The King's Daughter (Ashes of Entecea Book 2) by Kacey Ezell & Chris Kennedy

Author:Kacey Ezell & Chris Kennedy [Ezell, Kacey & Kennedy, Chris]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Theogony Books
Published: 2024-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

“Did you hit your head when you went to your rack last night?” Dara asked from the doorway to Caledin’s stateroom.

Caledin waved her in as he shook his head. “No.” He motioned her to a chair.

“I’ll stand,” she replied, waving him off. “Are you sure you didn’t hit your head? Maybe you were so tired you didn’t make it into your bed safely?”

“Positive,” Caledin said with a thin smile.

Dara tilted her head. “Is this something Siolene is compelling you to do, then?”

“No.” Caledin shook his head again. “In fact, had I asked her, I suspect that doing this is something she would have taken a lot of convincing to allow.”

“As she should,” Dara said, her hands on her hips. “Zhretien is chasing her, with the intention of killing her, and you want to take her where?” Her voice got louder. “To the very planet whose forces are chasing her?”

Caledin made a patting motion. “Take it easy.”

“Not when you’re doing the dumbest thing I’ve ever seen you do. And that includes the blood oath ceremony.” Dara shook her head. “I want to know one thing. Why?”

“Shut the door and sit down.”

Dara reached behind her to pull the door shut then walked to his desk.

“Not going to sit?”

“No.”

Caledin shrugged. “Suit yourself. This may take a while.”

“I’m fine.”

“As you wish.” Caledin sat back in his chair. “You’re aware I have a contact in the Ajen government, right?”

“The person who won’t get the king to back you?” Dara asked. “That one?”

Caledin nodded. “The same. I’ve been trying to get in touch with him since we found Siolene, but I haven’t gotten replies to any of my messages.”

Siolene scoffed. “He doesn’t want to help you with your problem; why would he want to help you with hers? Both are liable to cause Ajen to go to war with Zhretien.”

“The king is probably the only person in this galaxy who can help Siolene.”

“But he’d want something in—” Dara nodded. “This is where the idea of marriage came up, isn’t it? You want to offer her in marriage to the prince if they’ll protect her.”

“It’s not so much that I want it, but that it’s the only way I see of her ever being safe from Zhretennais operatives.”

“That much I understand,” Dara said. She sighed and took a seat. “How does your inability to reach your contact necessitate a trip to the den of rodents?”

“The only other person I know who might be able to reach my contact is in Zhretienne City. A former Militant who married a thief.”

Dara didn’t bite on the Militant distraction as Caledin had hoped. “What other options do we have?”

“None that I’m aware of, or I wouldn’t have ever contemplated this course of action.” Caledin shook his head. “If they found us at Hairotech, they can find us anywhere. Any station, any planet. And we can only hide in the black for so long before we need to put in somewhere for supplies. Our ability to capture ships will be severely

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.