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Synopsis
In a surprise attack that killed many of her dearest subjects, Hail Bristol, empress of Indrana, has been captured by the Shen—the most ruthless and fearsome aliens humanity has ever encountered. As she plots her escape, the centuries-long war between her captors and the Farians, their mortal enemies and Indrana's oldest allies, finally comes to a head. When her captors reveal a shocking vision of the future, Hail must make the unexpectedly difficult decision she's been avoiding: whether to back the Shen or the Farians.
Release date: December 3, 2019
Publisher: Orbit
Print pages: 448
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Down Among the Dead
K.B. Wagers
THE FARIAN WAR
THERE BEFORE THE CHAOS
“Twisty and clever and magnificent, full of political maneuvers, space action, and genuine feeling. The end broke my heart in the best sort of way. I cannot wait for the next book.”
—Beth Cato
“A perfect blend of political intrigue and realistically conveyed action.… Kick-butt women, space battles, complex relationships, and fiendish plots abound.”
—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
“Wagers achieves a rare balance of action… tension, and quiet moments, keeping pages turning while deepening the portraits of Hail and the friends and foes around her. Fans of the original trilogy will welcome Hail’s return, and any space opera reader can easily jump in here.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An exciting dose of space opera and political intrigue peppered with hard choices. Highly recommended for fans of science fiction with assertive female characters.”
—Booklist
THE INDRANAN WAR
BEHIND THE THRONE
“This debut ranks among the best political SF novels in years, largely because of the indomitable, prickly Hail.… [A] fast-paced, twisty space opera.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Taut suspense, strong characterization, and dark, rapid-fire humor are the highlights of this excellent SF adventure debut.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Full of fast-paced action and brutal palace intrigue, starring the fiercest princess this side of Westeros.”
—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
AFTER THE CROWN
“Crown is fast paced, and its focus on a female action heroine defined by her decisions rather than romance is refreshing and fun.”
—Washington Post
“Craving a galactic adventure? K. B. Wagers’ second Indranan War novel is just the ticket.”
—Bookish
“Two books in, this series has exemplified political plotting as compelling as the badass heroine at its center.”
—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
BEYOND THE EMPIRE
“Nerve-wracking action on the ground and in space, dark humor, and the characters’ til-the-end loyalty to one another.… A satisfyingly thunderous end to Hail’s quest for vengeance that makes an excellent addition to any SF collection.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Satisfying.… Wagers’s high-octane space opera trilogy… is particularly appealing for its relationships.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A rich tapestry of nuanced characters and a story that makes you care about them.… I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.”
—Pop Culture Beast
“Kick ass space opera with a heart. I loved it.”
—The Eloquent Page
We’re coming up on the embassy. It looks like the mercs pulled back when the Solies flew in,” Emmory said over the com link. “Majesty—”
I jerked awake, the concussion wave of the explosion in my dream carrying into the real world in the form of my heart slamming against my rib cage. The room was dim, the early-morning light crawling in through the windows. The breathing of the other three women was rhythmic as they slept on, unaware of my nightmare.
Gita Desai had protested when I’d turned my bios off, but I was glad I’d insisted. There was no reason to wake my Ekam up night after night just because I couldn’t sleep.
My Ekam. Strange how a single word could cause so much pain.
I curled into a ball, holding in the grief that always followed on the heels of the dream. Because it wasn’t a figment of my imagination, it was my reality: My brothers were dead. Most of my BodyGuards were dead. All I had left were Gita, Johar, and Alba.
And we were in the questionable safety of Shen custody.
I’d been betrayed, taken prisoner, and dragged away from Earth. Shortly after our arrival Aiz Cevalla had tried to make it seem as though we were guests on this planet across the galaxy from home, but with no way to leave and very little freedom over the last month it was hard to believe the lie.
Prisoners or guests, either way it made little difference in the end. We were simply four people very far away from everything we’d ever known. My fury had snuffed out like an explosion exposed to the black, leaving me floundering the moment we’d touched boots down to the soil of this planet.
While the others had set to the task of finding a way to get us out of here and back to Pashati, I’d drowned in my grief over the loss of everything I knew.
I ate when my Ekam told me to, answered questions that were asked of me as the trio of women continued to plan for an escape or some way to contact home, but otherwise I stayed silent, staring out the window at the jungle beyond.
Our captors, or hosts, left us alone. They had a war to run, after all, and I got the impression that the events on Earth had caught them off guard just as badly as they had us. Or they were responsible for it all and playing the shock up for my edification. I poked at the tangled ball of details sometimes but could never seem to find the energy to grab a thread and pull.
I did not want to be alive, yet here I was. The universe was once again cold and uncaring about what I wanted—as it had been with the deaths of my parents and my sisters. This dream echoed night after night in my head, and the ghosts whispered endlessly in my ear during the day. They were my new companions, and I welcomed them into my shattered life.
A voice somewhere in the back of my head screamed at me. It scolded me for giving up. It shamed me for letting the empire down, for turning my back on everything I’d ever believed in. For betraying Hao and all the others by curling into myself instead of seeking revenge. It wanted me to get up and keep fighting, but I ignored it even more than I ignored my companions and my captors.
The ghosts who haunted me were easier to talk to. They understood that it was better for me to stay down, that fighting would only kill more people I cared about. They knew what would happen if I raged.
Baby, you should go back to sleep.
“There’s nothing to do but sleep,” I murmured back, imagining the feel of Portis’s hand in my hair as his ghost whispered in my ear.
He didn’t answer. Sometimes the ghosts spoke and vanished; other times I could have whole conversations and would look up to find Gita watching me with concern heavy in her brown eyes.
I’d mentioned it once, curious if the others were seeing the same, if I was hallucinating or being drugged. But no one else could see the figments of my slowly cracking mind, and all Gita’s scans came up clean. The Shen weren’t poisoning me. So I stopped asking and tried to pretend they weren’t there.
At least not when anyone else could see me.
I slipped from my bunk, moving slow to keep from disturbing the others, and padded my way on bare feet to the window.
The twin moons of Sparkos were setting, bathing everything in their silvery light. The jungle was filled with shadows, having one last dance in the breeze before they gave way to the pink light of sunrise. I could smell the thick salt of the sea and the heaviness of decaying vegetation seeping in around the edges of the window.
It made me miss home.
