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    A Princess Rising
    A Princess Rising
    A Princess Rising
    Ebook184 pages2 hours

    A Princess Rising

    By Odette C. Bell

    ()

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    About this ebook

    The fight for the galaxy has begun.
    Saz must learn to lead, and Andalusia must learn to fight. If they fail, Winters will open the Xantos Armory and unleash hell on everything and everyone, for the secret at the heart of their technology is the greatest mystery of all.
    ....
    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 Five today and soar free with an Odette C. Bell series.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherOdette C. Bell
    Release dateJan 15, 2019
    ISBN9780463238578
    A Princess Rising

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      Book preview

      A Princess Rising - Odette C. Bell

      Chapter 1

      Saz Sommers

      He hadn’t expected that. Or had he? Had that kiss been the culmination of something that had been building between them since the day they met?

      They stood side-by-side, their hands still locked together as they considered the view. Around them, the docking station started to fill with activity. Out of the corner of his eye, Saz could even see Raya. As he’d suggested, she was no longer wearing her golden armor, and had switched it out for something slightly more discreet. She hadn’t changed the look of utter defiance in her eyes, however, and that was a good thing. If they had any hope of getting through this, he would need everybody’s combined force.

      Andalusia’s hand suddenly twitched inside his. He turned toward her, his mouth opening to ask what the problem was, but his lips froze before he could push his breath out. That distinct tingling raced up the side of his arm and into his jaw, until the next thing he knew, he got the impression that something was building at the heart of the asteroid.

      Andalusia opened her lips to explain her reaction.

      Saz got there first. It’s telling us to leave, isn’t it?

      She swiveled her surprised, wide eyes up to him. He could have got stuck staring down into them, but with a quick twitch of his lips, he forced himself to add, We need to go.

      She took a step back, then another. She didn’t seem to be able to pull her eyes off him. Which was just great, because there was no way in hell he’d be able to look anywhere but at her now.

      Saz took the indulgence to reach out and rest his fingers on the side of her face again. He used his left hand. Of course he did. He was now freely giving in to whatever force had brought them together.

      He took a breath. It practically rang through his throat like a clarion call drawing an army to battle. "Be safe. But if anything happens – I’ll be here for you."

      She smiled. I know. But your—

      If you’re about to tell me that my priority is to keep Co-Alpha safe, don’t bother. I know my priority, Andalusia, and it hasn’t changed since the day I came to work for you.

      Perhaps he should have said more – perhaps he should have driven his point home. He didn’t need words to do that. He drew her in once more and tenderly kissed her head.

      He pulled away, keeping a hand gently pressed against the side of her face as he stared off at the snowy dock around them. He ticked his gaze up and secured it on the massive sight of Spica glittering beyond.

      Andalusia sighed and took a step back.

      He didn’t let his hand fall from her face until the last moment, and even then it wanted to stay with her. But even as it dropped loosely by his side, it did stay with her, didn’t it? Because that lingering touch, that heat, that light, that sheer presence was still there.

      He finally brought his hand up and looked at it, spreading his fingers as he cast his gaze all the way down his forearm.

      For some reason, Andalusia did the same. She brought up her right arm – her royal arm – and stared at it with a smile on her face.

      Andalusia, back when I turned the Heart on – when I accessed the gravity drives – something happened, he stuttered, appreciating he didn’t have much time to say this, but that it had to be said. Heck, it should have been the first thing he asked when he saw her out on the snow less than half an hour ago.

      Andalusia reached forward and pressed her right hand over his left hand.

      Instantly, electric tingles passed down his wrist and jolted into his arm. They sailed into his shoulder, spreading through his body like stars growing in a new galaxy.

      His chest punched out as he breathed through his shock. What the—

      I guess Xantos tech really is more mysterious than I ever gave it credit for, Andalusia mused with a certain kind of smile spreading her lips.

      What does that mean?

      Andalusia took the time to stare down at their connected hands.

      Saz could hear footsteps from behind, and considering their specific weight and force, they had to belong to Raya. She’d be here to deploy down to the Senate.

      His time with Andalusia was up. But Andalusia didn’t let go of his hand.

      Andalusia, what do you mean Xantos tech is more mysterious than you ever gave it credit for? No matter how hard he tried, his voice pitched up and down with confusion. Confusion, and something else. Embarrassment. No, wait, that was the wrong word. The exact emotion spreading through his chest like wildfire was too flighty and free to be referred to as mere shame. What it was, was expectation.

      Raya reached them. The pirate queen was hardly the kind to offer people their personal space, though it would be clear to anyone that he and Andalusia were having a moment here. Raya cleared her throat. We need to leave, Princess. Pirate Saz, she said in the kind of tone that made it clear she was about to give an order, I’m leaving Co-Alpha in your hands. You will not let it fall. Do you understand?

      Saz wanted to question Andalusia again – he wanted to question her until she told him exactly what was happening here. But it was clear from the slight smile curling her lips that she wouldn’t tell him.

      Saz is up for anything, Andalusia said in her official voice. He has my full confidence. She paused and looked right into his eyes, and most importantly, the full confidence of Xantos tech and its Empire. With that, she released his hand and bowed.

      It was a bow the Crown Princess of Xantos should never give. It was too low and far too deferential. It was the kind of bow she could only give to an equal. With her parents gone, there was no one equal to her. And until she wed, there would be no one equal.

      Saz felt himself going red in the face, and he didn’t goddamn care as he jerked forward, grabbed Andalusia by the shoulders, and tried to pull her up. What are you doing?

