Page 19 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

Zane jolted up from his stiff bunk in the empty medbay. His mouth hung open. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

But sure enough, a holoprojection of his face floated above the projector, with two text boxes beside it: one charging him as an accomplice to murder, and one listing a bounty of two hundred thousand credits.

He’d seen on the news that the passengers and crew of the Chimaera had been released without charge.

He should’ve known better than to think that would include him.

“This is my fault.” On the stool between his bed and the next one over, Mira fidgeted with her ring, a nervous habit he’d noticed long ago. “I should’ve known not to bring you, I should’ve come up with a different plan?—”

“I suggested it,” Zane muttered, clenching his jaw.

Pretending to be a prisoner had been his split-second idea to salvage his chance at getting his money from Hannover.

At the time, with Mira at his back, it hadn’t seemed like it could possibly go wrong, and they’d agreed the money made it worth it.

He’d been grudgingly impressed by Hannover’s attempt to save him, even if he hadn’t been in any real danger.

Everything had gone according to plan, until now.

“Citizens of the Federation.” As the mournful voice crackled through the old projector, the holoscreen cut to an image of Carik, a classic suit if there ever was one, standing behind a podium with a grave look on his face.

“Yesterday morning, I falsely believed Princessa Hannover was under duress, held captive by this man, a depraved ex-soldier by the name Zander Wells.”

His face flashed across the screen, and Zane’s fist tightened around the cup of water in his hand.

“Depraved ex-soldier.” Mira scoffed. “Bastards.”

“Today,” Carik continued, sighing, “I regret to inform you that I was sadly mistaken. I dispatched Admiral Krii, may his soul rest in peace, to rescue Princessa Hannover. Krii succeeded in saving her, and he was led to believe his soldiers had apprehended her captor. But when a soldier brought Wells before Krii to face justice, Wells and the Princessa murdered our brave admiral. You see, Wells was not her captor, but her accomplice, part of the conspiracy to assassinate Duchissa Calida.”

The sliding door groaned open. There, in the doorway, stood Hannover.

The cup slipped from his hand and clattered to the floor. Mira lunged for the towel dispenser and pressed a wad to the puddle of water.

Zane’s nostrils flared.

As Hannover looked at the holoscreen, rage twisted her features, and she marched forward. A dim ray of light shone on the dark bags ringing her eyes and the bruises marking her pale skin.

“Rest assured, I do not issue these charges lightly,” Carik said.

“But after a thorough examination of the evidence, my investigators have uncovered a record of a bank transfer from Dali’s Major Governor Jerran Roth to a mercenary, a man who confessed to sending the drone strike on the orders of Roth and Hannover. ”

“That’s a lie!” Hannover cried. “He can’t seriously think anyone will believe this!”

“You missed the first part,” Zane snarled, switching off the screen. He swung his legs over the side of the bed, and the scratchy sheets in his lap slid away. “They’re charging me. As your accomplice to murder.”

Hannover’s mouth fell open.

“Zane…” Mira put her calloused hand on his arm, but he flung it aside.

“Give us a minute.”

“Go easy on her,” Mira said, rising to her feet. The wheels on her stool screeched against the floor’s metal grooves, and her boots clomped towards the exit.

Zane inhaled the sharp scent of rubbing alcohol, mixed with the minty odor of okul salve. In and out, in and out. His short, noisy breaths did nothing to calm the roaring in his chest.

Even his money wasn’t worth this. His life was over.

The door clicked shut behind Mira, and Hannover looked down at her shoes.

“I’m sorry.”

“Sorry?” Zane lurched off the bed. A mild twinge of pain shot through his healed arm, but he needed to move. He couldn’t sit still as his life crumbled. “Do you understand what this means? Every bounty hunter, merc, and legionnaire will be hunting me, thanks to you.”

Hannover threw her hands up. “If you hadn’t blackmailed me, you wouldn’t be in this mess!”

“And if you’d just let me be in the mess hall, I would’ve been fine!”

Zane stormed to the other end of the medbay, past the line of empty beds and floating vitals charts. Sparse lights flickered above him.

“Nowhere is safe. Nowhere.” Zane clenched his teeth. “No matter how far my family gets from yours, you guys still find a way to screw up our lives.”

The deep thrum of the space station’s distant energy generators buzzed in Zane’s ears. Scowling, he looked at Hannover, expecting to see her head down in shame .

She was gnawing on her lip. “Mira told me it was your plan to save me from Krii.”

“I wanted my money. I suppose that’s my fault, too?”

