With his good eye, he stares steadily into my face. “I don’t regret a thing.”
Beside him, Phaedra nods her silent agreement. Their love and acceptance transport me back in time to when they first found me. In their wagon home, the red and gold paint forever coated in a fine layer of Sintan dust, they were the first to give me food, shelter, and clothes, knives to replace mine that had already seen too much blood, and a place to lay my head where I wasn’t terrified something was going to jump out at me.
I don’t regret a thing. Vasili isn’t only talking about this terrible, recent trial. He also means the beginning—the day he first saw me, weak and wandering, and quietly coaxed me toward him, and I went. I saw him, his hair already graying, his mustache wide and bushy, and his eyes so strong and kind, and my weary feet simply carried me toward him, and then he carried me to my new circus home. If I hadn’t been so bristly, he and Phaedra would have taken me in as more than just a friend. I’m the child they never had, but I was too damaged to let them have me, either.
I break Vasili and Phaedra out of their cage in mere seconds.
“I love you all,” I say, because it’s not something I say enough. “You’re my family, and I love you.”
“Oh, Cat.” Phaedra’s voice cracks, and Vasili wraps his arms around her.
“How did this happen?” I ask. “Why are you all here?”
“We heard you’d gone missing,” Aetos says. “We figured she must have had you.”
“We walked right into this trap,” Desma says sourly.
Good Gods, she’s pregnant, and she came to Castle Fisa for me? “Are you insane?” I hiss. Not that I’m much better. I pretty much did the same.
Aetos actually smiles, showing a touch of dry mirth. “You were with us for eight years. You must have rubbed off on us.”
I snort. “I’ve decided to stop charging recklessly into dangerous situations. That’s now a bad habit of the past.”
There are raised eyebrows all around. Griffin’s are the highest.
My husband slides his arm around my waist. “You really think you can do that?”
I wrap my arm around his waist, too. “I can try.”
Griffin’s eyes dance with humor as he looks down at me. And despite everything, we all laugh together, because that’s what friends and family do.
Finally, I turn to my brothers and open their cage. Laertes and Priam step out, watching us warily. I don’t ask them for a vow. I don’t ask them for anything. I say only, “Choose your loyalties carefully.”
“Good advice,” a calm, smooth new voice counsels from the side.
I turn to see Persephone, Selena amplified to her Olympian form.
I scowl. That she let these people—her friends—suffer still infuriates me. There’s obviously more Goddess in her than I thought, more of the deity and less of the person I believed I knew.
A loud boom accompanies Ares’s entrance. He always did like a show.
Everyone but Griffin and I looks stunned and confused by their sudden arrival. We pray to the Gods, we make offerings, but no one ever really expects them to answer, let alone appear. Added to that is the fact that Selena is so obviously more than my circus friends ever could have imagined she was. It must be hard to take in.
“You risked big,” I say in a careful monotone. She must know how furious I am.
“We all gained bigger,” Persephone answers, her tone just as flat.
And that’s the difference between my Olympian ancestors and me. My view is finite, and theirs is too vast for me to see.
“What did you say that night in the arena before the Agon Games?” I abruptly ask. “What were those words that knocked me down?”
Her bottomless blue eyes pulse with that otherworldly light I now know is the Goddess in her, not some magic I can try to define or comprehend. “Direct passage to Elysium for all of you, in the event of death.”
Shock widens my eyes. Only Hades’s cherished wife could manage that—an utter bypass of all the Underworld’s rules.
“But Carver,” I say. “The Styx.”
“Carver wasn’t dead yet. Cassandra is there,” she adds.
My chest clenches painfully. “And Kato?”
“Kato is also where he needs to be.”
Her even expression reveals nothing, nor does her level voice, but that answer is off-target and frighteningly vague for my taste.
I’m about to tell her so when Ares strides toward me, turning into Thanos as he moves. Even muted to human proportions, he’s still larger than life. He’s always been a God to me.
My childhood protector and teacher looks at me, not smiling, but his approval is there for all to see. “I’m proud of you, little monster.”
My heart does an unruly flip. “Is that why you never killed her for me? You knew she would kill herself?”
He shakes his head, his wide-set eyes full of love and lessons and a shared past that marks us both. “I never killed her because I hoped you could save her. Her last seconds were the best of her life.”
An unexpected sob tries to break free from me, and I clamp down on it hard. Mother and I had to reach the end of our tortured journey by ourselves, together, for both our sakes.
“I’ll bring them home,” Persephone says, meaning Aetos, Desma, Vasili, and Phaedra.
I nod. She’ll heal their wounds, and they’ll be fine. I’ll see them again soon.
Thanos suddenly grins at me, the change in his countenance surprising and abrupt. “And I’ll get the people of Fisa City to tear down this castle stone by stone until there’s nothing left.”
I nod again. I’d like to see this house that was never a home razed to the ground. Then something better can be built.
“And my brothers?” I ask.
He winks at me. “They’ll help.”
I nod again. It’s all I can seem to do. And then they’re gone—my friends home to Sinta with Persephone and my brothers somewhere with Ares, I presume.
