Stars & Ashes by Teagan Kearney

Author:Teagan Kearney [Teagan Kearney]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Kia heard voices as they neared the landing area. Oh, no. She’d have to face Nagavi. She sighed. This day was going from bad to worse.

“Fiata,” Rial called the dragoi to him and ruffled the brute’s ears. “Hunt. Feed,” he instructed, and the pack of dragoi raced off, slipping into the forest.

Nagavi, Annen, and the drone pilot looked up as Lord Rial strode into the clearing, his hand still gripping Kia’s arm. Nagavi broke away from the other two and met them far enough away that their conversation wouldn’t be overheard.

“Her headband broke, and she got lost,” Rial told him.

Nagavi fired a look at her that should have incinerated her on the spot. “Is that the story we’re telling?”

Lord Rial grinned. “Yes, it’ll do.” He gave her a little shake. “Won’t it?”

She stared at her boots. “Yes, Lord Rial.”

“Okay.” He let go of her arm and shoved her in the direction of the flit. “Get on board.”

She stumbled at the unexpected push and glowered at him, but he’d turned away, confident she would obey his instructions, and was speaking with Nagavi. As she marched toward the aircraft she reflected on how he’d kept hold of her arm the entire way, ready to prevent any escape attempt she might make. As if she’d try with the dragoi sniffing at her heels. What did he think she was? He treated her like an animal, herding her here and there. She hated him and mentally stabbed an image of Nagavi before the implant reacted.

The two other candidates waiting inside the little aircraft, Jalux and Ohiko, a thin dark intense man, watched Kia collapse onto the seat.

Focused on getting as far away as possible, she’d ignored the bruises from the fall, and pushed herself hard before Lord Rial and his pack of monsters appeared, after which her brain had stopped working altogether. She was sweaty, bruised from the fall and when she’d hit the tree, the muscles in her thighs and calves trembled, her vision was blurry, and she closed her eyes as reaction set in. She couldn’t have cared less if the Emperor Teyrn himself appeared and offered to escort her on a personal tour of his realm.

“What happened to you?” Jalux looked as rough as Kia.

She might as well tell them the official version before Nagavi said something to embarrass her. “I fell down a hill, the vidscreen broke, I got lost, and—”

“You too?” Jalux exclaimed.

“What?”

“Yes, but I didn’t fall. The screen stopped working, and I had to wait until everyone had returned before Annen fetched me.” He studied her. “Ah. Lord Rial found you, didn’t he?”

“No, it was the dragoi. Not my happiest moment.”

“Lord Rial’s land extends for hundreds of miles, and guard drones regularly sweep the areas. You are aware they kill any unauthorized human, aren’t you?”

Kia swallowed.

“Are the hounds as savage as everyone says?” Jalux asked with too much enthusiasm.

She had much to learn about this new world. What had she been thinking? She’d acted on instinct, listened to her heart, and dramatically failed to achieve anything except show she couldn’t be trusted.

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