by Keary Taylor
Copyright © 2019 Keary Taylor
All rights reserved. Except as permitted under the U.S. Copyright act of 1976, no part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, or stored in a database or retrieval system, without the prior written permission of the author.
First Edition: January 2019
Book design by Inkstain Design Studio
Cover art by Eddy Shinjuku
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
Taylor, Keary, 1987-
Nero Awakening (Neron Rising Saga) : an episode / by Keary Taylor. – 1st ed.
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
About the Author
Blood Descendants Universe
The Fall Of Angels Trilogy
Three Heart Echo
The Eden Trilogy
The Mccain Saga
What I Didn’t Say
To view all of Keary’s books, click HERE.
“It’s true, then.” To my surprise, it’s Reena who takes a step forward, looking at Zara with awed, but accusatory eyes. “There are other Nero left. Not just Nova. Not just Valen.”
“It is true,” Zara says with a nod. Her expression is calm. Confident. She’s sure of herself, of her abilities if she has to use them, but she isn’t looking for a fight. “There are not many of us left, but there are some.”
I’m not looking at any of my crew. I’m still in wonder and shock at what’s in front of me. But behind me, I feel tension building, like it’s a physical thing.
“If there are some of you left, why are you hiding out here on the edge of the galaxy when you could be doing something about Dominion?” Reena’s voice is cold as ice and sharp as glass.
I do a quarter turn, glaring death at her, but she doesn’t look at me in return. She glares up at Zara and Tomas with more emotion than I ever knew her to be capable of. That’s anger. That’s venom. That’s hatred.
My first instinct is to shut her up. To make her apologize for speaking to them that way.
But a vision flashes before my eyes. Of eleven miners in the Square on Korpillion. I remember the Neron spear that shot through their heads like it was nothing.
Those men and women might not have been blood, but they were Reena’s family. They are all dead because she employed them.
No. They’re all dead because of Dominion’s greed. They’re dead because Cyrillius told Valen to kill them.
“I invited Nova to Salypso so that she might gain an education and training,” Zara says. I see the muscles in her jaw tighten. I see the tight set to her shoulders. “I assumed there would be others with her. I assumed they would also seek to learn more. To find truth. If that is not the case, you are invited to leave.”
“She is looking for answers.” It’s Edan who speaks up. He takes a step forward, looking up into Zara’s eyes without fear. “She wants to know the truth. That’s why she asked you the question.”
And I feel it now. Everyone around me wants to know the same thing.
The Nero are more powerful than anything in the galaxy. It’s gutted me: knowing that Valen could destroy Dominion; end Cyrillius. But he hasn’t. A Nero could change the whole galaxy. And Zara just said there are multiple Nero here.
“Dominion’s army is huge,” I say. My voice comes out small and rough. “They dominate the entire galaxy. These people here? They’re just individuals.” I turn, catching the eyes of everyone around me. I make sure they see me. I make sure they understand. “This weight is terrifying. It’s suffocating. We’re just individuals.”
I startle slightly when I feel a warm hand on my shoulder. Zara is at my side, her hand on my shoulder. I meet her eyes and see appreciation in them. I see understanding.
“We’re guests here,” I say as a wave of calm washes over me. “We’ll get some answers. We’ll talk. But don’t any of you dare jump down any throats before we even get a chance to talk.”
I glare at everyone around me.
I understand both sides.
But I’ve found myself in a new position.
I want to trust Zara. I want to believe that there is someone in this galaxy who can give me answers. Someone who can guide me. Someone who is a Nero and a good person. I want to believe that there is hope for me that I won’t turn out like Valen.
I look back at my crew, and this time, I know there is pleading in my eyes. I’m begging them. I’m begging my father and Zayne. I’m begging Edan. I’m begging Reena.
They’re just scared. We’ve been running for lunars now. Dominion will kill Reena if they find her. My father and Zayne are scared because if Dominion finds me, they will use me. They’ll kill me. And Edan has just been dragged into a whole new mess of drama he has nothing to do with.
I see it in their eyes. They give. They nod.
“Please,” I say, looking back to Zara. “Give us a chance.”
Her eyes rise to look over my crew. I see that she isn’t a woman who trusts easily. She took a risk inviting me here. But she’s also a woman who must hope. She did take that risk on me. I think she wants to see a different future, too.
“Come with us,” she says. She lets her hand linger on my shoulder for just a moment before she turns and walks back up the stairs to Tomas’ side, and begins to ascend them.
I follow without question, without a backward glance.
I know I’m following too easily. I’m probably being blind. Too trusting.
But I’m desperate.
I follow them, and after a few moments, I hear the crew muttering behind me and then footsteps on the stones, following.
Up and up we rise. Dozens of stone steps rise up past buildings that look like simple homes made out of the same stone of the cliffs, before they drop down into the Neron blue sea. But even though they look like homes, even though they seem well cared for, I don’t see any signs of life inside them.
