Broken Ties [The Darkest Star Saga 6] Read online

  Ibbi has to be strong. Blackmailed into using her sight, she has little idea that it will show her the man who will be her destiny.

  Ibbi is on the run. She broke from her family and disappeared into the stars. The current world she lives on wants her to use her talent as a seer, but it will be akin to putting a target on her back.

  With no option, she attends the governor’s ball with one goal, to help the Asku meet local virgins of appropriate age. She had no idea that she would meet the man she wanted to link minds with and so much more.

  The woman in the scarlet dress takes Dreynar’s breath away and as she spends the evening at his side his admiration for the seer grows, as does his appreciation for the form that contains her razor-sharp mind. She will be his, but can her sight make it clear before he has to choose for her?

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  Broken Ties

  Copyright © 2013 Zenina Masters

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-461-5

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

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  Broken Ties

  Darkest Star Saga Book 6

  By

  Zenina Masters

  Chapter One

  Ibbi looked at her receptionist and blinked. “Say that again?”

  Urali smiled, “The governor has called, and he wishes to meet with you on an urgent matter.”

  “How urgent?” Ibbi was a publicist who specialised in alien advertising. The governor had never called her before.

  “He is on his way up. He called from his vehicle.” Urali’s light mocha skin went several shades paler.

  “Then, get some tea in action and get behind your desk.” Ibbi looked around her office and sighed in relief. The neat and tidy reflexes honed by years in space served her well on the surface of Adeel.

  She was politely attentive when the governor and his aide came through her door. Urali didn’t even have time to offer them tea. They entered her office and closed the door behind them.

  Ibbi got to her feet and inclined her head. The Adeel did not like to touch aliens if they had any other choice.

  “Ms. Harogthra. I have heard that you are one of the Trevis.” The governor was blunt to the point of rudeness.

  Ibbi sat before he did in a deliberate response to his attitude. His aide widened his eyes and was going to rebuke her, but she fixed him with the calm gaze her people were famous for.

  “I was born a Trevis, but I am now an Adeel citizen. What can I do for you?” She folded her hands politely in front of her.

  The governor ran a hand through his thinning snow-white hair. “The Asku are renewing their post here and their previous men need females as per our agreement.”

  “What?”

  “When the Asku settled an outpost here, we agreed to provide any outgoing troops with women as our payment for their protection. It is an agreement that has served us well and defended us over a dozen times in the last twenty years.”

  “I don’t understand. Where do I come in?” She was shocked that the Adeel would have signed over part of their population. They were so fussy about alien interaction that sending a batch of their women off world boggled her mind.

  The governor ran his hand through his hair again, and she suspected that she knew why it was thinning. He was pulling it all out.

  “The Asku need virgins. They will accept nothing less. I thought it would be easy to find enough for them, but it isn’t.” It became clear to her why they needed a Trevis. She had an instinct for deception that the Adeel couldn’t fathom.

  “I don’t engage in my people’s practices. They are dead to me, as I am to them.” He glared at her, his dark eyes almost throwing sparks. “That is unacceptable. You are here at the sufferance of our government. That permission can be revoked if you are determined to deny your participation in a matter of global concern.”

  “You don’t understand. The kind of exploration you are hinting at will be awkward to engage in on a casual basis. I can’t simply roam the streets looking for virgins. It is a little ridiculous.” He was insistent. “You will do this. I will have a ball when the new garrison leader arrives, and you can do your selection then.” She groaned. “You have to be kidding. I will stand out like a sore thumb at that event. I have tried blending in with makeup, but nothing will hold to the surface of my skin.” She didn’t want to tell him the true reason that she didn’t want to help. If she used her skills as a Trevis seer, the Trevis would be able to find her again. She had the option here of hiding in plain sight. Anyone who saw her thought she simply belonged to one of a dozen other species, but the moment that she used her seer talents, her family would come in search of her once again, and she was running out of places to hide.

  “The leader of the new contingent is sympathetic to our plight, and he is willing to help in any way he can with the provision that we will do the same for his garrison when they are relieved.” The governor was adamant. He flicked his fingers, and his aide removed two envelopes from his notebook.

  “The first envelope is to pay your fees. The second is your invitation to the ball, this eighthday. If you are not there, you will be deported the following morning. Are we clear?” He rose to his feet, but she remained at her desk. “We are clear. Please, see yourself out, and send my assistant in.”

  The aide puffed up as if to blast her, but the governor nodded. He knew he had won. “Thank you for your cooperation.”

  They left, and Urali rushed in. “Well?”

  “Close the door.”

  Urali closed the door and looked at her with her dark eyes wide. “So? What did he want?”

