Ravager's Redemption (The Argadian Heart Book 3)

by Adrianna Dane

  Daelyn Kapri was an Enforcer for the hated Argadian Tribunal until she was administered an antidote to the Nanus block. Now she fights with the Freelion rebels and attempts to deal with returned emotions, memories, and guilt over her past deeds as a hated Tribunal assassin. Word has reached the Freelion stronghold that Devon and Alekos Andromeda are prisoners on Argadia and Eluria Zydon plans to save her taman, Devon, and his brother at any cost. Eluria, one of the leaders of the rebellion, has been a good friend, and Daelyn volunteers to help Eluria on this dangerous mission even though their chances of success are slim.

  But Daelyn has a terrible secret that could be revealed if this mission is successful. She has met Alekos Andromeda, a rebel pirate known as the Ravager, and saving his life could destroy any chance at a new beginning for herself. Or is he the answer not only to her own salvation, but a love that will offer her so much more than she could have ever dreamed?

  This story is a work of original fiction. All names, characters, locations, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead, locales, or events is entirely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission from the author.

  This book remains the copyrighted property of the author.

  Copyright ©2016 by Adrianna Dane

  Cover Art by T.A. Gallup

  This story was originally released in December 2006 by Amber Quill Press/Amber Heat

  CAUTION: This story contains explicit sexual situations and strong language. You must be over the age of 18 years of age to read this story.

  The Argadian Heart Trilogy

  Eluria’s Enforcer

  Kierra’s Thread

  Ravager’s Redemption

  Ravager’s Redemption

  By Adrianna Dane

  Dream Romantic Unlimited, LLC

  Table of Contents

  Table of Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  Glossary

  Author Bio

  Networking Links

  CHAPTER ONE

  “What you need is a male.”

  Daelyn Kapri’s eyes snapped open to pin Eluria Zydon with a piercing scowl. It was bad enough Daelyn had let herself be talked into joining Eluria and Kierra in this activity they named female bonding. Now Eluria seemed Haydon-bent on complicating the situation by tying her with some male.

  She detected the glitter of amusement in Eluria’s eyes and relaxed against the edge of the pool. She should have recognized the teasing tenor in Eluria’s voice. Eluria seemed to take great delight in baiting her. Often Daelyn had witnessed her doing the same thing with her taman, Devon.

  This wide array of emotions Daelyn was now saddled with still caused her difficulty. Lately, irritation seemed to be the prevailing influence, surfacing with increased regularity.

  She whipped her head around when a giggle erupted from the other side of the pool and glared at Kierra Andromeda.

  “Are you laughing at me?”

  Kierra shook her head and sank deeper into the bubble-laden hot water. “Certainly not, Daelyn. But Eluria could be right. A little male attention might help to ease some of the tension you are experiencing.”

  Abruptly, Daelyn shifted up, water sluicing down over her upthrust breasts. “I am not tense. I am a fighter—an Enforcer for many years. Enjoyment in these feminine bondings you both seem so fond of is alien to my nature. I do not bond. With anyone.” She punctuated the statement by crossing her arms over her naked breasts and straightening her spine.

  In a dress line-up, in full uniform, standing at attention, the gesture might have received respect. Here, naked, lying in a pool of bubbles, it did not have quite the desired impact. This was fully brought home as both Eluria and Kierra broke out in peals of laughter.

  Daelyn sank back into the water with a sigh. Would she ever adjust to this new turn her life had taken?

  As an assassin for the Tribunal, ties to family and friends were severed. The Nanus process blocked emotion—and the enjoyment of any sort of relationship with others was destroyed.

  She respected both of these women who’d immediately taken her under their wings upon her arrival on Ednos. They’d made it their mission to support her as she dealt with the surge of recovered emotions so foreign to her nature after disuse for such a long period of time.

  To call it a difficult transition would be a mild statement. Once the Nanus block had disintegrated completely, she’d fought to retain her sanity. The serum administered by the healers had restored Daelyn’s memories, and rage had dominated her thoughts. It was an emotion she understood—one left unblocked by the Nanus process. The Tribunal reasoned rage was an influence which only enhanced the efficiency of assassins in their enforcement responsibilities. Killing frenzy, rage, and stasis were the exclusive responses left to an Enforcer.

  When the sadness had struck out and gripped her—the loss of her family, her life—she’d been unequipped to handle the assault of pain, like an Enforcer caught naked, not one weapon at hand with which to defend herself.

  The healers had administered an equalizer drug to stabilize the return of emotions. Still, the sadness felt so alien to her nature as a trained assassin. The overwhelming grief became almost too much to bear.

  Desperate to stop the tide of intense feelings, she’d barricaded herself in her apartment, hoping that without human contact she could control her reactions. Days passed without success until finally Eluria and Kierra had descended on her, refusing to go away. Knowing Daelyn attempted to endure alone was something both females refused to allow, even after her assurances she was well and did not require their assistance. Finally, frustrated at their tenacity, she’d let them in.