As far as I can tell, the only two people on the planet Salypso are Zara and Tomas.
My eyes rise, climbing, and my neck cranes up and up, taking in the beautiful building where the stairs lead.
I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s pure white. It looks a little like a castle I once saw in a book. It’s huge, big enough to house a hundred people. White spires reach toward the clear sky. There are details carved into the surface of it, suns and moons and people and flowers and water. It’s the most intricate piece of artwork I’ve ever seen.
“What is this place?” I ask in awe as we crest the last step and set across a flat walkway. Just ahead, there is a set of towering doors.
“The Tabernacle.” Tomas speaks for the first time. When he says it, he doesn’t look back at me. He, too, looks up at the beautiful building before us. There’s…reverence in his expression.
And I have to remember. He is the leader of the Bahiri. They worship and revere the Nero. They dedicate their lives to serving them.
I don’t get that.
I’m just a person.
I really hope he doesn’t try to bow at my feet.
“It is the center of our lives here on Salypso,” Zara offers a little more explanation as we approach the doors. “It is where we go for connection, for family. Where we receive much of our teaching. It is where we go to
find peace in a galaxy that has tried to drive us to extinction.”
Goosebumps wash over my arms.
Everything here is impossible. Like a dream. Or a fairy tale. Nothing seems real.
“It is not meant as an offence or an exclusion,” Zara says as we stop outside the doors and she turns to face all of us again, “but only Nero and Bahiri are allowed within the Tabernacle. I thought we could talk in my private garden.”
Just then the door to the Tabernacle opens just a little bit. Tomas turns to whoever remains hidden behind it and takes a basket. He says something quietly, and the doors close again.
Well, at least there’s a little bit of proof that they aren’t the only two beings on this planet.
“This way.” Zara inclines her head to one side of the building, and we all follow her.
We round one end of the building, I can’t tell north or south on this planet with endless ocean and only a few islands as landscape, but I see a wall up ahead, made of the same pale pink sandstone that’s so predominant on this island. Zara aims for a gate and swings it open, standing aside for us to walk through.
My nostrils flare as I’m overwhelmed with smells. Something citrus, but it smells real, not the engineered stuff I’ve experienced on Korpillion. It also smells like cotton and a soft flower.
It’s incredible.
The flowers that line the walls and climb them are vibrant and varied. There are pinks and yellows and whites and a few scattered blues.
It’s overflowing with beauty.
In the center of the garden, there’s a table, looking recently placed, with just enough chairs around it to fit us all.
Tomas places the basket on the table and begins unloading it. There’s fruit and cheese and cured meats and a jug of a blue liquid.
“I hope you’re hungry,” Zara says with a small, controlled smile.
Reena looks distrustfully at the head Nero, but she does sit, grabbing herself some fruit. Zayne sits next to her, looking around as if he’s casing the area and would know what to do if there was an attack.
Edan doesn’t waste a second helping himself to the food. He’s always acting like he’s starving to death despite being told he could eat his fill on The Corsair.
My father stays close to my side, sitting directly next to me as we take our places at the table.
Zara and Tomas sit. Zara takes a few pieces of fruit, but Tomas just sits there, looking at me like he’s still in awe to see me here.
“I do have some questions for you,” Zara says. Her warm brown eyes rise to meet mine, and I don’t feel threatened. “I think you understand this is a big deal to both sides. You have many questions. We didn’t know there were any more of us. We are constantly at risk here on Salypso. If Dominion ever found us, they would destroy the entire planet as quickly as they could.”
I nod, and I’m grateful that my father does, as well. “I won’t put you at risk,” I promise.
The look in her eyes is appreciative.
“What planet are you from?”
Slag.
She started with the one question I don’t think I can answer honestly.
I just found out my father isn’t my father and that he found me floating in space, surrounded by Neron, just outside the Frozen Kingdom, the planet Glorra Quin Lune.
That’s just too much to tell a stranger.
“Korpillion,” I answer, because until a few days ago, I one-hundred percent believed it to be true.
“Then you escaped before Dominion took the planet over,” Tomas says as a statement of fact.
I nod. “Just barely. We left the planet the day they came.”
“How old are you, Nova?” Zara asks. Her eyes are narrowed slightly. I wonder if questions and answers are tumbling through her head with the speed of a Class six ship, like mine.
“Twenty-two,” I answer that honestly, until I realize I don’t even know that as a fact. My father only guessed at how old I was and went from there.
Slag. Who the void am I?
Zara’s eyes narrow even further, but not in suspicion. “And you never manifested any abilities until just recently?”
I feel my father stiffen slightly next to me, but not enough for it to be noticeable to either of them. “No,” I lie.