  “I need you to find an off-worlder seamstress who can make me a dress for the governor’s ball in four days. I also need you to make discreet inquiries as to a ship leaving Adeel on the ninthday or tenthday. Any berth will do but don’t book it, just inquire. I don’t want to set off any alarms.”

  Urali frowned. “Are you leaving?” She looked out the window. “I don’t know. I hope not. Don’t worry about your severance, I have it put aside.”

  Urali grinned, “How much do I get?”

  “One year’s wages. Now, get on with a seamstress. I need to have a measurement done today. Discretion is a watchword here, Urali.” Ibbi waved off her assistant, and the woman pranced into the outer office and got to work.

  Ibbi tried to concentrate on the newest starliner advertisement, but her attention kept wandering four days ahead. The moment she used her ability, her family would find her and she really had no urge to see them again.

  Marrying within the bloodline to keep the seer talent dominant was a nauseating fact of Trevis life. Ibbi had no interest in her cousin and he had none in her. If the Trevis d
idn’t insist on direct conception it might have been tolerable, but her cousin Karlo had interest in his own gender, so it would be torture for them both. That was a fate she had no interest in being part of, so she disappeared while shopping for her trousseau and hadn’t used her talent since.

  She could feel them every now and then, tugging along the psychic lines, but she kept her thoughts quiet and her talent dormant. Now, she was being paid a ridiculous sum to identify virgins, and it was going to cost her her home or her freedom.

  As she worked through the afternoon, one thought came back to her over and over, what kind of help could the garrison commander offer that would hide her in plain sight?

  Chapter Two

  Wearing scarlet had not been her initial idea, but the seamstress had been insistent that it would draw attention away from her face.

  Looking at herself in the mirror, she turned from side to side and nodded with satisfaction.

  She pinned her hair up at the sides, leaving a loose wave down across her shoulders.

  Urali looked at her, and her eyes were full of awe. “You look amazing.”

  “So do you, Ura. Your father will be here to pick you up shortly. You had better get downstairs.” She smiled and pressed an air kiss to her assistant’s cheek. “See you there.” Urali waved at her and skipped out of the room on a cloud of silk and lace.

  Ibbi smiled and turned back to her reflection. It had been an executive decision to change here.

  Her apartment was on the far side of the city, and she would never have made it back in time.

  Urali was attending with her father. Senator Gothin had received an invitation just as any man with a marriageable daughter with suspected virginity had.

  The Asku peculiarity for virgins had its origins in mystery, but if Ibbi had to ransack the aura of those girls to find that information she was going to rifle through the Asku as well.

  In ninety-two cultures that Ibbi had researched, virginity was thought to be a hindrance. Then, there were hundreds that did not regard it at all and thousands of cultures where it was a precious commodity. The Asku were peculiar in that they would take any woman of any compatible species as long as she was a virgin. Ibbi was sure that there was more to it than simply that. They might breed across species lines, but their warriors were stamped from the same mould. No variance in general body structure ever occurred. They bred true. Ibbi was determined to answer that question while she endangered her freedom.

  She checked the time and took a deep breath.

  The governor was sending a car for her, and it was time to head down stairs in precariously high heels.

  She took her small clutch, gauzy scarlet shawl and the invitation. With one last look in the mirror, she made her way to her doom.

  Her makeup was minimal, and the cosmetics in her clutch would keep her looking fresh throughout the evening. It took a dab hand with the makeup to cover the roiling nausea that made her feel pale, but she had always been good at putting on a good face.

  She waited in the anteroom at the bottom of the stairs. Her building had no overhang, so she would be at the mercy of the elements if she went outside. When the state vehicle pulled up, she stepped outside and turned to close the door. She was completely unprepared to see the wall of muscle and Asku markings that was holding the door open for her.

  “Miss Harogthra? May I say, you look very lovely this day.” He smiled, and the solid black of his eyes proved her wrong. There was a branch of the Asku that did not follow the same mould, and she was looking at the fracture right there in front of her.

  “Thank you.”

  “I am Commander Dreynar Velu. You may call me Dreynar. I will be your escort for this evening while you render your service to my people.” She swallowed and approached the vehicle before she could make a run for it. Looking up at the man with the dark hair and darker eyes, marks on his neck retreating down into his formal shirt, she knew that running was definitely going to be a constant theme to the evening.

  He took her hand and helped her into the transport, waiting until she tucked in her gown before he gently closed the door. He opened the street-side door and slid in beside her. “Go, Tyono.”

  The vehicle glided away from the curb and into traffic, leaving her in the back with the most intimidating male she had ever seen.

  “You are Trevis?”

