita had been right about the amount of paperwork.

  Thankfully she had her mates to help her as well as Nadyah and Veri.

  In the time since her coronation she’d managed to send supplies and help to the planets most affected by the war. They’d started to rebuild and prosper.

  Then Adelina had traveled to Hai for her wedding to Kaiden on Anarr. After that they went back to Khara for her wedding to Nash. The time spent in those systems hadn’t just been for weddings and parties though. Adelina had worked with the Drakesthai council on setting up new laws and chains of command after everything they’d given up to the Neprijat.

  Ian had worked with the physicians while they were there. The one who’d discovered the breakthrough, Chiara, had been leading the physicians since Adelina’s coronation. They worked to tweak the formula so it could help everyone. Already a few had been cured of their infertility after Roman.

  It was a lot of tedious work in her opinion, but both Chiara and Ian seemed to adore it.

  Her brother-in-law, Roman, had then insisted she come back after Winter Solstice for his wedding to Chiara and Adelina had agreed of course. Seeing so many people happy…there were no words for the futures she saw all around her when for so long she’d wondered if they would have them at all.

  Adelina planned to wed Nash and Kaiden in Draga as well but it would have to wait a bit longer. There were so many things that needed to happen and she wanted the time to plan it – and the time for Asher to come to terms with the expense.

  He was already in a state about the gold they were spending. But her brother knew it couldn’t be helped. War was expensive, but the repairs and rebuilding after a war were a thousand times worse. Everything that could have been easily ignored prior now seemed like a good idea to do something about. After all, they were already doing so much work. What was a little more?

  Nash took the hand she offered him and he placed it on his arm, officially escorting her. “Where to?”

  “I want to greet Joslynn when she arrives,” Adelina told him, glancing back at Varan and Kaiden. They both hovered over Varan’s shreve with Kaiden showing him which words he’d used in the Drakesthai tongue and the letters in each word. “Varan, which landing station are they assigned?”

  Varan glanced up. “The third. Are you going there now?”

  Nash nodded.

  “Don’t forget to wear a cloak. It’s bloody cold outside. Kaiden and I will go find Nadyah and Veri and let them know to join you in the Queen’s Solar.”

  “Both of you?” she asked.

  Adelina couldn’t believe how close the two of them had gotten in the last few months. Kaiden was teaching Varan his language and she could clearly see the quiet love and adoration grow between them as time passed. Adelina wondered if they were even aware of it.

  But Varan rolled his eyes and laughed. “No darling, not together. We’ll split up. No doubt you’ll all want to catch up.”

  “It’s a shame Kaita couldn’t make it,” Nash said. “I’ll make sure our wife stays warm.”

  Varan nodded, tapping his simulcast. “You better, mate. And with a cloak, not your cock.”

  Adelina burst out laughing. “I know I’ve lessened the restrictions of protocol, but could we perhaps keep things a bit more civil? I don’t want to have to punish anyone.”

  Her king consort looked up from his simulcast with such heat in his eyes she felt weak in the knees. “What if I want you to punish me?” he murmured.

  A servant brought one of her cloaks just then and saved her from having to reply. Adelina let the female settle it across her shoulders before taking Nash’s arm again. “Just make sure all the preparations for the next few days are getting done, you rogue. And I expect your sister to attend.”

  Varan groaned. “Getting her to wear a gown is going to be impossible.”

  She pulled the cloak tight, already regretting the choice to step outside the warm palace. “Roxy doesn’t have to wear a gown. Just make sure whatever it is fits the description of formal.”

  Then Nash led her through the palace toward the landing station where Joslynn and Sirus would arrive. “Is it strange to live in such leniency?” Nash asked as they walked.

  “You mean the lack of protocol?” Adelina clarified.

  He nodded and they entered the lift with the footman. As usual the footman already knew where they were headed and selected the correct floor. “I know it’s still enforced, but not to the same degree. It must be strange after a lifetime of living within its strict confines.”

