Oath Forger (Book 5) Read online

  Table of Contents

  OATH FORGER (5) Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Eight

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  ABOUT ME:

  WARLORD Chapter One

  OATH FORGER (5)

  Book 5 of 5

  By Nia Mars

  Acknowledgments: With my sincere gratitude to Jenifer Knox and Kayla Pipkin 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, Idonea Bovenhuis, Deanna Jadie Stapleton, Mary Andrea Stabalina Howard, Belinda Kilby, Priya Goyal, Karli Stites, Rachael Bull and so many others. 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: 1-940627-34-6

  ISBN-13: 978-1-940627-34-2

  Chapter One

  HOW DO YOU ACT AFTER YOU’VE SLEPT WITH A MAN? But only in a dream. Except, you both remember the wild passion and complete abandon in clear detail, because the dream took place in a mystic realm.

  So have we, or haven’t we?

  That’s the question that buzzes through my head every time I look at Uthan—Krek of Dier, Head of the Gefel Alliance.

  He is giving me a surprise gift for saving his life. It’s so not necessary. Yeah, I told him. No, he paid no attention. That’s the thing about alien warlords. They’re damn stubborn.

  “I should have stayed at the palace. I have a ton of work to do. Or we should be going after whoever ordered me poisoned.” And ended up killing my assistant, Taly, instead. Our best guess so far is that the villain might be someone high up in the Trade Alliance.

  “You’re here, specifically, to get away from worrying about politics for a day.”

  I know Uthan is also trying to give me a break from other pressures at the palace—a.k.a. the other four kreks. I’m in the middle of forging connections with the five most powerful rulers of the galaxy, a bond that could bring peace for a hundred years or more. I’m a simple scavenger from Earth. I left my comfort zone behind a few solar systems ago. I’m determined to do my best, but it doesn’t mean that my new life doesn’t freak me out at least once a day.

  It might seem that I’ve been in Merim forever, but it’s only been a few weeks. My current reality is still pretty new and plenty bewildering.

  I stare out at space from the command deck of Uthan’s ship, past the three women and two men working the controls. Their uniforms are a deep bronze color—the color of Uthan’s royal house—their rank marked on the shoulder. I’m wearing the same uniform, gifted to me the second I stepped foot on board. The kreks looove seeing me in their colors. They redefine the word possessive.

  Uthan’s crew keep stealing glances at me. That pretty much happens everywhere I go. I’m okay with it. I suspect people will eventually get used to having an Oath Forger.

  “Where are we going, again?”

  Uthan’s golden eyes glint with mischief. He has a surprise, and he’s not spoiling it. “Almost there.”

  He steps behind me and pulls me against him, keeping an arm wrapped around my waist. As his crew members politely turn their gazes on their instruments, I lean my back against his warrior-size chest, his strength.

  We have some kind of mystical connection. I’m aware of him in a way that I’m not aware of the other four kreks. As if some small part of me is living inside his skin, and some small part of him is living inside mine.

  I breathe in his clean scent that always reminds me of the ocean. “How much longer?”

  He bends his head to kiss my neck. “So impatient.”

  His full lips are soft and warm. He has a row of golden hoops in each eyebrow, and as he’s kissing me, I can feel the smooth gold against my earlobe. I definitely have a sensitive spot there. The cold touch of the gold is a contrast to the heat of Uthan’s mouth just a few inches lower. Electricity zings through me.

  Okay, now I’m impatient for more than just information. I press my thighs together. Then I lose my breath. And not just because he’s moved on to nibbling my earlobe.

  A planet comes into focus on the display screen, and its brilliant blue-green color rivets my attention.

  Earth!

  My heart leaps, my body jerks forward, toward the screen. I blink at the image. We haven’t come nearly far enough... We’re on an overnight trip.

  The overnight part has had me in a twist, actually, since this morning. Tonight, on the way back to Merim, on this spaceship, we’ll be alone together in Uthan’s bed. The anticipation is a tingle that keeps washing over my skin every couple of minutes, like a soft wave.

  Don’t freak out. It’ll be fine. It’ll be natural. It’s Uthan.

  The planet on the display screen is now large enough so that I can see its continents—their shapes unfamiliar. The two roundish landmasses are both enormous, connected by a narrow land bridge.

  “Rosin,” Uthan says behind me. “The planet with the second largest area of surface water in the solar system.”

  I can’t take my eyes off the screen where the brilliant blue-green orb grows and grows as we come in for landing. While it’s not Earth, it’s still absolutely breathtaking.

  “Why are we here?”

  “I’m taking you to the Federal Institute for Interstellar Studies.”

  I whip around to face him, and then I launch myself at him, my arms around his neck, hugging him, covering his face with kisses. “Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!”

  The Federal Institute for Interstellar Studies is where people rescued from space pirates go if it’s not safe to return to their home planets. The Institute houses hundreds, if not thousands, of people from Earth. I’ve been wanting to visit them forever, but events at Merim, the capital of the Federation, have kept me busy. (In all fairness, those events included kidnapping and murder, among other BS.)

