Dragon's Promise Read online

  Dragon’s Promise

  Natalie Grey

  Also by Natalie Grey

  Original Series

  Bound Sorcery (Shadows of Magic, Book 1)

  Blood Sorcery (Shadows of Magic, Book 2)

  Bright Sorcery (Shadows of Magic, Book 3)

  Set in the Kurtherian Gambit Universe

  Bellatrix

  Challenges

  Risk Be Damned (Trials & Tribulations, Book 1)

  Vigilante

  Sentinel

  Writing as Moira Katson

  Shadowborn (Light & Shadow, Book 1)

  Daughter of Ashes (Rise of Aiqasal, Book 1)

  Meridian (set in Nick Webb’s Legacy Fleet Universe)

  Mahalia

  Contents

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Epilogue

  Afterword

  Dragon’s Echo

  Prologue

  “Commander Alvarez, the Director is ready to see you now.” The man’s voice was smooth, well-suited to the offices with their luxurious oak and thick carpets. “Commander Alvarez?”

  “Hmm?” Nyx looked up and curved her lips in an automatic smile. “Of course.” She took one last look at the gardens, richly green and sunlit with the distinctive blue cast of Seneca’s central star, and then she crossed the room to the thick door that the Director’s assistant held open for her. “Thank you.”

  He gave a small nod and closed the door behind her.

  What Nyx expected, she was not sure. A man bent over his desk and hard at work, someone who would make her clear her throat to get his attention. Or someone, perhaps, like Aleksandr Soras, who had been the last person to hold this post. Aleksandr would have opened the door himself to welcome her into his office, smiling and shaking her hand, asking a question about her latest mission that demonstrated he had read the mission brief; it was a transparent pattern, but one that still showed attentiveness.

  Not for the first time, Nyx thought that it was hardly a surprise that they had all missed the warning signs of just who and what Aleksandr was. Any number of people had pointed out that the head of Alliance Intelligence was not a likely suspect to be a despotic warlord, but Nyx had long felt that she should have seen some hint of it in his demeanor. A coldness, perhaps. Sociopathic tendencies.

  Her lips compressed in a thin line. She did not like to remember that failure any more than the rest of them did.

  “Do you not approve of Mr. Soras’s replacement, Commander?” The man behind the desk raised his eyebrows at her expression. He was about 5’6”, she estimated, and quite trim in his blue suit. The faintest hint of grey showed in his brown hair, and his eyes were an odd shade of pale blue but were alight with intelligence—and humor.

  “No! No.” Nyx shook her head. A faint flush touched her cheeks. “I apologize.” Recalling herself hastily, she placed the folder with her dossier on his desk and saluted. “Commander Melissa Alvarez, sir.”

  “Director John Hugo,” he replied easily. “Please, sit. Can I get you some coffee?”

  “Yes, please.” Coffee, for some reason, did not travel well in hyperspace, and Nyx made sure to drink as much of it as she could on any shore leave. She laid rested her arms lightly on the arms of the chair, her back straight, and watched the man as he prepared the tray of coffee. He did not seem tense, as if he were about to offer a reprimand.

  But why else would she be here, sweltering in her dress uniform? When he returned, she took the cup and shook her head at the offer of sugar and cream, trying not to close her eyes in pleasure at the first sip of coffee. Director Hugo, it seemed, drank the very finest coffee.

  “A connoisseur,” he said in evident appreciation. He sat behind the desk and smiled at her again. “So. You’re probably wondering why you’re here.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Upon taking this post, and in light of recent events, I thought it best to review … everything.” He pulled the folder toward him and flipped it open, perusing the data there with a familiar eye. He looked up, those pale blue eyes piercing. “Especially the Dragon Corps.”

  Nyx put her cup back on its saucer, suddenly very aware of the fact that she had violently pursued this man’s successor across most of human-occupied space, in direct defiance of orders. She bit back the urge to swallow, and said nothing. She would let this man lead the conversation, and see where his thoughts lay.

  He smiled at her silence. “I doubt you would be surprised to know that a good deal of senators have asked that I rein in the Dragon Corps. They were … shall we say, unsettled? Yes. Unsettled by your commander’s defection.”

  “Sir, Major Rift is—” Honorable. Incorruptible. Dedicated. But he did not give her a chance to say any of those things. He raised one hand and she fell silent.

  “You misunderstand.” For a moment she saw a gleam of something that might be humor. “That simply gave me an excellent list of people to investigate.”

  Nyx choked on her coffee. When she looked up, she saw that it was definitely humor in his eyes.

  His smile faded to contemplation. “As it happens, I was most impressed by the Major’s dedication in the face of rampant corruption and nepotism.”

