Fated Blades
- Автор: Эндрюс Илона
- Серия: Kinsmen #3
- Год: 2021
- Язык: английский
- Год: Montlake
- ISBN: 9781662500435
- Жанр: Любовно-фантастические романы
Электронная книга - «Fated Blades». Краткое содержание книги:
At first glance, the planet Rada seems like a lush paradise. But the ruling families, all boasting genetically enhanced abilities, are in constant competition for power―and none more so than the Adlers and the Baenas. For generations, the powerful families have pushed and pulled each other in a dance for dominance.
Until a catastrophic betrayal from within changes everything.
Now, deadly, disciplined, and solitary leaders Ramona Adler and Matias Baena must put aside their enmity and work together in secret to prevent sinister forces from exploiting universe-altering technology. Expecting to suffer through their uneasy alliance, Ramona and Matias instead discover that they understand each other as no one in their families can―and that their combined skills may eclipse the risks of their forbidden alliance.
As the two warriors risk their lives to save their families, they must decide whether to resist or embrace the passion simmering between them. For now, the dance between their families continues―but just one misstep could spell the end of them both. (less)
He wanted to feel it again, the invisible current that bound them into one.
“We need to try this with seco,” he finally managed.
“Not yet.” She grinned at him. “I’ve grown fond of you, Baena, but slicing off parts of you to keep as souvenirs would be a step too far.”
He motioned to her with his hand. “Come.”
She laughed softly and raised her arms above her head.
CHAPTER 8
Karion stared at them from the screen of Ramona’s tablet. Matias had managed to rig a makeshift terminal using her tablet and the portable power supply. The signal was weak, but it was better than trying to carry on a three-way conversation via messages through the implants.
They had just finished almost five hours of dancing. Matias’s face gleamed with sweat. His hair was damp—he had emptied his water bottle over his head. She knew her own face was flushed. She sat on the edge of the terrace, clearly out of breath.
Her brother raised one eyebrow at her. Of all of them, he resembled their mother the most, with nearly black hair, narrow features, and a dangerous edge.
He glanced at Matias, then back at her. His face remained neutral, but she saw concern in his blue eyes. Ramona hid a smile. No matter how old she was, Karion would always see her as a five-year-old tagging along with him on his older-brother adventures.
“Would you like me to give you two some privacy?” Matias asked.
“No,” she said. “We’re in this together.”
Karion looked directly at her. Having come to terms with Matias’s existence, he decided to ignore him. “I found the assholes. You were right—they booked an entire hotel.”
“Which one?” Ramona asked.
“You’re going to love this. They’re holed up in the Kamen.”
She laughed.
Adra was full of hotels. From small and seedy to huge and palatial, they dotted the city, but the Kamen was special. It was the smallest of the seven hotels in Stone City, the historic district where buildings were carved into the red stone cliffs.
The screen split, and the Kamen appeared on the right side. The front wall of the hotel emerged from the living rock of a towering mountain, fifty meters tall and consisting of three oversize floors. Ornate columns flanked the two entrances and rose high to hug a third-floor balcony large enough to host a small wedding. Those entrances were the only way in or out of the hotel. Everything except the front facade was blocked by the mountain.
Two walls, each thirty-two meters tall and six meters wide, thrust from the sides of the hotel, cut into the mountain. A stone plaza lay between them. Each of the seven Stone City hotels faced one, flanked on the sides by tall walls. During the festival, the plazas hosted the dances, a different dance for each hotel. Dancing groups made their circuit, moving from one location to the next, while tourists watched them from the walls and VIPs viewed their performances from hotel balconies cut into the living rock.
The Kamen was an easy place to defend and a horrible place to escape from. It was also in high demand during the festival, booked months in advance.
“How the hell did they book the entire place?” she wondered.
Karion looked at Matias.
“Drewery.” Matias spat out the name like it tasted rotten.
