Page 60 of The First Spark (Dynasty of Fire #1)

The daze snapped, and Kalie remembered to think. To breathe. The weight of the deaths was still there, crushing and oppressive, but she pushed it away. “No. We’re here to liberate my people, not slaughter them. Stick to the plan, weapons and thrusters only.”

“I will not force my men to sit by as yours destroy them!”

Kalie’s fingers drummed a frantic beat against her wrist. Turning away from Nadar, she glanced at the viewport. As a navy blue warplane streaked between two pieces of rubble, light flashed, and the Dalian plane vanished, replaced by billowing orange plumes.

Her people or Nadar’s. There was only one choice, really.

But she had to consider the long game. On its own, Dali could not stand. She couldn’t afford to alienate her closest ally.

“Two minutes.” Sweat stung Kalie’s eyes as she turned to Nadar. Beyond his chair, Mira and Zane were speaking quietly. “Let me try to make contact again. Give my people a chance.”

Nadar’s eyes narrowed.

“Two minutes,” she repeated, glancing at the pulsing cannons. Lasers pelted the forcefield rippling around the Federation destroyer. “We can reroute power to the forcefields. Give me another chance, Senator.”

His gills rippled, but he nodded. “Very well. Strike teams Aurora through Morae, continue the assault on the Dalian cannons, but refrain from lethal force. Neptune through Vext, regroup and launch a strike on the Federation flagship. Target the oxygen tanks first, then all other life support systems.”

Kalie beckoned to the camera drone. As it floated across the bridge, she shifted her gaze to the chaos beyond the viewport.

Escape pods rained from two of the Federation’s crumbling cruisers.

One caved into itself, like a sinkhole of metal, and shrapnel swirled between the tar-black shadows.

A line of cannons along the flagship went up in flames.

Kalie raised her eyes to the camera drone.

Mother Azura, please.

The lens remained dim.

Julian. Let me in.

Light flickered across the glass, and Kalie’s heart leapt into her throat. It was just a passing glare.

“They didn’t accept it, Your Majesty.”

Raking her hands through her sweat-soaked hair, she met Nadar’s gaze. “Once the oxygen tanks go down, how much time does that give them to evacuate?”

“Less than sixty seconds. ”

“They’d never make it, Kal.” Zane’s eyes were haunted, but his voice was strong. “They made their choice. It’s kill or be killed.”

“You could target the heating systems first,” Mira said. “Void chill wouldn’t set in for fifteen minutes. Enough time to evacuate, if they’re disciplined.”

“Is that acceptable, Senator?” A strange, creeping numbness crawled across Kalie’s skin.

She shoved down the churning guilt and raging despair, focusing on the cold, hard facts.

The Aquisians were dying. Her people were killing them.

If she didn’t strike a middle ground, Nadar’s fleet would withdraw, taking her and the battle with them.

She wouldn’t get another chance to free the innocents trapped on the planet below.

Nadar nodded curtly. “Heating systems first. If they refuse to evacuate, we’ll?—”

“Look!” The shrill cry pierced the bridge, and Kalie flinched, bracing for the sight of another explosion. “They’ve ceased fire!”

She whirled around, and her eyes flew wide.

The Dalian cannons were frozen and inactive.

Red flashed, and orange explosions raged, but Julian’s fleets didn’t fire. Neither did the fleet from Shofield.

Kalie’s breath rushed out of her.

“Senator, there’s an incoming transmission from the Halle .”

“Put it through,” she breathed.

The camera drone’s lens glowed white. A holoprojection shimmered to life inches from Kalie, and her jaw went slack as Julian smiled crookedly. Blood dribbled from the corner of his mouth, and a nasty cut sliced across his hairline.

“Are you—what happened?”

“Count Winthorpe ordered us to aid you. Unfortunately, it seems your aunt got to my superiors.” Julian winced, and his hand tightened on the side of his torn uniform.

A stain blossomed around his fingers. “Those of us who remain loyal to you have seized control of the fleets. Friends of mine sabotaged the Aspen and Terra fleets, so they remain on the ground. Your Skyforce stands with you, and we await our orders.”

Your Skyforce .

The words knocked the air out of Kalie.

Strain twisted Julian’s face, and as blood seeped through his fingers, a frisson of fear jolted through her. She reached for him, but the holo shimmered and jolted her back into reality. Kalie drew in a sharp breath. Right now, she was not his childhood friend, or his first love.

Right now, she was the leader of a fleet. She had to act like it.

“Thank you, Commodore Ryker.” She hoped her grateful smile said all the things she couldn’t. “Can we count on your support?”

“Of course. Officers, prepare to open fire on the Federation’s flagship!” As the Dalian fleets’ cannons turned to Carik’s destroyer, Julian’s eyes met hers. “On your command, Your Majesty.”

