by S. E. Smith
Star's Storm: Lords of Kassis Book 2
Title Page
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Star's Storm:
Lords of Kassis Book 2
By S. E. Smith
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank my husband Steve for believing in me and being proud enough of me to give me the courage to follow my dream. I would also like to give a special thank you to my sister and best friend Linda who not only encouraged me to write but who also read the manuscript.
—S. E. Smith
IMPRINT: Erotic Romance
STAR’S STORM: LORDS OF KASSIS BOOK 2
Copyright © 2010 by Susan E. Smith
First E-Book Publication January 2013
Smashwords Edition
Cover Design by Dara England/Melody Simmons
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED: This literary work may not be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, including electronic or photographic reproduction, in whole or in part, without express written permission from the author.
All characters, places, and events in this book are fictitious or have been used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, actual events, locale, or organizations are strictly coincidental.
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Synopsis
Star Strauss has always been a fighter. From the time she was born prematurely to her life on the road as a circus performer. She has never let her small stature keep her from achieving her dreams. She is one of the best aerial performers in the world. Her love of being up high and flying free has helped her overcome the challenges she faces when she is on the ground. Only her circus family, her sister, and her best friend have ever really understood her need for freedom. Her life changes when she finds herself on a distant world where every creature seems to tower over her.
Jazin Ja Kel Coradon is the third son of the ruling House of Kassis. He is known not only for his skills as a fierce warrior but for his knowledge of communication, security, and weapons systems. This knowledge has increased the effectiveness of the Kassis defenses protecting their world from attack from a new group of rebels who threaten their very existence. He will fight until his last breath to protect his people.
His life changes when he meets a tiny creature who is unlike anything he has ever seen. She is tiny, delicate, and beautiful. The problem is she is also the strongest, most stubborn female he has ever met. She refuses to do what he tells her, she defies him at every turn, and doesn’t seem to understand that all he wants to do is protect her. If he could just get her to stay in the nice safe bubble he has created for her, his life would be so much simpler!
Star had enough of people back home trying to put her in a glass box, she wasn’t about to let anyone on an alien world try to put her in one! When the man she loves is kidnapped, she will do what she does best. She will use her skills as a performer to rescue him from the men determined to extract the information they need to bring down the Kassis defense system before they kill him.
Sometimes being small has its advantages. The enemy never expects a pint-size female to have the strength of a warrior and a stubborn warrior is about to find out he has a partner who can stand tall with him in the face of danger.
Chapter 1
Star stared up at the glittering stars as a sense of peace settled over her. She was surprised. She thought dying would hurt but she didn’t feel any pain at all anymore. Her body was no longer trembling from the cold that had engulfed it only moments earlier. Now, she couldn’t feel the shivers raging through her tiny body. She could hear her sister’s tearful voice begging her to hang on. She could hear her best friend and surrogate sister, River, saying something in the background but none of it mattered any more. All that mattered was the sense of peace that was settling over her.
She stared up at the two moons in the dark sky. She frowned slightly. Why were there two of them? The Earth only had one moon. Her mind fought sluggishly to remember.
Oh yeah, Star remembered vaguely. I’m not on Earth anymore. I’m on Kassis.
The frown cleared only to be replaced with a feeling of deep sorrow as a name whispered across her mind… Jazin. The thought of leaving him caused a sharp pain to blossom inside her that had nothing to do with the injuries to her small body. A single tear escaped the corner of her eye and ran down until it fell into the soft blond hair fanning out around her. She heard her sister’s anguished cry as darkness descended around her. Star felt her heart stutter as though it was actually breaking for the love she was leaving behind. As if from a great distance, she faintly heard Jo’s cry echo quietly through the night as her eyes slowly drifted closed.
“No! Damn it, Star!” Jo choked out as she desperately tried to stem the blood flowing from the wound to her little sister’s side. “You hang on! You are a fighter! You will not give in, damn you! You will not leave me here alone!”
“Let me take her.” A hissing voice suddenly whispered out of the darkness of the night. “She must be taken to medical immediately.”
Jo turned her head to stare at the huge creature burying its sharp claws into the stone pillar she and Star were perched on. Madas Tal Mod was the mate of the Leader of the Tearnats, a reptilian alien species that had kidnapped her and Star. Jo gazed at the creature for a moment before she glanced down at her sister’s pale, peaceful face. She looked back up at Madas with pleading eyes. Her voice, thick with tears, was barely above a whisper.
“Please, you have to help her,” Jo begged, looking into the black eyes of the creature.
“Let me take her. She will survive,” Madas Tal Mod replied in a soft hissing voice. “It is not time for the little warrior to leave our world yet.”