I pressed my hand to the thick pane and felt the slight give of the plastic. Johar had been diligently working on loosening the foundation of the sturdy window, and it wouldn’t be long before it would come free entirely. Then we could escape. To where I didn’t know. It felt very much like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
“Majesty, where are you?”
I turned my head from the window at the sound of Fasé’s voice. My Farian ghost was more insistent than the others, constantly questioning my whereabouts as though she couldn’t see right where I was for herself if she’d just show her face.
My anger at her was worse than the grief. I knew it was useless to blame the dead for their failures, knew even better that it wasn’t Fasé’s fault she hadn’t seen this coming and saved us all. It was mine.
Your crew, your responsibility, little sister. Never forget that.
“Hail?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Johar’s whisper seemed loud in comparison to Hao’s voice in my head, and the touch of her hand on my back was almost unbearable.
The former gunrunner and smuggler from Santa Pirata had chosen to stay by my side. Her plans to retire and live in my empire were a decision that had ultimately led her here with me. I would have apologized if I could have forced the words out of my throat.
“I couldn’t sleep.” It wasn’t really a lie.
“I know. It’s close enough to morning, though,” she murmured, slipping into the space next to me at the window; the warmth of her body chased away some of the graveyard chill that had settled into my bones. She smoothed her hand over my back, resting it gently on my hip and tugging me against her. “We notice it, even if we don’t say anything. Don’t need access to your bios to know you’re not sleeping.”
I didn’t want the comfort. It hammered away at the wall of grief I’d built around my rage. But my body was a traitor and leaned into Jo’s embrace before I could stop it. I wanted to curl against her, bury my face in her shoulder and weep, but if I started crying I didn’t think I’d ever stop.
“Shiva, why do the gods take the good ones and leave me here?” My hands were shaking as I curled them into fists, hating the plaintive question that slipped free.
“You are one of the good ones,” Johar said, fingers tightening on my hip. “Don’t argue with me, Hail, you know you are. I love you for it and so do your people. We’ll get out of here and go home. Then we can figure out what to do from there. Figure out who was responsible for Earth.”
Earth—the attack on the peace negotiations between the Farians and the Shen and our desperate run through the streets filled my head once more along with a burning fury.
Though no matter who’d fired the shots and blew up the embassy—Farian, Shen, mercenary—I’d been the one who brought them there. My foolish belief that I could somehow stop this brewing war between two alien races had been hubris. In the end I was responsible for the deaths of my people.
Shame burned in my throat.
“You know they’re dead, don’t you?”
Johar took a deep breath and then exhaled. “You and I have a hard time trusting to hope, Hail. We’ve seen too much. We know the miraculous survival of the crew doesn’t happen but in the stories. I don’t begrudge Alba and Gita for wanting to hold on to that flicker in the darkness, though. It’s a small comfort.”
It was no comfort for me. Jo was right, the real world didn’t give second chances and happy endings. It gave out death and grief, and bits of justice on the rarest of occasions.
I’d already had my justice; I couldn’t hope for more.
“I have led you all to disaster. Loving me is a curse none of you deserve to bear.”
Johar reached across and cupped my face with her other hand, forcing me to meet her eyes. “I have good news and bad news for you, Hail. The bad news is love doesn’t win, entropy does. We all die, the stars will explode, the Milky Way will collapse, and the universe will tear itself apart.”
She leaned in, pressing her forehead to mine. “The good news is we get to choose to love every day, which makes it even better, because it’s a choice.”
“It’s the wro—”
“Listen to me. We need you back. I understand the darkness you’ve been in for these past weeks, and none of us begrudge you it. However, it’s time you come back to us.”
“I don’t know how much of me is left.” I don’t know if you want to see this rage fly free, Jo, it might burn the whole galaxy down. Those words remained unsaid even though I shook with the effort of keeping them inside.
“There’s enough of you.” Johar smiled as she pulled away. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
It should have been an easy answer. My heart was beating. There was air in my lungs.
But the soul of me was gone. Gone like Hao. Like Emmory and Zin. It was nothing but ash.
“I have lost the best parts of me.”
The smile slipped off Jo’s face like water sheeting down a window in Krishan’s rainy season. “Hail,” she said again. “Don’t go out like this. You know they wouldn’t—”
“Don’t.” I stopped her with a hand on her mouth as I pulled away. “Please, don’t say it.”
I was expecting cruelty, harsh words of disappointment over how I’d let down Emmory and Zin and all the others who’d died. Instead Johar pulled me into a hug.
“I would take your pain away, if I could,” she whispered, releasing me and slipping back to her bunk as silently as she’d arrived.
I turned my face, now wet with tears, back to the window and the setting moons.
She’s right, you know. Jet rested his head on my shoulder, and I let my imagination convince me there was weight to it.
“About what?” I asked my dead BodyGuard. It felt like so long ago that Jet had died. But it had only been a little over a year since he’d sacrificed himself to save me from a bomb on a cold Pratimas day. “That love doesn’t matter? I suppose so. It only ever brings pain.”
That’s not what she said, and you know it, he countered. She’s right about them needing you. The whole galaxy needs you. You didn’t quit when Wilson had you on the ropes, don’t do it now.
“This is different.”
No, it’s not. He chuckled, lifting his head to look at me with dark gray eyes. You know it’s not, stop lying to yourself, ma’am. You got knocked down. It happens to the best of us. Get up, spit blood at them, and keep going.
Jet vanished and I rubbed the tears from my face as his words echoed in my ears.
The tears soaked into the long sleeves of the shirt I wore, leaving little wet patches on the smooth gray fabric. It was reminiscent of Fasé’s outfit in the days after she’d tried to kill herself.
The resurrection of my previous Ekam had been so taboo, so against everything Fasé had believed in as to drive her to suicide. But I’d refused to let her do it and grabbed for her hand, insisting if she was going to die she’d have to take me with her.
I won’t abandon you, not when you need me the most.
At the time I hadn’t realized she would come back. Her soul reborn on Faria. I don’t even know if she’d realized that in the moment. All I knew was that I couldn’t stand by and watch her go without doing something to stop it. I closed my eyes as my memory threw my own words back at me. “Bugger me.”
The time for fooling myself was over. I wasn’t going to roll over and die; no matter how many of my people I lost, I’d keep fighting to the end. I was too damn stubborn to do anything but that.
