Rebellion Read online

  Cover Copy

  Ria Montori is no stranger to kicking ass. Despite her petite size, she’s a former Sandarian military officer currently serving the Cavacent clan and adjusting to life on a strange planet called Earth. She has no time to search for her psi-mate, the one being who could bring her pleasure beyond any mere physical intimacy. Which doesn’t explain why she’s bonding with a Curzan native who just killed a government official.

  Ty Sordina hates Ria’s kind. The Sandarians enslaved his people and murdered his parents in front him when he was a child. He has sought revenge ever since, and nothing will get in his way. Especially not a feisty redhead who challenges his every instinct and calls to his psi like no other.

  But there is a war coming. And the two beings who want nothing to do with each other hold the fate of an entire planet in the heat of their undeniable desire…

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  Books by Sabine Priestley

  Alien Attachments Series

  Alien Attachments

  Rebellion

  Published by Kensington Publishing Corporation

  Rebellion

  An Alien Attachments Novel

  Sabine Priestley

  LYRICAL PRESS

  Kensington Publishing Corp.

  www.kensingtonbooks.com

  Copyright

  Lyrical Press books are published by

  Kensington Publishing Corp. 119 West 40th Street New York, NY 10018

  Copyright © 2015 by Sabine Priestley

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  First Electronic Edition: October 2015

  eISBN-13: 978-1-61650-579-0

  eISBN-10: 1-61650-579-6

  First Print Edition: October 2015

  ISBN-13: 978-1-61650-597-4

  ISBN-10: 1-61650-597-4

  Printed in the United States of America

  Dedication

  To my awesome family for putting up with my craziness. A huge thanks to Renee Rocco at Lyrical Press for taking a chance on me. To my amazing Lyrical editor Corinne DeMaagd, you are the voice in my head. Finally, to my great friend and totally awesome editor, Victoria Baksa, you rock!

  Chapter 1

  Ria Montori leaned against the transparent panel with arms crossed, enjoying the view of Earth below. It was good to get off-planet, if only to the Cavacents’ cloaked base station. The little blue planet hung suspended in space, so different from the purples and greens of Sandaria.

  Times like these gave her a chance to reflect. She was proud of what she’d accomplished. Because of her small size, she’d had to work twice as hard as anyone else to be taken seriously. Graduating second in her class in the military academy had helped. After her obligatory three years of service, she’d signed on with the Cavacent clan and now had a coveted spot as an Earth Protector, EP for short. But things were changing in the Sandarian Empire, and her world along with it.

  She and Dani Standich, the newest member of the EP team, were overseeing the arrival of supplies from Sandaria. EPs had a wide range of duties outside of protecting Earth. The Cavacent clan had escaped Sandaria during the fall of the old empire in such a hurry, many things had been left behind. Due to the animosity of both the new planetary ruler and the Portal Masters’ Guild, they might never be able to return, but with the help of those still living there, things were working out. They had been able to recover a large percentage of belongings they’d been forced to leave behind, and most of Rucon Cavacent’s shipping business had survived intact.

  “You okay?” Dani asked. “You look sad.”

  Ria regarded the tall blonde. She was a stark contrast to her own petite build and fiery red hair. Where Ria’s world had shrunk, Dani’s had exploded—other worlds, aliens, empires, all laid bare to her. She blew out a breath. “I’m okay. Glad we pulled this duty today. I don’t know if this will make sense to you, but I’m feeling a little claustrophobic on Earth.”

  “How can you be claustrophobic on a planet?” Dani asked.

  She tried to find the words to explain. “Because Sandaria is home to the Portal Masters, it’s probably the most connected planet in the galaxy. You could request travel to at least a dozen planets. Starships are constantly coming and going.” Both women wore the standard EP attire of black button-up shirt, black jeans, and boots. Ria turned to face Dani and shoved her hands in her front pockets. “I spent three years cruising the stars in the military before I hired on with the Cavacents. And now, with the fall of the emperor, that little ball out there is all there is. Does that make sense?”

  Dani squeezed her arm. “It does. I mean, it’s kind of weird for someone like me who never knew anything but Earth, but it makes sense.” Dani bounced up and down on her toes. “I still get goose bumps being able to see Earth from out here. Don’t you?”

  Ria gave her a smirk. Her friend radiated a disgusting amount of happy. She’d recently bonded with Ria’s boss, Ian Cavacent, and there were times Ria wanted to smack the happy out of her. She was glad for them, of course, but one could only take so much sunshine.

  It was a calm day below, with few clouds to hide the surface.

  “I still can’t believe it,” Ria said, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. “A few months ago Earth was just a job. Now it’s home.”

  Dani huffed. “A few months ago, I didn’t know aliens existed or that I had super powers.”

  Ria smacked Dani on the elbow. “Psi isn’t super powers.”

  Dani gave her a look.