Jo watched helplessly as Madas gently picked up Star’s limp body and cradled it against her tightly. Madas used her powerful back legs and tail to help grip the pillar as she climbed back down it. She refused to believe the Gods would call this little warrior home to their world. There were still too many dangers that needed to be dealt with and the strength and heart of this tiny warrior from another world was still needed.
Madas jumped that last few feet to the ground making sure she cushioned the body held in her arms. She didn’t wait to see if the other warrior followed. There wasn’t enough time. Already she could hear the little warrior’s heart struggle to beat. She moved rapidly through the dark gardens situated between the four Houses of Kassis. The battle tonight had taken quite a few lives, both enemy and allied. Madas was determined that the one in her arms would not be another.
She burst into the South House, hissing out for directions to medical. She was just about to turn when a savage roar echoed through the corridor leading from the gardens into the main hallway. Wild eyes met hers briefly before they dropped to th
e precious body in her arms.
“She needs help immediately,” Madas said. “Lead, I will carry her. It is best not to move her any more than necessary. I hear her heart struggling.”
Jazin stared grimly at the large Tearnat. Every fiber in him wanted to rip the tiny body out of her arms and into his but he knew she was right. Forcing himself to turn away, he roared for everyone to clear a path and took off at a run for the medical unit shouting into his link that he needed the healers to be prepared immediately. He burst through the door just a millisecond before Madas. He watched as the healers, who had been waiting, quickly instructed Madas to lower Star’s small figure onto the regenerative bed before they disappeared through another set of doors. He moved to follow them. He was stopped by Madas’ large, claw-shaped hand that was gripping his forearm tightly.
Jazin swung around pulling his laser sword. “Let them care for her,” the soft voice hissed in compassion. “You will only be in their way. Give them time to stabilize her before you go. Give yourself time to calm so you can be strong for her,” Madas said looking down into Jazin’s eyes.
Jazin swallowed several times trying to get control of his rage and fear. His eyes shifted to the doors and back to the huge Tearnat holding him. He knew she was right. He would not be of use to Star in the condition he was in. He would only get in the way. But… his eyes went back to the door.
“I cannot lose her,” he said harshly.
“It is not her time yet,” Madas said confidently. “Your little warrior has much to do still. This is simply a test by the Gods to see if she has the strength needed to face the battles still yet to come. She is strong. She will not fail such a simple challenge. Believe in her strength and you will find she is truly as much a warrior as you are. She will be a mate who can stand by your side, not in your shadow,” Madas hissed out quietly.
Jazin looked at Madas and slowly lowered his blade. “I can only pray that you are right,” he replied. “But, know this. If she survives, I will never let her be exposed to danger again. I will protect her and care for her even if I have to lock her away to do so. Never again will I let anyone hurt her. On this I swear,” Jazin declared passionately.
Madas chuckled as she watched the fierce determination settle onto Jazin Ja Kel Coradon’s face. “Be careful what you say, Lord Jazin. There are some forces in the universe you cannot control. And some of them come in very small packages.”
Chapter 2
Star relaxed further down under the covers. She was having the most wonderful dream. She was flying through the air. Her dad was watching her, coaching her, laughing excitedly as she caught the bar he had swung out for her to catch. She could feel his and her mom's arms wrap tightly around her in excitement when she landed on the platform next to them.
The dream began to change. She wasn't a little girl any more. Walter, the manager of the circus, was introducing her, Jo, and River. She could feel the huge horse under her picking up speed as she entered the center ring. Tonight she was going to perform a new act. It was one of the most challenging she had ever done and the first time she was the star of the show. Jo and River would back her up if she needed it but she was confident she wouldn't have any problems. It had taken Walter to finally convince her parents that she could do this. Star was small for sixteen, barely reaching five feet in her bare feet. Even then, she towered over Walter's three and a half foot frame. It was Walter who Star turned to when she became afraid she couldn't do something. He never gave her any sympathy. He pushed her to believe in herself and her natural talents. He made her feel as tall as any of the other performers.
The dream was changing again, pulling her away from her circus family. Colors swirled around her as if she was falling through the White Rabbit's hole only to end up in Oz. Bits and pieces of her life flashing through her mind in a kaleidoscope of images, sounds, and colors. It made her dizzy as they flitted through her mind.
Now she was at the condo she and Jo owned in Orlando. She was mad! She felt the overwhelming anger burning through her. She had heard a group of other performers, including the guy she was dating, making fun of her size. He was telling the others that he was only dating her so he could get close to some of the contacts she had in the entertainment business. He joked that being with her was like hanging out with his kid sister. She wasn't much bigger, either! The others made snide remarks, wanting to know if he had bedded the 'baby'. He had jokingly told them he tried but he didn't fit in the crib she slept in. She was about to give him a piece of her mind again when she was pulled away into the misty swirling colors again. She spun around floating upward until she reached another time in her life.
