Daughters of Lyra: Heart of a Prince Read Free

and
fear pounded down on her, stealing her breath.

    Perhaps this was a bad
idea. She hadn’t realised that the reply had come from the Black
Zone. Perhaps they were better off trying to leave after all. She
could set the ship on autopilot, get the door open, and tend to her
brother while they travelled to the nearest spaceport.

    Releasing Rezic’s hand,
she grabbed the controls and turned the ship about. Before she
could get the engines to full speed, she was going backwards. She
pressed the button to switch to the rear view of the ship and her
brow furrowed when she saw that the huge vessel was pulling them
in. The cargo bay doors were open to reveal an area that her small
ship could fit into fifteen times over.

    What had she
done?

    Who were these
people?

    Were they really going to
help her brother?

    ****

    Chapter
2

    Renie cradled her brother
to her, stroking his brow, and when the ship came to a halt, she
gently lay him down on the floor of the dark bridge. The power had
gone out during the ship’s descent onto the large vessel. Now she
was in complete darkness. The strained sound of Rezic’s breathing
made her feel ill, turning her stomach and filling her head with
terrible thoughts. The ship’s computer had announced that his life
signs were stabilising but she knew better than to believe that
meant he was going to live.

    The blood on the side of
his head was thick and dark, covering half of his forehead and his
cheek. He hadn’t stirred at all since the meteorites had struck the
ship and she feared the worst. An image of the huge vessel that had
answered her call for help flashed across her mind. Would they be
able to save her brother when she couldn’t? She hoped that they
could but an ominous feeling had settled in the pit of her stomach
on seeing the ship. She couldn’t remember ever seeing one like it
before, but it had come from the Black Zone and instinct was
telling her that wasn’t a good sign.

    It had commanded her to
leave the area. She prayed to Iskara that didn’t mean what she
thought it did.

    Her gaze strayed back to
where she knew Rezic lay. Her insides flipped again, stomach
churning with fear and anticipation. The air was growing thin
again. With no power, the life support system had failed. She
stared in the direction of the door and stood. Would they come
soon? It was getting hot.

    The bridge door opened a
fraction. Light streamed in. Renie’s heart jumped into her throat
and then pounded hard when black claw-like fingers appeared through
the gap. She gasped and stepped backwards, hitting the ship’s
console behind her. The clawed fingers closed around the door and
pulled it open with ease. She couldn’t possibly have done that. Not
even her brother could have. Whatever was coming was stronger than
both of them were. She crouched down to be with Rezic and stared at
the door, waiting to see the face of their rescuer.

    The doors opened
fully.

    What they revealed was
more frightening than her worst nightmare.

    Several dark clad soldiers
moved into the small space, forcing her to one side. Her eyes
didn’t leave the man who had opened the bridge door. Standing over
six and a half feet, he towered above her, his skin as white as
clouds. His long black hair parted over his pointed ears. He barked
orders at the men and she frowned when they grabbed her, pulling
her around as they searched her body for something.

    She glared at the soldiers
when they opened the small weapons hold beside the pilot’s chair
and took the laser guns. Weapons? They were searching her for
weapons.

    Two soldiers grabbed her
and marched her through the ship and out into the cargo bay of the
vessel that had her. They roughly turned her on the spot to face
her ship and she struggled when she saw her brother on a hover
stretcher. Three women and one man were attending to him. She
fought harder to escape the men holding her when the others began
to walk away with her brother.

    “ I need to go
with him,”