  “Yeah, okay. From a human perspective, maybe it is,” Ria said. “We’re Supergirls.”

  Ria’s com started screaming like a teenager, making both women jump. Dani’s com followed a moment later with the atmosphere breach alert.

  Ria wasn’t sure what surprised her more, the screaming or the breach. “Harvey, silence the alert,” Ria said. “And stop screaming.” She’d modified her com on Earth, giving it access to the Internet. Over time and with some tweaking on her part, it was developing a personality. The results so far had proved amusing. She never knew what Harvey would do.

  “Yes, ma’am,” her com said, sounding miffed.

  Dani shot her a what-the-fuck look as they bolted for the portal. “That scared the crap out of me.”

  “Sorry.” Ria stifled a laugh. “I’ve been playing with the interface. Screaming female wasn’t exactly what I was going for.”

  Ria pulled up the status of the six cloaked transport ships that currently surrounded Earth. Two of them were picking up an alien signature on the planet. How is that even possible? They stepped through the portal together. Ria felt the familiar pull on her body and tingle of her psi as they were transported from the station t
o Earth. They emerged in Ian and Dani’s study on Cat Island in the Bahamas. The portal exited through the fireplace and onto woven grass rugs. White floor-to-ceiling bookcases covered the walls, and a massive desk sat near a window overlooking the cliff and water below.

  “What gives, Ian?” Ria said. “How could we have an atmosphere breach without an approach from space?”

  Ian ran a hand through his wavy blond hair. It was obvious that he and Dani were communicating telepathically via their bond.

  Dani’s face paled.

  “Your ships picked up alien signatures on the planet,” Ria said. “Who is it, and how did they get here?”

  The shock was evident in Ian’s voice. “They exited hyper-space inside the impact zone.”

  “Frack me,” Ria said as the meaning sunk in. Who would do that? Inside the zone meant it was pure luck they didn’t exit partially or fully inside the planet. Earth could have been destroyed today. A cold sweat formed on her skin as the horrific scene played out in her mind.

  The fourth EP currently on Earth at the moment entered the room from the hallway. The arrogant albino, Armond, had arrived from the tunnels and looked as shocked as the rest of them.

  The final EP, Marco, was on a mission with Ian’s uncle and wouldn’t be back for a few weeks, at least.

  Ian projected the status holo and searched the incoming data.

  Armond joined them as information updates came in on the vid. “Identified?”

  “Torogs,” Ian said, looking puzzled.

  “Where are they headed?” Ria asked.

  Ian scratched his head. “They were headed straight toward Asia, but they’ve changed course.”

  Ria followed the trajectory of the signal. “They’re coming here.” It was impossible not to remember the last time the Torogs had visited Cat Island. They’d stormed the villa. Their ball-jointed limbs and leathery bodies had half climbed, half fallen through the dining room window. At the same time, they’d smashed in the front door. They’d managed to slice off Marco’s hand before he and everyone but Dani and Ian had made it through the portal back to Sandaria. Those two had almost died when the Torogs bombed the tunnel that led from Ian’s villa. They’d barely survived by pulling off a nearly impossible portal move and following the others to his home planet. The whole thing had been a mess. “Is this some kind of joke?”

  “No joke,” Ian said. He brought up the villa’s sensors that showed it cloaked and shielded. “They can’t get in here. Question is, what do they want? Why did they change course?”

  “What if they weren’t headed to Asia, but the Maldives?” Ria asked.

  The EPs had bases around the globe. Ian on Cat Island, Ria in Lago Como, Marco in New Zealand, and Armond in the Maldives.

  Ian raised an eyebrow. “Go on.”

  “It would explain the change of course if they’re tracking Armond. They were headed to his base. Now they’re coming here.”

  “Why would they be doing that?” Armond looked down on her with an air of superiority.

  “I don’t know. You’re the self-proclaimed genius. You figure it out.”

  They all watched as the Torog signal approached the Island. It hovered around the Cat for nearly ten minutes before blasting out of the atmosphere and setting off another round of alarms. They followed the signature until they were satisfied the aliens weren’t coming back.

  Ian’s com signaled an incoming call. He spoke briefly and disconnected. “My father wants to see us.”

  A network of subterranean tunnels interconnected by portals existed deep under the Earth’s surface. The EPs used them to travel the globe and the Cavacent clan for mining the rare and precious mineral carnium. The trace mineral was a required element in the fuel used by their Faster Than Light, or FTL, interstellar ships. The team filed out of Ian’s library and headed for the cruiser. Twenty minutes later, they were gathered in Ria’s villa in Bellagio, Italy. Rucon Cavacent, Ian’s father, had chosen Lago Como as the location of the new Cavacent compound, currently under construction in the hills above the lake. In the meantime, Ria’s villa was the most centrally located and served as temporary headquarters. They gathered around the large dining room table. Ria had instantly felt at home the first time she had seen the marble floors and rich browns and reds of the walls of the ornate Italian villa. She’d inherited it from a previous EP and wouldn’t change a thing.