Besides, we weren’t anywhere close to the end, and this was my mess to fix. Jo was right about that. The dead wouldn’t let me walk away without at least making the attempt.
Gita stirred in her bunk, waking slowly. I knew from experience Alba would sleep for another hour, as she often stayed up later than the rest of us, doing research and calculations on her smati. We would need to wake her.
I checked my own smati. The brain-computer interfaces we all had were still online. We could communicate with each other on our internal coms, but we were locked out of the bulk of the compound’s systems. Alba, of course, had found a way in past the security at the basic levels but hadn’t made it any further than that. The rest of us made do with only our internal network to avoid raising the Shen’s suspicions. It limited our communication distance, but I was planning on us all staying together so it wouldn’t be an issue.
The sun was rising. This little jungle base we were on was always moving, but the majority of the Shen would be starting their daily routines in a little over an hour. Right now they would be either groggily ending a shift or headed to one.
I’d seen as much even while I’d been lost to my grief, part of my brain cataloging the information and filing it away for a time when it would be useful.
I pushed away from the window and pulled the sheet off my bunk. Tapping on Alba’s bunk on my way by, I issued the quiet order. “Get up.”
Johar was lying on her bunk flipping a makeshift knife between her fingers. It didn’t surprise me that she had it; Johar wasn’t the type to stay unarmed for long. My movement caught her attention and she rolled to her side to watch me but didn’t say anything.
I sat on the edge of her bunk and held my hand out for her knife, cutting and then tearing the sheet into strips.
The noise roused Gita the rest of the way and she climbed from the bunk above us, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning, Majesty.”
“Good morning, Gita,” I replied, watching as my greeting caused my Ekam to stutter-step on her way to the bathroom.
“Majesty?”
“Don’t make a fuss—” My protest was muffled as Gita dropped to her knees and wrapped me into a hug.
As I hugged her back I realized that my Ekam had been grieving as much as I had. The loss of her fellow BodyGuards, of Hao, and even of her mother had to have weighed on her heart.
The latter had been killed by Wilson’s treachery not that long ago, and I knew she had to still be grieving for Clara. I did, too.
“I’m sorry.”
I waved off her apology when she released me. “I should be the one apologizing. I have not been the empress you deserve these last few weeks.”
Gita’s smile was watery. “You had every reason, Majesty. I am just glad you are back.”
There was so much hope in her words I couldn’t bring myself to argue and instead offered a smile before I returned to the destruction of my sheet.
“Majesty, what are you doing?”
“You have an escape plan, I’m assuming?” I replied, wrapping the first strip around my wrist and then my hand, covering up any piece of exposed skin.
“Nothing concrete yet, we’ve been waiting.” Gita’s exhale spoke louder than her words.
Waiting for me to wake up.
“Don’t make it too tight,” Johar said, sitting up and reaching for my arm. “You’ll limit your movement.”
My Ekam didn’t protest; instead she moved to my other side with a frown. “You’ll want your throat covered also, Majesty.” She reached for the remaining sheet and took Jo’s knife from the bed, cutting a triangular-shaped wedge and wrapping it twice around my neck. “You can pull this piece up to get some coverage on your face.”
“It’s better than nothing.” I looked at her as Johar finished tying off my other hand. “I’m surprised there’s no protest.”
“Emmory always said I indulged you too much.” Gita’s smile flickered to life, edged with pain. “But I understand this need to hit something and I’m trusting you have a reason for this beyond recklessness.”
“A shuttle came in last night. We’re right at shift change, plus the early-morning hour will help us. We need to move now.”
It took us less than ten minutes to shred the remaining sheets and protect the others. Alba had snapped awake once she realized what was happening and scrambled for the packs of food they’d stashed around the room.
“Back,” I whispered, and headed for the door. Gita, surprising me again, didn’t argue. I pulled open the door and the two Shen Aiz so charitably called escorts rather than guards came to attention. Hamah and Sere, if my memory served me right.
“Your Majesty?”
Hamah stiffened when I stepped from the room, finger creeping to the trigger on the Koros 201, the cousin weapon to the Koros 101 Aiz had shown me when we’d first been taken. It fired miniature projectiles at high speed. I hadn’t seen a demonstration of their destructive power and didn’t really want to be present for one.
“Are you feeling better? Mia asked that she be notified if you wished to see her.” Sere, the shorter of the pair, smiled at me as he spoke. “If you’ll wait here.”
Neither of them had clued in to my attire and I punched Hamah in the throat as a response, jerking up the scarf to cover the lower half of my face as I kicked Sere in the knee and dropped him to the floor. Another kick to Sere’s head knocked him out as he fell, and I brought my covered arm up to block the first guard’s swing.
It was wild; Hamah’s palm spread as he instinctively tried to find a bare patch of skin to touch instead of just leading with the force of a punch that would have stunned me had it connected. I dodged out of the way, planting my booted foot in his solar plexus, and kicked. His head hit the wall and he slid to the floor unconscious.
“Let’s move,” I said, picking up the guns and tossing one to Gita. “Alba, which way?”
She pointed to her right. “Down to the end of the hallway and right again, but there will be guards at the outside door and possibly some inside as well.”
“Is the door locked?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a shake of her head as we took off down the hallway. I glanced behind us at Gita.
“It seems unlikely,” she replied. “We couldn’t—or rather—Alba couldn’t find any programs in the base system for door locks. So they’re either unlocked or manual.”
“Either way,” Johar said. “Let me give it a good kick, we’ll be fine.”
The door when we reached it was not only not locked but not guarded, and I shared a worried look with my Ekam as we slipped into the predawn light.
“Too quiet,” she whispered as we moved around the exterior of the low-slung compound.
“Yeah.”
The Shen couldn’t have anticipated this escape. They had no way of knowing I’d come out of my stupor and—
“You will, Majesty. I’ve seen it.” Mia’s words on the bridge of her ship came back to me faster than the speed of light.
“Fuck.” I skidded to a halt as we came around the corner. Mia Cevalla stood by the shuttle, her hands folded in front of her.
“Good morning, Majesty.” She smiled a slow, knowing smile but otherwise didn’t react, even when I brought the Koros 201 up and pointed it at her.
I tugged the scarf down, moving toward her with Gita at my back. “Get out of my way. I really don’t want to shoot you, but I will if you don’t let us go.”
