The Ophelia Prophecy (35 page)

“I get your woman out of Granada and this is how you talk to me?” Iris scolded. “I’m not allowed even a little bit of fun?”

“
Banshee
got her out of Granada,” he pointed out, striding up Asha’s ramp now.

Overwhelmed with surprise and relief, she stood rooted to the spot. Pax bore down on her and swept her into his arms. His mouth came down on hers, and she struggled for breath before he was through.

She shoved at his chest. “Wait—what—let me
breathe
!”

He drew back, beaming at her, brushing her cheek with his thumb.

“Where’s my father?” she cried.

“Right here, honey.”

Pax released her, and she ran down the ramp and threw her arms around her father. “Are you okay? Did Micah get out?”

“I’m here too.” Micah and Carrick had appeared on Calista’s ramp.

“Thank God you’re okay,” murmured her father. “Smart girl. Clear-headed as always.”

She laughed as he released her. “I have no idea what’s going on—why I’m here, or why any of you are. I thought the amir sold me to Cleo, and I ended up on Banshee because of a failed memory wipe.”

Pax joined them, slipping an arm around her waist. “All of that’s true, actually. Iris ordered memory wipes for both ships when we arrived in Granada. She and I both had secrets, and there was some twitchy AI behavior to justify the wipes. The techs changed the names, according to procedure, but then realized they needed my approval for Banshee’s wipe. By the time they contacted Iris to inform her, she’d made other plans.”

Asha stared at him, baffled. “I don’t understand. Whose side is Iris on?”

“On my brother’s side,” said Iris, sober now. “Always.”

“Cleo tried to use Iris and our father to get back at us for what happened in Al Campo,” Pax explained, “and to get control of my father’s fleet. Iris decided to use
her
instead. She knew Cleo warned our father about the alliance in exchange for you and for a ship to get out of the city. After what happened when you were on board, Iris believed Banshee would protect you.” He lifted a dark brow at his sister. “I thought she’d left a pretty alarming amount to chance.”

Iris folded her arms, suppressing a grin. “Ye of little faith.”

“Iris was right,” said Asha, staring at her ally in wonder. “Banshee was watching out for your interests, and she got the idea that meant watching out for me too.”

Pax pulled her close again, nibbling at her ear. “Then Banshee got the right idea.”

“What about Al Campo?” Asha asked, trying to stave him off until she could get her questions answered. “Was there fighting?”

“A little,” her father chimed in. “Micah took refuge from the amir in Bone Town. He and I worked together to organize the disciples, who were armed, and unlike Cleo had not abandoned our agreement.”

“The fighting didn’t last long though,” said Pax. “Iris had gotten to Micah before the amir did, and together they managed to get control of the fleet.”

“Don’t make it out to be more than it was,” said Micah. “Iris has a high level of clearance. This isn’t something the amir ever anticipated.”

“So what will happen to them now?” Asha asked. “The people still in Bone Town, I mean.”

“There’s nobody left in Bone Town,” said Pax. Asha’s stomach clenched, but then he glanced skyward.

“You brought them with you!”

It was more than mildly unsettling how close that crazy old woman had come to the mark. Asha had always assumed it was meant to be some kind of symbolism. But there they were. Glittering ships full of allies against Manti domination—some of them Manti, some of them human.

“Arrows of fire,” said Micah.

She smiled at him. “I can’t believe it.”

Pax pulled her close, slipping his fingers into her hair. “Is that enough answers for a Manti expert?” he murmured against her neck.

She raised his face to hers and kissed him once, very softly. “Oh no. I’ve only begun to examine that subject.”

He grinned and kissed her again, and they melted into each other—lips, tongues, arms, chests, hips—until she felt desperate to get him alone.

But she righted herself, blinked a couple times to clear her head, and asked, “Are we in danger?”

“Absolutely,” replied Pax. “Though maybe not right this minute.”

“What will your father do?”

“Nothing anytime soon. We’ve made off with his entire fleet.”

She stared at him. “Doesn’t he have other ships?”

“Cargo ships. Nothing with fighter capabilities. We’ve believed for years we were safe from threats from the outside.” He winked at her. “We were, until you came along.”

Iris snorted, but held her tongue.

“Don’t get me wrong,” said Pax, “he’s mad as hell. And he’s going to build more ships. But that’s going to take time. In the meantime we’ll try using our new resources to negotiate something better than another war.”

“Hark?” Everyone turned at the sound of a new voice.

“Zee?” answered her father.

The woman had arrived at the reservoir in one of the quiet little electric carts. Her cropped platinum hair glowed like a beacon in the sun.

Asha noticed Iris had targeted Zee with her gun. “It’s okay, she’s a friend.”

“Okay,” said Iris, but she didn’t lower the gun.

Zee jumped out of the driver’s seat and took a couple of halting steps before freezing. “I knew it,” she called. “When I saw all the ships, I
knew
it.”

Asha’s father stepped toward her and then stopped and glanced back.

“Go, Dad,” she urged.

He took off, and Zee ran to meet him. He embraced her and lifted her off the ground.

“Who is that?” asked Pax.

“It’s complicated. Crazy complicated. I’ll explain later.”

