by Eva Brandt
Eva Brandt
Tears of Tungsten
Chimera Academy 2
Copyright © 2019 by Eva Brandt
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This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author's imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.
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Contents
Tears of Tungsten
A Note From the Author
Index
Prologue
The Dreamer
Scorched Grass
Royal Command
Weapons Training
The New Teachers
Unpleasant Surprises
Between the Future and the Past
Spilled Blood
Stolen by Flame
Truth of the Sun-Dwellers
Unlikely Allies
The Tale of a Human Heliad
The Claiming
Black Holes
The Sister and the Mother
The Agreement
Epilogue
Coming Soon
Also by Eva Brandt
About the Author
Tears of Tungsten
Once, I thought I was Unblessed. Now, I know I have a gift. But in my world, nothing is without a price and at Chimera Academy, that price has to be paid in tears and blood.
It’s been a couple of months since I’ve become a student at Chimera Academy. I’ve earned some recognition through my efforts and through the Grand Tartarus Tournament. But that progress is a double-edged blade, as August’s chimera, Charybdis, remains dormant, unreachable to us.
All of a sudden, August is deemed unsuitable to form part of the Grant Chimera Unit, and there’s very little I can do to help. Straddled with new tasks and classes, I’m being slowly pushed away from my lovers.
To make matters worse, Brendan’s father, King Philip, seems to be showing interest in me and my family again. And my mother isn’t helping, because she seems to think my new gift is a curse, and not a blessing.
I spend every day telling myself it’s nothing I can’t handle. I wake up, smile, and fight on, hoping I’ll be able to learn enough to protect the people I love.
But at Chimera Academy, even the people I trust have dark secrets and the weight of their choices can crack anything. Cast adrift by a terrible betrayal, I’m guided to a different path, one that leads to the handsome and mysterious alien, Jared Glass.
He claims he wants to free me. He calls me his mate. He wants to breed me, to make me his.
I refuse to be owned by anyone. I have a goal—to fight and help my people. And I’ll fulfill it, even if it means I’ll have to turn my tears into tungsten and harden my heart into diamond.
I am Selene Renard, and I will destroy my own heart to reach my dream of freedom.
Tears of Tungsten is the a 78k words reverse harem novel, the second book in Chimera Academy trilogy. Inside, you’ll find plenty of steamy content, including some scenes with an m/m vibe. But be warned! The future is darker than it seems. Don’t journey into it if you’re not prepared for a wild ride.
A Note From the Author
Thank you for picking up Tears of Tungsten. Please note that this book contains some scenes that may not be to everyone’s taste. There will be graphic violence to serious degrees, gore, mentions of genocide, etc.
Additionally, this book contains alien abduction. If you’re in any way familiar with this trope, you’ll be aware that there is some dubious consent involved as well as some more unusual sexual aspects involved. This story is no different. At the risk of spoiling it for you a little, there will be a rather intriguing and affectionate plant in Selene’s future helping her in her sexual journey.
If you don’t find that to your liking, by all means, skip this one.
Index
Governmental organizations
In this setting, the world has a centralized government called The Grand Judiciary. It primarily acts as a supervisor of military operations, but has superior authority over all other bodies. The second organization, in charge of administrative operations, is led by the High Priestesses of Gaia. While the overall organization is connected, each branch is individual to a respective nation/region. They are independent from one another, but not from The Grand Judiciary.
Chimeras
Chimeras are massive robots that are fueled by the energy of Tartarus and carry the spirits of ancient mythological creatures. They are the main fighting force against alien invasions and are divided into several separate categories.
Grand Chimera Unit
Typhon (Tracker code: GCTPH)
Cerberus (Tracker code: GCCRB)
Charybdis (Tracker code: GCCHR)
Scylla (Tracker code: GCSCY)
Sphinx (Tracker code: GCSPH)
Dormant:
Medusa (Tracker code: GCMED)
Hydra (Tracker code: GCHYD)
Pegasus (Tracker code: GCPEG)
Minotaur (Tracker code: GCMIN)
Lower Chimera Unit
Harpy Squad (LCHRP)
Ocypete (Tracker code: LCOCY)
Aello (Tracker code: LCAEL)
Podarge (Tracker code: LCPOD)
Celaeno (Tracker code: LCCEL)
Zephyrus (Tracker code: LCZPH)
Boreas (Tracker code: LCBOR)
Nicothoe (Tracker code: LCNIC)
Chimeras are referred to as both individual beings and metallic vessels. The subtle difference is in the use of the definite article ‘the’. This is the official style, and when used before a chimera name (e.g. the Typhon, the Scylla), it mostly refers to the chimera in question as a whole. The absence of the definite article denotes a closer relationship between the chimera and the person speaking and a general mentality of seeing the chimera as a person in its own right.
