Page 58 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

“It’s too early to try seizing the capital.

Like Arrosa said, throwing forces at Sector One is a suicide mission.

” Nadar stroked his gills with webbed fingers.

“We might get through, but Carik will surely escape, and reinforcements will arrive to slaughter us. I propose we liberate Dali. If we can manage that, it’ll prove rebellion is possible, and we’ll bolster our chances of expanding this alliance. ”

A smile twitched at Kalie’s lips, but she schooled her face into a neutral expression. “Then we’ll vote. I’ll honor whatever decision you reach. If I have to fight for Dali alone, I will. All in favor of?—”

“There should be a third option,” Poltrun wheezed. His beady eyes darted between them. “For those of us who want to postpone any military action.”

“Oh, for gods’ sakes, Poltrun,” Arrosa huffed.

“You heard her, running from this won’t protect us forever.

If you’re right, and Selene Hannover told Carik everything, rolling over is hardly going to save us now, is it?

Go on, Princessa. Let’s have a vote. It’s how this Federation is meant to operate. ”

Finally, progress. Kalie drew in a deep breath. “All in favor of launching an attack solely on Sector One?”

Gar’s hand shot into the air, and slowly, Akron’s followed. Kalie hid her frown. It hardly seemed fair for Dynar to get two votes, but they represented over a hundred planets in Sector Eight, so she held her tongue. A few other delegates raised their hands, mostly leaders from Sector Seven.

Less than half.

Her mouth went dry. “All in favor of continuing with the original plan, a joint attack?”

Nadar and Arrosa both raised their hands, along with most of the emissaries from planets in Sector Four. Arrosa shot Poltrun a sharp look, and the Lykorian senator lifted one of his arms. Kalie counted the hands, quivering in anticipation. The final count stole her breath away.

“That’s settled, then.” Nadar’s gills rippled as he smiled. “Princessa, allow me to offer my services and those of the Aquisian fleets. I was an admiral for many cycles. If you’ll have us, we’ll lead the attack on Dali.”

Kalie bowed her head as a warm rush of relief swept through her.

It wouldn’t be easy, but with support, she had a chance.

If Nadar was willing to lead from the front, to show his troops that he was a leader who’d fight alongside them, she would do the same.

She would show the Federation that she wasn’t just a Dalian dove—she was an Etovian phoenix.

“Thank you, Senator Nadar. I’ll accompany your troops?—”

“You’ll do what ?” Zane cried. Mira elbowed him in the ribs.

Kalie winced. Anger twisted his face, but she had no time to deal with his worries now. Setting her jaw, Kalie shifted her gaze to Gar.

Darkness lurked in the Dynarian Minister’s eyes, but he muttered, “If it’s the will of the people to divide our forces, so be it.”

Keeping his hand braced on his pulser, Zane blazed down the hallway.

It was easy enough to pull rank and send Kalie’s Aquisian guards away—everyone knew he was her most loyal Guardsman.

He reached for the cracked sliding door, but Kalie’s voice stopped him.

In the sparse gray room, she stood in the halo of a camera drone’s light.

“My allies told me I shouldn’t trust you, but I do.” Kalie’s face was turned away from him. Behind her back, she wrung her hands. “I do trust you, Julian. I always have.”

Zane clenched his jaw. Familiar fire roared in his chest, and he scanned the storage room for her ex’s brown skin and spiky black hair. Aside from Kalie, the bulky metal drone hovering at her eye level, and some dusty beige tarps draped over obscurely-shaped lumps, the room was empty.

“I know it’s a lot to ask, but please, I need you to help me—” Kalie groaned, raked her hand through her hair, and smoothed her borrowed beige jacket. “Cut. Start it again.”

The orb of light shining in the drone’s eye winked out. Zane eased the sliding door open, wincing as it rattled, but she was already talking. The drone’s recording light was on.

Gritting his teeth, he stepped back. It would piss her off if he interrupted her while she was talking, and if he had any chance of convincing her to see reason, he had to be civil.

“I’m done running.” The boldness in Kalie’s voice caught Zane by surprise.

She stood tall, with her hands clasped behind her back.

Her face was raised towards the camera’s blinding glow.

“I know I’ve failed you. All of you. I haven’t been the leader you deserve, but the lies Carik has told you about me aren’t true.

I had nothing to do with my aunt’s death, I swear it on my soul.

Carik killed her, and in a few hours, his fleet will be arriving to usurp control of our?—”

A timer chimed. Kalie slipped her holocomm from her pocket and switched it off.

Zane’s comm vibrated, too. One hour until launch .

He was running out of time.

“I’m coming home. Not for personal gain or revenge or delusions of power, but to stop Carik from taking the freedom of our people.

I won’t ask you to fight for me. But if Iliana Lexington orders you to attack my fleets, I urge you to abstain from the battle.

Whatever your opinion of me, please, do not fight for a future where Dali is not free. ”

Kalie paused. The station’s perpetual hum filled the silence.

“When I come home,” she added hoarsely, “I’m coming home to stay.”

She flicked a hand, and the recording light switched off.

“We need to talk.”

She startled, and fear shone in her eyes as she whirled around. The panic faded when she saw him. “You’re mad about me going with the fleets, I know, but?—”

“You’re not going.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Says who?”

“You don’t belong on the front lines.”

