Oath Forger (Book 3) Read online

  Table of Contents

  OATH FORGER (3) Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  ABOUT ME:

  WARLORD Chapter One

  OATH FORGER (3)

  Book 3 of 5

  By Nia Mars

  One woman from Earth vs. the five most powerful rulers of the universe.

  The space games continue...

  Acknowledgments: With my sincere gratitude to Jenifer Knox for the editing and advice. Also, many thanks to the Home Team, the friends and family who always have my back. This book couldn’t have been born without you.

  Dedication: The Oath Forger series is dedicated to all the wonderful readers willing to give Ava a chance. Thank you!!!

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are products of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Copyright 2018 Nia Mars. All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without the written permission of the author.

  niamars.com

  ISBN-10: 1-940627-25-7

  ISBN-13: 978-1-940627-25-0

  Chapter One

  I’M HIDING IN THE LIBRARY at the Oath Forger’s palace in Merim, the Federation’s capital.

  After the kreks, the five most powerful rules in the galaxy, found out that I was a virgin, I ran. I couldn’t handle the intensity of the moment. I couldn’t handle the feeling that I was a juicy bone in a roomful of hungry, large wolves.

  I’m in the library because I know they will find me sooner or later, and I don’t want them to find me in my bedroom. I can’t handle being next to a giant bed with them right now.

  I expect Krek Tiam to sail through the door at any second. Tiam is the warrior nerd of space; the library is usually his domain.

  His words echo in my head as I walk endless loops among the shelves: You can’t have it both ways.

  I’m Ava Smith from the Dallas Colony, a scavenger kidnapped from Earth by space pirates and taken to an alien world. Five kreks—the title means king/president/warlord—claimed me for their own because they think I’m the Oath Forger, come to unite their Federation. I believe they’re wrong—I’m most definitely not the Oath Forger.

  At the same time, I also believe that the kreks are only attracted to me because they’re drawn to the Oath Forger part, compelled by some mystic link. Except, if I’m not the Oath Forger, then I don’t have an Oath Forger link that compels these men.

  Gah!

  I have no idea how to reconcile these two conflicting beliefs.

  When the door rattles, I halt mid-step at the floor-to-ceiling carved marble fireplace. The next second, instead of Krek Tiam, Krek Uthan fills the doorway.

  “Ava!”

  He strides to me without hesitation, the overhead lights glinting off his shaved head and the rows of gold loops in his eyebrows. He has a generous mouth, a slightly wide nose, and mottled skin, a golden color that does not exist on Earth. He gives off a kind of spiritual, shaman vibe.

  At first glance, you think, Oh, he’s different. But then you steal a second and a third glance, because he’s incredibly attractive in an alien way. All the kreks are, but Krek Uthan is also mysterious and magnificent, reminding me of the powerful genies of ancient tales. I think it’s his golden eyes. He has eyes I want to get lost in. The way he looks at me is an open invitation.

  He stops two feet in front of me and lowers himself to the thick carpet to sit cross-legged. After a moment, I sit, too, taking up the same position.

  Next to us, a low fire burns in the hearth. I can see neither wood nor coal or any other kind of fuel. I have no idea what’s burning, but the mild heat is comforting and relaxing. Except...

  “Isn’t it dangerous to have open flames in a room filled with a treasure-trove of books?”

  “It’s Tiam’s thing.” Uthan shrugs.

  His bronze-color uniform molds to his wide shoulders and muscled arms. Whatever else the kreks might be, first and foremost, they’re all warriors.

  I’m wearing only a very short nightgown under my robe. I’d jumped from bed when I found out that Krek Koah—injured while fighting pirates—was finally transferred back to the palace’s med center. I ran to him without wasting time to dress, and I haven’t been back to my quarters since.

  The soft crackling of the fire fills the library.

  Uthan and I sit in silence.

  His gaze never moves from mine. He has this weird way of looking instead of talking, as if he can see straight to the depths of my soul and read me there. As if, with him, words are unnecessary.

  His unblinking, golden gaze can be unnerving. It can also be a warm, comforting golden ocean to relax in until all my troubles float away. Among all the kreks, I find Uthan’s presence the most relaxing.

  He’s the least demanding among the five, always the first to pull back when I need him to, when I’m overwhelmed. Dason doesn’t demand either, not out loud, but I’m always aware of the youngest krek’s needs. He needs to be near me, needs to be reassured, and sometimes that’s a drain in its own way. Uthan doesn’t need—or at least doesn’t let me see that he needs—and he doesn’t demand.

  “I know your new life with us is overwhelming for you,” he says finally. “I’m sorry, Ava.”

  “I’m done being overwhelmed.” Frustration puts a snap into my voice. I’ve run out of patience with myself.

  It’s time to find my footing. On Earth, I knew who I was—a scavenger. Here, everything is different. Yet I can’t be lost. I can’t just let myself be blown around in the wind of Federation politics like a handful of sand. There’s too much at stake.

  “The pirates have been pushed back from Earth, but only temporarily,” I voice my biggest worry first. My sister, Lily, is on Earth. I would do anything to keep her safe.

