3013_REVOLUTION

by Kali Argent

  3013: REVOLUTION

  3013: THE SERIES

  By Kali Argent

  The 3013 Series

  3013: MATED by Laurie Roma

  3013: RENEGADE by Susan Hayes

  3013: CLAIMED by Laurie Roma

  3013: STOWAWAY by Susan Hayes

  3013: SALVATION by Laurie Roma

  3013: MENDED by Kali Argent

  3013: TARGETED by Susan Hayes

  3013: CHAOS by Laurie Roma

  3013: ALTERED by Kali Argent

  3013: FATED by Susan Hayes

  3013: GENESIS by Laurie Roma

  3013: REVOLUTION by Kali Argent

  Novellas

  3013: SYNERGY by Laurie Roma

  3013: ASYLUM by Kali Argent

  3013: SCARRED by Susan Hayes

  3013: REVOLUTION

  By all rights, Helios shifter Sion Jabari shouldn’t be on Xenthian. According to his own mother, he shouldn’t even be alive. His life hasn’t been an easy one, and after witnessing how greed and the desire for power can corrupt something as pure as love, he wants no part of it. When he takes a companion, he swears it will be for all the right reasons, and more importantly, it will be his choice. A noble plan, but one that’s complicated by the arrival of Rya Clearwater—a lovely female fate has selected just for him.

  Vasera Rya Clearwater understands too well how the quest for power can destroy innocent lives. It’s been almost a millennium since her parents died, but she still dreams about the night it happened. Instead of dwelling in the past, though, she’s dedicated herself to her people, to protecting them from the suffering she’s endured, and for a thousand years, she’s been content. She isn’t prepared for the intense feelings Sion invokes in her, but suddenly, being merely content is no longer enough. So, while the shifter may be hesitant to accept their connection, she’s not going to give up without a fight. They’re meant to be together, and she’ll do whatever it takes to prove it to him.

  Unfortunately, convincing Sion that fate is real and nothing to be feared is the least of her troubles. Reeling from a series of attacks, the people of Xenthian are nervous, on guard, and looking to their leaders for answers. Answers, Rya doesn’t have. In a reality where secrets are currency and lies flow like water, Sion and Rya will have to put aside their differences and work together if they hope to bring peace to a world they no longer recognize. Can their love flourish in the midst of turmoil, or will their relationship wither in the darkness that has descended over the planet?

  Trust no one. Suspect everything. Be prepared.

  This is the Revolution.

  3013: REVOLUTION

  Copyright © July 2016 by Kali Argent

  Covert Art by SW Graphic Designs

  Published by PECCAVI PRESS

  eBook ISBN: 978-1-940637-25-9

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles.

  Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  DEDICATION

  To my fifth-grade English teacher who criticized my haiku in front of the entire class and told me I’d never be a successful writer. How do you like me now?

  PROLOGUE

  The year is 3013.

  Earth barely survived the Alien Wars that have ravaged the planet, and an unknown virus had nearly wiped out the entire population. On the brink of extinction, humans struggle to rebuild their civilization, although nothing would ever bring back what once was.

  Enforcing martial law, a new age of mankind is born, where warriors rule and women are the ultimate prize. Only the elite earn breeding rights and are granted leave to claim a woman in pairs. Men dream of the day that they will be able to claim a woman to love, but for those chosen being claimed means the end of their freedom and a beginning to a lifelong bond with two strangers. The warriors may have the choice, but the battle for their woman's heart has only begun…

  CHAPTER ONE

  Music and laughter filled the great hall, the room packed with Xenon who had travelled to the island of Sommervail in the heart of Xenthian, eager for a closer look at the outsiders. Most of them had come to meet Alliance Commander Ivy Dalton, their king’s new soulmate, which suited Sion Jabari just fine.

  “Be still.” Sentry Wyn Nightstar, one of the royal guards who had been assigned to Ivy’s protection, glared at Sion as he reprimanded him for the third time in less than an hour.

