Attack on Phoenix Read Free

Glassy-eyed, Leila stared at the ceiling, a small smile playing at the corner of her lips. How could he begrudge her a first love? It wasn't as if she would marry Mellok. Torsten would only have to put up with him until Leila showed interest in someone else. Knowing his sister, it wouldn't take long.
    "He's great," Torsten said. "Really."
    “You know, he’s not just good looking. He’s really smart, too. Mellok is going to be a brilliant engineer someday. You should see the weapons he’s been building."
    Torsten turned back toward the closed lift doors. He rolled his eyes, careful she wouldn't see. It was hard to believe this was the same girl who kicked his butt back in the shooting range. The doors opened, and Torsten stepped onto the lift, tugging Leila behind him.
    "So," Leila said, her head cocked to one side, "I think they're going to choose me."
    Torsten raised an eyebrow. "Really?" Their commander had announced the upcoming expedition. She'd told the defenders they'd be watched every moment, and only the best would be chosen. Torsten was resigned to serving in the military, but he had no illusions about his place. He would never stand out, not when his little sister continually out-shined him. She was simply better at everything. Leila was a natural at hand-to-hand combat and firing accuracy. She had no trouble speaking to people she didn't know, and they immediately liked her. She was exactly like their father had been. Torsten took after his mother: lanky, quiet, and painfully shy.
    "Yeah." Leila pulled her gun out of her hip holster, spinning it in her palm.
    The last time Torsten tried, he misfired and nearly shot a hole in the commander's arm. He hadn't tried since.
    "Mellok thinks we have the best chance at being chosen." Leila looked up at Torsten, her hand on his forearm. "Mellok and I, I mean. Not..."
    "You and me." Torsten laughed. "It's okay, Leila. I plan on getting through my time here, and then settling into a simple desk job. No one expects me to be chosen for an expedition."
    He'd spent most of his life with his nose stuck in books and trying his hand at swordplay. Both were fairly useless as far as the war with the dragzhi went. The aliens they’d fought for a hundred years wouldn’t succumb to either, so Torsten was forcing himself to concentrate on his life in the military. He had no other choice. Their parents’ death had left them destitute. Military training was their only means of a steady income at such a young age. Had Torsten been on his own, he would have happily disappeared into a simple life in their only city, Hadar. He couldn't afford to be selfish as long as Leila needed him.
    The military paid well. Better than any other career. Mainly because few came back after serving. Most died in battle with the dragzhi. It was a dangerous life, one Torsten knew he'd never master. Leila, though, had a chance at being one of the best. If she could get an assignment on a top tier expedition, and survive it, then she'd be secure. Maybe then Torsten could consider following his own path.
    "When are they announcing the candidates?" Torsten asked.
    Leila pulled her ponytail tight and straightened out her uniform. "Tonight. I've done everything right, Tor. They have to pick me. They just have to."
    The lift played a tune, upbeat and heavy on the drums. It had reached their floor. The siblings stepped out onto the blue carpet. Leila strode across the hall to a window. Pressing her hand against the glass, she sighed. "I want to be out there. Don't you?"
    His gaze settled on the night sky. Stars twinkled in the vast darkness. Spaceships darted in and out of the landing docks far below the dizzying height of their military tower. Torsten's stomach turned. He remembered the steady stream of vomit he'd ejected on his first ride up to the command station. He'd never been so high before, having grown up on the ground with the other common folk.
    "Sure, Leila." He patted his sister's shoulder. "Come on,