“He made some sort of deal with the owners. They canceled all reservations, citing ‘state needs.’ They’re likely regretting it now, since the senator’s dirty laundry is being aired over every news channel. Two Senate investigations have been announced.”
“The Vandals must have paid an exorbitant amount for the hotel,” she guessed.
Matias leaned forward. “Did they book the walls?”
Karion kept looking at her. “The Kamen is privately owned, but the walls belong to the city. Those spots were booked directly through Adra’s festival commission. Some of them were awarded as prizes for cultural achievements and contributions to the city. Drewery couldn’t touch them.”
Her brother allowed himself a narrow predatory smile. “It gets better. During the festival the two tunnels leading to the walls to the hotel are closed. The spectators have to enter from the street via a staircase, and the city’s security forces keep the foot traffic out. Unless you’re on the list, you’re not getting on those walls.”
That meant no Vandals would be shooting at them from the top of the walls.
“However, there are sitting galleries on both sides of the plaza, on the ground level,” Karion continued. “They are reserved for guests of the hotel. If you enter that plaza, you will be fired upon from both sides and the hotel itself. It will be a killing box.”
“Can we get a spot on the walls?” Ramona asked.
“Are you worried about the spectators?” Karion asked.
“I’m worried that the Vandals will try to shoot their way to higher ground once we start killing them. The city’s security is expecting drunk tourists trying to crash the party and dance with the pretty people. They’re not prepared for mass murderers in combat armor carrying burst rifles. I want to put someone on those staircases.”
For all his perceived power, Drewery was not a kinsman. The provinces ran on favors, and the old kinsmen families had a lot of influence.
Karion rubbed his face, thinking. “Uncle Sabor would be your best bet. He should have enough clout, but he’d only do it if you asked him.”
“I’ll make the call,” she told him.
“I think you should reconsider this plan,” Karion said. “The risk is too high.”
“We don’t have a choice,” Ramona said. “We must recover the tech, and hitting them at the hotel is the only way to minimize casualties.”
Her brother glanced at Matias.
“Just say it,” she said.
“There are fifty-four Vandal ‘asylum seekers’ staying at the Kamen. And an off-worlder.”
Suddenly she was uneasy. “Name?”
“Lukas Dunlap-Whitaker.”
The name lashed her like a whip.
Matias clenched his jaw for a moment, the line of his mouth hard. “Varden got himself a pet secare.”
Karion ignored him. “Lukas lists himself as a mercenary. He isn’t. He is a killer for hire. He’s been doing this for forty years, and he’s very good at it. Two hundred and twelve confirmed kills to his name. Four of them secare. He actively looks for secare jobs. He likes eliminating us.”
Damn it. “Thank you,” she said.
“Think about it carefully. You remember what Ray wrote in his notes.”
“Ray wrote a lot of things,” she said.
“‘The secare are wolves who know only war and murder,’” Karion quoted. “We are not wolves, Ramona. We are dogs. We still bite and rip, but only when we have to, because we made a nice life for ourselves on this planet. That man is a wolf. Some things are not worth dying for. I sent you the roster of the guests on the wall. I’ll wait for your decision.”
Her brother touched his fingertips to his lips, brushed his forehead, and the screen went dark.
She checked the file through her implant, looking at a row of spectator names. Damn. She closed her eyes for a long moment. There was no way to win. Everything she had worked so hard for was teetering on the edge of a cliff, and she didn’t know how to keep it from falling.
“Talk to me,” Matias said.
“First, we still have the issue of civilian casualties. How many people have you killed, Matias? I’m not talking about when you were in space. How many people have you killed on Rada, with your seco?”
“Counting the Vandals?”
“Yes.”
“Twenty-four. Two in an isolated incident of industrial espionage, another three because an idiot decided to make his name by attacking me in public and his bodyguards jumped in, and the rest of the people I killed during the feud with the Vinogradov clan. They tested me after I took over the family.”