  Adelina agreed with him, but living like that now, after everything? “It’s strange, but it’s much like it had been when we lived on the Jasmine during the war. This is my home. I want to be able to live here with my family. And when I have to work – protocol will be used then. But in my own time? I want to be able to relax as much as I can and having to nod at each person who bows or curtseys as they pass is exhausting. And ignoring them as my parents did is simply rude.”

  Nash smiled slightly as the doors opened and they walked down the long hall to landing station three. “It’s a good change,” he agreed. “But it’s taking everyone some getting used to.”

  The courtiers and nobles did indeed seem to lapse around her. But as time went on it would get easier. Adelina didn’t allow for people to live at court in the same way they did before. It caused too much drama and theatrics.

  Those who needed to be in the capitol were allowed to stay at the palace, or they could live in their family’s house and estate in Stella di Draga. Yes, the Draga Royal Palace was her place of work, but it was also where she lived.

  Many had grumbled about the change, but after realizing how little had actually changed they’d grown silent. There was too much work to be done still. Once things settled she would reinstate the teas and events to bring the nobles and courtiers and even the citizens together.

  Adelina had many plans.

  Two footmen opened the large doors to the landing station and Adelina braced herself against the freezing cold wind that whipped around them so high up in the sky. She and Nash walked forward just as a starship landed and servants started to scurry about as the ramp lowered.

  Adelina grinned as she watched Sirus lead Joslynn carefully down the ramp. The countess had one hand on her slightly rounded belly. After the tragedy during the war, Adelina was glad her friend had been able to conceive again so quickly.

  Their wedding had been a small and beautiful affair. Adelina was so happy she’d been able to attend. Stopping at Pedranus on their way to Hai had been easy enough.

  So many new beginnings.

  Joslynn’s red hair was vibrant against the falling snow and Sirus looked like he was a part of the wintery landscape. Adelina wondered how his niece was doing with Peter. The rebuilding of Scyria had been going nonstop since the day after her coronation – the same with Seprilles and Treon.

  Peter had declined her offer to let him stay at the palace until the Scyrian Seat was finished being repaired. Adelina respected him more than she ever did while he lived at court. The babe had really changed him for the better.

  “How are you feeling?” Adelina asked as she released Nash, taking a few steps farther into the cold to give Joslynn a hug. She was just getting to the point Adelina had to adjust for the belly.

  Joslynn grinned and placed Adelina’s hand on the slight curve. “I’m feeling much better now that the sickness has abated. We’ve decided on a name finally.”

  Adelina gave her friend the kiss of greeting and then did the same for
Sirus. “Here, come inside where it’s warm and tell me. Sirus, it’s good to see you again.”

  Nash performed the Draga greeting ritual with both as well. Adelina was so proud of the adjustments he was making to accommodate his new title as Prince Consort of Draga. Though Kaita had thrust a few titles on him as well, such as Royal Ambassador of Khara. So he clasped Sirus’s arm in a warrior’s greeting also and kept the male company as Adelina linked her arm through Joslynn’s.

  The doors opened and they stepped through into the lovely warmth, staying to the side so the servants could bring in their luggage.

  “What name did you decide on?” Adelina asked, squeezing Joslynn’s hand. She couldn’t wait to see children playing in the palace again.

  “Taliyah Adelaide,” Joslynn told her. “To honor you and Nadyah.”

  Adelina stopped and pulled her in for another hug. “It’s a beautiful name. And I can’t wait to meet her.”

  Joslynn pulled back and gave her a wink. “Any plans for an heir soon? After all, Taliyah will need a playmate.”

  She chuckled and glanced back at Nash, who watched her closely despite the conversation with Sirus about the repairs on Scyria. His gaze was hungry and desperate, but it was a topic Adelina had avoided thus far. “No, no plans for an heir yet,” she murmured to Joslynn. “There’s still much to be done before I feel ready to bring something so tiny into this world.”

  Nash turned back to his conversation with Sirus and she led Joslynn further into the palace, toward the Queen’s Solar – her solar now.