Kalie allowed herself to blink twice, only twice, to be sure it was real.

Then she raised her voice and bellowed, “Fire!”

Lasers streaked towards the shadows of the Federation’s fleet, colliding with the flagship’s overwhelmed shields.

Kalie’s breath fogged against the syn-glass viewport, and as an explosion flashed, she glared at the shrapnel of a black Federation frigate, hoping every last one of them burned in hell.

Warplanes soared over a cruiser’s flank, past a line of cannons. Orange spurts dotted the dark hull. Tar-black vessels burst into clouds of scrap and flame.

Someone called for a status report, but she was almost afraid to look away—if she turned, it might not be real, and if it was, it would only take a moment for everything to change.

But she needed to project confidence, so she held her chin high and followed Nadar to the command table at the back of the bridge. Mira smirked and flashed a thumbs-up; Zane offered her a slight nod and the barest twitch of his lips.

Minister Gar and Senator Poltrun reported success. Carik had committed several fleets to fend off the attack on the Krygeon Pass, but General Akron and Poltrun’s Lykorian admirals were holding their ground. Carik had sent fewer ships than anticipated, which was good.

Unless Carik’s other fleets popped up on Dali .

Kalie clasped her hands behind her back. The officers were taking their cues from her and Nadar. She couldn’t show any fear.

“Status report from Dejur?” she asked, nodding to Arrosa.

“My admirals are holding off the reinforcements stationed at the shipyards.” Her accented voice was thick with pride. “They have the situation well in hand. Your progress on Dali?”

“We’ve lost—” Kalie peered at the radar and barely suppressed a flinch— “two cruisers and some frigates, but my people have turned their cannons on the Federation. It’s six fleets against one.”

“Our warplanes are heading for the capital now,” Nadar added. “Once we take out Olympia’s cannons, we’ll send in the troop transports.”

“Good,” said Akron. “Keep us updated.”

Two of the Federation’s three cruisers were in flames. Most of their frigates were destroyed, and it was safe to assume Nadar’s remaining warplanes outnumbered theirs as well. The only Federation destroyer, the flagship, had taken heavy damage.

Carik thought he’d conquered her people. He was wrong.

Now he was going to pay for it dearly.

“Any minute now, they should be contacting one of us with a surrender,” Julian said.

“Either that, or they’ll try to jump to the gate.” Zane folded his arms as he scanned the scene. “We may not get a surrender out of them.”

“Good,” Kalie muttered.

Zane shot her a sharp look, and she scowled. It wasn’t like Carik had offered Aunt Calida a chance to surrender. His legionnaires hadn’t spared any mercy for the Dalians they’d slaughtered. His men deserved to die in the void, and an attempt to get to the stargate would send them straight there.

As the seconds ticked by, no message came through.

The Federation destroyer stayed exactly where it was.

Carik’s last cruiser burst into flames, followed by the right flank of the flagship.

Escape pods jettisoned, and Kalie frowned.

She would be glad to lay waste to their ships, but this wasn’t how the plan was supposed to go. Akron had been sure they’d surrender .

Better that they don’t.

“I don’t like this.” Nadar’s blue scales darkened, taking on an indigo hue. “Officer Mors, what’s the status of the assault on Olympia’s cannons?”

“They’ve taken out three cannons, sir. Federation fighters are down there trying to stop them, but they have it under control. They say you can send down the troop transports.”

Kalie nodded. “Go ahead.”

“No.” Nadar frowned deeply. “They should’ve done something by now.”

“He’s right,” Mira said. “This isn’t like them.”

Kalie gritted her teeth. The order to send in the transports was on the tip of her tongue, but a chill crept up her spine as the Federation destroyer’s rear engine exploded, hurling debris into space.

They were right. Something was off. Carik needed Iliana to keep the throne, or he would face a much larger battle. Surely he wouldn’t go down this easily.

“Senator Nadar, we’re receiving a transmission from Lexington!”

“Ah. The surrender.” Nadar smiled. “There it is.”

“Accept the transmission,” Kalie ordered.

The air shimmered, and her aunt’s projection materialized a few feet from Julian. Aside from her sunken eyes and stained teeth, Iliana no longer looked like an emaciated vagrant. Glossy black hair framed sun-kissed skin and a heart-shaped face that mirrored Mother’s and Aunt Calida’s.

“Are you calling to surrender?”

Flashing a yellowed smile, Iliana spread her beringed hands. “Why would I ever do that, with how it ended for me last time?”

Kalie’s eyes narrowed. Subtly, she motioned for Nadar’s officers to charge the cannons. “You’re outnumbered.”