  The women had encouraged her to meet with Dr. Xander, the psychemedic. Jarek, Kierra’s taman, had met with Xander after his rescue from Odon’s compound and Kierra said it had helped him to cope with the corruption of his memories.

  As Daelyn studied these two strong women, she contemplated the golden radiance of shared love with a chosen mate that permeated their skin. Eluria had Devon and Kierra had Jarek. There were moments she was envious of their unions, but this was not the time to complicate her situation. It was best she remain alone.

  Devon Andromeda was an Elite First Enforcer who’d had the memories of Eluria and his family wiped from his mind. Only when he and Eluria had confronted each other on the desolate planet Serdion and Eluria had administered the test antidote to him, had Devon been able to regain his Before. They’d sealed and were marked by Guardian in a union that was legendary.

  Devon’s father had joined the rebellion after Devon’s induction as an Enforcer. He’d been betrayed and then assassinated by a Tribunal Enforcer, and Kierra, Devon’s sister, had been taken into bondage. Her scars from that time had slowly healed with the help of her Serdionese Mindwanderer mate, Jarek Bakari.

  Each fought for the rebellion in different ways—Eluria as a warrior and Kierra as a scientist. Both exuded femininity interwoven with their determination and loyalty to their people. They’d taken Daelyn into their midst without judgment, even knowing she was an assassin for the Argadian Tribunal.

  These women had held her as she wept with pain whil
e the memories of her family spilled from her, when the guilt of the deaths at her hands as an Enforcer lay heavily upon her spirit.

  The only passions an Enforcer exhibited were rage and killing frenzy to carry them in battle. Otherwise there was nothing, every other emotion stripped from them, blocked by a procedure that rendered them lethal weapons commanded by the Argadian Council members. Stasis for an Enforcer was a state of rest, but unlike normal sleep; it was a numbing of mind and body where an Enforcer waited for the next Tribunal assignment.

  She now knew regret as well as sadness. There were moments of quiet pleasure, but she had yet to experience real joy as Eluria and Kierra described it. And the passion exhibited between a male and female was far beyond the spectrum of her thoughts.

  “A male?” She snorted. “You have to be joking.”

  Eluria shook her head. “I most certainly am not. You work way too hard and you allow yourself no time for pleasure, to relax. If we hadn’t forced you to come with us tonight, you wouldn’t be here now. You would be off checking weapons or monitoring ships—anything but taking time to relax. A little male companionship would go a long way to helping you in that direction.”

  She sighed, closed her eyes, and tipped her head back. The fact that she was here, naked, lying in a warm pool of bubbles with water jetting rhythmically against her body, was more than enough relaxation for her.

  And it certainly seemed to have the desired effect as she felt her body softening beneath the gentle pulsing of the water. And her brain was mush.

  “This is relaxing enough. I do not need the attentions of a male to confuse things. I have enough to worry about.”

  “That’s just the problem,” Kierra remarked from the other side. “You worry too much. We all have jobs to do, and they’re dangerous. Without some sort of release, some ability to distance yourself, you will eventually break, Daelyn, and we do not want to see that happen. We care about you and are only concerned for your welfare.”

  Daelyn opened her eyes and her gaze moved between the two beautiful women. They were good friends. It was something she’d never experienced before—friendship. As an Enforcer, she had never had close acquaintances, only other duty-bound and emotionless Enforcers like herself. Any down time was spent at the institute, going through tests and re-immersion. And there was no radiance for a female Enforcer. It was another facet to being an ordinary female she was attempting to understand. Like the golden radiance these women exhibited—visible signs of happiness in union.

  The return of her own radiance with any of her emotions had not surfaced yet. The healers assured her it was strictly a matter of time. When she stopped rebelling against the sensations and relaxed into them—accepted them—her radiance would certainly return.

  She kept to herself the fact that she didn’t think that was likely to occur in near Beyond. It was like fighting the existence of another person inside herself. Pain, pleasure, sadness—they were all there for her to call upon, although rusty after so many years of dormancy, and it did not come naturally to her to accept their existence as a part of who she was.

  “Think about it, Daelyn,” Eluria urged. “Kierra’s right, we worry about you. We want to see you happy.”

  Daelyn turned to stare at the vast sky through the domed ceiling and sighed. “I appreciate your concern, Eluria, really I do. I am not ready to be with another right now. I know you and Kierra have found the right mates, but I need more time. Let us just enjoy this feminine bonding you have forced me into.” She turned to look at Eluria and a smile curved her lips. “This is nice. I’ve never experienced anything like this. You both care for me and I thank you for it. To have friends like you both is something I will not take for granted.”

  “You are no longer an Enforcer and we simply want you to be happy and to live. We don’t know what tomorrow has in store for us, and we don’t want you to waste a moment in dwelling and feeling guilty for what happened in Before. You’re with us now. You don’t belong to them any longer.”