Other Military Units
The Terran space force also contains several other types of vessels. They are divided in several categories.
The Oceanus Attack Corps
Hyperion Star Fleet
The Theia Star Fleet
The Crius Guard Corps
The Tethys Transport Corps
Heliads
Also known as Sun-Dwellers or Heliovore Apsids, they are the species of aliens that attempted to conquer Earth. Their leader goes by the name of the Great Mother. Their main milita
ry force consists in crystallized units, gigantic energy organism powered by the photon emissions of at least three individual Heliads.
The Apsid Quasar – the unofficial Terran name for the Quasar 4D642, the area where the Heliads live
Nexus – the home world of the Heliads
Eos – the capital city of the Heliads
Helix – the core of Eos, consisting in a singularity capable of manipulating time and space
Other terms of note
Tachyons – particles faster that light that form the basis of Tartarus fire
Photon – elementary particle consisting in a bundle of electromagnetic energy, depicted here as the basis of Helios’s powers
Quasar – a luminous, active galactic nucleus in which a supermassive black hole is surrounded by a gaseous accretion disk
Accretion disk – cirsumstellar disk formed by diffuse material in orbital motion around a massive central body
Singularity - a one-dimensional point located in the center of a black hole, which contains a huge mass in an infinitely small space
Prologue
It was the year 2153. The war with the heliovore apsids had claimed more than eighty percent of Terra’s population. The numbers of losses would’ve been even higher, had chimeras not taken over most of the fighting.
With the massive, tachyon-fueled mechas as their allies, humans had a mild edge over the apsids. It didn’t help as much as they wanted.
One of the final battles was held near the planet Mercury. In the clash between the Terrans and their foes, Mercury was almost destroyed, large parts of it turning into an asteroid belt. The true extent of the damage to the apsids was unknown, but after the battle, they stopped their attacks, retreating to their mysterious homeland. Over the following decades, incursions in Terran territory were few and unremarkable.
It was this retreat that ultimately led The Hyperion task force to attempt a mission in the depths of The Apsid Quasar. Terran forces suffered a devastating loss, and apsid activity increased again.
Another war was coming and, this time, the chimeras were nowhere near as prepared to handle the apsids as they had been before.
The Dreamer
Selene
“Run! Run! The creature is after you! It will consume you!”
“Don’t look at it! It’ll turn you to stone!”
“The dragon! Typhon’s monster is coming! Run.”
Desperate screams echoed over the battlefield, audible only to the Heliads. The stench of scorched flesh and melting metal settled over the surface of the planet as if it had an atmosphere of its own. Clutching my sword, I hid behind a rocky outcropping and tried to find a way to escape.
The monsters had come out of nowhere. This particular group was the most vicious my unit and I had ever faced. Medusa was the one I hated the most. She didn’t have as much firepower as the others, but she didn’t need it. The eyes of the mecha held the same power her mythological counterpart had been cursed with. Wherever that energy came from, we couldn’t fight it, not like we fought the fire the rest of the chimeras emanated.
And then there was Typhon, who was practically indestructible and overwhelmed us through sheer size. Rumor had it that he could propagate a venomous aura, but nothing was certain. Very few Heliads engaged him in combat and lived to tell the tale.
I forced myself to calm down and stole a look around the battlefield. Yes, the situation looked bad. Yes, I’d lost one of my hearts. But I could heal. All I had to do was make my way to the escape shuttle. Nexus would undoubtedly send reinforcements. The Great Mother wouldn’t abandon us to die and be eaten by the chimeras.
My hopes proved to be for naught. It took one second, a single moment of distraction, for everything to fall apart.
“There you are, little Heliad,” a dark voice suddenly said from above me.
I turned and tasted horror in my mouth when my worst fears came to pass. Impossibly, Medusa had managed to sneak up on me, and now, her massive frame cast my whole world into shadow. Metallic snakes hissed from her hair. As a rule, their role was to make sure Medusa had perfect vision from every angle, at any time. But right then and there, they were completely focused on me.
I knew I shouldn’t look at her, that I should be trying to retreat. But some kind of terrible fascination settled over me, and I found myself meeting her gaze.
“Look at that,” she drawled. “It looks like I have an extra spicy meal on today’s menu. Typhon will be so pleased.”
