Page 1 of 3013: SAVIOR

Prologue

The world had changed in the year 3013.

Earth rebuilt their civilization after the Alien Wars ravaged the planet and an unknown virus nearly wiped out the entire population, but nothing could ever bring back what once was. A new age of mankind was born, but some of the edicts set forth for humans to survive have become obsolete in the ever-changing universe.

What fate has in store is uncertain, though, one constant is clear. In a cosmos filled with endless possibilities, love is the ultimate prize. Warriors from every species search the stars for love, and they will risk all to fight for those who hold their hearts. But danger is always present when worlds collide. As new challenges arise, all the known races must adapt and learn from their allies. However, not all desire peace, or to live in harmony.

And as a new year dawns, the battle for the future has only begun…

Chapter One

Dragon Warrior Jecca Tesera was considered something of an expert when it came to dealing with wild animals.

After traveling to countless planets across the universe, she’d encountered plenty of ferocious beasts in a variety of shapes, sizes, and temperaments. Since she had a natural ability to connect to even the strangest beings, she never feared who or what she would encounter when venturing into the unknown. She could sense their intentions, so she knew when they were friendly and when to keep her distance. She also had two of the most fierce argos ever to exist who accompanied her during her travels, but they were more companions than pets.

The only creature she had ever failed to successfully tame was her own twin, Jaya.

That was undoubtedly true, but it didn’t bother either of them. Jecca was more reserved than her twin, but she loved the fact that Jaya was a wild and uninhibited soul. While she adored her twin’s carefree nature, she didn’t care for some of the ridiculous situations she found herself in because of her sister’s impulsive decisions.

Jaya’s latest impulse had them hurtling toward a new game world they’d recently heard about. They both loved visiting new planets and spent most of their time exploring the stars and studying different worlds. Even if the new planetoid sounded fascinating, Jecca would have preferred to go somewhere remote for a little peace and quiet instead.

But that would have to wait.

They had just spent the last several weeks enjoying a long visit on Tartarus with their beloved cousin, Katra Tesera, her mate, Lord Jaden Tor, and their new twin babies. Their other cousins, Xavier and Galan, had also created a home on Tartarus with their bonded brothers, Thorn and Brydan Volis, and their shared mate, Alexis.

The group had planned to head back home to Arcadia to introduce their parents to the new babies but had decided to postpone their visit after discovering that Alexis was pregnant again. Even though she was a Dragon Warrior now, she hadn’t gotten over some of her human sensibilities. Because they knew Alexis preferred to have the babies in what she considered their home, her mates insisted on waiting until after the birth before they returned to their home world.

Not willing to wait to meet their new cousins, Jecca and her sister had decided to visit them instead. Tartarus had been an interesting planet to explore. The civil war that had been waged there had turned the tide to make necessary changes for the advancement of their race. Having a group of Dragon Warriors living there freely using magic had sped up the development process quite a bit, though it was still considered a rather primitive world.

Despite that, the dark, otherwise barbaric land had its own appeal. It was particularly interesting since Tartarus was the type of undeveloped world they usually circumvented having direct contact with. It was vital to avoid revealing themselves to races that weren’t deemed ready to interact with magical beings. However, after Katra had discovered she was mated to a Tarin lord, there was no reason for the rest of the Dragon Warriors to keep their distance.

Outsiders weren’t able to tell that the Teseras had royal blood, but titles rarely mattered when it came to other worlds. They were a loud and boisterous group, and it was always a nonstop celebration whenever they got together. Add in a horde of Tarin warriors, and it had turned into complete and utter chaos.

Jecca had enjoyed spending time with everyone, especially the babies, but now she wanted some quiet time to herself in order to recharge. She’d tried to find some solitude while she’d been on Tartarus, but the babies hadn’t liked her leaving their sight for too long. Magical babies could be pretty demanding, but they were so adorable that it didn’t matter. Even though they were spoiled, they were kind, caring souls who would one day grow up to be honorable warriors.

After they had left Tartarus, Jecca had intended to take a break on a small uninhabited planet while Jaya headed directly to the human home world. It had been many years since they had last visited Earth, and they were both eager to see what had changed over the centuries.

Hearing about the new game world had changed their plans.

Jecca had to admit that the idea of a planetoid that had been terraformed with magic and integrated with the latest technology was too intriguing to ignore. They were still in the process of something called beta testing the new game world that had been named Evo. While it wasn’t open to the masses yet, a group of individuals had been invited to Evo to begin evaluating the new setup.

That gave Jecca and Jaya the perfect opportunity to join in the fun.

Instead of an affinity for animals, Jaya had developed a peculiar sense of insight. While she was often reckless and got them into some pretty strange situations, there was usually a reason for whatever path she steered them toward. It might not become evident right away, but things usually worked out for the best.

“We are almost there.”

Jecca didn’t bother to open her eyes as her sister joined her in the lounge. She was resting on an oversized chair with her legs propped up on the cushioned window seat with her two argos curled up together sleeping at her feet. Roko and Aki enjoyed staring out the windows at the bright stars, planets, and colorful gas clouds, but they quickly lost interest whenever their ship was traveling through the unending darkness. If they were napping, they had the ability to completely ignore the twins no matter how loud they were.

But if danger was close by, they would wake ready to attack.

Jecca rubbed her bare feet against Roko and Aki’s backs, and they both let out rumbling purrs of contentment even as they continued to sleep. She’d heard the excitement in her sister’s voice and had already sensed their vessel drawing closer to the planetoid. They still had a few hours before they reached their destination, but they only needed a few minutes to get ready before they transported themselves down to the surface, so they weren’t in a hurry.

Normally, they didn’t have a problem landing on an unknown planet. They would just pick a remote spot and make sure they kept their vessel shielded from view. In this instance, they had decided not to land because they didn’t want to draw any attention to their arrival. Since they weren’t sure what technology the planetoid was equipped with, they didn’t want to chance disrupting anything or setting off any alarms.

Jecca sighed as she felt her sister squeeze herself onto the lounge chair next to her instead of claiming her own seat. Since she was used to her antics, she simply used her magic to expand the chair to comfortably fit them both rather than complain. When something soft brushed against her face, she finally opened her eyes. Her brows furrowed in confusion when she saw a pair of glassy eyes, then she scowled when she realized what she was staring at.

As her sister shook the small stuffed penguin in front of her face, Jecca reached up to grab it and tucked the little toy in the crook of her arm. “Why in all the worlds did you steal your nephew’s favorite toy?”

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