Page 49 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

He held the Prince’s cold stare as waves thundered against the shore below.

The musty scent of incoming rain clung to the moist air.

The Prince pressed his lips into a flat line, but Zane stood his ground, even as mud dribbled through the toe of his boot.

He could train Kalie for months, and it wouldn’t do any good.

This was the only way to truly protect her.

“Five A.M. tomorrow. Meet me on the coast. If you tell anyone, I’ll kill you.”

“You summoned us here for the liberation of Dali?” Minister Gar’s astonished voice crackled through the speakers, high but hoarse, and his holoprojection dissolved into a coughing fit.

Kalie flinched as Carik’s former rival raised a handkerchief to his mouth.

“We’re not here to discuss Dali.” Gar folded his blood-spotted cloth. The holos of their allies, who floated around a holoprojection of a conference table, nodded in assent. “We’re here to discuss military action against our shared enemy: Zed Carik.”

Kalie slammed her fist down on her armrest. “You can’t ignore what’s happening to my people! Look at those pictures! Look!”

A grisly collage of images hovered over the holoprojector, along with snippets of headlines: Duchissa Iliana Welcomes Feds to Dali , Legionnaires Slaughter Thirty , Dalian Civilians Killed in Crossfire , Bodies Found on Sacred Grounds .

The auburn-haired child who looked so much like Lexie stared at her from one horrifying image. Her stomach turned.

A bold headline floated at the bottom: Dalian Death Toll Reaches 10,000.

“You think this is only happening to Dali?” Gar snapped. “Look at the rest of the Federation! What about my people, stolen for slavery? Or Vataskor IX, plundered of its resources, or Britiria’s officials, executed for dissent? What about them, Princessa?”

Kalie forced her voice past the knot in her throat. “When we free Dali, we can commit our resources to?—”

“We can turn our sights on Dali after we overthrow Carik.”

“You misunderstand the purpose of this meeting, Minister,” Father’s holo said coolly.

He’d joined the meeting from his conference chamber, but he’d stashed her in this empty room like a fugitive.

It was safer if they didn’t know where she was, he’d reasoned.

“My fleets will not be advancing on Oeksa until Dali has been liberated.”

A Dalian noble scoffed. “We don’t want Etovian fleets anywhere near Dali. We remember what happened last time your armies advanced on our home, Emperor.”

“What’s our alternative?” demanded Haeden’s mother. “The usurper unleashed Titan on us?—”

“It hasn’t been confirmed that Duchissa Iliana was behind the jailbreak,” said the Count of Alexandria.

Kalie’s eyes narrowed. Mira had vetted all the nobles. The only ones in attendance were those she’d vouched for, but calling a usurper Duchissa was a sign of respect and loyalty. She had to hope that Mira’s instincts were right.

“Who else would’ve done it?” Julian’s mother snapped.

“Do none of you see where this is headed? She’s let loose the bombers, the serial killers, the rapists and traitors.

Deaths are piling up, fear is spreading, officials are calling for aid, and who better to sweep in and save the day than a Federation fleet? ”

“Let’s not succumb to paranoia, Contessa.”

Kalie’s temples pounded, and she pressed her cold fingertips to her forehead.

It was the scene from her Advisorium chambers all over again, and that chaos had led to her downfall.

Shouting and slamming her gavel would do nothing for her here.

Here, she was a fugitive, not a monarch. No one owed her respect or deference.

But for Dali, she had to try. According to Mira’s latest message, there was talk of Iliana bringing in a larger Federation presence to quell the rise of crime.

She couldn’t let that happen .

Kalie pressed a button on the holoprojector in front of her, and a three-dimensional map of the Federation appeared where the images had been.

A hush fell across the conference.

She cleared her throat. “I only ask for a minute. One minute, and if you decide to leave after that, I won’t begrudge you.”

Dozens of faces watched her, waiting.

“Thank you for being here. I know as well as anyone the risks that come with opposing Carik. And I… I have failed you. Many of you.” Her eyes landed on Julian’s parents, and the empty spot between his mother and Haeden—the spot where Julian would’ve been, if he hadn’t ignored all her messages.

Kalie took a deep breath. “As I was saying earlier, my father and I developed a plan, and I think it’ll answer all our wishes.

In one strike, we’ll liberate Dali and attack the Federation. ”

“Carik has the weight of over seven hundred planets standing behind him.” The Lykorian Senator, Poltrun, clasped his hands over his bulging belly. “If we divide our forces, no strike on Oeksa could possibly succeed?—”

“We won’t take the capital.” Even in a holo, Father cut an imposing figure.

“We’ll never get close enough. Sector Three’s stance is unclear, and One and Two will stand with Carik.