  Nyx raised her eyebrows.

  “And so I thought it would be informative to look at his crew.” The director stood and paced to the window, hands behind his back. “And I found a very interesting thing. Were you aware, Commander, that the crew of the Ariane is more decorated by far than any other Dragon team?” He turned his head, and again those blue eyes assessed her.

  “I was not, sir.” Nyx realized that it had never occurred to her to check that piece of information. It was classified, of course, and not within her purview, but it would have been easy enough to obtain with one of the best hackers in the galaxy on their crew.

  The quirk of the Director’s mouth showed her that he knew the drift of her thoughts, but he said merely, “I do not speak, it should be clear, of commendations recommended by the mission commanders. I speak of commendations reviewed and awarded by Intelligence and the Navy.”

  Nyx nodded and took a sip of coffee. It didn’t much matter to her either way, and none of this was alleviating her curiosity.

  “One name that came up often, even compared to the rest of the Ariane’s crew, was Commander Melissa Alvarez.” The director smiled as he took his seat again.

  Nyx blinked. The name sounded strange to her ears, and between this meeting and the trial, she had heard it quite a lot on this shore leave. She answered now to the name she had earned within her cre
w, and it had been years since she had heard her given name spoken aloud. ‘Melissa Alvarez’ was a young woman with a rifle and a reckless desire to forget everything about her former life. She was painfully earnest and, as far as Nyx was concerned, long gone.

  The Director misinterpreted her grave look. “Do you dispute your commendations, Commander?”

  “No.” Nyx shook her head and met his eyes steadily. It was not arrogance. She was a Dragon; even without commendations, she would have been one of the best of the best, a statistical improbability in skill, speed, and intelligence. She smiled and looked down at her cup. “I’m rarely called Melissa Alvarez anymore.”

  “Ah, yes. Do all Dragons earn….” He searched for the word.

  “Call signs,” Nyx supplied. She could see the yearning on the man’s face. He had read everything that he could on the subject, but he would never truly be a part of her world and he knew it. “And no. Some keep their names.”

  “I see.” The yearning was gone in an instant and professionalism returned. “Well, Commander. The long and short of it is that your record is impressive. We could review your accomplishments, but I see no need to waste any more of your shore leave than necessary.” He leaned forward on the desk, clasping his hands. “As I mentioned, I was far from disturbed by your commander’s actions during the trial of Director Soras, and I was able to consult with him earlier this morning about the future of the Dragon Corps.”

  Nyx nodded. That much, she knew. Talon had mentioned to her a few days ago that he was meeting the new director. He hadn’t yet returned to the Ariane, but she had simply assumed he was enjoying his extended shore leave with Tera, and she hadn’t bothered him.

  Talon wasn’t very good at relaxing—she wasn’t going to interrupt him when he finally seemed to be getting the hang of it.

  Hugo was watching her closely. “Now, as you may or may not be aware, the Major has requested an extended leave.”

  Nyx stilled; icy fear touched her veins. There had been questions amongst the crew, of course, but no one had truly believed that Talon would leave. Had the Director lied? Was he going to bow to the senators and dismiss Talon while trying to pay lip service to the idea of respecting the man?

  If so, he was no fit man to lead the Dragon Corps.

  “Commander Alvarez.” The Director smiled. “I assure you, nothing improper is afoot. The Major requested an extended leave for personal reasons.”

  “Then who will command the Ariane?” It was not her question to ask, but Nyx was not about to waste any more time waiting. There would be dozens among the Dragon Corps who would be put forward for this.

  “You,” Hugo said simply.

  “What?” Nyx felt her polite smile die and she only just kept her mouth from dropping open.

  The Director smiled. “When I spoke to him, the Major recommended that you be evaluated to lead your own team of Dragons.”

  “I….” Nyx closed her mouth and tried to think of what to say. “Me?”

  “Yes.” The Director smiled at her. “As the Major is on extended leave, he has suggested that you take his place for the duration of this evaluation. Commander, it gives me great pleasure to turn the Ariane over to you.” His smile widened. “Enjoy the rest of your shore leave.”

  1

  The planet Valentia had one of the best, most exclusive resorts in human-occupied space. When Tera suggested it—having money to burn, even after funneling most of it back to Ymir—Talon had agreed without hesitation. He’d been even happier when she suggested that perhaps Cade and Aryn could join them on their vacation, as a peace offering of a sort to Cade.

  Cade wasn’t best pleased to be doing anything even adjacent to Dragon business, something Tera seemed far quicker to understand than Talon.

  “We all came out of the last mission all right,” Talon had said on board the Io a few nights earlier. He was nettled by Cade’s demeanor. “I don’t see what’s so hard for him to understand about that.”

