Up in Flames Read online

  Table of Contents

  Title Page

  Copyright

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Loose Id Titles by Trista Ann Michaels

  Trista Ann Michaels

  Entwined Fates:

  UP IN FLAMES

  Trista Ann Michaels

  www.loose-id.com

  Entwined Fates: Up in Flames

  Copyright © August 2013 by Trista Ann Michaels

  All rights reserved. This copy is intended for the original purchaser of this e-book ONLY. No part of this e-book may be reproduced, scanned, or distributed in any printed or electronic form without prior written permission from Loose Id LLC. Please do not participate in or encourage piracy of copyrighted materials in violation of the author's rights. Purchase only authorized editions.

  eISBN 9781623004224

  Editor: Jana Armstrong

  Cover Artist: Anne Cain

  Published in the United States of America

  Loose Id LLC

  PO Box 809

  San Francisco CA 94104-0809

  www.loose-id.com

  This e-book is a work of fiction. While reference might be made to actual historical events or existing locations, the names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

  Warning

  This e-book contains sexually explicit scenes and adult language and may be considered offensive to some readers. Loose Id LLC’s e-books are for sale to adults ONLY, as defined by the laws of the country in which you made your purchase. Please store your files wisely, where they cannot be accessed by under-aged readers.

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  Chapter One

  Morning sunshine filtered through the blinds on the windows, casting lines of light and shadow along the tile floor as Cara made her way down the hall toward her father’s chambers. He would be having breakfast about now, watching the gray-blue snow fall outside. He loved this quiet, peaceful time of day.

  There wasn’t a lot of peace on Bellara lately. The threat of civil unrest was heavy in the air. Her father, Chancellor Nubel, wanted to dissolve the chancellorship in favor of a senate. It was something he’d been thinking about for a while and something the planet’s ruling families didn’t want.

  An alliance with the galactic senate would mean a senate seat and a voice on the planet of Rhinari. It would also mean a change for the better for the people and protection for their home world. Protection from the ever-increasing threat of invasion for minerals and gold that was prevalent in the surrounding mountains.

  Cara was for dissolving the title that would one day pass to her. As the only child of Chancellor Nubel, she’d been groomed all her life to one day take over the position, second to her training as a Mundi, which some higher-ups had a problem with. There’d never been a Mundi as chancellor, and some ruling families had expressed reservations about what they saw as a conflict of interest.

  A Mundi was a soldier, an assassin. A Mundi lived without emotion, without regret, without compassion. A Mundi could never rule.

  She felt trapped and pegged…lonely. Life as the chancellor’s daughter left little breathing room. Her only freedom, if she could even call it that, was her training as a Mundi officer.

  She’d started at a young age, as soon as her telekinetic ability had been discovered. She could move objects with her mind, even people. She could easily throw a man forty feet just by thinking it or guide an arrow to its deadly mark and much more.

  As a Mundi, she’d been trained to suppress many things, primarily her emotions. She often shuffled through life feeling little, and what she did feel, she kept hidden. Even her father commented on her stony demeanor. He didn’t like it, and her lack of emotional response saddened him.

  It saddened her as well. If she could feel sadness. To be honest, she wasn’t sure what sadness felt like. Nor happiness. She felt nothing. It was who she was now. It was who she had been trained to be. She couldn’t change who she was any more than she could stop breathing, but on occasion, an emotion unfamiliar to her would take hold and startle her.

  It would leave her feeling out of sorts and confused. She would try to hold on to the emotion, especially if she was alone, so she could exam it, understand it, but it seldom remained. Her learned instincts were to tamp it down. It was what she’d been taught her whole life. She didn’t know any different.

  A dark shadow moved past the open window lining the hallway, and Cara stopped, curious as to the cause. She stealthily moved closer and stared through the slits in the blinds at the small ship hovering too close to the outer walls. Pilots on maneuvers knew better than to fly at such close proximity. Someone would be grounded; she’d make sure of it.

  With her usual stone face, emotionless demeanor, she turned from the window and kept heading down the hall, putting the rogue pilot from her mind for the time being. She’d deal with that later. Right now, she needed to speak with her father about the upcoming meeting with the Rhinari regent about their future alliance.

  Signing a treaty with Rhinari would open up a whole new world for Bellara. They would appoint a senator, participate in senate hearings, and her home world would definitely benefit from not only Rhinari’s umbrella of protection, but from trade opportunities as well. Her father needed to finalize the union; the sooner, the better.

  Rumors were beginning to spread about royals growing angry about having to share their regions with senators. The royals still believed rulers should be born into the privilege, not voted in by the people. They didn’t want change. They wanted to keep the status quo.

  Her father wanted a partnership with the senate and freedom for his planet. Freedom for his people to prosper, to grow, to advance in ways not possible now. He wanted freedom for them to explore their galaxy and beyond. Her father had an unusual view of how life should be, and he’d raised her to see the benefits of such a union.