Mia took a deep breath, looked down at her hands and then back at me. Her second smile made my gut twist with want and I muttered a curse under my breath. I did not need this ill-timed distraction, so I kicked it back out of view where it belonged.
“Aiz will come through that door in just a moment. You should hear the ruckus he’s making on the coms. There are three ways this can play out, Your Majesty,” she said. “Kill me, get on the ship, and everyone dies. Kill me, and Gita and Alba will die in the firefight that will happen when Aiz arrives. You and Johar will survive, for a while at least. Or drop your weapons and everyone lives.”
I put my hand out, stopping Gita from bringing her own weapon up as the door to our right flew open.
“Only two options now,” Mia murmured. “I am fine, Aiz.” She put her hand up.
Aiz Cevalla was dressed only in a pair of black pants, leaving his lean torso bare, and his brown hair was disheveled as though he’d just rolled out of bed. It gave him a charming, slightly carefree appearance, but the glare he directed at me could have leveled a city block, and I was reasonably sure he could kill all of us with the pistol that was in his hand. “She broke her promise. Twice.”
“Perhaps,” Mia admitted. “It should have been expected, but you all got lazy thinking she would drift in her grief forever. Don’t be reactionary. She will apologize. I’ve already forgiven her for it.”
“Majesty.” Gita shifted just enough to put herself in between me and Aiz. “I want you to go.”
She had to have known what her words would do to me, coming on the heels of Mia’s warning. There was no way I’d let anyone else die if I had the slightest control over it.
“No.” I put my left hand up, my eyes locked on Mia as I lowered the gun to the ground. “Gita, put it down.”
For the barest of moments I didn’t think she would obey me, but finally, with her jaw muscles flexing, she slowly lowered her weapon to the ground as a host of Shen spilled out of the building.
“Crisis averted,” Mia said, and blew out a breath. “Now, Your Majesty, I was about to sit down to breakfast. Would you like to join me?”
Judging from the look Aiz shot her, he wasn’t on board with that plan, which made me more than happy to agree.
“Sure.”
“Aiz, why don’t you see Hail’s people back to their rooms. Be nice.” She gave him a look that was then transferred to me. “You didn’t kill Sere and Hamah, did you?”
“They should be fine except for the headaches,” I replied.
“Consequences for underestimating you, then, though a broken promise from you is surprising. You can apologize to me as we walk.” She turned for the door; I shared a look with Gita and then followed Mia.
I held Aiz’s gaze as I passed him. “Not a hair out of place on them,” I said.
His expression didn’t flicker. “I give you my word.”
Point to the Shen, I thought, but I had to trust he’d follow his sister’s orders and leave my people unharmed. Two losses before breakfast; at this rate you’re going to lose this game, Hail.
If we’re your prisoners my oath not to escape is pretty much useless. I’m honor-bound to get my people out of here safely, by any means necessary,” I said as Mia and I headed down the hallway.
“You’re not our prisoner.”
“Then I’m sorry for the broken oath and for the injuries. Can we go home now?” It was a strange formal dance we were doing, but it blessed me with another of her smiles.
She ignored the question. “It is good to see you feeling better, Hail. Can I call you Hail? I’d like for us to be friends.”
“Is Aiz going to retaliate against my people?”
“No.” Mia seemed so certain. “Mostly he’s mad because he was wrong and I was right. He really hates it when that happens.”
“You can see the future, like Fasé.”
“Yes.” Mia stopped at an opened doorway and gestured inside. The room was so plain as to be familiar. I’d seen concrete bunkers like this on dozens of planets in our arm of the galaxy. The only difference was most of the rooms here were circular, with curving walls and domed ceilings. “Have a seat.”
I sat at the table in the center of the room and looked over the simple spread, feeling my appetite wake up for the first time since Earth.
“This was inventive,” Mia said, tapping my wrapped arm as she sat next to me.
I somehow managed not to jerk away from her. “Your people are too focused on their advantage against a human opponent,” I replied, reaching for a dish of unfamiliar orange fruit. “It’s a weakness if you’re fighting someone intent on winning.”
Mia’s laughter was as bright as the fruit. “They are all under orders not to hurt you. That’s also something of a disadvantage.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are they not supposed to hurt me?”
“Hail,” Mia replied, and my name was an exhale, though her smile was as patient as her tone. “You are the Star of Indrana. We have not lied to you. We want your help. We want you on our side. We brought you here because leaving you on Earth was far too dangerous, especially after what happened to your embassy.”
“Who blew up my embassy?”
Mia reached for a steaming dish, spooning the purple grains into a smaller bowl. “Try this, I think you will like it.”
I took the bowl, pouring in a vanilla-scented milk from the pitcher Mia pushed my way. It was clear she wasn’t going to answer my question, so I asked a different one. “Who’s in charge?” I gestured at her with the pitcher. “On Earth it seemed as though Aiz was, but—”
“It was easier to let him be on Earth. Adora was distracted, is constantly distracted, by him. She discounts me because of who I am.” Mia lifted a shoulder and picked up the pitcher to pour milk over her own bowl. “Speaking of Aiz, he’ll go see to Hamah and Sere but then he’ll be back and won’t leave again. All I’ve really done is bought us some time alone.” Her laugh lingered in the air, tangling itself into my brain.
So much for ignoring distractions.
“If you have any questions you’d rather he not hear, now would be the time to ask them.”
“You seem awfully certain I won’t hurt you.”
“You have no reason to.” Again with the patient smile, though this time I caught the surety behind it. “And you won’t make the mistake of thinking I am defenseless.”
“Fair enough.” I took another bite, chewing as I studied her. “Are you going to answer my question? Who’s in charge?”
“We are the co-leaders of the Shen, Hail. I trust my brother and he trusts me. We make decisions together whenever we can, but there are times when it is easier to just believe the other will handle it the best way possible.”
“Who made the call to kill my people? You or him?”
Mia didn’t blink at the venom in my words. “Neither of us, Hail. I believe a man named Jamison was responsible for the destruction of your embassy.”
We’d known Jamison was there even before the embassy blew. His men had attacked the party, hounded us through the streets, blown up a shuttle and the building we’d been hiding in before finally destroying the embassy.
It appeared my long-running feud with the mercenary smuggler was reaching critical mass.
