Page 53 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

At first, Kalie hadn’t been able to do anything but stare.

Hadn’t been able to do anything but pray, that the Praetor was wrong, that Mylis was lying, that they’d never decrypted the one sentence that would shatter her dreams. Then the words had sunk in, and a band of pressure had closed around her lungs.

That pressure hadn’t lightened. Not as she trudged behind the Praetor, barely cognizant of putting one foot in front of the other.

Not as she stood mutely in a conference room with her parents while the technicians explained the complex process they’d used to decrypt the helium drivchip.

Not as Father’s voice warbled around her, saying her Collectivate had secretly approved Iliana’s request for a Federation fleet to rout out the criminals and restore order to Dali.

Not as Mother, pale and shaking, cursed in the ancient Dalian tongue and spat that they wouldn’t bring peace, they’d bring a blockade and a massacre.

And now—as Kalie slouched in her stuffy antechamber, with the faint glow of Mira’s holoprojection lighting up the drapes hanging like cobwebs and the eerie crimson designs snaking across the walls—now, the pressure crushing her chest choked the air out of her.

“That intel you got from Grant? It’s solid.”

Kalie buried her head in her hands, praying to Azura, to Kallus, to Calla—to the whole court of gods, anyone who would listen.

She’d have to inform Mother and Father and start making preparations.

But what could she possibly do to stop this?

All the carnage the legionnaires had wrought, the civilians slain in their war path—it would all keep happening once the Federation took control, but on a much more destructive scale.

“Cheer up, Hannover. You have five days to prepare. I’ve had less time to get ready for ops.”

“This is a fleet, Mira! This isn’t an assassination, or a bounty you have to collect. This is a dozen battleships, coming to destroy my home. So don’t tell me to cheer up!”

Mira raised her hands. “Bad choice of words.”

She wanted to scream, to rage like Mother had when she’d torn into Carik with every Dalian curse in the book, but none of that would save her people. Taking a deep breath, she pushed her burning anger deep down.

“How do you know Mylis is telling the truth?”

Mira smirked, and Zane made a low sound of displeasure. Only ten steps separated her from him, but a chasm had opened between them, one that ten steps across an embroidered rug wouldn’t bridge.

“Tell me you didn’t reveal yourself.”

“Oh, but that’d be lying.”

Zane thumped his fist on his armrest, and Kalie flinched. “Dammit, Mira?—”

“Relax. I’m wanted on sixty-seven different planets, and they haven’t caught me yet. Besides, I’m using a different face when I’m in the palace.”

“Chip scanners?—”

“I don’t have a chip. We’ve established this.”

As Kalie frowned, Mira waved a hand dismissively, like Zane was an ignorant child. He settled back into his chair, clearly fuming .

Kalie peered at the point where Mira’s arm met the edge of the projection’s camera and dissolved into a shimmering mirage. There hadn’t been a scar on her wrist, nothing to suggest she’d done the impossible and removed her ID chip.

“Grant’s on your side,” Mira said. “He has been since the beginning.”

“It didn’t feel like he was on my side when he pulled a pulser on me,” she seethed. In an instant, she was staring down the dark, fathomless barrel of the weapon that could’ve ended her life. “How do you know?”

“We talked. Oh, don’t worry, I didn’t tell him who I was. When I was picking up my duty schedule in the lounge, I heard some of Iliana’s guards were going to a bar. I tailed them. Morphed into a hooker, told Grant he should hire me for the night.”

Kalie wrinkled her nose. “You didn’t actually… did you?”

Mira snickered. “No, he figured out I wasn’t a hooker. Of course, the knife I flashed him might’ve given it away. One of the other guards suggested the name of a sleazy motel, and we went there for a little chat.”

Zane coughed, muttered “interrogation,” and coughed again.

Mira scowled at him. “I can evaluate an asset without resorting to torture. We just talked. He pieced together that I work for the Hannovers. Had to resurrect an old alias—not Solina Hett, don’t worry. She’s just for you, Zane.”

She winked. Zane cracked a smile, and an absurd wave of jealousy burned in Kalie’s chest. But she had no right to that jealousy, not after she’d pushed him away.

She cleared her throat. “How can you be sure he wasn’t lying?”

“Does he have any previous experience working as a spy?”

“Not that I know of.”

“Exactly. I’ve been doing this since I was a kid. Trust me, I know when someone’s lying, and Grant’s not skilled enough to outwit me.”

