Hello again, Shalia.
* * * *
“It’ll be so good to see you and Oses! A hunting trip sounds fantastic.”
Betra grinned at Shalia’s enthusiastic reply to his invitation. “Do you think your clan can make it?”
“We’re in the middle of the slow season as far as the cruise line is concerned,” she said, referring to the ocean-going line of vacation ships her Imdiko Cifa owned. Shalia was in charge of vid promotions for Cifiler Cruises. “Seot said only last night he needs to take time off. That goes double for me. Larten would stop whatever he’s doing to go on a hunting trip.”
“Excellent.” Betra beamed at her.
Shalia, appearing to stand before him thanks to the com vid, was as beautiful as ever. Ten years had passed since he’d first met the troubled young woman fleeing a dying Earth. She’d had a penchant for getting into life-threatening scrapes, often through no fault of her own. She’d certainly kept Betra and Oses on their toes and had brought them together as clanmates. In a way, Betra thought she’d had a hand in making Resan their Dramok too, though the eternally at-odds pair would have hotly denied it.
Maturity, motherhood, and career certainly agreed with her. Beyond her work at the cruise line, she also ran a fertility foundation, which provided Earther eggs to the many infertile Kalquorian women who wished to be mothers. Despite having five children of her own, she was in incredible shape. It was clear she’d kept up the workouts Resan had bullied her through during her stay on the ship.
Betra marveled for the millionth time that though they’d discovered an instant mutual antipathy, Resan and Shalia had done each other a lot of favors. He suppressed a sigh.
“I’ve missed you,” he said.
Her smile was warm, reminding him of the occasions he’d earned it. Of the days and nights he’d been fortunate to have her love. “It’ll be wonderful to spend a few days with you and Oses. We have a lot to catch up on.”
How he wished they could have more. If he’d been a different man who could curb an insatiable wanderlust that kept him from putting down real roots, if she and Resan could have dropped the visceral dislike even they admitted they had no real reason for…
If only.
* * * *
All-out war has begun, with innocents caught in the
crossfire.
Former nun Cheryl Taupin and her husband Nobek Besral, in charge of the remaining orphans of Earth’s Armageddon, watch the terrible events unfolding in the Dark-overrun Galactic Council of Planets. Kalquorians in Galactic Council space are being rounded up to suffer an unknown fate and martial law is declared on many of the system’s worlds. A desperate plea to the Kalquorian Empire sends Admiral Piras and Captain Kila to the orphanage…but how can a lone spyship protect hundreds of children against the full might of the Galactic Council’s warships bent on destruction?
Charity Nath has been brought to Alpha Space Station to hide from those determined to exact vengeance against her father. Young and irrepressible, she’s determined to claim a measure of freedom from stifling restrictions placed on her. When her identity and location are revealed, her Kalquorian protectors must thwart those who’d harm her while contending with her stubborn refusal to be kept in check.
Imdiko Betra has done his best to put the past behind him. He knows letting go of the only woman he could ever love was the best course of action. But when he encounters Shalia Monroe again, his heart speaks louder than his conscience. Will unquenchable desire destroy the life she’s built, or will Betra’s clanmates Oses and Resan stop him from doing the unthinkable?
Against the backdrop of pandemic and plague, Kalquor and Earth II fight for their very survival against an enemy they’re only beginning to learn the strength of. As the All tightens its fearsome grip on the galaxy, humans and Kalquorians alike tremble on the verge of annihilation.
Releasing Friday, July 26
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