“That’s what happens when you hire shit mercenaries,” I said finally. “They do things like blow up embassies and shoot heads of state.” I struggled
THERE BEFORE THE CHAOS
“Twisty and clever and magnificent, full of political maneuvers, space action, and genuine feeling. The end broke my heart in the best sort of way. I cannot wait for the next book.”
—Beth Cato
“A perfect blend of political intrigue and realistically conveyed action.… Kick-butt women, space battles, complex relationships, and fiendish plots abound.”
—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
“Wagers achieves a rare balance of action… tension, and quiet moments, keeping pages turning while deepening the portraits of Hail and the friends and foes around her. Fans of the original trilogy will welcome Hail’s return, and any space opera reader can easily jump in here.”
—Publishers Weekly
“An exciting dose of space opera and political intrigue peppered with hard choices. Highly recommended for fans of science fiction with assertive female characters.”
—Booklist
THE INDRANAN WAR
BEHIND THE THRONE
“This debut ranks among the best political SF novels in years, largely because of the indomitable, prickly Hail.… [A] fast-paced, twisty space opera.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“Taut suspense, strong characterization, and dark, rapid-fire humor are the highlights of this excellent SF adventure debut.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Full of fast-paced action and brutal palace intrigue, starring the fiercest princess this side of Westeros.”
—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
AFTER THE CROWN
“Crown is fast paced, and its focus on a female action heroine defined by her decisions rather than romance is refreshing and fun.”
—Washington Post
“Craving a galactic adventure? K. B. Wagers’ second Indranan War novel is just the ticket.”
—Bookish
“Two books in, this series has exemplified political plotting as compelling as the badass heroine at its center.”
—B&N Sci-Fi & Fantasy Blog
BEYOND THE EMPIRE
“Nerve-wracking action on the ground and in space, dark humor, and the characters’ til-the-end loyalty to one another.… A satisfyingly thunderous end to Hail’s quest for vengeance that makes an excellent addition to any SF collection.”
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)
“Satisfying.… Wagers’s high-octane space opera trilogy… is particularly appealing for its relationships.”
—Library Journal (starred review)
“A rich tapestry of nuanced characters and a story that makes you care about them.… I can’t wait to see what she’ll do next.”
—Pop Culture Beast
“Kick ass space opera with a heart. I loved it.”
—The Eloquent Page
We’re coming up on the embassy. It looks like the mercs pulled back when the Solies flew in,” Emmory said over the com link. “Majesty—”
I jerked awake, the concussion wave of the explosion in my dream carrying into the real world in the form of my heart slamming against my rib cage. The room was dim, the early-morning light crawling in through the windows. The breathing of the other three women was rhythmic as they slept on, unaware of my nightmare.
Gita Desai had protested when I’d turned my bios off, but I was glad I’d insisted. There was no reason to wake my Ekam up night after night just because I couldn’t sleep.
My Ekam. Strange how a single word could cause so much pain.
I curled into a ball, holding in the grief that always followed on the heels of the dream. Because it wasn’t a figment of my imagination, it was my reality: My brothers were dead. Most of my BodyGuards were dead. All I had left were Gita, Johar, and Alba.
And we were in the questionable safety of Shen custody.
I’d been betrayed, taken prisoner, and dragged away from Earth. Shortly after our arrival Aiz Cevalla had tried to make it seem as though we were guests on this planet across the galaxy from home, but with no way to leave and very little freedom over the last month it was hard to believe the lie.
Prisoners or guests, either way it made little difference in the end. We were simply four people very far away from everything we’d ever known. My fury had snuffed out like an explosion exposed to the black, leaving me floundering the moment we’d touched boots down to the soil of this planet.
While the others had set to the task of finding a way to get us out of here and back to Pashati, I’d drowned in my grief over the loss of everything I knew.
I ate when my Ekam told me to, answered questions that were asked of me as the trio of women continued to plan for an escape or some way to contact home, but otherwise I stayed silent, staring out the window at the jungle beyond.
Our captors, or hosts, left us alone. They had a war to run, after all, and I got the impression that the events on Earth had caught them off guard just as badly as they had us. Or they were responsible for it all and playing the shock up for my edification. I poked at the tangled ball of details sometimes but could never seem to find the energy to grab a thread and pull.
I did not want to be alive, yet here I was. The universe was once again cold and uncaring about what I wanted—as it had been with the deaths of my parents and my sisters. This dream echoed night after night in my head, and the ghosts whispered endlessly in my ear during the day. They were my new companions, and I welcomed them into my shattered life.
A voice somewhere in the back of my head screamed at me. It scolded me for giving up. It shamed me for letting the empire down, for turning my back on everything I’d ever believed in. For betraying Hao and all the others by curling into myself instead of seeking revenge. It wanted me to get up and keep fighting, but I ignored it even more than I ignored my companions and my captors.
The ghosts who haunted me were easier to talk to. They understood that it was better for me to stay down, that fighting would only kill more people I cared about. They knew what would happen if I raged.
Baby, you should go back to sleep.
“There’s nothing to do but sleep,” I murmured back, imagining the feel of Portis’s hand in my hair as his ghost whispered in my ear.
He didn’t answer. Sometimes the ghosts spoke and vanished; other times I could have whole conversations and would look up to find Gita watching me with concern heavy in her brown eyes.
I’d mentioned it once, curious if the others were seeing the same, if I was hallucinating or being drugged. But no one else could see the figments of my slowly cracking mind, and all Gita’s scans came up clean. The Shen weren’t poisoning me. So I stopped asking and tried to pretend they weren’t there.
At least not when anyone else could see me.
I slipped from my bunk, moving slow to keep from disturbing the others, and padded my way on bare feet to the window.
The twin moons of Sparkos were setting, bathing everything in their silvery light. The jungle was filled with shadows, having one last dance in the breeze before they gave way to the pink light of sunrise. I could smell the thick salt of the sea and the heaviness of decaying vegetation seeping in around the edges of the window.
It made me miss home.
I pressed my hand to the thick pane and felt the slight give of the plastic. Johar had been diligently working on loosening the foundation of the sturdy window, and it wouldn’t be long before it would come free entirely. Then we could escape. To where I didn’t know. It felt very much like jumping from the frying pan into the fire.
“Majesty, where are you?”