  “This thing itches,” Sion complained, tugging at the collar of the silver tunic he wore.

  The fabric hung down to his knees, covering the thin black tights that hugged his legs and stopping just inches above his soft, gray boots. It was the traditional dress uniform for the Sommervail royal guard, but to Sion, it looked and felt like a damn dress.

  Standing near the double doors of the cavernous room, he linked his hands together behind his back as he struggled not to fidget, and did his best to ignore the stares and whispers. For thousands of years, the planet of Xenthian had been cloaked in magic, cut off from the rest of the universe, and many of the younger Xenon had never even heard of a Helios, let alone met one in person.

  The females in particular seemed fascinated by his long, auburn hair, often expressing their desire to touch and examine the strands. Though flattered by their attentions, the scrutiny also made him uncomfortable, so over and over, he’d politely declined. A large majority of the Xenon in attendance sported ebony tresses, while a handful showed the beginnings of bronze streaks. Sion had encountered only two Xenon—one male and one female—with golden hair, and a handful of elders whose locks had faded to a shiny silver.

  As lovely, immortal beings, with an elven-like appearance, the Xenon didn’t age, not in the traditional sense of the word. Their skin remained soft, smooth, and void of any blemishes, their youthful appearances everlasting. Only their hair changed with the passing years, fading from black to bronze, and eventually to a deep golden hue. Elders—those chosen by some magical means Sion didn’t fully understand—possessed the silvery blond strands that designated them as the oldest and wisest of their race.

  If they found his hair fascinating, Sion could only imagine how they’d react if they saw him shift. A giant cat with russet fur and long, dangerous fangs might be too much for the gentler members of the race, and the elders would likely lose their minds. The thought made him chuckle, which unfortunately, drew the attention of Sentry Nightstar.

  “Perhaps you should be closer to Lady Ivy.” Wyn stepped away from the doors, pausing to level a disapproving glare when Sion didn’t follow him. “If something should go awry—”

  “Ivy can take care of herself,” Sion interrupted.

  He’d sparred with the female enough times to feel confident in his statement. Ivy was strong, fast, intelligent. A soldier of the United Command Federation Alliance, an elite, the best of the best, made even more lethal by her genetic enhancements. She definitely didn’t need a babysitter.

  “Besides,” he added, “who’s going to attack her at a party?”

  Without warning, everything went black, Sion’s stomach rolled unpleasantly, and all the air leeched from his lungs as he was transported across the room to Ivy’s side. Even after several weeks of being around the Xenon, he still couldn’t get used to their magic, and it just pissed him off when they used it against him.

  “I’m going to murder him,” he growled when he could breathe again, angry but unsurprised to find himself standing next to Ivy. Spinning around, he looked out over the crowd to gl
are at Wyn.

  Ivy turned, searching in the same direction with her brow furrowed. “Since when did you learn to transport?”

  “Since never. That asshole Wyn thought I should be closer to my lady for protection.”

  Ivy didn’t comment, but grabbed him by the elbow, whirling them both away from the crowd as she jabbed him in the ribs with her elbow. Before he could protest or retaliate, the scent of—sunshine was the only way he knew to describe it—invaded his senses, the fragrance so intense it sent a shiver down his spine.

  “Sion,” Ivy said cheerfully, “meet Vasera Rya Clearwater. She’s visiting all the way from the Eastern Isle.”

  A petite Xenon female in a pale gold evening gown offered him a dazzling smile as she shoved her hand toward him. “Hello, would you like a hand hug?”

  Mesmerized by the soft, musical quality of her voice, Sion stared back at her blankly, not even cracking a smile at her misrepresentation of a human handshake. Amber light from the chandelier above them reflected in her raven curls, giving the illusion of inner glow, and Sion fisted his hands at his sides to stop himself from reaching out to her, to find out if the strands were truly as silky as they looked.