      You’ll figure it out, Saz. She offered him one more curled-lip smile. Then she turned to Raya and wiped it clean off her face, replacing it with the keen look of a military commander. I’m ready. She swept a hand to the side, and even through the thick, programmed mesh of her suit, Saz watched as her royal light bled through.

      All it took was one flick of her fingers, and her mech turned on. It walked over to them, every one of its massive steps shaking the snow that covered the dock and making it jitter and dance like rain sliding down a pane of glass.

      Raya didn’t even bother to hide her impressed expression as the mech came to a stop beside them.

      Andalusia bowed again. Though it was polite and proper, it wasn’t nearly the same as the bow she’d given Saz.

      … They might have just kissed, but Saz had hardly ascended to the throne of Xantos.

      But….

      He looked down at his arm as a knot of unholy nerves formed in his gut. They danced and blazed like embers drawn on by a passionate wind.

      Raya tilted her head up, a specific look in her eyes as Andalusia commanded the mech to reach down to them. We honestly have a chance of winning this, don’t we? With tech like that, we can finally carve out a space for the pirates and remake the Milky Way anew.

      The mech opened its fingers wide, and Andalusia invited Raya to climb on.

      Before Andalusia climbed on with her, she turned over her shoulder and smiled at Saz once more.

      He stared up at her. Though the weather fields on this dock had been relatively consistent, they’d still taken a hit during the insurgency, and they let through a sudden blast of wind. It slammed into his face, sending his hair whipping over his forehead.

      He didn’t bring a hand up to protect his face. He didn’t turn his helmet on. He just stared up at Andalusia, the pain be damned.

      He smiled, and he swore all of Co-Alpha smiled with him, but more than that, the Heart. It had chosen him. But so had Andalusia.

      Saz Sommers was no longer an ordinary Royal Guard. He was now the chosen of not just Xantos tech, but its current protector. And he would let neither down.

      He bowed.

      As another alarm split the air, the mech pulled its hand up to its cockpit, and Andalusia and Raya climbed in.

      With one last longing look his way, Andalusia commanded the mech’s cockpit to close.

      Saz felt an immediate lack. A lack like someone had reached in and carved his heart out. He didn’t let it distract him. He brought up his left hand and settled it over his chest.

      And he felt her.

      She would be with him, and he with her until this was done.

      And that was a promise.

      Chapter 2

      Crown Princess Andalusia

      She didn’t know what she was feeling. It was too enormous, too complex. Her heart seemed to have grown exponentially, and with it it had brought a whole new world.

      Andalusia had never been in love before; who could fall in love with a Princess, after all? She’d never allowed herself the space to think anyone in this entire galaxy could feel anything for her other than contempt or loyalty.

      She’d been wrong. There was one man who could love her. There was one man who’d loved her since the day she’d brought him into her world.

      Though all Andalusia wanted to do was press her right fingers to her lips to feel his lingering touch, she didn’t exactly have the space. Raya was right beside her, and as the pirate leader rested stiffly against the back of the navigational seat, she stared at Andalusia expectantly.

      Mech, take off, Andalusia announced, though she no longer needed to give the AI vocal commands.

      As you wish, it replied.

      There was a slight, almost imperceptible shake as the mech elongated and began to fly from the dock.

      Though all Andalusia wanted to do was angle her head to the side to see Saz as he rapidly fell from view, she contained herself.

      Where are the Spica Security Forces? Andalusia asked aloud again, appreciating that Raya wouldn’t be the kind of passenger that would be happy to simply sit back and let Andalusia fly silently.

      They remain in a holding pattern around Co-Alpha.

      Andalusia had to take a stiff, hard breath that threatened to lodge in her chest like a stone. And where is Winters’ ship? Can you detect it yet?

      The Kronos is in orbit around Spica.

      Andalusia tried not to let her terror show. She forced her hands to remain open, though all she wanted to do was ground them into the tightest of fists.

      She swallowed. Can you access the Senate’s sitting table? Do you know if he’s arrived at the Senate yet?

      Yes, and yes.

      Her back crawled. Her skin felt like it was on fire. But this was not the pleasant fire of Saz’s touch or the warmth of his presence – these were the kinds of flames that could burn you and everything you knew to the ground.

      Raya clearly wasn’t the kind of woman to hold her tongue. You knew he would be down there. This changes nothing. You already assured me that as per the rules of the Senate, you and your representatives, she patted her armor, cannot be touched.

      Andalusia forced herself to nod. I didn’t lie.

      Then don’t think about your enemy, Princess. Don’t give him more mental and emotional energy. You claim to have become a pirate runner. I assume the first lesson you taught yourself was to detach from your mission. Detach from your target. Do not let them hold anything over you. Treat this as nothing more than another operation on the pirate boards. But this time, the reward will be a galaxy.

      Andalusia couldn’t help but laugh. That sure is a lot of credits, she managed.

      And a lot of lives hanging in the balance, Raya added. Now, what is our ETA?

      This mech will arrive on Spica in two hours, the AI replied.

      Two hours? I thought this mech was capable of flying halfway across the galaxy instantaneously? How could it take two hours to reach Spica? Raya snapped.

      We’ve been put in a holding pattern to land, the AI informed them.

      Andalusia really did curl a hand into a fist this time. We’re priority traffic. This is unacceptable. Patch me in to the Spica Transport Authority now.

      They have already decreed that we will wait, the AI informed her.

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