  She hoped they could make it happen before the royals decided to revolt.

  Cara opened the door to her father’s private chambers and froze. On the floor next to an overturned chair and shards of broken pottery was her father’s crumpled body. She ran forward and crouched by his side. She searched frantically for a pulse but found nothing.

  She stared in confusion at her hands as she pulled them away from his neck. They trembled, and she frowned, fisting her fingers against her palm to make them stop before she gripped his face and turned it. His blank eyes stared up at hers, and she gasped as raw emotions quickly overwhelmed her.

  Swallowing a sob, she stood and stiffened her spine. She’d been trained to overlook death, to bury her emotions and move on, get the job done. But what job was she supposed to do? Her father lay dead at her feet.

  She scanned the room. Where was everyone? There should be guards here, lots of people. Had her father’s killer been one of them? Was he still here somewhere? She tried to listen for any sound, any movement that might give away
someone’s hiding spot.

  Outside she could hear the low roar of the hovering ship’s engines. Did it have anything to do with her father’s death? Should she go after the pilot? Who could she trust?

  Her father’s personal assistant, Lenak, came barreling through the side door out of breath and frightened. “Lady Cara,” he called as he sprinted forward and grabbed her wrist. “I’ve been looking for you everywhere. We must get you out of here.”

  “Who did this?” she demanded, jerking her arm free. “And where the hell is everyone?”

  “I don’t know. I came in after it happened. They’re looking for you.”

  “How do you know that?” Her anger rose despite her training.

  “I don’t for sure, but you’re next in line. It only stands to reason. The royals don’t want this alliance, but I never imagined they would go this far. We must get you to the senate on Rhinari. You have to see this through.”

  Cara glanced down at her father one last time and swallowed the lump of hurt and despair that threatened to choke her. She reached down to retrieve the charm of the family crest her father wore around his neck, but Lenak jerked her back, almost pulling her off her feet.

  “We don’t have time, Lady Cara.”

  With a nod, she followed her father’s assistant down a secret passage. It never entered her mind to not trust Lenak. He’d been with her father for as long as she could remember. Lenak loved her father.

  “Your father keeps a ship here. It’s one of the fastest in the galaxy. Its speed should be enough to get us through the resistance.”

  “Us?” she asked, raising an eyebrow. “Lenak, I can take care of myself.”

  She pushed past him and into the private launching pad where her father kept a variety of ships for his use.

  “If I stay, my lady, I will be murdered along with everyone else in the house.”

  Cara stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face the older man. She could not leave him behind. “Get in,” she demanded, waving her hand toward the small ship.

  Lenak rushed inside, bowing his head as he passed. Cara could never let anything happen to him. Despite her training, despite the coldness that often carried her through, she couldn’t bring herself to allow Lenak to die. Not after losing the only parent she knew.

  She again swallowed unfamiliar emotions. She’d never dealt with a loss like this. She’d killed people protecting her father or members of his household but had never lost anyone close to her. Truthfully, she’d never had anyone close to lose.

  She kept people at a distance. It was easier to control her emotions that way. It was easier to live the life of a Mundi without attachments.

  With one last glance at her home, she jumped into the ship and took the seat next to Lenak.

  “It takes two to operate this ship. Can you fly?” she asked as she turned on her own control panel.

  “Actually, yes,” he replied. “I often flew with your father.”

  Cara nodded in acknowledgment. She should’ve known that. Three men burst through the doors on the opposite side of the hangar bay and began firing at the small ship. Each shot caused the vessel to shake as Cara throttled the engines. She wasn’t worried. The ship’s deflector shields were secure.

  She hit the torque acceleration button, and the engines roared to life. Without waiting for Lenak’s confirmation of full power, she pulled the throttle back, sending the ship flying forward through the portal and into the clear blue sky toward space.

  “They will try to follow,” Lenak said, his voice shaking.

  “Let them.”

  She kept her gaze ahead and her mind on the escape, forcing thoughts of her father away. She had to for survival. Otherwise her emotions would take over when she most needed them to remain buried. She would grieve later. Right now, she needed to escape. The fate of her home depended on her making it to Rhinari.

  They pushed through the thick atmosphere of her planet and headed out into the deep vacuum of space. Another ship merged from vapor as its veiling device disengaged, catching Cara off guard. They fired a shot, hitting the engines through a weak spot in her ship’s shields. The engines exploded with a loud bang, disabling the ship’s warp drive.

  “Shit,” she griped, rushing to the back of the ship to put out the flames.

  If she’d been paying better attention, this wouldn’t have happened. Her mind had been too much on her father. This was why she had been taught to not feel. This was why she had been taught to bury all emotion.