  I take a deep breath before adding, “Oh, and the Zebet is coming to confirm that I’m the Oath Forger, and I’m not.” The Zebet is the aliens’ congress. “And when they find out that I’m an impostor, everything is going to get worse, because the arrival of the Oath Forger was the only thing that halted the internal war in the Federation in the first place.”

  Full-scale, galaxy-wide war.

  I curl my hands into fists on my lap. “I can’t afford to be overwhelmed. I don’t have the time to be overwhelmed. I need to get my act together and take charge of my life.”

  I pause, but only long enough to draw a breath. “When is the Zebet coming?”

  If Uthan has mentioned that very important detail, I’ve missed it.

  “They are on their way already. They will be arriving later today.”

  My heart stops. “A little notice would have been nice.”

  Uthan flashes a sympathetic look. “You have nothing to fear.”

  Right. “When will they want to see me?”

  “Probably tomorrow. I expect you’ll receive the summons before the day is out.”

  Why so rushed? Oh. Because they’re coming to catch me in the process of doing wrong. They don’t give notice, the same way the police don’t give notice when they go out to catch criminals.

  When I was first saved from the pirates, and the kreks mistook me for the Oath Forger, I went along with it, because they were at war with each other. And because of the civil war in the Federation, nobody was doing anything about the pirate problem on the Frontier. The
Oath Forger, however, is supposed to bind the kreks together. Then comes peace in the Federation. Then the Federation can focus on cleaning up the pirate problem. Earth is saved. It’s what you call a win-win.

  So I’d pretended to be the Oath Forger. Until I couldn’t take the lies anymore and came clean to the kreks. Except, now they don’t believe me.

  Whatever else I do, I must prevent the Federation from falling back into civil war. For Uthan, Tiam, Koah, Dason, and Roax to fight each other once again, possibly killing each other, is unacceptable. The thought twists my heart hard enough to bruise it. I care about these men.

  Okay, care about most of them. I’ve only just met Roax, and he is an arrogant bastard, but I have no cause to wish him ill.

  “If the Zebet figures out that I’m not the Oath Forger...” I can’t even finish the sentence.

  They’ll probably kick me out of Federation so fast, my head will spin as I fly by. And you know what’s outside the Federation? The Frontier, also known as the Outer Territories, all ruled by pirates. I would never reach Earth.

  “You are the Oath Forger.” Uthan’s voice carries no doubt, only warm certainty. He holds out his hands, palm up, and waits.

  After a long moment, I put my hands into his, palm down, the two of us fitting together, the two halves of a whole.

  The color of his eyes deepens to antique gold. His peace washes over me. I float in his warm ocean.

  Literally! I’m in a wet, watery ocean. Holy crap!

  I know it’s some kind of an illusion, nothing more than a waking dream, but it feels real in every way.

  I immediately tense, because I can’t swim. But Uthan is with me, half under me as we float face-up. My back is against his chest, my head resting on his sternum. He has his left hand wrapped around my midriff, while his right arm and legs gently move in the water, keeping us both afloat. I should be completely freaked out, but instead, I feel safer with every passing second.

  “I didn’t know that you could do this,” I say in the waking dream.

  “Do what?” he asks from behind me.

  “Give me this kind of peace.” This was the break I was looking for when I’d run away from the palace.

  “I would do anything for you. If you let me.”

  I let go of my doubts and float in bliss. “This feels so much better than...”

  He waits. When I don’t finish, he asks, “Better than what?”

  “What I’ve been feeling lately.”

  He patiently waits again. And so I tell him, because it’s a relief to share with somebody.

  “Ever since I came to Merim, I keep feeling as if there are too many thoughts in my head. As if I don’t know anything. And the few things that I do know contradict each other. I feel forced to make decisions that will have enormous consequences. I feel guilty.”

  He picks at that last one. “Guilty about what?”

  “For taking advantage of The Five. For not being what you need.”

  “You are not taking advantage. You are exactly what we need. You are the Oath Forger.”

  Exasperation brings the tension back into my muscles. My temper flares. “Don’t tell me who I am.”

  “Don’t tell me what I need.” His easy tone is laced with humor.

  That touch of humor erases my momentary aggravation.

  Yet as some of my worries float away, others stubbornly stay. “I feel as if I’m a mistake, a fault, a broken part in the machine. Like even now, I could panic, start to struggle and drown the both of us.”

  Something touches the top of my head. A soft touch. His lips? He leaves them there for several seconds.

  “Trust yourself,” he says then, “that you won’t panic without a reason. And trust me that I’m strong enough to save you if you’re drowning.”

  I can’t deny his strength. I can feel the hard cords of muscles through our wet clothes.

  The ocean caresses my body. The sun’s warmth is kissing my face. The view is endless. We are the only two people in the world.

  We float in silence for a while. I’m the one to break it.

  “I’m sorry I’ve been pushing you away.” I haven’t spent as much time with Uthan as some of the others.

  “We’re here now,” he says, and he does sound content.

  “Koah and Tiam are...”