  “I was. I have left my family behind.” He blinked. “Why? Were you shamed in some way?”

  She shook her head. “No, but I cannot go back to the family.”

  Dreynar nodded. “Harogthra means one who runs, does it not?”

  Ibbi quivered. “Yes. Yes, it does. You know Thalocan?”

  “I have visited it, a few years ago. My question now is why is a Trevis wearing a Thalocan name?” She shrank from his dark gaze and looked out the window, watching the city flow past. “It was better than my name and harder to trace. It isn’t an actual Thalocan name, simply a word.”

  “If you help us tonight, I will help you. I promise.” Dreynar placed his hand out, palm up.

  She hesitated and thought of all she knew about Asku. No one ever said that they had broken a promise. She placed her hand on his and gasped as her talent surged to life.

  * * * *

  Nine systems away, Arberatia Senial, High Seer of the Trevis, lifted her head. “I found her.” Verin Senial looked at her with hopeful eyes.

  “My daughter, is she safe?”

  “Our daughter, Verin. She is safe, she is aware and she is strong. Set course for Adeel. Tell Karlo to stop weeping and prepare for his wedding.” Arberatia commanded her husband, and he scrambled to obey. She was high matriarch after all, and she would have her daughter’s talent back in the family line as soon as she could manage it.

  * * * *

  Ibbi drank in the details of the Asku and felt her mother’s touch on her mind from nine systems away. She removed her hand from Dreynar’s and rubbed her palms together. “I am going to take you up on that offer of help.” He rubbed his fingers against his thumb as if he could feel her against his skin. “I will be only too happy to help you in any way I can.” She shivered at the husky note to his voice and cleared her throat in sympathy. “Have you come up with a way for me to mark the virgins?” He grinned. “Well, we toyed with the idea of you tagging their ears, but instead, we have crafted a marker that you can hold between your fingers. Simply tap their arm or any portion of their body that you can manage, and it will mark them for one of the outgoing garrison to court.” She blinked. “Court?”

  “Of course. There are only a few women taken by force who live at the Asku home world. The rest of them come from courtship and seduction just like any other species. The only caveat is that we have to start from untouched stock or risk our species collapsing under the weight of sexually transmitted diseases. We have no immunities and cannot acquire them.” He shrugged.

  “Oh. That is just…oh.”

  “We have almost been destroyed once in that manner. Of course, we follow up with medical scans of the women, but starting with a virgin is a simpler place to begin.”

  It was basic male logic, but as far as she could tell, the Asku women were few and far between, so it made sense that the men would dictate policy, and it was the simplest answer.

  “Right. Simple. So, are you on the hunt for a wife as well?”

  He chuckled and leaned back as they approached the governor’s mansion. “Funny you should mention that…”

  Chapter Three

  They took her shawl and her clutch at the door, the polite servant whispering, “Just ask, and they will be returned to you.” The question of how she was going to meet all of the candidates was made startlingly simple.

  Dreynar needed a date, so she was to be next to him in the receiving line. The women would be forced to shake her hand.

  She met the governor again, and he blinked at her appearance.

  “Ms. Harogthra, you look lovely this evening.” He bowed over her hand, and she scan
ned him quickly. He was sincere and recovering from a bout of testicular cancer.

  “Thank you, Governor Saro. Your suit makes you look quite dapper.”

  He beamed at her and turned to Commander Velu. “You seem to have found her without any trouble.”

  “I think I could find her on a planet of eternal night. She glows from within.” His words were matter-of-fact, but she knew that he meant what he said. He really could find her wherever she hid.

  She shook off the bemusement and feeling of imminent threat in favour of preparing herself for a long evening. Ibbi looked to Dreynar. “Where is that marking device?”

  He chuckled and led her to a group of Asku.

  She was introduced to all the men who were seeking mates that night, and she was surprised that it was only ten men. There were other Asku in the vicinity, but they were not included.

  “Why only these ten?” She said it in a whisper to Dreynar.

  “They are retiring from active duty. They can be fathers and husbands on our home world and give their families their full attention. The others will be moving on to another active post. No room for families there.”

  “But, what you are not saying is that if one of those others meets his match, they will go on to be mated, and she will go to your home world the moment she is confirmed pregnant.” She looked at her hand and noted that it was pressed to his chest.

  She jerked her hand off his shirt and backed up a step. “I apologize. I should not have done that.” He chuckled, lifted her hand and pressed it back to his chest. “What else can you read?”

  Images that confused and startled her caused her to tug her hand back. “I read too much, and it can’t be. The moment that the women are tagged, I am out of here.”

  He didn’t let her go. Images of his skin against hers, sliding, and hands roaming over her curves burned in her mind.