  An alarm pealed, signaling the powering up of the automatic extinguishers, and she breathed a sigh of relief, but the cabin was quickly filling with smoke.

  “Lenak? What are you doing?” she asked as Lenak began to pull her to another room.

  “You must do this, Cara,” he said as he shoved her toward a small tube.

  “I must do what?” she asked as she stared with concern at the small black coffin.

  She knew what this was. It was experimental, something her father’s scientists were working on. It would hold one person inside and emit a gas that would keep the occupant asleep while it flew through space to its desired location. It was essentially an escape pod. One Lenak apparently wanted her to get inside.

  “You will be asleep,” Lenak began.

  “Lenak, you can’t be serious. Besides, they’ll see the pod as it leaves the ship.”

  “The pod has a cloaking device and a distress beacon that will activate once you’ve dropped out of warp.”

  She frowned. “This pod has warp capability?”

  Lenak nodded and pushed her closer to the pod. “You have no choice, Cara. Not if you want to survive.”

  He stepped forward and stabbed her in the side of the neck with a long needle. Cara gasped in surprise at the sharp bite of pain. She raised her hand to fight back. Unfortunately, the drug worked too fast. Her mind clouded, not allowing her mental or physical control. She went into limbo, thoughts in slow motion fading in and out, unable to form a solid impression. Something was wrong—terribly wrong.

  Chapter Two

  Hayden Marcone strolled into his brother, Christian’s, apartment at the senate building on Rhinari. He was exhausted and was supposed to be off Rhinari already and headed to Daego for a much-needed break, but as the head trauma surgeon at one of Rhinari’s largest hospitals, he had no choice but to stay and help with the influx of injured from the factory accident.

  Despite medical advancements, he couldn’t save everyone, and the losses weighed heavily on his shoulders. Some things were just unfixable, but that didn’t stop him from trying.

  He walked over to the bar and poured a Scotch. He took a large sip, hoping the alcohol would help numb the feeling of failure and regret. He would never get used to losing patients.

  “Isn’t it a little early to be drinking?” Sharna asked as she emerged from Christian’s home office.

  Hayden turned from the bar and looked at his brother’s assistant. She was tall with flame-red hair and eyes so deep blue they reminded him of the summer sky back home on Tilarus. Sharna was full figured with a body and curves a man could hold on to. Why his brother hadn’t gotten with Sharna was beyond him, but Chris kept his distance, insisting she was the best assistant he’d ever had, and he didn’t want to do anything to jeopardize that.

  “It’s been a long night,” Hayden replied.

  “I heard about the accident,” Sharna said as she set Chris’s electronic files on the large island that separated the kitchen from the living area. “How many died?”

  Hayden sighed and stared at the Scotch in his glass. “Too many.”

  “You’re a good doctor, Hayden, but you’re not a god. You can’t save everyone.”

  “I know.” That didn’t stop him from grieving. He set the glass down and walked to the island. “Where is my no-good brother? I need to talk to him before I head to Daego.”

  She shrugged. “I think he went home with that blonde from the benefit last night. He wasn’t here when
I came through about an hour ago to pick up the legislation he was supposed to sign and of course didn’t.”

  There was a sadness in her eyes she tried to hide, but Hayden didn’t miss it. “Why do you put up with it, Sharna?”

  “He’s just in a funk. It will pass.”

  “That’s not what I meant,” Hayden said softly.

  Sharna poured herself and Hayden a cup of coffee, then set his before him on the island. “At least he didn’t bring her here.”

  Was his brother ever going to see how Sharna felt about him? The whole family knew, and they all believed Sharna was perfect for him. If only Chris would see it.

  “What’s this funk all about, anyway?” Hayden asked.

  Sharna took a sip of coffee. She turned to face him and leaned her curvy hips against the opposite counter. “I’m not sure. He’s very frustrated.”

  “Is it the senate?”

  “It’s the corruption. Too many senators are being bought off. Someone out there is forking over a lot of money to make sure those two big pieces of legislation Chris is working on don’t go through.”

  “One’s the slave trade,” Hayden said. “What’s the other?”

  Sharna set her cup down beside her. “The other is the legislation that will further limit the senate regent and what that position can do without senate approval.” She leveled her concerned gaze on Hayden. “We all know half the senators dabble in the slave trade, especially sex slaves, so the interference there doesn’t surprise me. But the other one does. Someone doesn’t want the regent’s power limited and is trying to block that bill’s passage.”

  Hayden frowned. “Of course they are. The people and companies backing the regent want to continue to control him and therefore control the senate.”

  “And by controlling the galactic senate, they control the massive federation of planets that belong to it. Chris sees things heading down a path similar to before. We can’t afford another dictator taking control, and that’s where it’s headed with all this damn corruption. Nobody cares about the people anymore. All they care about are their backers and how much money they can get out of them.”