“I’m a Hannover,” she said, squaring her shoulders. “We don’t back down from danger?—”

“You’re going to get yourself killed.” As Zane paced into the room, he blew out a sharp breath, forcing his voice into a more level tone.

Barking orders and demands wasn’t going to win her over.

“You haven’t seen war. It’s bloody, and it’s quick.

If they hit the oxygen tanks or life support systems, or if they board your ship, you’ll die. You have no idea what you’re?—”

“I know exactly what I’m getting into,” Kalie said, her voice low and cold. “Or did you forget that they destroyed my fleet?”

Zane opened his mouth, but Kalie’s glare silenced him.

He looked away. “I don’t want you going.”

“That’s not your choice to make.”

“You’re making a mistake?—”

“Stop telling me what to?—”

“They’re going to kill you!”

She brushed past him, heading for the door. “I know the risks, and I accept them. This is my duty?—”

“Screw duty!” Zane’s chest heaved as he strode after her, kicking up dust in his wake.

“You’re being an idiot. What’s the point of fighting for your throne if you get yourself killed?

Carik will win. Lexington will reign. Everything that’s happening will keep happening, and your people will suffer?—”

“But they’ll know I fought!” Kalie’s flushed face was damp with sweat, and her eyes were blazing. “I run when things get hard, that’s what everyone says. I abandoned them to Lexington, but they’re my people. I’d rather die fighting for my home than live in exile like a?—”

“I’m calling in your oath.”

Kalie went shock-still. Not even a muscle twitched.

Footsteps thumped down the hallway, but Zane held her gaze. “You promised me anything I wanted back on the Chimaera . You swore it on your aunt’s soul?—”

“How dare you,” Kalie snarled.

“Well, well. What is going on here?” As Mira sauntered into the room, a frown tugged at her lips. “Dammit, playboy. Don’t tell me you really tried to stun her.”

Kalie’s head whipped between them. Her mouth gaped open as anger twisted her beautiful face. “Stun me? Stun me ?”

Mira winced. “I take it you didn’t go that far, then.”

Zane glared at her. She grimaced, offering a half-shrug as if to say, sorry .

He ground his teeth together. He had thrown it out as an idea, one Mira had quickly shot down—sure, Kalie would be knocked out and safely out of the way when the fleets deployed, but she would never forgive him for taking away her choice.

Judging by the fury flashing in Kalie’s eyes, she already wouldn’t forgive him.

With a noise of disgust, she marched to the door.

“Wait, Kalie. Please.” She paused in the doorway, and Zane swallowed the lump in his throat. “I’ll never ask you for anything else. Stay here. Let the rest of us fight for you.”

“This is my fight.”

“I thought you died.” The tightness in his throat made speech nearly impossible. “And I—I can’t…”

Her eyes were cold, uncompromising.

He couldn’t lose someone else. Not again. “I held up my end of the bargain. You owe me. Anything at all, you said, and this is what I want. Stay here.”

“Don’t,” Kalie breathed. Anguish twisted her features. “Don’t do that to me. Don’t make me choose.”

“You swore an oath. There is no choice. You’re staying.”

Her lips parted, as if she couldn’t believe what she was hearing.

Despite the churning in his gut at how badly he had botched the situation, he forced himself to hold her gaze. Silently, she crossed the room. She stopped inches away, and time hung suspended between them as he waited for her to break the silence.

“I am not Lysa.”

Zane’s breath hitched.

Emotions swirled in Kalie’s hard, glittering eyes—a dark glint of anger, the watery gloss of grief, the wounded look of betrayal. “Forcing me to stay here won’t bring her back. But if you force me to break my oath to you, if you force me to damn my aunt’s soul, I will never forgive you.”

“You wouldn’t go,” Zane whispered, gaping at her. She stared at him with unwavering conviction, and terror twisted his heart. “You wouldn’t, not with her soul at stake.”

“Watch me.”

Her ponytail swished as she spun on her heel and stormed out of the room.

Mira watched Kalie go, and as her jaw tightened, she stomped towards Zane. He braced himself for a scathing lecture—then her palm cracked against his cheek. Rage lit in his chest, and he lurched forward, but his rage died as he remembered the look on Kalie’s face.

He deserved it.

Mira stepped back, breathing heavily. “You’re being an idiot.”

“I’m trying to protect her!”

“By making her think she’s damning her aunt’s soul? We both know all that stuff about gods and heavens is bullshit, but she believes it.” Mira stared at the dusty gray tiles. “You’ve hurt a lot of people, Zane, but I won’t let you hurt her.”

“I’m trying to protect her,” he repeated, but there was no heat in his voice .

With a sound of disgust, Mira turned her back on him. “I’m so sick of your way of protecting people.”

She strode out the door.

Muttering a curse, Zane slouched on a dusty wooden crate, kicking aside a dirty tarp. His chrono chimed, a reminder that the fleets were launching in a quarter of an hour. It was bad enough that Mira was going, but at least she could fight. Probably better than he could.

Kalie had no business on a battleship, coming that close to death.

Zane sighed.

Come hell or high water, she would be with the fleet. Mira was right—he couldn’t torment her with that ultimatum. He could demand for her to stay on the ship, but she wouldn’t take that any better than his demand for her to stay behind.

But there was one other option.

His stomach twisted into knots. She would never approve; he’d known that all along. But if she was set on going with the fleet, and things went south…

Zane took a deep, steadying breath and pushed himself to his feet.

He had one last card to play.