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Our Dark Stars
by Audrey Grey & Krystal Wade
While she sleeps, the whole universe changes.
Princess Talia Starchaser has it all. Wealth. Status. Adoring citizens. But on the eve of her eighteenth birthday, she’s forced to publicly betray her best friend, a companion mock she’s had since birth, setting events into motion that lead to the destruction of the humans, and the princess floating through space, a remnant of a time when humans ruled over droids.
One hundred years later, half-mock captain Will Perrault and his ragtag crew discover a device floating in space. When a very human Talia emerges from its depths, Will suspects she’s the key to buying his way back into the regiment he once commanded against the last remaining rebel humans—and the ruling mock queen’s good graces.
Both Talia and Will would rather get space-tossed than trust one another, but with the queen’s forces chasing them across the galaxy and the fate of both worlds hanging in the balance, they’ll forge the unlikeliest of alliances to survive.
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• Publisher: Blaze Publishing
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Provided is a
conversation between the two main characters, Will Perrault and Talia
Starchaser, after he finds her cryopod in space.
“I
gave you a direct order to help Leo in the kitchen,” Will said, his voice
steady despite his annoyance. “Perhaps you didn’t hear me?”
Flesher,
of course. A mock would never act so silly.
Provided is a
conversation between the two main characters, Will Perrault and Talia
Starchaser, after he finds her cryopod in space.
“I
gave you a direct order to help Leo in the kitchen,” Will said, his voice
steady despite his annoyance. “Perhaps you didn’t hear me?”
She
actually had the nerve to roll her eyes. “No, I did. I just ignored you.”
Her
gall left him speechless. Was she deranged? Maybe her time in the pod had left
her half-crazy. He drew in a deep breath and waited until his urge to space-toss
her faded before speaking. “You realize I could have you whipped for that?”
Closing
her eyes, she settled into the mattress and shoved the pillow behind her head.
“I’d like to see you try.”
Despite
the anger tightening his muscles, twinges of a smile lifted his cheeks. Who in
the hell did she think she was? A royal escort? Even if that were true, which
he doubted, she was still a slave just like all the other fleshers. Yet here
she was, giving orders like she was in charge. As if Will couldn’t just space-toss
her and be done with it.
Will
considered himself a fair captain. He rarely gave orders beyond tactical ones,
allotted his crew a fair cut of the salvage, and allowed them to complain
without punishment. But they always gave him respect—at least, where it
counted.
That
was because there was no one better at saving their criminal asses from jail
than him. The crew of the Odysseus were magnets for trouble. He could see five
ways to get them out of a scrape by the time it took them to realize they were
in one. He was an expert at making life-or-death decisions, and he always made
the right one.
Yet,
for the first time since he could remember, Will had no idea how to proceed.
Blowing
out a deep breath, he gave her one last chance. “Everyone on this ship
contributes.” He ground his teeth to keep from saying something worse. “Last
time I ask you.”
An
annoyed sigh escaped her lips. Eyes still shut, she began to speak, her words
slow, as if she were talking to an idiot. “I’m going to stay here until dinner.
This is your ship, not mine. If you want something done, do it yourself.”
Even
though she spoke slowly, it took a second for the words to register. Anger
rushed through him. A blinding human rage he hadn’t felt in ages. If he were
still human, who knows what he would have done. But because he had programs
designed to filter his temper and find appropriate outlets, he made a rational
decision that would have the desired effect without inflicting mortal damage.
At
least, he hoped.
He
reached down to grab her, and her eyes snapped open. She tried to scramble
away, her mouth an O of surprise, but he scooped her up in his arms, pinning
her body to his chest as he marched from the room toward the galley.
She
was lighter than he was expecting, and softer. Her frailness surprised him,
actually, and he adjusted his hold so he didn’t crush her or snap her delicate
bones. He also didn’t expect her hair to smell like jasmine and honey, or her
skin to feel like silk.
Stiffening,
she seemed unsure how to respond at first, gaping at him with those big golden
eyes, nostrils flared. Finally, a squeak fled her throat.
Then
ire twisted her face—slowly, though, as if she still really couldn’t believe he
dared touch her. He was so entranced by her changing expressions—the curling
upper lip, the elegant eyebrows arching to form a deep crease between her eyes,
expressions he hadn’t seen replicated on any mock—he nearly missed her reach
back to deck him.
Before
she could strike, he clamped onto her bicep with his left hand, pinning her
free arm. He was careful not to use all his strength, half of which could
easily crack her humerus bone.
When
she realized she was trapped, she changed tactics, bucking and wiggling and
hurling insults at him as she thrashed like a wild animal.
He
chuckled, enraging her further. But there was little she could do beyond
screaming. He was made of metal instead of bone, his muscles created from a
meshwork of carbon nanotubes that made him ten times stronger than a human male
twice her size. She could squirm all she wanted—she wasn’t budging.
“Where
are you taking me?” She practically spit the words. Strips of her auburn hair
were plastered across her sweat-drenched face, her teeth bared. She’d finally
stopped struggling, her insults giving way to panting. A cardinal-red flush
darkened her cheeks, reminding him of a child throwing a tantrum.
Flesher,
of course. A mock would never act so silly.
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Audrey Grey is an award winning and USA Today bestselling author of several books, including the Moonbeam Children’s Award bronze finalist, SHADOW FALL. She lives in the charming state of Oklahoma with her crew: one husband, two little people, four mischievous dogs, and one poor cat. You can usually find Audrey hiding out in her office from said crew, surrounded by books and sipping kombucha while dreaming up wondrous worlds for her characters to live in.
Krystal Wade is the USA Today bestselling author of six Young Adult Fantasy and creeptastically imagined fairytale books. She can be found in the sluglines outside Washington D.C. every morning, Monday through Friday. With coffee in hand, iPod plugged in, and strangers who sometimes snore, smell, or have incredibly bad gas-sitting next to her, she zones out and thinks of fantastical worlds for you and me to read. How else can she cope with a fifty-mile commute? Good thing she has her husband and three kids to go home to. They keep her sane.
Krystal Wade is the USA Today bestselling author of six Young Adult Fantasy and creeptastically imagined fairytale books. She can be found in the sluglines outside Washington D.C. every morning, Monday through Friday. With coffee in hand, iPod plugged in, and strangers who sometimes snore, smell, or have incredibly bad gas-sitting next to her, she zones out and thinks of fantastical worlds for you and me to read. How else can she cope with a fifty-mile commute? Good thing she has her husband and three kids to go home to. They keep her sane.
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