  Tera, to his surprise, had looked over at him gravely. “You didn’t think everyone would come out of it all right,” she observed. “And everyone didn’t. People died on Ymir during that push. And … after.”

  She didn’t say the names ‘Sphinx’ or ‘Meph.’ No one said those to him.

  And Tera didn’t understand that. She worked alone. She didn’t know what it was to have a crew, to have them follow you into battle and have some of them die for it. She had come to stand behind him where he was staring out the windows of the Io, and she had wrapped her arms around his waist tentatively.

  She didn’t speak for a long time, and neither did Talon.

  “He wants to protect what he has,” Tera said finally. “Where Dragons go … they cause trouble.”

  “I think I can keep from causing trouble for two weeks.” Talon unwrapped her arms from around himself. He wanted to go to bed. He wanted to be alone. He wanted to be ragingly drunk.

  “No. You can’t.” She leaned against the window to look at him, arms crossed. “If you see something wrong, you can’t just stand by.” Unexpectedly, she smiled. “It’s one of the things I love about you.”

  His pride was thawing in slow inches. He felt himself smile. “I love the same thing about you.”

  Now her smile disappeared. “I’m not that way. I’m much more … ‘greater good.’” Finger quotes marked the last two words. “Or maybe not. I don’t know. Turns out a lot of the morals my father raised me with were bullshit, or something.”

  It was a terrible joke, but Talon smiled at it anyway. He didn’t say anything. He didn’t try to reassure her. He knew she didn’t want that.

  Re-evaluating your entire moral structure—after finding out that your father was a mass-murdering dictator, no less—wasn’t something anyone else could do for you.

  “Anyway,” Tera said, after a moment, “Cade knows that spending any time around us is a risk. Even carrying you from place to place.”

  “Okay.” Talon gave her a look and went to pour two glasses of wine. He slid one across the table to her. “So riddle me this: why, then, did you invite him to spend more time with us?”

  Tera smiled as she took a seat at the table. “Psychological warfare. You haven’t seen this place, Talon. Its super romantic. The beach, the rooms, the gardens. Aryn’s going to love it.” She leaned forward to give him a conspiratorial smile. “And then Cade’s going to love us.”

  Talon burst out laughing as he took the chair across from her. He swirled the wine in his glass. “All right, you have good plans. Fair enough. Wait, when did you see this resort? I thought your father had private estates.”

  “Very private,” she agreed. “Everything, private. No, I did a job here.”

  “And your takeaway from that was … that this was a romantic place….”

  “I requested a different room.”

  Talon put his face in one hand. He was trying not to laugh, because laughing at that somehow felt very wrong, but he wasn’t quite managing. He looked up finally and nodded, just barely managing to keep it together. “I see.”

  She shrugged with a wry sort of smile. Tera had very few qualms about the life she led as an assassin.

  “So, that’s my plan. Aryn and Cade get a honeymoon—”

  “Did they get married?”

  “A figurative honeymoon. They get to be all romantic, Aryn gets to study for her piloting exams while in the very lap of luxury, she passes her piloting exams, Cade decides we’re not such a bad influence. That’s my hope, anyway. It seems likely. With a small chance that Aryn is inspired to become an assassin instead.”

  Talon just barely avoided snorting wine up his nose. He gave her a look.

  “Like I said, a small chance. I was just mentioning it in the interests of accuracy.” She reached out to clink her glass against his. “You know, you should get Lesedi to set up shop on that ship. It would make her infinitely harder to find.”

  “Cade would never allow it.”

  “Baby steps. Anyway, Ary
n loves taking in strays. I can tell.” She shrugged. “Smile,” she instructed a moment later. “You’re going to love Valentia.”

  Talon had believed her. When Tera had suggested the concept of a vacation, he’d been all for it. As far as he was concerned, she needed the rest after going through the absolute circus of her father’s trial—and coming to terms with who he was. She had no idea what she wanted to do now, and it would be good for her to be able to figure that out without being surrounded by reminders of her old life.

  He, for his part, requested the time off with a sigh of relief, knowing that on some level, he also needed to recalibrate before heading back into the field. The Warlord had been his opponent for so long, and had cost him so much, that he knew living in a world without this man was going to be an adjustment.

  But he’d already been going stir-crazy before they even landed. This was the longest he’d gone without training, without planning a mission or executing on it, without doing anything he’d consider useful.

  And now that he was here, it turned out that the place was eerie quiet.

  Oh, it was beautiful. It had keyhole doorways set in inlaid walls, marble floors, and every window filled with carved sandalwood screens or trellises of flower vines. The sea breeze filtered through just enough to lift the heavy summer air, and the sound of the waves outside was incredibly calming.