  “Brash bastards.”

  I smile at the clear blue sky. “They’re difficult to ignore. And Dason...”

  “He’s young. He’s only recently become krek. It was unexpected. Before he could deal with that, you arrived. Dason has been thrown for a couple of loops, too. He’s a good kid.”

  “He’s a good man.”

  Uthan’s chest expands under my head as he sighs. “You are right. I shouldn’t belittle him, jealousy or no jealousy. It’s difficult for us, for me, not to feel competitive. He sleeps in your bed.”

  Koah had, too, a few times, and so had Tiam. All platonically, mostly, but still.

  “I didn’t tell you that to make you feel guilty,” Uthan adds. “You are here with me now. I’m grateful.”

  I’m the one who’s been pushing him away, but he still worries more about my feelings than his own.

  Uthan’s body against me is a solid support that I trust. I know he won’t let me sink. I feel more at peace than I have for a long time.

  “I wish we could stay here forever,” the words tumble from my lips.

  Instead of agreeing like I expected, I hear a barely perceptible groan.

  “You don’t?” I twist my neck to see his face, but I can’t, so I give up and settle back against him.

  “Perhaps not forever,” he says at long last. “It’s difficult to make love while floating.”

  His words take me by surprise. Uthan usually avoids bringing sex into the conversation. I think he does that, like most of the things he does around me, for my benefit.

  Make love.

  I haven’t much thought of him in that way. I’ve been too busy adjusting to everything else. But I can’t deny that he’s more than attractive. He’s all male, a fact difficult not to notice when nearly every inch of our bodies is touching.

  “Do you want to...?” The words leave me in a breathless, confused rush. And then I don’t know how to finish.

  His arm tightens around me.

  “Stars, yes, Ava,” he groans into my hair. And then I feel the rumble of a soft laugh in his chest under my head.

  That’s the moment when the library door flies open and the other four kreks spill in, yanking Uthan and me right out of our imaginary sanctuary.

  Chapter Two

  I BLINK HARD, dizzy from the sudden change—floating in the middle of the ocean one second, and back in the library the next. Uthan and I are sitting cross-legged in front of the fireplace, warmed by its fire. My nightgown and robe are dry, and so are Uthan’s clothes. He’s still holding my hands—a fact that does not escape the other four kreks as they stride toward us with thunderous expressions.

  Oh, they’re not happy with me? Fine. I’m not happy with them either!

  I push to my feet and point at Koah who is pale and struggling to stand, not nearly recovered from his injuries. Yet he’s still warlord personified. His features are rugged, his face angular. It’s carved from granite. So are his muscles.

  “You. Are you trying to kill yourself?”

  The gorgeous, carved bookshelves that surround us look like the columns of a great cathedral, but I’m in no mood to keep my voice hushed. “Go back to bed.”

  Koah must be truly unwell, because he doesn’t even fight me. He simply asks, “Ours?”

  “Med center.”

  I turn to Dason who is all boyish charm on the surface, but just as ruthless a fighter underneath. “Please help him.”

  Dason looks partially sad because I’m sending him away, and partially happy because he can be of service to me. He immediately puts a hand under Koah’s elbow, which Koah shakes off with a predictable glare. He might be unwell, but he’s not ready to
admit actual weakness, not in front of the other men.

  I turn to Tiam and point. “You. Could you please put together as much information as you can about what this Zebet confirmation is going to involve? I’d like to be as prepared as I can be. Maybe you could help me this afternoon in the garden?”

  Tiam nods, his silver hair spilling over his wide shoulders. His gray eyes are smiling. I’ve assigned him research. It makes his inner nerd happy.

  I turn to Roax. He’s scary hot. Emphasis on scary. I think better of pointing at him. He might bite my finger.

  He uses the moment while I hesitate to draw up a lazy, mocking eyebrow.

  “What are you even doing here?” I demand.

  His dark gaze bores into mine. “I’m here to claim my Oath Forger.”

  Threatening growls rumble in the chests of the other four men. Dason and Koah stop at the door, gazes tense, as if they’re both fighting the urge to rush back.

  Oh. My. Freaking. Stars.

  “The next one to growl at me,” I tell them all, “I swear, I’m going to put into a dog collar.”

  Eyes snap wide. Although Dason might be looking a little wistful. Only Roax laughs.

  “I believe collars are my domain.” And then he adds, his voice as smooth as silk sheets, “And they’re growling at me, not you. Never you, Ava Mine.”

  I don’t know what to do with the way his silken voice makes me feel. I stop myself from stepping back from him, because my instincts say that backing down from this man, giving that power to him, would be dangerous.

  I resist the urge that pounds through me to submit to his hypnotizing dark gaze. “I’m going to spend the rest of the morning alone. Whoever can’t respect my wishes will not be sleeping in my bed tonight.”

  It’s the only card I have to play. Playing it, however, doesn’t bring the result I expected. Instead of turning the men obedient, the air in the library thickens. Electricity crackles. Five pairs of the most intense gazes of the universe roam my face. Not to mention the rest of me.