Pax bent and began nibbling her ear again, raising chill bumps on her arms.

“Pax,” called Iris, “we need to figure out where we’re going to base.”

“We don’t need to figure it out
now
,” he grumbled. Asha gasped as he lifted her off her feet. “You call me if you see the villagers running over the hill with pitchforks.”

“If you think we’re going to stand out here watching the sun go down while you—”

“I don’t think that,” he called, carrying Asha up Banshee’s ramp. “I think you’re going to come get your mother off my ship while I interrogate this prisoner. Better bring the priest, too—that mate of hers is big.”

“Paxton!” yelled Iris.

“Do you think if I ignore her she’ll stop making so much noise?” Pax asked.

“I doubt it.”

“Then let’s go where we can’t hear her.”

“I like the way you think.”

As they boarded the ship, she glanced at her father, who was mercifully too occupied with his reunion with Zee to notice his daughter being carried off by a Manti prince for what would no doubt turn out to be a reunion much more carnal in nature.

Before she returned her attention to the place she most wanted it to be, she noticed a figure standing on the hill just east of the reservoir. A wispy figure, cotton dress billowing in the breeze, with a vast quantity of silver hair.

She lost sight of the woman as Pax carried her through the corridor to his quarters. He laid her across the bed on her stomach, slowly lifting her tunic. He bent and gently kissed her wounded lower back.

“It’s healing well, Ash. There won’t be more than a faint scar.”

“Have I told you how much I love it when you call me that?”

“You have now.” He trailed kisses up her back. “Mmmm … for a second I thought you were going to say something else,” he murmured.

“Like what?”

“I’m not going to tell you. I want the credit for myself.”

“Credit?”

“For being the one to say it first. I need to be able to remind you of that every time you get fed up with me being a bastard and threaten to leave.”

“You haven’t said much of anything yet,” she pointed out, but instead of the teasing tone she was going for, her voice trembled.

She felt his hands at her hips, and he tugged down her pants, slipping them over her thighs and then off. He bent over her again, and she felt him rearranging his own clothing.

Her whole body lit up with anticipation, and she felt him slide slowly between her legs.

“Aaaaah,” she sighed as he pushed right up against her, filling her.

He nuzzled the back of her neck. “I figured something out when they took you away from me.”

“What’s that?” she breathed.

“I love you, Ash. I’ve known it for a while. I thought I was going crazy.”

She smiled. “They’re sort of the same thing, I think.” Arching her hips against his, she added, “Keep going with your interrogation and I might just confess how I feel about you.”

TOR BOOKS BY SHARON LYNN FISHER

Ghost Planet

The Ophelia Prophecy

Praise for
Ghost Planet

“An absorbing and exciting story full of science, sex, and intriguing plot twists.”

—
Publishers Weekly

“Fisher offers a pitch-perfect balance of a cohesive scientific vision with poignant, naked emotion.”

—
RT Book Reviews

“I have a winner! This is a really fun sci-fi romance—with a very cool setup and characters—that I couldn’t put down.… I loved it!”

—Felicia Day, actress, blogger, and geek

“A won’t-let-you-go story … Hooked me right up front and kept on twisting and turning all the way to the satisfying end. Fantastic! A wonderful read!”

—Kat Richardson, national bestselling author of the Greywalker paranormal detective novels

“A heartfelt science-fiction romance with an intriguing mystery, an accessible what-if concept, and a whole lotta chemistry.”

—
Heroes and Heartbreakers

“Grabs you right from the start and doesn’t let go. An entrancing, addicting read, it keeps you on the edge of your seat with a fresh and fascinating take on the human/alien problem, while at the same time it seduces you with a poignant love story. It’s a psychological thriller, a science-fiction adventure, and an endearing romance all rolled up in one. Highly recommended!”

—Linnea Sinclair, award-winning author of the Dock Five Universe series

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

An RWA RITA Award finalist and a three-time RWA Golden Heart Award finalist, Sharon Lynn Fisher lives in the Pacific Northwest. She writes books for the geeky at heart—sci-fi flavored stories full of adventure and romance—and battles writerly angst with baked goods, Irish tea, and champagne. Her works include
Ghost Planet
(2012),
The Ophelia Prophecy
(2014), and
Echo 8
(Available in 2015).

This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously.

THE OPHELIA PROPHECY

Copyright © 2014 by Sharon Lynn Fisher

All rights reserved.

Cover art by Juliana Kolesova

A Tor Book

Published by Tom Doherty Associates, LLC

175 Fifth Avenue

New York, NY 10010

www.tor-forge.com

Tor
®
is a registered trademark of Tom Doherty Associates, LLC.

The Library of Congress has cataloged the print edition as follows:

Fisher, Sharon Lynn.

    The Ophelia Prophecy / Sharon Lynn Fisher.—1st Ed.

        p. cm.

    “A Tom Doherty Associates Book.”

    ISBN 978-0-7653-7418-9 (trade paperback)

    ISBN 978-1-4299-6055-7 (e-book)

    1.  Science fiction.   I.  Title.

PS3606.I7769O64 2014

813'.6—dc23

2013025944

e-ISBN 9781429960557

First Edition: April 2014