  “Thank you.” I smack another kiss onto Uthan’s cheek, dangerously close to his mouth.

  He grins at me.

  God, that grin. With his shaved head and the gold rings in his eyebrows, with his mottled amber-brown skin, he looks like a genie from the old tales or some shaman with supernatural knowledge and powers. Not to mention his supernatural all-around sexiness that makes me want to go back to nibbling each other.

  Uthan’s bottomless gaze holds mine. His breathing is even, and soon my own breathing matches his rhythm. He has this inner ocean of peace where he can take me at will, and in a way, his entire presence is like that. He surrounds me with peace, warmth, and unconditional acceptance.

  He is in my heart. I’m in complete love with the man. The thought still has the ability to make me lose my breath.

  Love.

  I’m not going to ask the same of him. Ever. He’s given himself to our ‘connection’ for peace because I’m the Oath Forger. All five of the most powerful kreks of the galaxy have. According to their beliefs, in our galaxy that’s racked by wars, from time to time in history, an Oath Forger appears. The Oath Forger has
the power to bind together the rulers of the galaxy by forming a family of sorts with them.

  Oath Forger. That would be me. Destined to bind together five of the most powerful men currently in existence.

  No pressure.

  If I can’t keep my heart out of this business, that’s my problem. They’ve offered their lives and futures to our bond. That’s enough of a sacrifice. I’m happy to be with them, happy to have them in my life. They don’t need to give me anything more.

  I smile at Uthan. He’s one of the three I’ve already officially ‘accepted.’ I mean, said the words and everything. And tonight, maybe we’ll do more than say words. But I don’t have time to worry about that right now.

  It’s time to strap in for landing.

  THE INSTITUTE IS what I picture a giant college campus must have been like back in the old days on Earth: dozens of research buildings with housing-units in between. There’s a commons, a park at the center, filled with people enjoying the sun.

  Apart from the others, in the shadow of the tallest building, stands a man dressed all in black, his hands folded behind his back. There’s something different about him, but I can’t put my finger on what it is. He reminds me of Roax. When his gaze cuts to me, as if he can sense that I’m watching him, I feel the weight of that gaze even across the distance.

  “Ava!”

  I turn toward the voice, then do a double-take. “Oh my God, Dee!”

  The last time I saw her, she was collapsed in tears, sobbing for her grandchildren. Space pirates had kidnapped her from the Cleveland Colony, and she’d taken it hard. Now she’s radiant and looks ten years younger in her flowing emerald dress. It might have something to do with the silver fox holding her hand.

  His square jaw reminds me a little of Krek Koah, although this man is about thirty years older. He has Hispanic features. His brown eyes sparkle with love as he looks at the woman next to him.

  Way to go, Dee.

  I grin at her as she reaches me and immediately enfolds me in a hug.

  “The stories we’ve heard about you!” Dee’s eyes laugh, her gray hair glints platinum in the sun. “Are you really the Oath Forger?”

  I might have accepted the title, but I’m not exactly comfortable with my new status, the power, the whole living in a palace thing. Or that everyone knows that I’m supposed to be sharing a bed with five men. I want to deflect, then draw a deep breath instead. I need to grow up to the office I’m holding.

  I clear my throat. “Yes, I am.” I flash her a look that I hope says Life is sooo weird. “I’m really happy to see you. How are you, Dee?”

  “Better than expected. We are so proud of you. Oh!” Her smile turns even more brilliant. “This is Mateo.”

  Her man inclines his head as he says with a slight accent, “Oath Forger. Is there anything we can do to help?”

  “I’m not sure yet, but thank you. Right now, I’m still learning Federation business and trying to get rid of the pirates. I know a lot of people here probably just want to go home...”

  Dee reaches back to take Mateo’s hand. “Would it be possible to bring our families here instead?” A cloud of worry pushes some of the sunshine off her face. “Do you know if they’re all right? Do you have any news from Earth?”

  She’s holding her breath. Mateo’s gaze is fast on my face.

  “The pirate attacks were stopped a few days ago.”

  Dee’s smile lights up again.

  “Thank you, Oath Forger,” Mateo says, and pulls Dee against his chest.

  A young Asian woman, one of the dozen people who’ve been drawing closer, turns to the others in the square and shouts “The pirate attacks have stopped! Earth is safe! This is the Oath Forger!”

  Of course, then everybody rushes over, tripping over each other, surrounding us until our guards have to tell them to take two steps back and give me space to breathe. For a few seconds, there’s complete pandemonium as everyone is talking at once, shouting questions. But when I raise my hand, the people immediately quiet.

  “I have not been back to Earth, but I’m hoping to visit at the first opportunity. The Federation has temporarily pushed back the pirates. Fleets are being combined as we speak for a major offensive to set the entire Frontier free.”

  A cheer rises, scaring the birds in the trees into flight.

  “Once Earth is completely safe,” I add, “we’ll begin returning people to their homes or arrange for family re-unification here. Everybody will be given a choice. I promise.”

  This time, the cheering is even louder.

  As the Oath Forger, I seriously hope I can influence immigration policy. If I have to fight the Zebet, so be it.