They can block the stargate routes, and it’s no use trying to get a fleet into One otherwise. One’s asteroid ring is a death trap.”

An unnerving hum buzzed through the room.

“No, we’ll strike the shipyards.” Father’s dark voice made Kalie shiver. “The fuel depots. The transmission relays. If you can’t win a war by cutting off the head, you can still win by cutting off the limbs.”

The Dalians looked murderous.

Kalie glanced at the chrono. Her minute was up, but no one had left. Yet.

“Carik has a shipyard on Dejur, four stargate jumps from Dali. If we want to stop the ships there from reinforcing Dali, we’ll have to contain it.

” Startled exclamations rushed through the speakers, and Kalie held up a hand.

“I know. It’s a high demand. And for the plan to succeed, we’ll need other fleets to make an assault on a target in Sector Three. ”

“A diversion,” Nadar said. “So you can strike Dali.”

Kalie nodded. “Dali has four fleets. Three, if one turns on Iliana.”

Biting her lip, she turned to the Count of Alexandria. She’d been counting on Julian to seize the Alexandrian fleet, but his silence didn’t bode well. Judging by the Count’s narrowed eyes and grim scowl, he wouldn’t support her either.

Fighting her rising disappointment, Kalie looked away.

“If you’re planning to attack Sector Three as a diversion, it won’t work.” President Arrosa fiddled with her floppy hat. “Carik won’t give up Dali for a target in Three. We need to push into One.”

“We could use the Krygeon Pass,” Nadar suggested. Kalie glanced at the stargate that led through a narrow gap in Sector One’s asteroid ring. “It’s heavily fortified, but attacking the Pass would be enough to raise alarm in One. If it’s breached…”

“It hasn’t been breached in five hundred cycles.”

“It doesn’t have to be.” Gar pressed a pale green hand to his chin.

“Sector One is the symbol of the Federation’s power.

If it’s attacked, that’s a threat the Senate can’t ignore.

If Carik chooses to fight for Dali instead of crushing resistance at the Pass, he’ll lose support from One’s elites.

He’ll have to commit troops there instead. ”

“Attacking the Pass is a suicide mission,” said Arrosa.

“Perhaps.” General Akron glanced at Gar. “Dynar will lead the attack. Sector Eight’s forces will hold them at the Pass, or die trying.”

Kalie squeezed her eyes shut. All too easily, she could picture the battle that would unfold at the Pass. Tar-black destroyers would rain red blasts down on Gar’s ships, the way they’d destroyed her fleets, the way they’d killed Ariah.

“If Dynar leads an attack on the Pass,” Poltrun said, “ships from Vataskor IX will fight alongside them. Together, we’ll open the gates to end Carik’s tyranny for good.”

Her brows shot up. The Lykorian Senator was a corpulent, cowardly man, known for loving two things: alcohol and women. Never, in a million cycles, would she have expected him to commit to the most dangerous part of the attack .

Judging by the silence, everyone else was as stunned as her.

Then the room exploded. This time, the chaos was good.

Nadar pledged to send his forces to liberate Dali.

At the urging of the Dalian nobles, Father agreed to send his fleets with Arrosa to contain Dejur, and Kalie breathed a sigh of relief when the Count of Alexandria offered Nadar the aid of his Skyforce fleet and his personal militia.

Haeden’s mother pledged the support of her private militia, and the same pledge was repeated by Julian’s parents.

There might’ve been others who offered, but the room was a chaotic jumble of voices.

Kalie’s head pounded, but she smiled. “When will we strike?”

Gar’s expression was inscrutable. Though Sector Eight’s leader was halfway across the Federation, his aura of power stretched to Etov. She couldn’t read him through a projection, but she knew where he saw himself when it was all over.

His rebellion would only end when he’d taken Carik’s place. The others seemed to accept that he would be their leader.

Gar pressed his lips together. “It was your plan, Princessa. That decision falls to you.”

Kalie gaped at him, and he smiled grimly.

Schooling her expression into something neutral, she straightened and met the eyes of her allies.

They had to strike before the Federation’s presence on Dali grew stronger, before the killings escalated, before the fissures in their alliance fractured, before the window of opportunity closed.

The sooner they struck, the sooner she could free Uncle Jerran from prison and liberate her people from Carik’s brutality.

The day would go down in legends. Carik wouldn’t fall in a single strike, but the day she launched the attack would spell the beginning of his end.

“If you can get your fleets operational in two weeks…” There were no protests, so Kalie steeled her voice. “We’ll strike on the last day of the month.”

Undecemmensis-31. It would’ve been Lexie’s fifth birthday.

Now, it would be the day she avenged her death.