I turned my head from the window at the sound of Fasé’s voice. My Farian ghost was more insistent than the others, constantly questioning my whereabouts as though she couldn’t see right where I was for herself if she’d just show her face.
My anger at her was worse than the grief. I knew it was useless to blame the dead for their failures, knew even better that it wasn’t Fasé’s fault she hadn’t seen this coming and saved us all. It was mine.
Your crew, your responsibility, little sister. Never forget that.
“Hail?”
I squeezed my eyes shut. Johar’s whisper seemed loud in comparison to Hao’s voice in my head, and the touch of her hand on my back was almost unbearable.
The former gunrunner and smuggler from Santa Pirata had chosen to stay by my side. Her plans to retire and live in my empire were a decision that had ultimately led her here with me. I would have apologized if I could have forced the words out of my throat.
“I couldn’t sleep.” It wasn’t really a lie.
“I know. It’s close enough to morning, though,” she murmured, slipping into the space next to me at the window; the warmth of her body chased away some of the graveyard chill that had settled into my bones. She smoothed her hand over my back, resting it gently on my hip and tugging me against her. “We notice it, even if we don’t say anything. Don’t need access to your bios to know you’re not sleeping.”
I didn’t want the comfort. It hammered away at the wall of grief I’d built around my rage. But my body was a traitor and leaned into Jo’s embrace before I could stop it. I wanted to curl against her, bury my face in her shoulder and weep, but if I started crying I didn’t think I’d ever stop.
“Shiva, why do the gods take the good ones and leave me here?” My hands were shaking as I curled them into fists, hating the plaintive question that slipped free.
“You are one of the good ones,” Johar said, fingers tightening on my hip. “Don’t argue with me, Hail, you know you are. I love you for it and so do your people. We’ll get out of here and go home. Then we can figure out what to do from there. Figure out who was responsible for Earth.”
Earth—the attack on the peace negotiations between the Farians and the Shen and our desperate run through the streets filled my head once more along with a burning fury.
Though no matter who’d fired the shots and blew up the embassy—Farian, Shen, mercenary—I’d been the one who brought them there. My foolish belief that I could somehow stop this brewing war between two alien races had been hubris. In the end I was responsible for the deaths of my people.
Shame burned in my throat.
“You know they’re dead, don’t you?”
Johar took a deep breath and then exhaled. “You and I have a hard time trusting to hope, Hail. We’ve seen too much. We know the miraculous survival of the crew doesn’t happen but in the stories. I don’t begrudge Alba and Gita for wanting to hold on to that flicker in the darkness, though. It’s a small comfort.”
It was no comfort for me. Jo was right, the real world didn’t give second chances and happy endings. It gave out death and grief, and bits of justice on the rarest of occasions.
I’d already had my justice; I couldn’t hope for more.
“I have led you all to disaster. Loving me is a curse none of you deserve to bear.”
Johar reached across and cupped my face with her other hand, forcing me to meet her eyes. “I have good news and bad news for you, Hail. The bad news is love doesn’t win, entropy does. We all die, the stars will explode, the Milky Way will collapse, and the universe will tear itself apart.”
She leaned in, pressing her forehead to mine. “The good news is we get to choose to love every day, which makes it even better, because it’s a choice.”
“It’s the wro—”
“Listen to me. We need you back. I understand the darkness you’ve been in for these past weeks, and none of us begrudge you it. However, it’s time you come back to us.”
“I don’t know how much of me is left.” I don’t know if you want to see this rage fly free, Jo, it might burn the whole galaxy down. Those words remained unsaid even though I shook with the effort of keeping them inside.
“There’s enough of you.” Johar smiled as she pulled away. “You’re still alive, aren’t you?”
It should have been an easy answer. My heart was beating. There was air in my lungs.
But the soul of me was gone. Gone like Hao. Like Emmory and Zin. It was nothing but ash.
“I have lost the best parts of me.”
The smile slipped off Jo’s face like water sheeting down a window in Krishan’s rainy season. “Hail,” she said again. “Don’t go out like this. You know they wouldn’t—”
“Don’t.” I stopped her with a hand on her mouth as I pulled away. “Please, don’t say it.”
I was expecting cruelty, harsh words of disappointment over how I’d let down Emmory and Zin and all the others who’d died. Instead Johar pulled me into a hug.
“I would take your pain away, if I could,” she whispered, releasing me and slipping back to her bunk as silently as she’d arrived.
I turned my face, now wet with tears, back to the window and the setting moons.
She’s right, you know. Jet rested his head on my shoulder, and I let my imagination convince me there was weight to it.
“About what?” I asked my dead BodyGuard. It felt like so long ago that Jet had died. But it had only been a little over a year since he’d sacrificed himself to save me from a bomb on a cold Pratimas day. “That love doesn’t matter? I suppose so. It only ever brings pain.”
That’s not what she said, and you know it, he countered. She’s right about them needing you. The whole galaxy needs you. You didn’t quit when Wilson had you on the ropes, don’t do it now.
“This is different.”
No, it’s not. He chuckled, lifting his head to look at me with dark gray eyes. You know it’s not, stop lying to yourself, ma’am. You got knocked down. It happens to the best of us. Get up, spit blood at them, and keep going.
Jet vanished and I rubbed the tears from my face as his words echoed in my ears.
The tears soaked into the long sleeves of the shirt I wore, leaving little wet patches on the smooth gray fabric. It was reminiscent of Fasé’s outfit in the days after she’d tried to kill herself.
The resurrection of my previous Ekam had been so taboo, so against everything Fasé had believed in as to drive her to suicide. But I’d refused to let her do it and grabbed for her hand, insisting if she was going to die she’d have to take me with her.
I won’t abandon you, not when you need me the most.
At the time I hadn’t realized she would come back. Her soul reborn on Faria. I don’t even know if she’d realized that in the moment. All I knew was that I couldn’t stand by and watch her go without doing something to stop it. I closed my eyes as my memory threw my own words back at me. “Bugger me.”
The time for fooling myself was over. I wasn’t going to roll over and die; no matter how many of my people I lost, I’d keep fighting to the end. I was too damn stubborn to do anything but that.
Besides, we weren’t anywhere close to the end, and this was my mess to fix. Jo was right about that. The dead wouldn’t let me walk away without at least making the attempt.
