Racing Hearts (Shadow Quest 4.5)

Racing Hearts

(A Shadow Quest Short)

By

Kiersten Fay

Copyright © 2013 by Kiersten Fay

www.kierstenfay.com

All rights reserved.

This book is a work of fiction. All of
the characters, names, and events portrayed in this novel are
products of the author’s imagination.

License Notes:

This ebook is licensed for your
personal enjoyment only, and may not be re-sold, copied, or given
away to other people.

Thank you for respecting the author’s
hard work.

Priya stepped onto the solid metal
platform of the dismal spaceport. Musty, reused air flooded her
lungs, along with the scent of rust and sweat. Gripping her luggage
handle in one fist, she thanked the transport ship’s steward before
striding forward in search of her next destination.

As she wound through a crowd of
roughnecks, she noticed a pattern of stains on the dark-green
bulkhead to her left, probably from a recent brawl. A good one by
the looks of it.

The domed ceiling provided a murky view
of space. She squinted past the thick film of grime to see another
ship pulling in where hers had just departed. A few more ships were
lined up behind it, waiting to unload passengers.

A masculine voice sounded from behind.
“Do you need a guide, sweetie?”

She rolled her eyes and turned around,
keeping her right side angled away from him. Usually, that was the
side she wore her pulsar gun, but according to the rules of this
particular establishment, she was not allowed to keep a weapon on
her immediate person. She could, however, stow it in her bag for
easy access.

In place of her security work belt
she’d tied a stylish strip of fabric over her brown tunic dress
with burgundy stripes that matched her hair.

The man lowered his eyes to her bare
legs and black knee-high boots with obvious interest. His features
weren’t terrible, but he wouldn’t win any beauty contests. His nose
had clearly been broken more than once. His dark hair was a mess.
And when he peered back up at her face, he grinned, revealing a
full set of crooked teeth.

Schooling her features, she replied,
“I’m looking for a ship—”

“I got a ship,” he interrupted with
innuendo buried in the layers of his voice.

An entourage of onlookers chortled.
With their matching stained uniform and equally unkempt hair, they
had the appearance of grunt workers.

“A tiny one, no doubt,” she countered
and then smirked when his mouth fell into a petulant
frown.

His friends guffawed and one slapped
him on the back. These weren’t bad men, just products of a hard
life and a serious lack of civilized influence. Not that she was
any better. She’d practically been raised in places like
this.

“The craft I seek is about to be
entered in Phase Nine. I’ve been petitioned to join the
crew.”

The laughing cut off and a round of
brows shot up. Their surprise was natural, not because she was a
woman entering the most dangerous competition in the known
universe.

No. Even the most hardened of men would
have received incredulous looks. Few who enter Phase Nine would
live to see its finish. The race had few rules and spanned vast
distances of space. A ship without a good crew wouldn’t be expected
to last long at all.

Ah, but she wasn’t joining just any
crew. She would be captained by a man who had not only run the race
before, but had won it. And she fully intended to be with him when
he did it again.

Silently, two of the men pointed toward
a corridor while the others continued to gape.

She nodded in thanks and headed toward
direction they’d indicated.

After a few steps, the first man called
out, “Pray, tell me your name, beautiful lady, so I can cheer for
you.”

Not bothering to look back, she replied
with a wave of her hand, “You’ll just have to watch the show.” It
was the thing people loved most about Phase Nine. Strategically
placed cameras throughout the race would provide entertainment to
over thirty planets and countless space cities. Every fifty years,
it became a universal obsession. People quit jobs just to
watch.

The wide passageway was crowded with
people trying to get through, and she had to push her way into the
crowd. After getting knocked around by a few careless shoulders,
she found herself in a much larger room where vendors offered
supplies to a slew of stationed ships. She counted fifteen. The
high ceilings permitted them to be flown to loading dock at the far
end.

The pungent odor of oil seeped into her
nostrils. Many of the ships were in a state of disarray as workers
rushed to make them ready for the long flight to come.

To her right, people lined up to
register for the competition. Anyone had the privilege to enter and
nearly every planet encouraged participation. It was the few
activates that brought both the allied and disjointed sects
together.

A lift vehicle rumbled by, honking as
people made a path. Over the chaos, she spotted the appreciable,
dark-brown hair of her soon to be captain, Aidan. It had been cut
short since she’d last seen him. He stood with a small group of men
next the open hatch of a ship. She assumed the craft would be her
new home for the duration of the race.

She could hardly contain her excitement
as she crossed the great room. A few months ago, Aidan had
surprised her by showing up at Uli Rings, where, until recently,
she’d had a nice, cushy job as head of security. The massive space
city was a popular tourist destination, made up of three giant
rings that spun to simulate gravity. She’d hoped to take him out
for a drink and catch up, maybe offer him a job, but he hadn’t had
the time.

Then a few weeks ago she’d received a
transmission from Aidan to get her ass to the North Star spaceport
and prepare for Phase Nine.

She’d sat back in her expensive office
chair, stunned to the core. An hour later she was shoving clothes
into a large duffel bag with the tags still attached.

When Aidan caught sight of her, he
rushed forward to clasp her in a bone-crushing hug. His massive
arms held her up as though she were light as a pea. “Priya! Thanks
for coming.”