Now, she was at the cabin in the mountains she had rented for her, Jo, and River. She and Jo were talking excitedly about what they were going to do once River joined them. It had been almost a year since they were able to get together with River Knight, their best friend and adopted sister. The three of them had grown up together traveling with the circus. They were inseparable growing up and they missed her so much since they had stopped traveling. Life on the road had lost some of its glamor for Jo and Star after their parents retired. They still performed in a circus doing their death-defying aerial stunts but they did it without moving around. When their parents retired to Florida, Jo and Star had stayed with the circus family they had grown up with for a couple years before joining Circus of the Stars in Orlando, Florida. Here they expanded their performances to include aerial stunts mixed with incredible special effects.
Star moved restlessly as the mists in her dream turned darker. Memories now invaded her dreams. There had been a sound on the front porch of the cabin they were renting. Star thought it was River. A cry ripped from her throat as the dark, alien figure appeared in front of her. She struggled weakly against the hands holding her, fighting to break free but she couldn’t get her body to do what she wanted it to do. A soothing voice filtered through before it faded as the cloak of dark mist spun its web around her until she was swept away on its dark waves.
*.*.*
Jazin stared up at Shavic who was injecting Star with a sedative. “What is happening? Is she in pain? Why can’t you help her?” He asked with a worried frown as he ran a soothing hand along the side of her face.
He glanced down, watching as her face relaxed as she slipped further down into a more restful sleep. It had been touch and go for the first few hours. One of the healers had even come for him to be near her side when they thought she wouldn’t make it at one point. He had clung to her hand, demanding that she obey him for once. He would not tolerate her not fighting. He refused to believe that he could lose her. She meant too much to him.
Shavic, his brother’s healer from aboard his warship, came in a short time later ordering him back out until he had time to evaluate Star. His older brother, Torak, had called him. He trusted Shavic more than any other except the healer who had worked on River when she was injured. It was only because that healer was unavailable that he relied on Shavic. Two hours passed before Shavic tiredly walked back into the waiting room where Jazin, Ajaska, Manota, Jo, Madas, and her mate Gril were waiting. Torak, with River by his side, was being seen by another healer. He had also been injured during the attack that night.
Jazin almost broke down in front of everyone when Shavic told him Star would make it. She would need plenty of rest and time to rebuild her strength but she would be fine. Manota had taken Jo back to their house, ignoring her protests that she wanted to stay with her sister. She only relented when she saw the barely controlled emotion on Jazin’s face. He vaguely remembered his father, Madas and Gril giving him a comforting squeeze on his arm before they left him to follow Shavic back to Star’s bedside.
That had been almost an hour ago. Shavic was still monitoring Star. When she began moving restlessly in the bed and moaning, he decided it would be best if she remained sedated for a while longer to give her additional time to heal. Shavic said there had been some progress on upgrading the equipment to handl
e the human anatomy but they were still learning. The biggest breakthrough had been the synthetic blood source they were able to develop that was compatible with the humans.
“Your mate has lost a lot of blood. It will take time to replenish it. I do not want to give her too much yet. I want to make sure she does not have a reaction,” Shavic said. “She is not in pain. The pain inhibitors on her temple prevent that. She is merely dreaming.”
“You are sure she will make it,” Jazin asked quietly, gazing down at Star’s pale face.
Shavic laid the injector down on the tray and looked at Jazin before turning his gaze to Star. “She will make it. She is strong and she is a fighter. She will recover,” he repeated confidently. “She will sleep for several more hours. Why don’t you get cleaned up and get some rest?”
Jazin stared at Shavic defiantly. “I won’t leave her.”
Shavic chuckled. “Use the cleansing unit here. You can rest next to her,” he said with a nod to the bed. “It opens further.”
Jazin nodded. “You will stay with her until I return?” He asked hesitantly, unwilling to leave her alone for even a minute.
“Go,” Shavic said gently. “I will stay with her. Your captain of the guard brought you a change of clothes.”
Jazin rose reluctantly, letting his fingers linger on Star’s cheek. “She is so headstrong,” he murmured. “All three of the human females are. I should have known they were up to something.”
“What do you think their world is like?” Shavic asked in wonder, staring at Star’s pale, peaceful face as she rested. “Do you think all the women there are warriors like them?”
Jazin looked at Shavic, a small smile pulled at the corner of his mouth. Now that he knew Star would make it, he felt calmer by a small measure. He thought of the video he saw of Star when she was younger. Her friend, River, had a set of video disks and his brother, Torak, had asked him to copy them to a format that devices on their world could read. Neither he nor his brothers expected to discover what they had. The women were not warriors. They were performers who did incredible feats.