Kalie rubbed her temples. “You’re missing the obvious. His father is at Iliana’s court, and he’s not going to turn on him.”

“His father.” Mira cast her eyes heavenward. “Don’t get him started on his father. ”

Zane frowned. “The reunion didn’t go well?”

“What, you think when a parent abandons their kid, the kid’s supposed to welcome them back with open arms?

He chose revenge over his infant son. If it was me…

” Mira’s lips flattened into a thin line.

“Grant stayed for your uncle, not his father. He said when they struck Roth down, he knew it was over, and he couldn’t leave him there undefended.

Got emotional and everything. The kid’s like a puppy. ”

“That’s how he fooled me.”

“Hannover,” Mira said, in a tone of utter exasperation. “He turned on you to gain Lexington’s trust, so he could pass you information from her court and keep an eye on Roth. Pretty brave, if you ask me.”

Kalie drew her lip between her teeth. Zane, who’d nearly attacked Mylis the day before her coronation, trusted him. And Mira… Kalie glanced at the knife scars on her cheek, the leather jacket peeking into the holo.

She trusted them. If they trusted Mylis, she would have to trust him, too.

Which meant in five days, Dali would fall to Carik.

Sucking in a sharp breath, Kalie rose to her feet. “I’ll send word to our allies and try to expedite the attack. If we can get there first…”

Zane’s leather chair squelched as he straightened. She didn’t have to look at him to know what she would find: narrow-eyed disapproval, a deep scowl pulling at his lips, his bitter recriminations about war on the tip of his tongue. She understood, now, what he feared—and why he feared it.

But for Dali’s people, she had to fight.

“When the time comes, let me know what you need us to do.”

“I will.” Kalie moved to end the call. “Thanks, Mira.”

“Wait, one last thing!” Mira’s jaunty tone sounded like Ariah’s, and her grin looked like trouble. “Grant’s never been in a serious relationship. I doubt he’s ever kissed a girl, and he’s more than a little besotted with you.”

Zane scoffed. “He told you all that?”

“He didn’t say it outright, but it was in his body language.

” Mira rolled her eyes. “You should’ve heard him, talking about how he’d never forgotten your dance together at some ball five cycles ago.

Five cycles . I don’t know what you did, Hannover, but you clearly left an impression on him.

Said you made him feel seen, whatever that means, and you’d won his loyalty that night. ”

But it hadn’t been her, Kalie realized, with a jolt. The woman he remembered, the woman he’d danced with at Uncle Jerran’s ball—Ariah. Nothing more than a memory. Her throat swelled shut, and she drew in a slow, hitching breath.

Zane’s stare burned into her as she muttered, “Not the time.”

“Right, right. Allies to assemble and fleets to fight. Just thought I’d give you something to look forward to when this is over. I think you two?—”

“Goodbye, Mira.”

With a two-fingered wave and a widening grin, Mira’s holo disappeared.

Oppressive silence hung over the room like a heavy cloak. Footsteps clomped against the marble floors outside, accompanied by drifting voices. The deep ticking of an antique chrono filled the musty chamber. Zane made no move to speak.

“That was… awkward.”

The leather chair squeaked as Zane rose to his feet, rubbing the back of his neck. “You can say that again. I’ll, uh… remind Mira her job’s not to play matchmaker.”

“Though with her skills, she’d be good at it.”

His jaw tightened. “Yeah. Probably. I guess she got it right for you, too.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know what it means,” Zane grumbled, plodding to the looming rosewood doors.

Kalie tried to call him back, but the words got stuck in her throat. He yanked open the door and let it slam behind him.

Her heart sank, leaving a hollow ache behind.

She desperately wished she could turn back the chrono an hour, so she could’ve had that moment with him before the weight of her responsibilities and the impending invasion crashed down.

He’d visited her dreams more than once over the past few weeks, weakening her resolve each time.

But while she’d fantasized about how his lips would feel against hers, she’d known she couldn’t let it happen.

It wouldn’t have been fair to him. What was their endgame?

One stolen kiss, one secret night, and then what?

A life of furtive looks and awkward silences?

Unrealistic scenarios and dreams of what could have been?

Kalie slumped into her plushy chair. If the Dalian Church heard rumors of her fling with a commoner, she’d meet the same fate as Grandmother Madeleine: branded a sinner, excommunicated from the Church, denied entrance to Azura’s heavens.

Even the loyal members of her court would reject her, and she’d lose all hope of regaining her throne.