Page 88 of Fate of Draga

The Draga Royal Army had gotten through the first border planet, Kepri, from the Hai System inward. Veri had felt sick to her stomach to see the devastation there. It had been one of the first to fall to the Neprijat and all the royals from Serval House had been confirmed dead.

The Neprijat had planted most of their military there as the first line of defense. Getting through that would never have happened without the rebel Neprijat firing on their own – confusing the enemy with familiar ships.

“Veri, get back in theRosanera’srange,” Asher snapped, flying alongside her for a brief moment before diving back into the fray.

She gritted her teeth, hating that she had to give up hard-won ground. They were so close to the next planet, Leva. Only one more after that and they would meet with Adelina at the capitol.

The speed the queen’s ships had was nothing short of remarkable. She’d left most of the fleet in the dust other than those starships she’d taken with her to work on the inner planets. The Drakesthai warships were ungodly fast as well.

Firing and taking down enemy after enemy, Veri headed back – following Asher’s orders. Fighters screamed around the larger ships, firing at each other – at the weapons on the warships, and even the med-ships.

There were no rules of war in this Goddess-forsaken place. The Neprijat must sense the end for them was near because there was no mercy. They took down everything they could, even the non-combat ships meant to support the fleet.

They’d tried to target the supply ships first, but Adelina had made sure those had the best shields.

It had infuriated Veri enough she’d taken out those bombers first with her squad. Asher led another, and William still another. The Neprijat rebels had four squads of their own, plus Brogna, the Unchanged, and a few Drakesthai.

All fought for Adelina – for Khara’s freedom.

For their own freedom.

Because if they lost…

Veri cursed. She’d been too slow and her ship took fire. The plasma struck an engine and the thing exploded, rocking her off course. Her luck had finally run out. “I’m hit,” she told Asher, making sure to select both his and her squad as well as theRosanera. “I’m right over Kepri.”

The fighter shook as alarms blared. A fire had started and she coughed as smoke filled the cockpit.

“I’m going to have to make an emergency landing,” she shouted, keying in commands and activating her helmet. The top of the cockpit popped off, sucking the fire out. Thank the Goddess for these suits of armor.

“Veri, send me your coordinatesnow,” Asher demanded, cutting through the other chatter.

“I’m sorry,mia principe,” she said, tapping more keys. A spare piece of plas-glass slid over her head and sealed the cockpit once more. Then Veri aimed the fighter for Kepri. “I’ll have to finish the rest of this battle on the ground.”

“I’ve locked onto your signal,” Asher snapped, hiding the fear she knew was there. If their positions were reversed she would have been frantic. “I’m coming down with you.”

Asher handed over command of the squad to his lieutenant at the same time she did to hers. Veri shoved down the relief she felt that he wouldn’t let her fight alone. Without a legion she would be in danger until they found their people, rebels, or even the enslaved Corinthians.

Despite the fact they’d taken the space around Kepri, the fight on the surface was a completely different battle.

When she hit the thin atmosphere of the border planet her fighter nearly tore apart. Veri needed it to hold just a little longer so she wouldn’t burn up in the descent to the ground, but who knew what Adelina had designed this armor to do.

Veri didn’t think it would be prudent to test its limits.

“I’m aiming for the largest base,” Veri told him. She studied the schematics as her arms started to hurt from keeping the fighter steady. “It looks like enemy debris hit most of the base.”

“Veri…be careful,” Asher gritted out, his fighter on her tail.

It took all her skill and training to steer the fighter in the direction she wanted it to go. One engine was down and the other was barely limping along – having to do the work for two.

Then she burst through the minimal cloud cover and saw it wasn’t clouds at all, but smoke from the buildings burning. There was so much fire and chaos Veri veered the ship toward a landing strip outside the base she’d picked.

From what she could tell it looked like they were winning Kepri, even if there were swarms of hounds here and there.

“I won’t die,” Veri promised Asher. “At least not landing this thing. Meet me on the ground my love?”

His tired chuckle was music to her ears. “Anything for you, Veri. I’ll be right behind you.”

And she smiled, the ache in her hands easing a bit. Because she knew he would be – deep in her soul Veri knew Asher would always be there for her, even in death.

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