King of Stars

A mysterious man with murder on his mind meets a woman who sees more than meets the eye…

On a remote space station near the galactic rim, a retired soldier-turned-mercenary must make a decision that will alter the course of two galaxies and billions of lives. Guided by a gorgeous woman with a mysterious gift, will he make the right choice not only for himself, but for the woman who is quickly becoming more important to him than life itself? And will his decision condemn two races to everlasting war, or offer a glimmer of hope in the ongoing intergalactic conflict?

“I want passage to Solaris Prime,” she declared in a no-nonsense tone. Just like that. She wanted to go to one of the most dangerous places in the universe for a human.

Julian tried not to react, but he knew his eyes widened a bit before he could control it. Damn. Of all the things this gorgeous creature could have asked for, this had to take the cake. He was glad he’d activated the privacy screen. It just wasn’t safe to talk about traveling into the enemy jit’suku galaxy, much less to the sovereign planet of the entire jit’suku empire.
Julian shot a look toward Lila who was watching from the bar. He wondered if she knew what her cousin was planning. Lila nodded at him, her expression serious and Julian had to hide his reaction a second time.
Dammit all to hell and back. These crazy women were in cahoots.

“You do realize that’s a restricted zone? Few humans who have ventured into the jit galaxy have ever been heard from again. I don’t know of anyone who has ever been to their homeworld and lived to tell the tale. It’s a suicide mission.” He sat back in the booth and just looked at her, daring her to argue.

“And yet, you’ve been planning just such a mission.” Her knowing look made him want to scream. How in the world did she—? He cut off his own thoughts as realization dawned.

There was no way anybody could know his secret plans. Unless.... Maybe she really was psychic.

“Where’d you hear that?” He decided to play it cool. He wouldn’t let her trick him into admitting anything.

“I didn’t hear it anywhere,” she said, adopting a calm pose next to him. “I saw it. I saw you on Solaris Prime, and I was with you.” She was silent a moment before she put one hand on the table. “I admit, it’s just one of several possible futures, but it’s the one with the best outcome for you, me and the universe in general.”

Son of a bitch. Julian did his best not to react, but this woman pushed every single one of his buttons.

“Is it the possible future where I run my blade straight into that jit bastard’s heart?”

He shouldn’t have said it. He knew it the minute the words left his mouth, but he couldn’t call them back.
But she didn’t react the way he expected. She just watched him calmly.

“Now that would be telling,” she said almost playfully, then withdrew her hand from the table again, her attitude more matter-of-fact than he expected. “Actually, you should know that there are certain ethical considerations with what I can and cannot tell people about what I see. In many cases, if you knew the totality of the future events that I see, you would do something to change them—usually in a bad way. It’s a delicate balance, but in this case, it’s safer for all concerned—especially you—if you don’t know everything about what I’ve foreseen.”

“You just get to decide what to tell me, then? No discussion? No negotiation?” he challenged.

“Well, I’m open to discussion, but ultimately, I reserve the right to use my judgment. I’ve lived with this gift all my life and I know from bitter experience how much is too much to know about the future.” Again her calm demeanor and response surprised him.

She was unlike any other woman he knew. Well, except maybe for the rest of her family. Those Senna women were all a little loco. He decided to try a different tack.

“Why do you want to go to the jit homeworld? Can you tell me that?”

“There’s a man there…” she began, but trailed off.
“Don’t tell me this is some silly romantic escapade.” He rolled his eyes.

“Hush now,” she said quickly, sort of laughingly annoyed with him. “It’s nothing of the sort. The man is a holy man. A monk. I need to talk to him. It’s important.”

“Important enough to sacrifice your freedom? Maybe your life? I can get you to Solaris Prime, but you may never come back.” He laid it out starkly for her, hoping to scare her off.

She swallowed, obviously taking his words seriously, he was glad to see. But it seemed she was made of sterner stuff than he’d thought.

“If that’s how this plays out, then yes. This is important enough to risk my life. It’s important not only to our galaxy, but to theirs. It’s a matter of nearly universal importance. And if I’m right, the monk will be expecting me. I think he’ll recognize me when I get there and I’ll be able to deliver my message in peace. What happens after that, really doesn’t matter. The message is the important thing. What happens to me after I deliver it, is secondary.”

She was so serious. So willing to put her own safety aside for the supposed message she was so eager to deliver. It troubled him, though he couldn’t say why. It had been a long time since he’d cared all that much about what motivated civilians—even pretty, female ones.

“Besides, you’ll end up on Solaris Prime sooner or later, the way you’re going,” she went on. “You might as well go now, get it over with, and help me accomplish my mission while you’re at it. Two birds, one stone, you know?”

Julian thought about it for a long moment. He cursed under his breath and turned to her.

“You can’t tell anyone of my intentions, you understand?” He would have threatened her if he thought it would do any good.

“I have no intention of exposing your plans. It would be counterproductive to me getting where I need to go. That is, if you’re willing to give me passage. If you’re not, well… I’d have to think about it more carefully.”

“Blackmail? Really?” This time he did curse out loud. “I can’t believe you.” He looked at the bar and saw Lila frowning at him. Great. He didn’t need to be subject to interrogation by the bar’s resident mother hen. “If I take you with me, you’ll keep your mouth shut?”

Star nodded. “That’s about the size of it.”

He was so screwed. He either went now—before his plans were finalized—and take a passenger, no less, or she would blow his plan sky high.

She would tell Lila and Chip what he was up to if he didn’t agree to her terms. And then he’d really be sunk. Chip would stop him. No doubt about it.

“Okay. How soon can you leave?” If he was going to be blackmailed into moving early, by heaven, he was going to move as early as possible.

“How’s tomorrow? I just want to spend a few hours with Lila in case…” Star looked over at her cousin and a sad expression passed over her face. He was glad to see she was taking this seriously.

“In case you don’t ever make it home,” he completed her thought. “Good idea. I have some accounts to settle up here on the station as well. How about tomorrow, at mid-shift break?”

She nodded, swallowing hard. She was showing more emotion now that he’d agreed to her terms. Had she really thought he’d say no after the way she had threatened to expose his plans? Maybe this was a case of be careful what you wish for? Well, too damn bad. She’d put him over a barrel and he’d given in. Now she had to live with it.

“I’ll meet you at your ship. Where is it docked?”

“You mean you don’t already know? You haven’t foreseen it?” he quipped, not liking her much at the moment, though he couldn’t help being attracted to her even more, now that he’d seen her in action. The woman was sharp as a tack and not above blackmail. A female after his own heart, really, though he still didn’t like being forced into a corner.

She rolled her eyes at him. “I don’t foresee everything.”

“Well thank the Goddess for that,” he muttered. “Docking bay forty-two on Epsilon Concourse. You’re looking for the Matilda.” Damn. He hated the idea of sharing his ship with anyone. Especially a gorgeous woman with a taste for adventure, a body to die for, and a gift for seeing the future.