Gita stirred in her bunk, waking slowly. I knew from experience Alba would sleep for another hour, as she often stayed up later than the rest of us, doing research and calculations on her smati. We would need to wake her.
I checked my own smati. The brain-computer interfaces we all had were still online. We could communicate with each other on our internal coms, but we were locked out of the bulk of the compound’s systems. Alba, of course, had found a way in past the security at the basic levels but hadn’t made it any further than that. The rest of us made do with only our internal network to avoid raising the Shen’s suspicions. It limited our communication distance, but I was planning on us all staying together so it wouldn’t be an issue.
The sun was rising. This little jungle base we were on was always moving, but the majority of the Shen would be starting their daily routines in a little over an hour. Right now they would be either groggily ending a shift or headed to one.
I’d seen as much even while I’d been lost to my grief, part of my brain cataloging the information and filing it away for a time when it would be useful.
I pushed away from the window and pulled the sheet off my bunk. Tapping on Alba’s bunk on my way by, I issued the quiet order. “Get up.”
Johar was lying on her bunk flipping a makeshift knife between her fingers. It didn’t surprise me that she had it; Johar wasn’t the type to stay unarmed for long. My movement caught her attention and she rolled to her side to watch me but didn’t say anything.
I sat on the edge of her bunk and held my hand out for her knife, cutting and then tearing the sheet into strips.
The noise roused Gita the rest of the way and she climbed from the bunk above us, rubbing the sleep from her eyes.
“Good morning, Majesty.”
“Good morning, Gita,” I replied, watching as my greeting caused my Ekam to stutter-step on her way to the bathroom.
“Majesty?”
“Don’t make a fuss—” My protest was muffled as Gita dropped to her knees and wrapped me into a hug.
As I hugged her back I realized that my Ekam had been grieving as much as I had. The loss of her fellow BodyGuards, of Hao, and even of her mother had to have weighed on her heart.
The latter had been killed by Wilson’s treachery not that long ago, and I knew she had to still be grieving for Clara. I did, too.
“I’m sorry.”
I waved off her apology when she released me. “I should be the one apologizing. I have not been the empress you deserve these last few weeks.”
Gita’s smile was watery. “You had every reason, Majesty. I am just glad you are back.”
There was so much hope in her words I couldn’t bring myself to argue and instead offered a smile before I returned to the destruction of my sheet.
“Majesty, what are you doing?”
“You have an escape plan, I’m assuming?” I replied, wrapping the first strip around my wrist and then my hand, covering up any piece of exposed skin.
“Nothing concrete yet, we’ve been waiting.” Gita’s exhale spoke louder than her words.
Waiting for me to wake up.
“Don’t make it too tight,” Johar said, sitting up and reaching for my arm. “You’ll limit your movement.”
My Ekam didn’t protest; instead she moved to my other side with a frown. “You’ll want your throat covered also, Majesty.” She reached for the remaining sheet and took Jo’s knife from the bed, cutting a triangular-shaped wedge and wrapping it twice around my neck. “You can pull this piece up to get some coverage on your face.”
“It’s better than nothing.” I looked at her as Johar finished tying off my other hand. “I’m surprised there’s no protest.”
“Emmory always said I indulged you too much.” Gita’s smile flickered to life, edged with pain. “But I understand this need to hit something and I’m trusting you have a reason for this beyond recklessness.”
“A shuttle came in last night. We’re right at shift change, plus the early-morning hour will help us. We need to move now.”
It took us less than ten minutes to shred the remaining sheets and protect the others. Alba had snapped awake once she realized what was happening and scrambled for the packs of food they’d stashed around the room.
“Back,” I whispered, and headed for the door. Gita, surprising me again, didn’t argue. I pulled open the door and the two Shen Aiz so charitably called escorts rather than guards came to attention. Hamah and Sere, if my memory served me right.
“Your Majesty?”
Hamah stiffened when I stepped from the room, finger creeping to the trigger on the Koros 201, the cousin weapon to the Koros 101 Aiz had shown me when we’d first been taken. It fired miniature projectiles at high speed. I hadn’t seen a demonstration of their destructive power and didn’t really want to be present for one.
“Are you feeling better? Mia asked that she be notified if you wished to see her.” Sere, the shorter of the pair, smiled at me as he spoke. “If you’ll wait here.”
Neither of them had clued in to my attire and I punched Hamah in the throat as a response, jerking up the scarf to cover the lower half of my face as I kicked Sere in the knee and dropped him to the floor. Another kick to Sere’s head knocked him out as he fell, and I brought my covered arm up to block the first guard’s swing.
It was wild; Hamah’s palm spread as he instinctively tried to find a bare patch of skin to touch instead of just leading with the force of a punch that would have stunned me had it connected. I dodged out of the way, planting my booted foot in his solar plexus, and kicked. His head hit the wall and he slid to the floor unconscious.
“Let’s move,” I said, picking up the guns and tossing one to Gita. “Alba, which way?”
She pointed to her right. “Down to the end of the hallway and right again, but there will be guards at the outside door and possibly some inside as well.”
“Is the door locked?”
“I don’t know,” she replied with a shake of her head as we took off down the hallway. I glanced behind us at Gita.
“It seems unlikely,” she replied. “We couldn’t—or rather—Alba couldn’t find any programs in the base system for door locks. So they’re either unlocked or manual.”
“Either way,” Johar said. “Let me give it a good kick, we’ll be fine.”
The door when we reached it was not only not locked but not guarded, and I shared a worried look with my Ekam as we slipped into the predawn light.
“Too quiet,” she whispered as we moved around the exterior of the low-slung compound.
“Yeah.”
The Shen couldn’t have anticipated this escape. They had no way of knowing I’d come out of my stupor and—
“You will, Majesty. I’ve seen it.” Mia’s words on the bridge of her ship came back to me faster than the speed of light.
“Fuck.” I skidded to a halt as we came around the corner. Mia Cevalla stood by the shuttle, her hands folded in front of her.
“Good morning, Majesty.” She smiled a slow, knowing smile but otherwise didn’t react, even when I brought the Koros 201 up and pointed it at her.
I tugged the scarf down, moving toward her with Gita at my back. “Get out of my way. I really don’t want to shoot you, but I will if you don’t let us go.”
Mia took a deep breath, looked down at her hands and then back at me. Her second smile made my gut twist with want and I muttered a curse under my breath. I did not need this ill-timed distraction, so I kicked it back out of view where it belonged.