Hannover shook her head. “Thank you.”

He nearly snapped at her again, but her soft voice stopped him.

He’d known it before, but seeing her standing there—living, breathing, very much alive—it struck him.

She could’ve died yesterday. His fingers drifted to the chain of metal beads tucked under his shirt, and he ran the string between his thumb and index finger. At least he’d saved someone .

Even if that someone was a self-centered royal.

“Let me make it right,” Hannover urged. “I can’t guarantee I’ll get you the lordship quickly, and it’ll take a while for me to go through the proper channels to get your money?—”

Zane huffed, dropped the hidden chain around his neck, and crossed the room. Excuse after excuse, it was how her whole family operated.

“Listen to me.” Hannover’s rapid footfalls tapped against the steel floor, and Zane stopped, pinching his nose.

“I know the situation isn’t ideal. But if you come to Dali with me, I’ll give you asylum there.

You’ll have to keep our deal quiet. If anyone finds out that I’m giving you a portion of Avington, it could jeopardize our plans. ”

“If I come to Dali, won’t it be obvious you have plans for Avington?”

“Not if you come back as my guard.”

Zane’s jaw went slack.

“You were a soldier, right? I saw you fight, so I know you have the skills. Most… most of my guard is gone…” Hannover made a small, choked sound and looked down at her shoes.

Zane could only stare. It took men decades of service to get offered that job. Grandfather had done five foreign tours of duty before Duchissa Coriana offered him a post on her Azurian Guard, and even then, the offer had been unexpected.

“What makes you think I have any interest in risking my life for you?”

“It wouldn’t be real. You’d only be a Guardsman until I give you your portion of Avington, and I’d make sure you’re assigned perimeter checks and hallway patrols—nothing that would put you in the line of fire.

I’d pay you the standard salary, fifteen thousand a month, and you’d have lodgings in the palace. Carik wouldn’t be able to get to you.”

It was the deal of a lifetime, an irresistible offer, but he wasn’t about to fall at her feet like a lovestruck cadet. “Fifteen thousand a month? You overpay your guards, Princess.”

“At least no one will be buying their allegiance from me.”

Frowning, Zane paced across the room. Metal panels rattled under his feet as he stepped over a tangle of wires snaking between the walls.

“Why me?”

“Mira trusts you.”

Zane scoffed. “Mira’s an assassin, and you’re going to trust me based on her word?”

Hannover shrugged. “We have the same goal. And if nothing else, you need me alive so I can follow through on our deal.”

“What do you get out of this?”

“Me? Well, I know you aren’t working for Carik.

” Biting her lip, Hannover looked away. “It’s not just Carik.

I’m worried about my mother. There are so many threats on Dali, many in my court, and she carries enough sway to turn them against me.

I need people on my guard who can’t be bought by the others. ”

“Why would your mother work against you?”

“My mother loves three things,” Hannover said bitterly, as her shoulders drooped, “wealth, power, and Selene.”

Zane grimaced. “Sorry.”

He was sorry for Dali more than anything. An unloved daughter who didn’t trust her mother, sisters who hated each other—it was the same situation that had triggered the Dalian Civil War twenty cycles ago. And that wasn’t the only potential war Hannover faced.

“How did your conversation with Gar go?”

“As well as could be expected. I appreciate your warning.” Hannover arched an eyebrow. “You know, if I offered anyone else this job, they’d see it as the honor of their lifetime. ”

Deflection. Chills trickled down Zane’s spine, but he forced himself to snort. “How long do I have to decide?”

Hannover checked the chrono on her wrist. “My shuttle leaves in twenty minutes.”

Zane brought a hand to his chin, making a show of pondering it, but the benefits were too great.

Asylum from Carik’s arrest warrant, fifteen thousand a month to do virtually nothing, free lodgings, and a chance to network with other nobles.

And the job. A prestigious job that no one in their right mind would offer him, but she had anyway, because unlike the rest of her greedy family, she wanted to set things right.

And at the end of it, his money would be waiting. Avington would be waiting.

“Fine. I’ll join your guard. On one condition.”

Hannover pursed her lips. “What now?”

“Promise me you’ll stop blindly trusting people.” At her baffled look, Zane pulled a face. “Your enemies are going to take advantage of that, and I don’t want to deal with the headache.”

“If that’s your only condition, does that mean you don’t want the lordship or the money?” she asked, as a smile curved at her lips.

He rolled his eyes, but the smirk he shot her almost felt like a smile.