by Imogene Nix
Joruzan smiled enigmatically. “Until now, you didn’t need to know.”
Anger coursed, scalding her. “So instead you sent me here, put lives at risk—”
“That’s enough, Dria! This is neither the time nor the location for such a discussion. You will be recalled soon to discuss this with your father. Until then, you will hunt out the rest of the Incubi and deal with them.” He dismissed her by turning his back. “Thank you for your assistance Gurdu. The Turaa will, of course, require your report, as no doubt will your leader.”
“If you are ready, Ist’an?” The leader spoke to the one treating Marcus, who was now sitting upright, his face tight but the bleeding diminished.
“Yes, sir.” Ist’an gave a tight bow, then he and his people disappeared.
With an angry look in Joruzan’s direction, Dria moved to Marcus and crouched down. “Are you okay?”
His gaze was distant, but he was alive. “I’ve felt better.”
She lifted a shaking hand to his face. “I’ll bet. Let’s go home.”
He nodded, panting heavily. She wanted him out of there. “You have a transmitter?”
“Yeah. Two in my pocket—one for you and one for me.”
She removed them from his pocket, wincing as he groaned his discomfort.
“I’ll alert your team,” she said. “And then we can—”
Bang! Crash! The door thudded open and Marcus’s people hurried in. Looks of disbelief flooded their faces as they took in the tableau.
Dria looked up. “He’s fine. But we’re going home. Joruzan, you can sort this mess out.”
With that she depressed the buttons and the room turned black.
* * * *
The sun shone down as Dria left the palace. Her parents had been stunned at the ultimatum she’d just given them. Down below the mountain, in a small cafe, Marcus waited for her.
For Marcus, she’d concocted a story about needing to return home and that her parents wished to meet him. Today wasn’t the time though. No, she needed the truth about Christina before taking a chance. Dria had reached the point of no return in the small shack when Marcus had been hurt. Like a lightning strike, it had hit her—he was the most important thing in her life.
Her fingers shook as she transmitted to the cafe door. Peering in, she glanced around for him.
He looked as nervous as she felt. Dria fussed with the collar of her gown before stepping forward. If she could somehow encourage him to open up, then she could make the most important declaration of her life.
Marcus turned his eyes to her as she walked in his direction. “Everything done?”
She smiled. “Yes. Let’s sit down.”
He smiled tightly. “I already am.”
The idiocy of her suggestion left her feeling more on edge than before as she tugged on a seat and lowered herself into the chair.
“I’d like to talk to you about...stuff.” She almost groaned, realizing how lame the word sounded, but right now, all the careful rehearsal of what she meant to say eluded her.
“Good. I’d like... There’s something I’d like to discuss with you.” His grin wobbled, and she leaned forward. “I need to tell you about Christina.”
Now it was Dria’s turn to struggle with her smile. “Okay.”
“Christina was... I met her on one of my missions. She was involved with the drug underground. My job was to extract as much information as I could from her. She had figured out who I was. Of course, that helped her achieve her ultimate aim. At the end, once she had the information she needed, she packed up her stuff, then decided she should tell me goodbye in person. Unknown to all of us, the cartel set explosives. Since the explosion, I’ve blamed myself because she waited to talk to me, as if it were somehow my fault that she was killed. Once the contents of her vehicle were listed I knew she had been planning on leaving me, but I held onto my grief and let it rule my life. I let her lies color my views on relationships and stopped trusting in what I could have.”
Dria rubbed her forehead, struggling to understand what he was saying.
“Did you love her?” The words were dragged from the deepest recess of her soul.
He shook his head. “I thought I did. But I didn’t know what love was. Not then.”
She tilted her head in his direction. He scrubbed his hand over his face, and the action left her feeling unbalanced.
“Marcus...”
“Shhh.” He stopped her words as he touched a fingertip against her lips. “Let me finish.”
She nodded and kept her eyes locked on his face, entranced as he slipped from the chair and dropped to one knee. “I’m really not worthy of you. You’re a princess, and I’m a mere warrior. But I love you like no one else ever will. I love your passion and drive. I adore everything about you. Please consider finding a way to—”
Her eyes burned as she dropped to her knees in front of him. “Marcus. I love you too. I have since... I don’t really know when. I’ve just informed my parents I cannot continue as Turana. It’s not who I’m meant to be. My life... It’s with you. If you’ll have me?”
She waited but the seconds dragged like minutes. Then he wound his arms around her waist and pulled her close.
“You’re everything to me. When you were taken prisoner... I couldn’t function. It was like the other half of me was...gone. We can marry and stay here if you want?”
She shook her head. “Marry, yes, but not stay here. I’ve asked my parents to grant me the position of Ambassador to Earth. I can do more good there. There’s plenty to keep me busy, and to be honest, the little bit I saw of Earth... I liked it.”
He kissed her. Hard. She allowed it for a brief moment, then pulled away.
“As lovely as this is, I have one more surprise.” She lifted her transmitter, and a grin snaked over her face.
His eyes sparkled with excitement, and she felt herself leaning forward, while his lips formed one word. “Where?”
“Somewhere infinitely more private.” With a laugh, she depressed the button, and hand in hand the world turned black.