  “I know. I will try.” She turned away, afraid something in her eyes would betray the secret she kept locked away from them. If only they knew the real source of her guilt. She had shared some of her Before with them, but not all of it. There was a time, a split second when even the Enforcer training had splintered, almost causing her death. And it was because of a male.

  Even now she could see his searing blue eyes filled with passion. His face was branded into her thoughts. And it was that memory alone which kept her from seeking companionship with another.

  For one brief moment, desire had blazed through her and it stayed her hand when she should have killed him with no other emotion filling her than the killing rage of an Enforcer. For an explosive instant, just before he lost consciousness, she had also seen those blue orbs filled with hate and betrayal. And she had retreated without completing her mission. Run would be a better word.

  No, it was not just any male Daelyn needed, there was only one who could offer her redemption and heal her, and that was a most unlikely prospect. Haydon would probably freeze over first.

  Yet she couldn’t tell these two women her secret, because the pirate who’d claimed a piece of her unwilling soul was Kierra and Devon’s rebellious brother, Alekos—known as the Ravager—as slippery and lethal as any rogue among the stars. If they ever came face to face again, she knew the only thing he would seek was her death for her betrayal.

  * * *

  It was several years past when she’d awakened from stasis for an assignment—to make contact with the Ravager, get him to trust her, and then eliminate him.

  He’d been sighted by one of their informants and she was given the task of seducing him, getting as close to him as possible, discovering any useful information, and then killing him. At first it had been an assignment like any other.

  By questioning several Argadian sources, she’d ascertained he had a habit of frequenting a certain bar during his visits to Dhothvar, the small rebel settlement located on a remote island in the Lydian Ocean. For the most part, the Council left this particular island alone because, on occasion, the inhabitants were useful for certain tasks, with no allegiances to anything beyond payment for their dubious services.

  Daelyn arrived in Dhothvar, spent several days becoming acclimated to the area, until finally she spotted him. Dressing with care that night in an outfit meant to entice, she made certain to show just enough skin to tantalize. Donning the blond wig she had chosen for this assignment to hide the signature white hair of the Enforcer, and slipping into a gown of deep gold, she then added a small, gold-colored weapon strapped to her right thigh and a dagger strapped to her left. She also wore green lenses to cover the ebony color of her Enforcer eyes.

  Upon entering the bar, complete silence descended over the room as all eyes turned to watch her saunter to a table near the window and settle into a chair. With deliberate intent she slid back a section of the long skirt so that her weapons were clearly visible and all would know she was outfitted for trouble. It was enough and the hum of conversation resumed. It appeared no one was in the mood to take a chance on being killed strictly for a quick fuck with a beautiful female.

  Her gaze circuited the room until she located her target, who was seated at a poker table on the far side of the room directly across from where she sat. It provided her a good position from which to study him as he faced her.

  Throughout the night she sat alone, drinking wine, and watching. Periodically his gaze rose to meet hers across the room and for long moments their gazes dueled.

  She tempted him, Daelyn could see it in the sensual look. With subtle movements, when she caught him watching her, she would skim one of her hands over her full, rounded breasts, then glance up at him and smile a slow, seductive smile.

  Finally, at the end of the night, he sauntered over to her table.

  “Who are you?” he asked as his gaze raked over her. “I’ve never seen you in here before.”

  Daelyn sipped slowly
at her wine and then licked her lips. “They call me Dae. I arrived earlier this afternoon. I like a little danger and heard this was the place to find it.” She turned her sultry gaze up to cling to his. “Were they right?”

  His sapphire scrutiny lasered through her and, surprisingly, her shax began to throb and liquid heat pooled between her legs. She was taken off guard by the response of her body. There should not have been any such recognition and it threw Daelyn slightly off kilter, but she recovered quickly and tamped down the unexpected emotion.

  “My name is Alekos. They might be right and then again they might not. Do you want to find out?”

  She swept a hand toward the vacant chair opposite her and he dropped into it. He was much more attractive in person than his image likeness indicated. Dark, hard, chiseled, yet a glint of amusement lurked around his eyes and mouth. She found herself wanting to feel that mouth against her skin. Inwardly she trembled at the thought of being naked with this man. It was a surge and nothing more. It flittered away as quickly as it rose. It shouldn’t have erupted at all. Any emotion should be blocked by the Nanus process. Something was definitely not right.

  Her mark, and that’s how she must think of him, rested his hands on the table and Daelyn’s focus was drawn to them—long, elegant fingers, and dark hairs on his forearms peeked from beneath the sleeves of his tunic. Another rebellious vision of him stroking her with those hands caused a shudder beneath her skin and a convulsion in her shax.

  Her mind warned her this was a dangerous situation and she should get out and let someone else handle it. But the longer she sat there staring at him, the less Daelyn wanted to leave. And besides, an Enforcer never turned and ran. It was up to her to complete her assignment.

  Some part of Daelyn wanted to know this male intimately in ways she’d never even thought of before. The pulse at her neck began to throb frantically. She swallowed, then lifted a hand to touch the fluttering vein. She was definitely not supposed to be having these responses.