In the dark emptiness of space, her fangs shone almost as brightly at the sun. I stared at them and remembered different times, different days, kisses that tasted like tears, the warmth of my mother’s embrace, my brother’s laughter, and the Great Mother’s determination.
I’m sorry. I failed you.
Medusa didn’t turn me to stone. She opened her mouth, ready to consume me. This was to be my fate then. I’d end up in a chimera’s stomach, to be used as fuel in the never-ending battle between two races. I’d become a tool against my people.
My end never came. Instead of plunging me into fire and death, Medusa asked, “Selene? What’s wrong?”
The incomprehensible words jarred me from my trance. I tried to look at Medusa again, to see what she meant by that. But Medusa was gone, and the planet was crumbling around me.
A distant cry reached my ears, although I couldn’t detect the source. “Selene! Snap out of it.”
My name wasn’t Selene. It was… It was… Helios help me, I couldn’t remember anymore.
“Selene! It’s all right! I’m here. Come back to me. Come on, beautiful! Open your eyes.”
I did, and just like that, the sight of the terrible destruction vanished, replaced by a familiar, metallic ceiling. At first, I was confused, still a little lost in the haze of terror. But then, that voice returned, as strong and intense as it always was. “Selene? Can you hear me?”
At long last, I realized I was in the arms of a certain chimera tamer who was far more lupine than he’d ever wanted to admit. He’d been holding me in a tight embrace, presumably trying to wake me up. “Yeah,” I croaked out. “I’m… I can hear you, Knox.”
Knox broke our embrace and cupped my cheeks, intently scanning my face. He smiled at me, but the expression lacked any kind of joy. “There you are. Good morning, beautiful.”
Judging by his tone, he didn’t consider anything about this morning good. I disagreed. The nightmare had been dreadful, but its shadows were already fading, chased away by Knox’s strength.
I plopped down onto the pillows and dragged him along with me. I couldn’t physically overpower him, but he obeyed me anyway and pulled me to his chest. “Are you okay?” he asked as he petted my hair.
I nodded and found with no small amount of satisfaction that it wasn’t a lie. My heartbeat had already started to settle. My tears had dried. The chimeras were no longer my enemies. I was safe. “I’m fine,” I answered, curling around his warm chest. “I had a bad dream.”
Knox frowned but didn’t ask what the nightmare had been about. He knew better by now. “That’s the fifth time this week,” he said, pressing a light kiss over my temple. “Are you sure you don’t want to see a medic?”
I shot him a look of disbelief. Our academy doctor was more likely to kill me than help me.
Knox must have guessed what was on my mind—not that it was so difficult. “I didn’t mean Dr. Bell,” he elaborated. “Someone else. We can find another physician. Brendan could easily make the arrangements.”
I pulled away from Knox, irritated with the topic. I’d wanted to linger in his arms for a while longer, but obviously, that wasn’t about to happen.
It wasn’t that I didn’t understand the possible benefits of resorting to medical aid. The nightmares could occasionally be very bad and were making it tougher for me to concentrate on my duties. But I didn’t trust a lot of people on Tartarus. If I went to see a medic, I might also have to tell them what the nightmares were about. I had no idea how I’d
be able to explain my dreams of being a Sun-Dweller.
I slid out of bed and reached for my new hairbrush. As I gently fed some tachyons into the machine, the tiny drone began to untangle the mess of curls that masqueraded as my hair.
“I appreciate the concern, Knox, but I don’t want to cause problems for Brendan. He has enough stuff on his plate already. I’m going to Terra today. I’ll ask my mother then.”
Silence fell between us at the reminder. None of my lovers were happy with The Grand Judiciary’s insistence to send me to my homeland, but Knox had taken it the worst. He’d insisted on coming with me, but Dean Chimera had denied his petition.
“If Acting Pilot Renard can’t take care of herself when she’s surrounded by friendlies, she can hardly be relied on while we’re on the field of battle.”
I hated having to agree with a man who despised me just because of my gender, but in this case, I had no choice. My family wasn’t a threat. The terrorist groups that occasionally popped up had other priorities and more important things to worry about. I was in far more danger on Tartarus than I’d ever be on Terra.
The overprotectiveness was unwarranted. It wasn’t the potential danger that bothered me, but the separation.
I didn’t want to tell Knox that, so instead, I tried to comfort him. “I’ll be fine, Knox. We’ve set up a clear schedule, so I won’t be away for too long. And honestly, that whole business at Hyperion Base 35 might be a fluke. If I’d had any real talent with Gaia’s Gift, my mother would’ve known it by now.”