About Imogene Nix
Imogene Nix is an author, a wife, and a mother as well as running a bookshop. When she isn’t busy fulfilling those roles, you might find her cooking, juicing fruit, or talking to the chickens in the backyard.
She is supremely interested in all things science fiction, has a secret crush on a space captain, and loves to snuggle up with her dog, Super Pup, when she’s enjoying downtime with a book.
Imogene’s Website:
www.imogenenix.com
Reader eMail:
[email protected]
The Spaceship Captain’s Daughter
by Ashlynn Monroe
Briz will face death to save a race of strangers, but will her pirate’s love be enough to save her?
Briz Julius isn’t afraid to break the law to save the lives of strangers. Briz insists she can get an important shipment of medicine between worlds without incident. Her family reluctantly agrees to allow her to make the trip in their oldest, smallest vessel. The decrepit ship doesn’t look like much, but that’s exactly what she needs to get to her designation without attracting attention.
Matek’s family was massacred by the captain of the pirate ship, the Heartless. Becoming one of the crew was easy, but remaining silent while the ruthless villain takes an innocent girl captive isn’t. Matek has spent years plotting his revenge. Is he willing to throw away his only chance to avenge everyone he loved in order to save the bold and beautiful stranger?
Content Warning: contains sensual love scenes
Dedication
I’d like to dedicate this story to the Beth, Jaye, and Imogene as well as all the wonderful readers who enjoyed volume one enough to come back for volume two. Thank you so much for stepping into my imagination again.
Acknowledgements
Thank you again, Pam and Beachwalk Press. I’m honored to have my stories in your library of amazing titles.
Ch
apter 1
Today, the edge of Indra controlled space
Briz Julius’s heart thundered in her ears. Each breath was a labored struggle without the life support. If this was a planetary sanctioned military vessel and she didn’t pass the scanners, she’d be arrested. And if these were pirates, she’d be murdered. There was nothing to do but sit and wait.
She sat close to the fuel converter, because the fusion process of hydrogen atoms creating energy disrupted scanners that were used in lesser quality systems. Without a bio ID, an unclear scan near the heart of the ship wouldn’t be very suspicious.
“I’m sorry, Dad,” she whispered as she drew in another shaky gasp of stale air.
Without satisfying the scanners she’d never be able to deliver her life-saving cargo. If they didn’t decide Earth Spirit was unmanned and leave soon, she’d die from oxygen deprivation. Briz’s vision narrowed. She shook from the cold. No heat circulated in the interior of the old ship as it cooled fast in the dark void of space. The tractor beam held fast, and the old ship rattled in protest as the engine worked to propel her forward and pull out of the other ship’s grip. Flickering emergency lights made the terrible situation all the more eerie.
Her flight suit did little to keep her warm, but she was glad she’d thought ahead and worn the thick, insulated two-piece antique her father had in the shop instead of the custom skin-tight one-piece suit she normally wore. Frozen puffs of her exhalation lingered by her face as she watched the handheld monitor screen. Even on the tiny display she could see the inky beauty of star-dotted spacescape. If she could have risked staying in the pilot’s seat, she’d know for sure who was scanning her, but lives depended on this ruse, hers included. She just had to be content with what little she could see.
The large B-class vessel was impressive. It bore no identifying marks that the typical angle of her security camera would display, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t military. If she adjusted the angle, they’d know someone was on board. Indrians were suspicious and inhospitable, but they were the keepers of all three major coalition religions. Just because her people, the Metricians, were godless didn’t mean all six planets of old Earth descendants were. Being this close to the holiest of holies for so many, she hoped whatever gods might be watching took pity on her. Briz hated to die and get her dearest friend Xev in trouble with her mother, but as the vessel passed over and did a fifth scan of Earth Spirit, time wasn’t on her side.
Without the medicine, hidden in her cargo of scrap metal, the last of a race of people would suffer Indra-approved genocide. Briz couldn’t let that happen. She knew what it was like to be the last of something, and it sucked. She’d seen pain in her mother’s eyes so many times. Stubborn, religious fanatics were the kind of ancestors she’d come from too, but the only trait they’d passed down to her was the stubborn one. She would save those people or die trying, because the gods weren’t doing a damn thing to help. She believed in only one thing—herself.
Chapter 2
Forty-eight solar hours earlier
Briz gazed out over the glittering sapphire of the Metrician Ocean. Vigorous waves crashed against the cliff side far below her ancestral home, Sea Gate Manor. She could taste the salt air as she breathed in deep and closed her eyes. Rain the previous night had left everything damp and fresh.
She loved this place, but the ground wasn’t where her heart belonged. Glancing up into the bright blue horizon, Briz closed her eyes again and imagined the stars. The warm sun caressed her face. Her truest home was above the atmosphere, in the velvet darkness of space. She loved to fly just as her father, Ric Julius, did. The only reason she’d stayed grounded so long was the cargo she wanted to haul had unusual significance.
Soft steps on the rocky path to the edge caused her eyes to pop open. Briz turned to see a familiar friend. Xev Grant walked with brisk purpose to where she stood at the cliff’s edge. The left corner of his mouth was turned down, and he ran his hand through his thinning, brown hair.