“Aiz will come through that door in just a moment. You should hear the ruckus he’s making on the coms. There are three ways this can play out, Your Majesty,” she said. “Kill me, get on the ship, and everyone dies. Kill me, and Gita and Alba will die in the firefight that will happen when Aiz arrives. You and Johar will survive, for a while at least. Or drop your weapons and everyone lives.”
I put my hand out, stopping Gita from bringing her own weapon up as the door to our right flew open.
“Only two options now,” Mia murmured. “I am fine, Aiz.” She put her hand up.
Aiz Cevalla was dressed only in a pair of black pants, leaving his lean torso bare, and his brown hair was disheveled as though he’d just rolled out of bed. It gave him a charming, slightly carefree appearance, but the glare he directed at me could have leveled a city block, and I was reasonably sure he could kill all of us with the pistol that was in his hand. “She broke her promise. Twice.”
“Perhaps,” Mia admitted. “It should have been expected, but you all got lazy thinking she would drift in her grief forever. Don’t be reactionary. She will apologize. I’ve already forgiven her for it.”
“Majesty.” Gita shifted just enough to put herself in between me and Aiz. “I want you to go.”
She had to have known what her words would do to me, coming on the heels of Mia’s warning. There was no way I’d let anyone else die if I had the slightest control over it.
“No.” I put my left hand up, my eyes locked on Mia as I lowered the gun to the ground. “Gita, put it down.”
For the barest of moments I didn’t think she would obey me, but finally, with her jaw muscles flexing, she slowly lowered her weapon to the ground as a host of Shen spilled out of the building.
“Crisis averted,” Mia said, and blew out a breath. “Now, Your Majesty, I was about to sit down to breakfast. Would you like to join me?”
Judging from the look Aiz shot her, he wasn’t on board with that plan, which made me more than happy to agree.
“Sure.”
“Aiz, why don’t you see Hail’s people back to their rooms. Be nice.” She gave him a look that was then transferred to me. “You didn’t kill Sere and Hamah, did you?”
“They should be fine except for the headaches,” I replied.
“Consequences for underestimating you, then, though a broken promise from you is surprising. You can apologize to me as we walk.” She turned for the door; I shared a look with Gita and then followed Mia.
I held Aiz’s gaze as I passed him. “Not a hair out of place on them,” I said.
His expression didn’t flicker. “I give you my word.”
Point to the Shen, I thought, but I had to trust he’d follow his sister’s orders and leave my people unharmed. Two losses before breakfast; at this rate you’re going to lose this game, Hail.
If we’re your prisoners my oath not to escape is pretty much useless. I’m honor-bound to get my people out of here safely, by any means necessary,” I said as Mia and I headed down the hallway.
“You’re not our prisoner.”
“Then I’m sorry for the broken oath and for the injuries. Can we go home now?” It was a strange formal dance we were doing, but it blessed me with another of her smiles.
She ignored the question. “It is good to see you feeling better, Hail. Can I call you Hail? I’d like for us to be friends.”
“Is Aiz going to retaliate against my people?”
“No.” Mia seemed so certain. “Mostly he’s mad because he was wrong and I was right. He really hates it when that happens.”
“You can see the future, like Fasé.”
“Yes.” Mia stopped at an opened doorway and gestured inside. The room was so plain as to be familiar. I’d seen concrete bunkers like this on dozens of planets in our arm of the galaxy. The only difference was most of the rooms here were circular, with curving walls and domed ceilings. “Have a seat.”
I sat at the table in the center of the room and looked over the simple spread, feeling my appetite wake up for the first time since Earth.
“This was inventive,” Mia said, tapping my wrapped arm as she sat next to me.
I somehow managed not to jerk away from her. “Your people are too focused on their advantage against a human opponent,” I replied, reaching for a dish of unfamiliar orange fruit. “It’s a weakness if you’re fighting someone intent on winning.”
Mia’s laughter was as bright as the fruit. “They are all under orders not to hurt you. That’s also something of a disadvantage.”
“Why?”
“Why what?”
“Why are they not supposed to hurt me?”
“Hail,” Mia replied, and my name was an exhale, though her smile was as patient as her tone. “You are the Star of Indrana. We have not lied to you. We want your help. We want you on our side. We brought you here because leaving you on Earth was far too dangerous, especially after what happened to your embassy.”
“Who blew up my embassy?”
Mia reached for a steaming dish, spooning the purple grains into a smaller bowl. “Try this, I think you will like it.”
I took the bowl, pouring in a vanilla-scented milk from the pitcher Mia pushed my way. It was clear she wasn’t going to answer my question, so I asked a different one. “Who’s in charge?” I gestured at her with the pitcher. “On Earth it seemed as though Aiz was, but—”
“It was easier to let him be on Earth. Adora was distracted, is constantly distracted, by him. She discounts me because of who I am.” Mia lifted a shoulder and picked up the pitcher to pour milk over her own bowl. “Speaking of Aiz, he’ll go see to Hamah and Sere but then he’ll be back and won’t leave again. All I’ve really done is bought us some time alone.” Her laugh lingered in the air, tangling itself into my brain.
So much for ignoring distractions.
“If you have any questions you’d rather he not hear, now would be the time to ask them.”
“You seem awfully certain I won’t hurt you.”
“You have no reason to.” Again with the patient smile, though this time I caught the surety behind it. “And you won’t make the mistake of thinking I am defenseless.”
“Fair enough.” I took another bite, chewing as I studied her. “Are you going to answer my question? Who’s in charge?”
“We are the co-leaders of the Shen, Hail. I trust my brother and he trusts me. We make decisions together whenever we can, but there are times when it is easier to just believe the other will handle it the best way possible.”
“Who made the call to kill my people? You or him?”
Mia didn’t blink at the venom in my words. “Neither of us, Hail. I believe a man named Jamison was responsible for the destruction of your embassy.”
We’d known Jamison was there even before the embassy blew. His men had attacked the party, hounded us through the streets, blown up a shuttle and the building we’d been hiding in before finally destroying the embassy.
It appeared my long-running feud with the mercenary smuggler was reaching critical mass.
“That’s what happens when you hire shit mercenaries,” I said finally. “They do things like blow up embassies and shoot heads of state.” I struggled
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