  Vaguely, he realized everyone was staring, waiting for him to say something, but he couldn’t think. The strange, iridescent marking of her kind shimmered along her slender arms, up the delicate slope of her neck, and over the left side of her face, distracting him. Even when Ivy cleared her throat to get his attention, he couldn’t drag his gaze away from Rya’s bright, shining eyes—pale pink eyes that reminded him of the pelani flower that bloomed high in the canopies of the jungle on his home world of Helix.

  Intending to greet her, he inhaled deeply, but instead of speaking, he shuddered hard enough to make his teeth vibrate. Not until his vision began to blur did he realize he’d forgotten to release that breath. A steady thrum pulsed through his body as he exhaled, but it felt wrong, like an echo, as if the pulse emanated from somewhere—or someone—else.

  “I…you…what I mean to say is…” For star’s sake, he couldn’t even form a simple sentence.

  His mouth became arid, and his tongue suddenly felt too big. Sion pressed his lips together in an attempt to maintain a measure of dignity, but the damage had already been done. Worse, he couldn’t just stand there and stare at the female, not without being completely inappropriate. So, without even as much as a nod, he turned on his heels and strode away from Rya Clearwater as quickly as he could.

  The more distance he put between them, the better he felt. The uncomfortable pulse diminished, his head cleared, and the knot forming in his chest began to loosen. Able to think with more clarity, he realized the entire episode still confused him, and he didn’t like things that didn’t make sense.

  Anyone could see Rya’s beauty, and her scent appealed to him on a primal level, but his reaction to the tiny female was all wrong. He couldn’t deny he felt drawn to her, almost irrationally so, but his race didn’t rely on fate to find their companions for them, not like the D’Aire…or the Xenon.

  “Fuck!” he exploded, startling a group of nearby females who had been whispering behind their hands and smiling at him.

  No, absolutely not. He refused. He didn’t understand much about the new race, but he knew from Ivy that her relationship with Vasili Kai Blackthorn had been fated, written in the stars before they’d ever met. While he’d seen it firsthand, he hadn’t really believed it until now, and furthermore, he’d never imagined it would happen to him.

  Growing up on Helix, there had been no love in his home. Sure, his fathers cared for him, and his mother tolerated him, but the relationship between his parents had been civil at best. As a matriarchal society, the females on his home world governed the tribes, and while some mated for love, many did so for status. Males of his race were often used as pawns, pieces in a bigger political game, because the more mates a female took, the higher she ranked within the tribe.

  Sion had never wanted that, not even when he’d been too young to really understand what it all meant. When he chose a companion, a life-long partner, it would be for love, and it would be his choice. He wouldn’t be forced into a mating, nor would he allow fate to dictate his future.

  The hair on his nape stood on end, and his skin began to warm and tingle, but it wasn’t until the vibrant scent of sunshine hit him that he realized the cause.

  “That was very rude,” Rya chided, holding the hem of her dress off the floor as she marched up to him. “Where are you going?”

  “Away,” he answered shortly.

  “Why would you do that?” Her head tilted to the side, her expression mildly curious.

  “Look, princess, you’re beautiful, but I have no interest in”—Sion waved his hand between them—“whatever this is.”

  “Talking?” she asked without even a hint of sarcasm.

  Sion grinned in spite of himself. He always found the Xenon’s penchant for literalism comical, and maybe even a little endearing.

  “You can’t leave,” she added, shaking her head so that her long locks fell over her shoulder. “You are mine, and I am yours. This is meant to be a joyous occasion, so why do you seem so distressed?”

  His smile vanished, and he took a step away from her, though every fiber of his being longed to pull her into his arms and kiss her until neither of them could breathe. “That’s your world, princess, not mine. Fate doesn’t choose mates for the Helios, so I don’t see how I can be yours.”

  “It is the joining of two parts to one soul,” she explained patiently. “Perhaps your race doesn’t hold with fate, but that doesn’t change that we were meant to be, destined to find one another.”