“You know your mother doesn’t like it when you climb over the wall,” he scolded.
He’d worked for her father as long as she could remember. She saw Xev as an uncle or older brother and loved him very much.
Briz scrunched up her face at him. A water bird flew over them, screaming a long, lonely cry. Briz shielded her eyes from the sun as it peeked out from behind some clouds to chase away the overcast hues of gray. She watched the elegant creature swoop in a lazy circle above her head. When she looked at Xev again, he seemed to be searching her expression for something.
“I know,” she said.
“Well, I have some good news, but I won’t tell you until you get back over the wall,” Xev bargained, chuckling. He crossed his arms over his chest. His wide stance made it clear he was ready to stand there all day, waiting.
Briz rolled her eyes at him but walked down the short path. The crumbling stone was rough and cool under her hands as she held onto the short barrier and pulled herself over. The rock bits dug into her skin, and she looked down at the indents, brushing away particles of rock clinging to the pits left on her palms. She rubbed her hands on her thighs.
Xev followed her over and groaned softly when he landed on his feet next to her. He rubbed his left knee as if it were sore.
“Pretty spry for an old man,” she teased, still brushing off her hands, and grinned at him.
He gave her his typical cagey smile that wasn’t really amusement. She wondered what was going on inside his head. He was the most mysterious person she knew, but that was what made the mild-mannered pilot interesting.
Xev crossed his arms over his chest, and a noise in the back of his throat rumbled out of him. “I’m only forty-two! That’s not as old as you might think. When I was twenty, I thought forty sounded ancient too. It’s a good thing you’re so reckless so you won’t have to live to be my age,” he responded in a dry tone, glaring at her.
Briz laughed. He didn’t scare her. She punched him in the arm playfully. “Fine, you’re just a kid. What’s the news?”
Xev rubbed his arm in mock injury. “This is really good news.” His lips twisted into a manly pout that only he could pull off.
“Spill it,” she demanded.
He grinned with true amusement. “Such a spoiled brat. Fine, your dad said yes.”
“Yes?”
“He’s going to let you take Earth Spirit to deliver the medicine, if you can convince your mother to approve.”
“Really? How did you talk him into agreeing?” Awe clung to her words. Briz made a mock bowing gesture at Xev. “You must teach me the magic trick. I can never get Dad to change his mind about anything.”
“I told him I’d quit if he didn’t trust you to make the drop. I taught you how to fly, how the damn ship works, and how to get creative with shipping regulations. If he doesn’t trust you, he doesn’t trust me.”
She gaped at him. Sea Gate Transportation was his home. He’d just risked everything for strangers she wanted to help.
“I—I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
Xev shrugged. “You’re a good kid. You and your folks are the only family I’ve got. I can’t watch your dad make a huge mistake. You need to do this, and he needs to let you. Now you just have to convince your mother.”
That was no small task.
“I hope I don’t screw this up. You and Dad would never get past a scan. None of the other transports are willing to take the risk, you and I both know it. There’s no profit in saving the poor from the powerful. Mom’s crazy religion kept a bio ID out of me, so I can pilot in and out and the ship will appear as nothing more than an unmanned scrap hauler.”
Xev crossed his arms over his chest. “I agree you have a good shot at saving those people, but if you’re caught Metricia’s alliance with the Indra won’t save you.”
“It’s worth the risk. Mom and I are the last of the Daroo because of religion. I can’t just sit back and watch another genocide to honor gods that don’t give a d
amn.”
“Don’t let your mother hear you talking about gods, or the Daroo, like that. I remember how adorably devout you were as a tiny little girl. Don’t know when you got so jaded, but damn, it’s sad. There’s a lot of power in belief.” Xev raised his eyebrow, and his grave tone was completely serious. He shook his head slowly. “Girl, you’re too much like your father.”
“And what’s wrong with that?” Briz’s temper rose.
Xev grinned. “You’re blind to the part of you that’s spiritual. Believing in something doesn’t make you weak.”
She started walking away, biting her tongue before she said something to him that she’d regret. Xev’s heart was in the right place, but his reverence for all things mystical annoyed her.
He caught up to her. “Your dad left with a shipment this morning. Kateri asked me to pick up supplies. Why don’t you invite her to make the run and take her into the city? It’ll give you the perfect opportunity to talk to her about taking the medicine to the Talorian colonists on Indra.”
Briz sighed. “You could just give me the access codes and help me forge a manifest.”
Xev made a sound that resembled choking. “Your mother was good to me when I needed someone. Ric will never let you take the ship without your mother’s blessing. I know you, and I know her. You both need to accept what the other is thinking.”
She rolled her eyes and stopped walking toward the massive stone manor. Light fog rolled across the yard as it burned away with the early day sun. Turning, Briz glared at Xev. “Will you stop trying to make me feel guilty for wanting to do the right thing?”
“You’re misunderstanding me. I’m proud of you. You and your mother have been clashing ever since she tried to set you up with that kid from town last season.”
“Set me up? Oh, no, she tried to marry me off! My own mother tried to arrange a marriage to one of her cult members.”