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    A Princess Trapped
    A Princess Trapped
    A Princess Trapped
    Ebook186 pages2 hours

    A Princess Trapped

    By Odette C. Bell

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The insurgency has begun, and Winters is coming.
    Saz and Andalusia must work together to discover the secret at the heart of Xantos tech. For without it, they will have no hope.
    ....
    Rising Princess follows a runaway princess and the loyal guard who’ll do anything to find her fighting for the throne. If you love your space operas with action, heart, and a splash of romance, grab Rising Princess Book Four today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOdette C. Bell
    Release dateSep 8, 2018
    ISBN9780463811382
    A Princess Trapped

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      Book preview

      A Princess Trapped - Odette C. Bell

      Chapter 1

      Saz Sommers

      The insurgency hadn’t yet begun. Technically. As Saz walked through the merchant deck, the dead assassin’s head in a cloaked bag over his shoulder, he could see it was about to begin.

      Ever been in a bar before a fight is about to go down? There’s a specific silence that permeates the place, spreading like poison as all the patrons quietly reach for their guns.

      That was precisely the vibe as Saz slowly walked forward, his eyes swiveling between every pirate he passed.

      Though everyone looked edgy, only a surprising few looked in control. Those would be the warriors who would start the fight.

      There wasn’t a single assassin in sight. And that was a telling sign. It confirmed their group had to be at the center of this.

      Stop dawdling. We want to be out of this death trap before the shooting starts, Veri warned.

      You think I don’t know that? But at the same time, we can’t afford to run. Do that, and they’ll start shooting early. I can’t believe this is happening, he added under his breath.

      Is it the part about pirates turning on each other that is bothering you, or the part about Winters taking his first steps to claim the galaxy?

      Saz didn’t have to pause this time. Back in Andalusia’s mech, he would have done anything to push away the possibility of Winters having ambitions to take over the whole damn Milky Way. Now he’d absorbed that fact 150%. No, what was bothering him was why the pirates would turn against each other. Winters must have offered the assassins more than money and a big stick to get them to do this. The top-tier assassins sit on the damn Pirate Council.

      Perhaps he has offered them shares in the galaxy once he reshapes it anew. It does not matter right now. What is of primary concern is that we are too late.

      Wait, what?

      The insurgency is about to begin, Veri warned in a tone that suggested this was no game. Prepare yourself.

      Suffice to say, there was no time to prepare yourself for an all-out battle in a sea of pirates.

      Saz had time to twitch his hand toward his gun, then the first shot rang out.

      A massive Benetex warrior several meters to his side was blasted back as he was struck in the chest from a stray bullet.

      Saz ducked to the side, pulled out his blaster, and rolled to the left just as more shots rang out.

      Maybe in a crowd of ordinary galactic citizens there would be a period of confusion after an attack like this began – not here. It took one shot, and then every man and his dog started shooting back.

      Stay low. I detect a strafing laser weapon being powered up, Veri warned him.

      Saz had a chance to splutter. Then he clamped his hands over his head as hundreds of lasers suddenly discharged a meter above his prone body.

      He secured his head as low as he could, practically grinding it through the dented floor plating as he got as far away from that lethal discharge as was possible.

      Around him, pirates dropped like flies, though more ducked out of the way or powered up their sophisticated armor to buy themselves another chance.

      Veri, who the hell has that strafing weapon? Saz barked into his visor as he was forced to roll to the side when a huge warrior stamped past, each of his legs as big as Saz’s torso.

      They are in one of the wall maintenance ducts 30 meters away at the other side of the room. I am relaying their exact location to your visor.

      Saz re-gripped his gun, waited for an opportunity, then punched up. He ran right up the back of a massive pirate, using the guy’s shoulders as purchase to leap off, flip, and shove his gun to the side. He let off a single shot at the ascendancy of his jump. The white-hot blast sailed through the air, sliced into the wall unit, and smashed through it. Metal spewed out everywhere, bursts of flame billowing out through a seemingly hidden section of interconnected tunnels that had been cloaked. Well, until Saz had blasted through them.

