Page 307 of Hunters and Prey

Chiara stilled. “One was for him.” Which was it? She inspected both plates more closely. Then realized with a sigh of relief she’d grabbed the right one.

“Oh well…” Zoya sighed. “Now I feel rude.”

“Gabe is a submissive. No doubt he’s grateful you took it from him. He’ll be fine,” Chiara reassured her. Then she tilted her head and studied Zoya closer. “Not that you would have known that. How do your people manage dominance without the scent of it to tell you?”

The princess folded her hands and placed them gracefully on her lap. “We scent a lot of things, but dominance is not one of them. We cannot make others submit in the same way dominant Kalans can. Have you used that power?” Zoya asked. The words weren’t accusatory or mean-spirited, but the tone was suspiciously neutral.

Chiara eyed her. She would have to be careful in her response. This was definitely one of those questions that could potentially cause problems.

“In Draga dominance doesn’t need to be used as I assume you think it does,” Chiara explained, setting her plate of food down so she could focus on the conversation. She didn’t want to say something wrong and offend a female who might end up as family. “You met with Queen Adelina. Obviously that is quite…different, compared to anyone who is not a royal. Based on scent we know who is the most dominant. A fight about it isn’t usually necessary.”

Zoya cocked her head and studied Chiara from head to toe. “Are you considered dominant among your people?”

This was getting personal quickly. Chiara tapped her fingers on the arm of the chair and thought about what she was willing to reveal to the princess. If there was a quick way to get her to leave so Chiara could keep working, it was probably having this conversation. The older female looked far too comfortable – like she could sit here all afternoon if she needed to get the answers she wanted.

While Chiara was willing to work late to make up for this social time, she didn’t want to fall behind either.

“I’m not sure what my dominance has to do with anything,” Chiara admitted finally. “The only time those in Draga have squabbles is when a rank might outweigh one’s dominance. For example, I hear Prince William possesses the lilac scent – not the most submissive, but close. But because he is a Draga royal he will always be above me despite the fact I am more dominant. My position and rank is too low to challenge him.”

Zoya narrowed her eyes. “It really is that simple for you. You don’t mind that a prince can order you about even if he’s submissive?”

Chiara shrugged, feeling uncomfortable with the direction this conversation had gone. “Of course. He’s a Draga royal. The royals have been genetically altered to protect us all. And they do – some more than others. I have complete faith in the queen.”

The female nodded and Chiara stilled when she suddenly realized if she married Roman, then Queen Adelina would be her sister-in-law. The queen…Kienz, save her.

Chiara dropped her head in her hands and breathed to keep from panicking too badly. Why hadn’t that connection occurred to her before? Of course they would be in-laws as Roman and Prince Kaiden were brothers.

Well…did that go in the pro or con column?

Sitting up again she decided it was going in both. Dealing with her emotions on the matter could happen later. The Princess of Anarr was still sitting in her office, watching her closely, but surprisingly she didn’t ask more prying questions.

“Roman told me that you would be able to help me with a gown for dinner as well as educating me on the proper protocol of the Drakesthai,” Chiara managed, running her fingers through her hair to dispel some of the leftover nerves while she shoved down any thought regarding the Queen of Draga.

The princess was quiet for a moment, and then she nodded. “Yes, I can do both of those things and a tailor is on his way with a few of my dresses for you to try on. In the meantime I’d like to learn more about my son’s mate.”

Chiara didn’t like the feeling of being interrogated. To avoid such a thing she decided to take control of the conversation. “Tell me, if you don’t have dominance scents among your people, how are things done other than rank? Is there something in your genetic makeup that does something similar? The Corinthians rule by strength. They use that strength to protect those weaker than them and the weaker ones find a way to provide for the group. What do the Drakesthai do?”

They stared each other down and despite the princess having a higher rank; Chiara didn’t feel the urge to look away as she did with the queen or her consort, Varan. Learning the ways of Roman’s people would be the hardest part of this mating for her.

Zoya shrugged. “We adapt well. It’s a combination of strength, intelligence, and willpower. We just know. If I can’t hold someone’s gaze then they are more dominant – for example Serilda rules us all through the Council because of her willpower and intelligence alone. Her strength has faded over the cycles, but that is what her mates are for. And any male in Hai would die for her, or me. Even you. Females are precious and always have been – even before they became rare.”

It was a lot to consider and Chiara wondered if it was something she could even learn. She didn’t have the same senses as the Drakesthai.

It had taken her most of her life to find a way to blend in with her own people – to learn how people operated and what they expected. The dominance spectrum made things easier for her and protocol gave her a crutch when she wasn’t sure what to do in social situations.

The Drakesthai weren’t as wild and unstructured as the Unchanged, but they were still chaotic to her senses. They could scent things like truth and they hoarded information and knowledge. They had royals but dissimilar to the ones she was used to.

From all the tests she’d run nothing set the Drakesthai royals apart other than a few markers that occasionally translated into greater strength and intelligence. But nothing like the royals in Draga.

Chiara had compared Adelina’s test to her mates and the Drakesthai of Anarr. A Draga royal was a race apart, much like the Draga courtesans. They had their own powers that most Kalans did not possess.

Then there was the interesting marker in Roman’s DNA as well as Kaiden’s. If one of them did father a female Drakesthai – there was a genetic marker for wings. Which none of the other Drakesthai seemed to possess. Zoya had it as well so it went through the female line. But Zoya did not have wings so it was a recessive gene.

Chiara studied the princess. “Did you know your sons could father a female with wings?”

The look of shock on Zoya’s face could have been considered amusing, but Chiara could scent something like fear from the other female.

“How could you possibly know that?” Zoya demanded, gripping the skirts of her gown tightly.

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