  Rucon was not happy as he wrapped up a call to someone on his com. “They must pay for this. They could have destroyed us. Not to mention the entire planet is buzzing with the news of something leaving the atmosphere. Earth is still a dark planet. They don’t know about us.” Rucon paused, listening before he continued. “Agreed. Thank you, Torril. I’ll be in touch.”

  Torril Anantha. Ria was impressed. Not many people were on a first name basis with the head of the newly formed Galactic Trade Organization.

  Rucon tapped his fingers on the tabletop. “He’s launching an investigation. Even with the current state of unrest, risking an entire planet warrants the GTO’s attention. There will also be a small battleship stationed along with our transport ships. If they attempt this again, we’ll be able to hunt them down.”

  Chasing the Torogs wasn’t an option with the transport ships. Although heavily armed, they weren’t designed for pursuit.

  “For now,” Rucon said standing, “we keep all bases shielded at all times.”

  Rucon was taking this seriously. Full-time shielding meant full-time monitoring as well. The shields prevented anyone and anything from crossing their perimeter. From the local deliveryman to birds and animals. It wouldn’t do to have humans walking into an invisible wall.

  Rucon interrupted her thoughts before she could ask how long he expected to keep the shields active. “One more thing. Assuming everything remains quiet, Mara and I have accepted an invitation to attend the Summer’s Ball on Mitah this year. An old friend of mine lives there.” He scanned the faces around the table. “We’ve all been working hard since coming to Earth. I think it’s time for a break. As long as we don’t have further complications from the Torogs, I’m extending the invitation to the whole team. We’ll make a portal back to Earth as soon as we get to Mitah.”

  “Excellent,” Ria said.

  The others were equally excited about the prospect.

  Rucon said his goodbyes, leaving the rest to discuss plans.

  Dani, who’d never been anywhere other than Earth and Sandaria, was bouncing up and down. “Anyone been to Mitah?”

  “I’ve never been,” Ria said, “but I dated a guy from there for a while at the academy. It’s supposed to be beautiful.” And it would be great to have another world to go to occasionally.

  “And you guys?” Dani asked.

  Armond shook his head, but Ian nodded. “We’ve been to the ball a few times. You’re going to love it. It’s a three-day visual spectacle, complete with a masquerade ball. You two”—Ian nodded to Ria and Dani—“are going to need to go ahead of time for dresses.”

  Dani clapped her hands like a child.

  Ria nearly choked on her water. “Why? We’re an hour and a half from Milan. World class designers and all that.”

  Ian crossed his arms and smiled. “Yes, but you can only get Mitan silk from Mitah, and trust me. You want Mitan silk.”

  * * * *

  It had been four days since the Torog’s return to Earth. There had been no further attempts. Whether that was due to the battleship now orbiting with Rucon’s transport ships or not, they had no idea. Ria and the other EPs were forty minutes into a training session in her sim room on Bellagio. They’d chosen a tropical jungle with four different types of alien life forms for variety. Distinguishing between harmless native wildlife and deadly aliens wasn’t always easy. It was a team mission, and so far, they hadn’t lost anyone. Today’s weapon of choice was a small handheld laser called a dart. It worked like a gun on one setting and like a two-and-a-half-foot sword in the other.
The training models were designed to deplete rapidly over time until only the sword function remained, and that got shorter until only the casing was left. So far, everyone still had functioning guns.

  It was she and Dani’s turn to hold their base. Ian and Armond flushed the surrounding area. Ian was ahead in kills, but so far, she and Dani were ahead on team saves. So as usual, the women were keeping them alive, and the guys were shooting things.

  Ria wiped the sweat from her eyes. “We need to pick a desert next time. This humidity sucks.”

  “You get used to it,” Dani said.

  The bushes to their left rustled, and both women swung their lasers in the ready.

  Ian stepped out, and Ria sparked with envy when he grabbed Dani and planted a kiss on her before he disappeared back into the foliage.

  “Seriously?” Ria said. “You can’t go an hour without locking lips?”

  Ian’s laughter rippled through the trees.

  Dani beamed.

  Ria rolled her eyes.

  Another rustle, and a four-legged creature with razor sharp teeth launched itself at Ria’s chest. “Morits!” Ria called out as she sliced the critter in half.

  The sound of Ian and Armond battling away let her know they’d found the nasty critters as well. Six more made it past the men. Dani made easy work of the two that had targeted her. Ria nearly made it unscathed but when four hit her at once from all sides, one managed to latch onto her lower arm. Those jaws had some serious force, and her hand popped off, dropping the creature to the ground with it.

  “Aw, come on. Not fair. There were four of them.” Ria lifted up her wrist and studied the bloody stump. “Halt sim.”

  Ian and Armond approached from opposite ends of the clearing, equally covered in sweat.