  “Ava?” A teenage girl is shouting my name over the noise as she pushes her way to the front of the crowd.

  “Jess!” I step forward, grinning like crazy.

  We met at the Federation hospital after we were rescued. She’s from the Cleveland Colony, too, like Dee.

  “You chopped off your pigtails!”

  “Like it?” She twirls, all nervous energy. “More grownup, right?”

  We hug, but her attention has moved on. She’s staring wide-eyed over my shoulder. Then her gaze meets mine, and her smile grows as she whispers “Wow.”

  Some of the other women who’ve gathered around us have a similar reaction to Uthan. Most are stealing surreptitious glances, but a few others don’t even try to disguise that they’re staring. There are way too many smiles of open invitation. I fight the urge to take his hand to make clear that he’s mine.

  Instead, Jess ends up grabbing my hand. “I’ll show you around. It’s pretty nice here. And I want to hear all about the Oath Forger gig. Oh my God.” Her eyes just get bigger and bigger as she keeps glancing at Uthan. “How wild is that?” She cranes her neck. “Where are the other four? Are they at the palace, waiting for you in bed naked?”

  Chapter Two

  I shake my head, laughing. “The kreks are supervising troop movements.”

  “That’s a serious letdown.” Jess huffs and squints at me as if trying to decide whether I’m telling the truth. She clearly prefers her fantasy of my life to reality.

  Dee rolls her eyes, her expression saying Kids these days.

  Then Jess and Dee show us the cluster of buildings around the green space—the Earth Studies part of the Institute—with at least fifty people trailing behind us. We go to the tallest building first. The man who was standing in the shadow of the building earlier, the one dressed all in black who reminded me of Roax, is gone. I look for him as we go inside, but I don’t see him anywhere.

  The more Jess and Dee show me, the more I relax. Every effort has been made to keep the refugees comfortable. The public entertainment and relaxation areas are large and clean, comfortably furnished; nothing like what I feared, thinking of a refugee camp. Even the food in the vending machines is recognizable.

  All the workers I see are Earth human.

  “Is this what you do here?” I ask Dee. “Keep the Institute running?”

  My arm is looped around hers on one side, Jess’s on the other, with Uthan and Mateo walking behind us, and behind them Uthan’s guards, then the rest of our following.

  “Better than being studied in a lab,” Dee tells me. “Not that we weren’t studied some, in the beginning. We’re glad for the work. Otherwise, we’d sit around all day and worry. And with us doing most everything, everything is done the way we like it, the way it’s familiar from Earth. It makes a big difference. Especially in the cafeteria.”

  “We have pizza and cheese burgers!” Jess squeals the words. “Like in the old movies!”

  I glance at Uthan over my shoulder. “Can we have lunch here?” I try not to squeal like Jess, but I’m not sure I’m succeeding.

  “Can I deny you anything?” he asks in all seriousness.

  Jess coughs as she tries to swallow her giggles.

  We move on to the next building that’s full of children. The rooms are crowded with the bean-b
ag-style furniture we have at the Oath Forger’s palace, but here they’re all in a circle, a dozen deep, the overall effect reminding me of a nest. Each individual space looks inviting and comfortable.

  “The kids are in school all morning,” Jess tell me as she walks us through, her tone making it clear that she’s not a kid.

  “The adults have a two-hour session daily,” she goes on as we leave out the back. “One hour of Federation Studies, and one hour of Current Affairs. We need to catch up on what’s going on in the universe.”

  “Where do you live?” I expect the answer to be dorms.

  Instead, Dee says on my other side, “Family units.”

  Right. She lives with her man. Good for them. I look at Jess.

  “I live with Dee and Mateo,” she tells me, and my heart eases when Dee smiles at her with obvious affection.

  We eat in a cafeteria, simple food, some meat and a vegetable that reminds me of potatoes, only green. There’s also pizza, and I do snag a slice. Okay, fine, I snag two. So does Uthan. They even have dessert—pink pudding. Oh God, is that honey? Heaven.

  I grin at Uthan, my cheeks puffing out with food.

  He laughs and shakes his head. “Better than agra?”

  “Nothing’s better than agra.” I scoff at him.

  Then I have to explain agra to Jess and Dee. Apparently, the fruit is native only to Merim. I promise to send them a boxful when I get back to the palace.

  Sitting at a large table, I’m surrounded by people. They’re from every corner of Earth, different countries, different continents, so we end up talking in the Federation common language through our translator implants. I’m peppered with questions once again. When I ask my own, I’m reassured that the people are happy here. There are few true complainers. There are a lot of requests, however. Everyone wants me to find out information about their loved ones back on Earth.

  Then there are all the offers of help. The support is overwhelming. In a way, it makes me feel incredibly good. But I also feel the weight of people’s expectations. By the time we finish lunch, my resolve to fulfill my Oath Forger duties is firmly cemented. I can only hope I’m equal to the task. It’s one thing to live in the Oath Forger’s palace and work in my office, accepting invitations to fancy events. But meeting the people whose lives, not to mention the lives of their families back home, depend on me... I think only now do I begin to understand the enormity of the task.