      Though Saz’s shot managed to reveal the tunnels, it did not manage to down the assassin who was causing all the trouble. He ducked out of the way just as Saz’s blast destroyed the cloak and his hidey hole was revealed. The guy, predictably, was in exactly the same armor every other assassin Saz had fought so far had been in.

      Saz landed and punched into a roll before the assassin could reply with his own shot.

      The guy didn’t get a chance. Saz wasn’t his only enemy in this room, after all. One of those massive pirate warriors from before let out a gruff scream that shook the room, then plowed forward. As the guy moved, the whole floor quaking with his every step, he activated a directional shield on his shoulder. It flickered into place, giving him all the protection he needed as the assassin took a parting shot at the warrior as he turned tail and tried to leap back into the wall tunnels.

      Needless to say, the guy didn’t make it. Just as the assassin rolled lithely into one of the tunnels, the strafing gun on his back, the warrior reached in with a massive hand and grabbed the guy’s leg.

      Saz looked away and made a face as the warrior swung the assassin like a ball on a string before slamming him into the floor.

      The assassin did not get back up.

      Don’t rest on your laurels, Veri warned with a violent buzz that shot up the left side of Saz’s body.

      It caused Saz to shift involuntarily to the side. It was in time to see a shady looking pirate in a long black cloak. The guy was reaching a hand into his pocket.

      Saz gave him no time to reveal his weapon. He pushed forward, rolled, and came out kicking. He snagged a hand onto the guy’s leg and caused him to topple harshly to the side. Now moving so fast, his body could hardly track his own movements, Saz threw himself up, got some airtime, then landed smack bang on the assassin’s chest. Saz knocked the air out of the guy’s lungs, pinning his hand before he could reach for whatever was in his pocket.

      Saz brought around his gun and slammed it hard against the guy’s collarbone – not his apparently unshielded face.

      Good decision, Veri said without explaining why.

      Saz didn’t need an explanation. He’d chosen to attack the guy’s collarbone based on knowledge of every other damn pirate assassin he’d been fighting recently. There would be a site-to-site transporter under there. And sure enough, as Saz put the combined strength of his holographic armor into the move, he heard a crunch.

      The move was enough to dislodge the guy’s long hood. It was thrust back from his eyes, and Saz had a chance to watch them widen in surprise.

      Around him, chaos reigned. Hundreds of shots rang out as pirates fought each other wildly, cloaked assassins walking through the deck, causing all the trouble whilst slipping on by.

      What the hell is in your pocket? Saz snapped as he shoved a hand forward, catching the guy’s wrist before he could try anything.

      The guy struggled, but Saz was gratified to see his holographic armor was stronger than this bastard’s. Though the guy nominally was only wearing a cloak and simple clothes beneath, as soon as Saz had jumped onto him, Veri had detected the energy build up signifying a set of holographic armor.

      Saz just hoped that up this close Veri could weave his magic to ensure the assassin’s armor couldn’t turn on.

      Shoving a hand into the guy’s pocket, Saz finally removed what the man had been searching for.

      Saz had half a second to stare at it, his cheeks becoming so cold, it felt like he’d swallowed a comet.

      It was a trigger for a bomb.

      Shoot out the floor, now, Veri spat so fast, Saz could barely make out his words. He could make out the cascade of nervous pulses Veri sent blasting through his body, though.

      Saz didn’t need any encouragement.

      He darted up, brought around his gun, and started firing at the floor in one continuous blast of desperation. Sweat slid down his brow as his heart beat faster than it ever had in his life.

      Saz was no idiot. While he’d stolen this guy’s trigger, there would be others out there. And judging by the make of the trigger, it would be set for a very, very large bomb. One more than large enough to take out this entire deck.

      As Saz’s blasts sank into the floor, he started to realize that the damn plating was reinforced in this section.

      God, he wasn’t going to make it.

