Frostbite by Casey Lea

Author:Casey Lea
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Casey Lea
Published: 2023-01-11T00:00:00+00:00

31 - War Was Hell

Arck Sharpeye FarFlight, ruler of the kres Empire lay in bed and stared at the ceiling. He pulled his sheet up to his chin and smoothed it flat. Words wafted past him.

“Sire, you really should drink something. Your com is struggling to keep you hydrated.”

Someone leaned on the bed and tugged the sheet lower while offering him a glass. Sharpeye looked straight through the liquid it held. Water. How stupid. As if water could help. Minutes passed and the glass was withdrawn.

Withdrawn... withdraw ... yes. That’s what he’d do. Pull back the Fleet. Yes, yes, regroup. He knew where the cursed Alliance was. He could try again. Attack ... again?

Memories stirred. His Royal Fleet, five-hundred ships glowing against space, weapons ready, launched into the Nexus passage ... gone. Every. Single. Ship. Lost to some soul-sucking singularity that dragged them to center of the galaxy. Curse Wing for all time. Curse his line and his people and everything he cared for. It was hard to breathe. Hard to ... to think. Impossible TO LIVE. He had to retreat.

Sharpeye lay on his bed and stared at the ceiling. He pulled the sheet back up to his chin and smoothed it flat. Perhaps he should pull it over his face. There was nothing to look at. More words floated across the bed.

“Has he spoken yet?”

The speaker sounded concerned, but he knew the anxiety in that familiar voice was a lie. How Goldown would love to steal his throne. It must gall her that he lay here, feigning death, but still outwardly alive. He smiled and smoothed the sheet.

“Patri?” His daughter settled on the bed, and he tugged irritably at the dislodged sheet. He'd make her regret that. As soon as his energy returned. “I've more news of Hawkeye's killer. The second forensics team confirmed that the body in the garden is the murderer’s. He's certain-sure dead. Isn't that good?”

Something stirred in Sharpeye. There were still answers to be had. “Who?”

“There's no doubt. It was Nightwing’s son.” She squirmed closer and the sheet was pulled from his hands, but he didn't care. It wasn’t safe to care. Not when everything that mattered was gone.

“I'm sorry, patri, but it's true. Hawkeye's death was Wing and Hunter’s plot. They deceived you.”

Sharpeye's mouth worked, until the grinding of his teeth drowned the constant humming in his head. Nightwing. His most hated enemy had ripped out his heart. How Sharpeye regretted the mercy he’d shown that boy. He should never have let the child live. Pain shot through his jaw, and his teeth creaked as they grated past each other.

Sharpeye twisted his head to study the mask that was his daughter's worried face. He looked at her and his mouth locked in place. She was different. She followed his gaze and studied her lap with a sweet smile. She had to, since there was no way she could see past it. Her belly was too swollen for that. “Are you ...?”

“Yes, patri. I'm with child.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.