“It is highly unusual,” Zara says. “Typically, Neros manifest their abilities between the ages of ten and fifteen solars. I have never heard of anyone staying dormant until their twenties.”
I shouldn’t bristle. I’m the one who is lying. So I should bite my tongue.
But I am Nova Ainsley.
“Call me a late bloomer,” I say with spite in my voice.
Zara doesn’t react to that.
“If you came from a planet with smaller amounts of Neron deposits it would make more sense, perhaps,” Tomas muses, “but considering Dominion found enough to take over the planet…it’s strange.”
“I’m an old Nero, I get it,” I say with annoyance. “What other questions do you have for me?”
I’m getting a little tired of trying to analyze the expressions on their faces.
Maybe I was too desperate.
I don’t like being interrogated.
“Does anyone outside these walls know you are a Nero?” Zara asks, leaving behind the speculation, almost as if she can read my thoughts.
Great. One more person who does have access to my brain.
“No,” I lie. Reena is the only person here who knows it’s a lie.
Valen knows. He knows it better than I do. I’m still trying to grasp the word in relation to me, but Valen does. He’s been very clear about it.
I shouldn’t trust Valen. Why should he keep my secret from Dominion?
But I do trust him. I trust him far too much.
“Then I have just one more question for you,” Zara says, folding her hands in her lap.
I lean forward, ready for it.
“Do you want to join us?” she asks, leaning in toward me, as well. “Do you want to learn how to use your abilities? Do you want to get them under control? Do you wish to be trained as a Nero?”
She might as well have taken a swing at me, punching me square in the chest.
Her direct questions knock the breath from my lungs.
But where I was annoyed by all her questions just moments ago, this one makes me be honest with myself.
I’m so tired of the confusion. The self-hatred. The uncertainty.
I soften. With just a few words, Zara has broken through my rough exterior.
“Yes,” I confess honestly.
A soft smile begins to form on her face. Again, it’s confident, but never arrogant. It’s soft but knowledgeable. “Then what questions can I answer for you, Nova?”
“How many Nero are on this planet?”
“Can a non-Nero be trained to wield Neron?”
“How long will the training take?”
“Could you really blow up an asteroid with your mind?”
The questions volley out of my crew with insane force.
Zara and Tomas’ eyes widen and they both sit back just slightly.
My eyes widen in embarrassment for just a moment, but it’s quickly followed by a chuckle and a shake of my head.
To my surprise, a smile forms on Zara’s own face. “Your friends and family obviously care deeply about you.”
I smile, giving an acknowledging nod as I reach over, taking my father’s hand. I give it a squeeze, and he squeezes right back.
“We will go with their questions,” I say, shaking my head once more as I look from them, back to Zara. “How many Nero are on this planet?”
“Seven,” she answers directly. “If we don’t include you.”
“Seven?” I gape without thinking. I run a hand into my hair, pulling slightly.
Seven? I had started to hope. I had started to imagine.
An army of Nero. Rallying them, going against Dominion.
But holy slag, if there are only seven of them, no wonder they
haven’t risen against Dominion yet.
“What they say is true,” Zara says. “As Dominion has taken over the Neron-rich planets, fewer and fewer Nero have been born. And we suspect Dominion is killing any Nero they have found in recent solars. So we count it as a miracle there are even seven of us who have been gathered from around the galaxy.”
“You really think Dominion has been exterminating Neros?” Edan asks. His arms are folded on the table and he studies Tomas and Zara with those tired, intense eyes of his.
“I think they have to be,” she says, meeting his gaze. “Because even once Dominion takes over a planet, there still has to be a population to support the mines. There are still families on those planets, children being born. With how many inhabitable planets there are in the Eon galaxy, the numbers are there that there has to be some Nero born. But where are they?”
I hate it, all the words she just said, but she’s right. It’s a game of numbers, and there have to be others out there.
Suddenly I don’t feel quite so alone. But I also want to find Cyrillius and tear him apart—one tiny chunk of skin at a time. He deserves to suffer for killing innocent children.
“Why would Cyrillius kill the Nero children?” My father Torin pipes up. “Why wouldn’t he take them? Why wouldn’t he use them like he has Valen?”
Zara meets his eyes and she shakes her head. “I cannot guess at the motives in his evil mind.”
I don’t understand either. I would never want to understand why Cyrillius does what he does.
“Next question,” Tomas says.
“How many Bahiri are here?” I ask. It’s really not important, but it’s what comes out of my mouth while I’m still stuck on the last issue.
“There are twenty-seven of us,” he says. “We’ve come from different parts of the galaxy. Some of us here were the original settlers of Salypso.”
That right there tells me this planet hasn’t been inhabited long. Probably only since the battle on Isroth.
“Is Evander Nero here?” The question blurts out from my lips before I give them a second more of consideration.
The way they both hesitate is a confirmation that sends my heart racing and fluttering.