  She reached for him, but Sion took another step back and shook his head. The more she talked, the tighter his chest became, making it difficult to breathe. The mere idea that he had no control over his future, that some mystical deity had chosen his path long before his birth, was absurd. Anxious to be away from her, to retreat to a distance that would allow him to think clearly without her scent filling his head, he took several more steps back, holding his hand out when she started to follow.

  “I need some time.” He couldn’t deny he felt something for the female, but it wasn’t anything familiar, and he needed to be alone to process. “I’m sorry, but it’s going to take a while for me to wrap my head around this.” Impulsively, he stepped forward to caress her cheek with the back of his hand, his heart pounding when she closed her eyes and leaned into his touch. “I’ll see you again soon.”

  “Of course.” Opening her eyes, she straightened and stepped back from him. “How much time?”

  “It was nice to meet you, Rya.” She hadn’t done anything wrong, but he didn’t have an answer for her, not yet. “Enjoy the celebration.”

  Then he’d walked away.

  Excluding a minor confrontation the next morning, he hadn’t seen her at all in the weeks that followed. He should have been happy. He should have been relieved.

  Sion felt none of those things.

  Thoughts of Rya Clearwater plagued his dreams and interrupted his waking thoughts. Everything reminded him of her, and no matter how vehemently he tried to deny it, he missed her. He trained until his body was exhausted, but it did nothing to diminish the longing he felt for something that shouldn’t even exist.

  When he’d left Helix at the bequest of Tribes Leader Navarra, he’d only meant to find his childhood friend, Tariq Navarra, and bring him home to his mother. He couldn’t have anticipated how much his life would change since stepping foot on Beta Station 4. He’d found Tariq as promised, but instead of convincing the male to return with him to their home world, he’d found himself aboard an Alliance exploration vessel with Tariq and his new mate, Cami.

  Until recently, the Dreamweaver had been commanded by the most insufferably stubborn female he’d ever had the good fortune to call a friend. A lot had happened since they’d crash landed on Xenthian only a few short months ago, and not all of the
experiences had been pleasant.

  Upon their initial arrival, he’d gone from handling the security aboard the Dreamweaver, to being Ivy’s new personal guard. While he’d complained and needled her, he considered it an honor to protect the female, which was why he’d been resistant when the elders had appointed Wyn Nightstar to replace him. From the beginning, he’d disliked the uptight Xenon male, but when Wyn had attacked Ivy, Sion regretted that he hadn’t been the one to end the miserable asshole’s life.

  Disturbingly, no one actually knew how the male had died, though magic had been suspected. With so many questions unanswered, it left everyone in the citadel on edge, and as of late, the tension had been thick enough to cut with his claws. Add in his confusing and frustrating feelings about Vasera Rya Clearwater, and Sion could barely stand his own company, let alone endure the banality of idle conversation, even with his friends.

  By all accounts, he shouldn’t even be on Xenthian. When the insect-like Zyphir had attacked Earth, destroying much of the planet and decimating the human population with an incurable virus, the Helios hadn’t joined them in their fight against the invaders. Hell, they hadn’t even known about the existence of humans.

  The magical race of Dragon Warriors had been Earth’s most powerful ally. The winged, angelic D’Aire had also lent their aide, as well as the beast-like Krytos. Together, after three years of savage fighting which had come to be known as the Alien Wars, Earth had finally claimed its victory.

  Humans’ contact with Sion’s home planet of Helix had come years later, after much rebuilding, and well after they’d formed the United Command Federation Alliance under martial law. In the infancy of their relationship with Earth, the Helios had been cautious, distrustful, and resistant to the ways of the unknown and weaker race.

  Humans didn’t have sharp claws or pointed fangs. While the enhanced males stood a few inches taller than most Helios with advanced endurance and agility, they still couldn’t compete with the natural strength of the Helios. What they lacked in physical attributes, however, they made up for with their superior technology. Technology that Helix had greatly benefited from, whether the tribes’ leaders would admit to it or not.