Taking Griffin by the hand, I turn and go to Mother’s throne, averting my gaze from the body on the floor. In a special compartment on one side, carved right into the marble and hidden by a clever panel, I find what I’m looking for. A golden scepter with a large red ruby on top. A crown of Fisan pearls. The Origin’s own regalia. Now Griffin’s and mine.
I hand him the scepter. I’ll wear the crown. Little Bean kicks to remind me that she’s there, too, and I silently thank her. Her light and warmth bring me constant joy.
The crown on my head and the scepter in Griffin’s hand, we walk toward the high balcony that overlooks Fisa City, our people, and our army.
Coolness hits my cheeks, and I welcome the vivifying jolt, opening myself up to the bite of magic on the brisk northern wind. A huge crowd has formed, despite the chill of the season and the sharp hint of first frost in the air. By morning, ice crystals will have laid down their delicate pattern on the ground, and the rainy season will start giving way to winter—and then to a new year. A new year for a new Thalyria.
I’ve never seen so many people so silent, all waiting for me to speak. And when I do, it’s with Griffin beside me and in a voice that doesn’t waver.
“Your lost princess has returned. Alpha Fisa is dead.” I wait for the noise to settle down before speaking again. “I am Catalia Thalyria. The seat of our new kingdom is in Tarva City, as was the Origin’s. We are no longer a divided land. Thalyria is reborn as the unified and peaceful kingdom it once was.”
The noise grows deafening. Griffin squeezes my hand. Finally, I can speak once more.
“You have a good and generous King, Griffin Thalyria. Between us, we are your sword and your shield. We will fight for you and protect you. Bow to us today.”
And they do, because that’s our right.
“And we bow to you in return.”
And w
e do, our humility a new promise for a better world.
And then in front of thousands of hopeful, happy people, Griffin and I turn to each other and kiss. We’ll rule together. Our children will follow us. It’s a day to rejoice. It’s over. And in a way, Mother and I even made our peace.
To cheers and elated shouting and trusting that Ares will settle things here for the time being like he said, Griffin and I turn back to the throne room. We’ll find Beta Team, Ianthe, and all our friends, and then we’ll celebrate before returning to Tarva City together.
As King and Queen we walk, but my wings long to unfurl, and I feel like I could soar. My heart feels light and bright and a million times too big for my chest. I’ll count its every beat until Griffin and I are back with the family I’ve always wanted, and in the home I can finally have.
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CHAPTER 1
I sat back in my captain’s chair and breathed, slow and deep, letting my body adjust to traveling at a normal speed again. It was risky to come here, but maybe we’d finally get a break. We needed one. So did the ship.
Beyond the bridge’s windows, stars winked back at me from the endless Dark. The view didn’t look much different from anywhere else we’d been to in the galaxy lately, but no one in their right mind would be here. I was counting on it.
It never ceased to amaze me how vast space was—and yet not a single corner of it was free. No technology existed that could get us beyond the Overseer’s reach.
A red light sputtered to life on my console, and I shot forward in my chair and stared. Communication open/outside channel blinked back at me on repeat.
My heart rate went from normal to warp drive so fast it hurt. “Who the hell is in Sector 14?” I asked in shock, turning to my first mate.
Jaxon looked pissed off and surprised, but not worried. Jax never looked worried. “No one’s ever in Sector 14. Half of it’s the Black Widow.”
“Well someone’s here now,” I answered more sharply than I’d intended, eyeing the blinking red com button again. This part of the galaxy was off-limits. Usually, I was the only one not following the rules.
I scanned the views outside the enormous window panels again, not seeing the ship that was reaching out to us. I did see the edge of what everyone tried very hard to avoid and felt a little queasy in the pit of my stomach—only half of which I could blame on the jump we’d just made.
The Black Widow was the reason we’d come to Sector 14. The dicey location was a last-ditch effort to lie low and recharge after three days and seven Sectors of hot-on-our-tail leapfrog with hostile Dark Watch vessels.
I was no automatic pessimist, but this couldn’t be good. The Endeavor was out of juice, and the Sectors were crawling with government spacecrafts looking for the stolen vaccines—because of course no one but the military was ever allowed to benefit from them. Instead of emptying the lab’s contents into our own cargo holds, I’d nabbed the whole thing with a vacuum attachment when patrol ships had starting popping up in the same Sector. Now it was sticking out like a sore thumb, weighing us down, and about to get us all sent back to jail. Or worse.
I even had an enormous, leather-clad, bearded man who’d accidentally come with the floating lab. Shit!
My fingers tensed around my armrests. There was no way I was reaching for that com button. Whoever was hanging around Sector 14 and a freaking black hole was going to have to talk first.
Or maybe they would fly right on by…
“Cargo Cruiser model 419, please identify yourself.”
Damn it! They talked.
I stared at the panel in front of me like it was a poisonous snake from one of the green planets.
“I repeat, Cargo Cruiser model 419, please identify yourself.”
I almost physically recoiled at the tinny, no-nonsense male voice that burst out of my console again. Interference from the Black Widow made the communication shriek like the five a.m. wake-up whistle in prison. I’d hated that whistle. It made my stomach hurt.