      He—

      Saz wasn’t paying enough attention, and that was a pretty stupid thing to do considering there was a pirate beneath him. The guy had a ring on, but a second later as his large thumb brushed past it in a violent swipe, it turned into a powerful fist gun. Lines of force fields were emitted over his clenched fist, giving him the power to thrust forward and punch Saz on the shoulder.

      Saz was pushed backward. The assassin showed astounding agility as he leaped into the air. He landed on Saz’s chest, his hands going for Saz’s throat.

      Saz didn’t have time to scream. He didn’t even have time to move.

      He didn’t need to, either.

      Something barreled into the assassin, ripping him off Saz just as the guy went to crush Saz’s trachea with his extremely sophisticated fist gun.

      A pirate warrior picked up the assassin, turned him around, and dumped the guy on his head.

      Saz staggered up. His eyes sliced around the room, the frozen feeling spreading through his chest telling him the room was seconds from exploding. But as his eyes darted through the chaotic crowd, he watched other pirates taking down assassins and removing their triggers.

      The warrior who’d dispatched Saz’s attacker got to his feet and turned to Saz. Crush the trigger in your hand, he growled before turning and throwing himself back into the fray.

      They know about the triggers? Saz spat to Veri.

      It seems that way. You will help them.

      What?

      The floor is too thick to shoot through, so you will help them.

      Saz didn’t pause much longer. Something was reigniting inside his chest – something he’d buried deep down years ago. It was the loyalty and sense of shared purpose he’d once had as a pirate. Though Saz had never been to Co-Alpha, every pirate he’d ever heard speak of the place had always shared the same stories of hope and comradery.

      As he took a brief moment to stare around him now and he saw the pirates turning, not against each other, but the hidden assassins in their midst, he finally appreciated those stories had been more than just that – stories. They’d been a shared culture at the heart of what it was to be a pirate.

      And what was that heart? Resistance.

      Saz wasted no more time. Veri, locate the closest trigger.

      Already onto it. There is one in the pocket of the assassin directly to your right.

      Saz spun on the spot, balled his hand into a fist, and struck it across the man’s jaw just as he darted a hand into his pocket. The guy was slung backward, and Saz did the rest as he shot forward, rugby tackled him, and threw him hard to the floor. In one swift move, he punched his hand into the guy’s pocket, destroying the trigger against the guy’s hip.

      Saz leaped up, twisted to the side, shot the guy without looking at him, and vaulted into a flip just as a nearby laser shot sliced past his arm.

      This was chaos incarnate. And this was only the beginning.

      Only the damn beginning….

      Chapter 2

      Crown Princess Andalusia

      She didn’t know this man. She’d only shared a few words with him, and most of those had been unpleasant.

      None of that mattered. She could tell his character from his actions. Every time a warrior blasted through the wall close to them or more of their enemies caught up from behind, he would put himself between her and them. The cynical part of her mind could point out that she was valuable to him – both for showing to the Pirate Council and for bargaining with Winters if it came to that – but she was trying to push her paranoia away for now.

      She liked the way Jason’s fingers felt as they cupped the crook of her arm. His grip was reassuring in a way she hadn’t felt for a long time. It could distract her from two things. The first being the fear of what would happen if the insurgents won. The other being the feeling swamping her the further and deeper down they traveled.

      The void was reaching out to her. It felt like it wanted to drag her down into it, as if it was offering her a final embrace that would return her right to the heart of nothingness.

      Though she wasn’t injured, she was starting to stumble, her path erratic as she swayed like a drunkard.

      What’s wrong with you? Jason snapped as he only held her arm tighter.

      She couldn’t respond. Sweat dribbled down her brow, slipping down her neck and chilling against her collar.

      Jason opened his mouth to add something. He closed it abruptly when something sliced down from the ceiling.

      She could see it, but with her dulled reaction time, she couldn’t do anything to stop it. The next thing she knew, something landed on her chest and locked its hands around her throat.

      She was slammed into the floor, her back striking it so hard, she felt like she’d swallow her teeth.

      Hands as cold as ice and as stiff as rock wrapped around her neck until it felt like they were going to crush her throat into dust.

      She couldn’t even find the breath

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