Page 42 of Dark Princess: Shadows
"We don't know that," Jade said. "The Clan Mother hasn't tried to compel you."
Drova's eyes blazed red for a moment, reminding Ell-rom of the fire he felt behind his eyes every time his death ray was activated.
"Of course not. They would never try because they don't want me to be proven the strongest, but the fact that I can defy her compulsion says it all."
"It says nothing," Jade countered without much conviction.
Ell-rom was intrigued and also a little worried.
If Drova was indeed a more powerful compeller than Annani, she might release his death ray, which meant that she must never find out about it.
"What about you?" Drova asked. "Do you have compulsion power?"
"I don't think so. I can thrall, but just a little. I'm still learning."
Her eyes returned to their natural black as she looked at him. "Maybe you should practice compulsion and see if it works for you. I can help you."
Jade shot her daughter a glare. "You've done enough. Ell-rom will not remove his earpieces for you."
He frowned. "Drova speaks Kra-ell. I don't need the earpieces to communicate with her."
Jade let out a breath. "I forgot that your earpieces are for translation only. They don't filter compulsion like these do." She pointed to the ones she had in her ears.
Had Drova thought that his earpieces were of that kind?
Oh, the girl was clever and cunning. He really should be careful around her.
"I have no wish to learn compulsion." Ell-rom smiled at her. "I think its use should be severely restricted to extreme cases only."
"Yeah, you are right." Drova's shoulders slumped a little.
He turned to Jade. "What can you tell me about our mother? The queen?"
Jade's expression softened. "I was just a junior guard commander, but I vowed to protect my queen and her family, which included you. I would like to believe that the queen rigged the lottery so I would be chosen for the settler ship and offer my protection to you. There were others from the guard who got selected, but their pods haven't been found. I assume that they are all dead."
"That's regrettable. What was she like as a person, though?"
"She was formidable. Not just physically and mentally powerful but politically brilliant. She maintained order among the Kra-ell, pretending to be a traditionalist while secretly fostering progressive ideas."
"Like what?" Drova asked.
"Like questioning the rigid structure of our society," Jade explained. "The queen never openly challenged our traditions, but she had ways of rewarding those who showed independent thinking." She turned to Ell-rom. "Your mother was playing a very long game, trying to gradually change our culture from within. Regrettably, her life was cut short, but according to Aru, her successor continued her work, so not all was lost. The Kra-ell of today are doing much better than the Kra-ell of our time, but it is still a far cry from where the gods are."
He tilted his head. "Do the Kra-ell want to be like the gods?"
"Good question." Drova nodded. "What's good for the gods is not necessarily good for the Kra-ell."
"Education is critical for everyone," Jade said. "And that's what the Kra-ell are missing. Without it, they will always remain a primitive society."
As mother and daughter continued to argue, Ell-rom tried to reconcile what Jade had told him with his fragmented memories of his mother. He remembered her as distant and formal, yet there had been moments, brief flashes of tenderness when no one else was watching.
"Did you ever suspect what we were?" he asked.
Jade was quiet for a moment, considering her answer. "There were whispers, mostly of deformities that you were hiding under your robes and your veils. No one suspected that you were half gods even though everyone had heard the rumors about the queen's affair with the son of the Eternal King when she was still just the princess, but many assumed that she used him to gain information that helped her with the rebellion."
Drova's eyes widened. "The son of the Eternal King was your father?"
He glanced at Jade. "I thought that it was obvious to everyone by now."