“Answer him, Tess,” Jax hissed, nodding to the flashing button. “The longer you wait, the more suspicious they’ll get.”
“They’re already suspicious.” Only a ship up to no good would ever be anywhere near here.
I looked from Jax to Miko. Miko’s good hand still hovered over the navigation panel, her elongated, dark-brown eyes bigger than I’d ever seen them. She looked like she hadn’t moved a muscle since typing out the coordinates for Sector 14—where no one was supposed to be.
Taking a tight breath, I turned back to my controls and pressed the flashing red com button. “This is Cargo Cruiser model 419. It’s only polite to identify yourself first.” Even space had etiquette. Granted, I usually ignored protocol, but I could still cite it when necessary.
Jax groaned softly. Miko looked like she was about to pee her pants, which was odd, because I knew exactly what the small woman could do.
The same sharp voice came through in immediate response. “This is Dark Watch 12. Captain Bridgebane speaking.”
Shock jolted me—and fear. Battleship 12? And Bridgebane? He was a high-ranking galactic general and a science freak who’d come close to carving me up when I was a kid. All the higher-ups had wanted to know what made me tick differently from everyone else.
Maybe it was having a freaking heart.
There was no doubt in my mind that Bridgebane would recognize me. I’d grown up, but I hadn’t changed that much. I still had the same straight, reddish-brown hair, wispy bangs, and blue eyes that stood out from a mile away. Before she died, Mom used to tell me that my eyes made her dream of the great oceans and blue skies she’d never see. And she never did. Dad had kept us both under lock and key.
And now ancient history was coming to bite me in the neck and shake me hard. Dark Watch 12 was one of the Galactic Overseer’s premier warships and could blow my faithful little Endeavor to pieces with just two or three direct hits. It was a fully armored beast. And I knew my way around it. Without my oddities—and my conscience—DW 12 might one day have been mine.
“Please identify yourself at this time,” Captain Bridgebane demanded, “or we will be compelled to board your ship and ascertain your identities ourselves.”
And there was the galactic military in all its glory—polite, even while putting a gun to your head.
I swallowed the panic rising in my throat. There was nothing on my ship that wasn’t stolen. Hell, even the ship was stolen. Even the crew was stolen because, well, jailbreak.
I reached out and pushed the communications button without letting my hand shake. “This is Captain T. Bailey. You’re looking at the Endeavor,” I answered in the flattest voice I could muster.
“Captain Bailey, Sector 14 is a no-fly zone. What are you doing in this area of the galaxy?” Bridgebane asked.
I wanted to shoot back an acidic “What are you doing in a no-fly zone?” but managed to refrain. I pressed the com button again and calmly said, “Taking in the view. The crew wanted a peek at the Widow.”
I lifted my hand, cutting off all sound from our end, and the longest few heartbeats of my life passed in total silence as the bridge crew stared at me, waiting for their orders.
My mind bounced from one possibility to the next. I’d given my usual false name—Bailey was one of the most common surnames in the galaxy—and the Endeavor had fake ID numbers stickered on both sides. I could peel them off and get new numbers up in less than forty-five minutes, even with the necessary spacewalk. But I couldn’t do it with Bridgebane watching.
“Power up, Jax. Time to jump us out of here.” The only problem was, we hadn’t found a safe Sector in days. “Miko—move us closer to the Outer Zones.”
“We can�
�t, Tess.” Jax shook his head. “With hauling the extra weight of the lab and that huge last jump we just made, we don’t have enough power left to get us out of 14. And they’ve locked on to our com channel now and can follow short-range leaps, even if we jump around the Sector.”
I stared at my first mate. I’d known we were low on juice, but that was very bad news.
The red com button flashed again, and then Bridgebane’s voice came through to the Endeavor’s bridge like he was sitting right there. “We see you have three cargo holds and a vacuum attachment that looks like the lab that was recently stolen from the Lyronium System. Prepare your starboard port for a boarding party. Any lack of cooperation on your part will be taken as hostility, and we will not hesitate to fire to recover the lab by force.”
The communication went dead, and my heart slammed so hard against my ribs it left me short of breath. I leaped out of my chair and searched the upper, lower, and side windows. No Dark Watch 12 in sight. Bridgebane must have been hovering behind my ship—and looking straight at the stolen lab.
“Jax! Power up with what we’ve got. And tell Miko her jump range the second you know it,” I ordered.
“It won’t do any good.” Jax started flipping the necessary switches anyway. “They’ll just follow us and start shooting.”
I glanced out the windows again and then pressed my lips together, trying to hold back what was probably the worst decision of my life. “Then jump us closer to the Widow.”
“What?” Miko squeaked. “We’ll get sucked in.”
“Well don’t jump us that close!” I kicked the lock on my chair and then shoved the whole seat back and out of my way. I didn’t plan on sitting down again while taking four other lives into my hands and also protecting the vaccines that could save thousands of people from the diseases that still ran rampant in the galaxy’s civilian populations.
Heart on Fire (The Kingmaker Chronicles Book 3) Page 35