Out Past the Stars by K. B. Wagers

Author:K. B. Wagers [WAGERS, K. B.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Orbit
Published: 2021-02-23T00:00:00+00:00

We made it back to the med bay with two minutes to spare, and forty-eight hours later I’d wheedled Dr. Vohra into releasing me fully into Emmory’s care.

“She’d never have let me go if she knew how rarely I listen to your orders.” I rolled my shoulder and blew out a breath. “Amazing how easy it was to get dependent on the Farian healing ability. What will it do to us if we have to untangle ourselves from that, Emmy?”

“I suspect we’ll manage, Majesty.”

I hummed, frowning down at my bare feet. Even some of the latest medical tech had come from the Farians; I wasn’t sure we’d ever be able to completely separate our societies. The pressure to make sure this didn’t all fall apart grew with every moment that passed.

“That’s a serious face.” Hao stood in the corridor outside my rooms; Alba and Dailun were with him.

“Weight of the galaxy,” I replied with a roll of my eyes. “But hey, I’ve been cleared for duty and it appears the three of you are here to talk to me so that’s nice timing.” I gestured at the door of my quarters, patting Kisah on the shoulder as I passed.

“Jiejie.” Dailun followed me into the quarters. “The Istrevitel wish to speak with you.”

“Do they now?” I murmured.

He held out a hand to me. I took it and the message passed from his smati to mine.

I closed my eyes, letting the image play out in my head. The Istrevitel who appeared looked startlingly like Dailun, though with darker skin and wider eyes that were black as the night sky. Their hair was a gorgeous teal, swept back from a round face, and a trio of lines in the same color ran vertically down their left cheek.

They reminded me of the Farian Hiervet’s markings and I was immediately curious about the significance.

“Star of Indrana, I am Captain Dirah Zov, she/her, of First Company with a message of greeting for you. We would speak with you of the destruction that is bearing down on this galaxy but understand that the appearance of a force such as ours could create”—a smile fought for prominence on her full lips—“unwanted chaos. We are not welcome at home. However, the leaders of the Svatir would also like to meet you and so a spot has been chosen on one of our outermost worlds.

“We have sent this invitation along with coordinates to our little brother and look forward to seeing you at the appointed time.”

“Is it wrong that I like her?” I asked Dailun, and he smiled. Though I could see the hesitation on his face and the tension in his shoulders.

“I would caution against trusting the Istrevitel, Your Majesty. I cannot vouch for them or their motives. They are, by all accounts, here for the glory of war and nothing else. If your mission is peace you should be very careful.”

“My mission is to keep us all safe, little brother.” I leaned in and touched my forehead to his with a smile.

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.