As her feet met the ground again, she
couldn’t help but tease, “You know, I received three more offers,
besides yours. Pretty good ones too.”

“Aw, and you chose me above all others?
I’m flattered,” he replied with a smirk and offered to take her
heavy bag.

Glad to be rid of its weight, she
handed it over. “Don’t be. I was considering not coming at all.”
Lie. Although, she wouldn’t have answered any other call but his.
Or have traveled so far just to risk her life.

“Tell me,” she said. “Why in the name
of the gods are you entering Phase Nine under the banner of the
Legura Dragon Clan? Since when does your clan mingle with theirs?”
When she’d received the news, she’d been taken aback. Though their
respective planets share a solar system, their cultures were quite
different.

“It’s a long story,” he replied,
looking frustrated. “I’ll tell you about it later.”

At his back, three men stood observing,
one of which was a stranger to Priya. With a smile, she approached
Asher and Zeek. Seeing them brought her back to a time when she was
truly happy—when they had all worked together as mercenaries on a
POS, rust bucket of a ship. Only one other face was missing from
the reunion. But she knew if she saw him, her joy would turn
sour.

She greeted her old crewmates with big,
squeezing hugs. In turn, they messed her hair with a rough, playful
palm, effectively ruining her sleek braid.

She slapped their hands away with
irritation and undid the tie to run her fingers through her
now-tangled locks. “In some corners of space, people get shot for
that,” she chastised.

They only laughed.

“You two haven’t changed at all,” she
grumbled.

“Have too,” Zeek protested. “Check this
out.” He lifted his sleeve to reveal dark ink against his otherwise
tan skin. The tattoo was outlined in red as if it were still
healing. It was the image of a buxom, black-haired lady looking
over her shoulder, hand covering her mouth as her obscenely short
skirt rode up to offer a peek of white panties.

“Classy, Zeek.”

He gave her a boyish grin that was
accentuated by his short blond hair and stormy blue
eyes.

Turning to Asher, she asked, “How about
you, Ash? Any tattoos?”

She knew better. Ash’s skin was as
tough as metal, with the hint of a metallic sheen. Most needles
couldn’t penetrate it. His pewter, chin length hair was tough as
well. As a game, he used to pluck a strand and challenge them all
to try and rip it apart with their bare hands. No one had ever
succeeded, but they continued to try anyway.

Asher’s hypnotic silver eyes pinned her
with a dubious expression. “No tattoos, Priya. How about you?” He
wiggled his brows suggestively.

“None that you’re ever going to get to
see.”

Typical masculine curiosity covered
both their faces. She couldn’t prevent her impish grin. The third
man cleared his throat, drawing her attention. She gasped. Legura
royalty?

Aidan introduced him. “This is Prince
Lear of the Legura Clan. He’ll be joining us.”

Lear bowed respectfully. A black strand
of his hair fell over his face as he cooed, “My lady.” Seeing her
jaw locked in surprise, he added, “Now doona be intimidated by my
rugged good looks.” His accent was thick and sounded nothing like
Aidan’s.

She scoffed and crossed her arms. “Have
you ever worked on a ship, kingy?” She recalled learning from Aidan
that the Dragons had been one of the first races to enter space.
Many of the known languages had branched off of theirs, and they
had connections or treaties with nearly every amiable
planet.

Lear cocked his head and said
confidently, “I am no’ without skill. And I’m no king.”

That was obvious by the way he stood.
He held himself more like a warrior than royalty.

She faced Aidan. “Is this the whole
crew then?”

Aidan took on a guilty expression and
ducked his head. A deep sense of foreboding dug a pit in her
stomach. She’d seen that look before.

Scrubbing a hand over the back of his
neck, he stumbled over his words. “Uh…well…about that—”

From within ship’s hatch, a deep voice
cut in, “The craft is tight, Aidan, but needs some
work.”

Recognition hit her like a slap to the
face and she sank under a wave of nausea. Her heart twisted
painfully, and she unconsciously brought her hand over her chest as
if that would save her.

Vin emerged from the hatch wiping
grease from his hands with a dirty cloth. His grey tank top was
equally stained, but no matter how ragged his clothing, it could
not detract from his awe-inspiring physique. He was built like a
machine. And made love like one too.

She forced the thought out of her mind
and struggled to keep it from reentering.

The moment Vin noticed her, he froze
mid-step. His arms dropped to his sides. He seemed to
deflate.

She ignored the pang that caused in her
chest.

“Oh, hell no.” Priya snatched her bag
from Aidan and stalked away. She didn’t quite know where she meant
to go. Anywhere but here would do.

“Wait.” Aidan grabbed her by the arm.
“I won’t stop you if you really want to go, but take a day or two
to think about it. The entry deadline is in three days. I’d like
you both on my team.”

She ripped her arm free and snapped,
“You should have told me he was here.” Her hand began to sting from
clenching the bag, and she forced herself to ease her
hold.

“I wasn’t sure if either of you would
show,” he explained. “But if I had mentioned he might be here,
would you have come?”

“No,” she said honestly.

Aidan remained silent for a moment.
“I’ve rented you a room. Promise me you’ll go and sleep on
it.”