Page 1 of Aria's Desire

Chapter 1

Aria stepped out of the complex and onto the pale grey sands of the arena. Closing her eyes and tipping her head back, she let the light of the two suns warm her face, enjoying the rare moment of silence.

Being the leader of a slave uprising came with never-ending responsibilities, tasks, and a constant stream of people wanting her attention, so quiet was in limited supply.

She didn’t mind. Usually. But some days, she found herself missing the simplicity of the gladiator tournaments. The mission there was simple: don’t die, and don’t let anyone kill or hurt her mates.

Things were much more complicated, now.

Opening her eyes, she gazed at the people milling about and felt her lips curl in a small smile. They were worth it. These people had been through hell, and she’d do whatever it took so they could live their lives free and happy.

With the spaceships left ownerless after her Vice President, Victoria, seized a nearby slave market, they’d returned four large groups of people to their home planets with more trips being planned as soon as one of the ships returned.

What surprised Aria, was the number of people who wanted to stay.

Their reasons varied. Some wanted to join the fight for freedom. Some had been here so long all their loved ones were likely dead and gone, so there wasn’t anyone waiting for them back home. Others had fallen in love and didn’t feel as though their alien mates would be accepted on their worlds.

Looking around, she took in the homes those people had built for themselves, transforming what used to be a place of death and pain into something beautiful. A community. A place of life, hope, and new beginnings.

She watched the couples and mated groups talking and smiling at one another, tending their gardens, kissing before they headed off to their various jobs. They were no longer just surviving, they were living, and she was proud as hell that she had a part in that. But watching them also intensified the ache in her chest that was getting harder to ignore.

As she stood there, it hit her that maybe she was wrong. Maybe what she missed wasn’t the simplicity of the tournaments. Maybe the yearning in her chest was for something else.

For just a moment, she let her mind wander, let herself imagine building a home for herself, Tirox, and Kix out here, away from the rooms they were in that once belonged to Zhrovni, the previous Overlord of the arena. She let herself imagine sleeping in with them, waking up late, and making a leisurely breakfast together, but when that imagining ended with her cupping her stomach, she cut it off.

That was what she wanted, but it wasn’t what she could have. Not now. Maybe not ever.

Those people smiling, laughing, and building lives for themselves needed her to beVhraress, the ruthless champion of the arena and leader of the slave uprising. That didn’t include sleeping in, or a leisurely morning with her mates, or children with Tirox’s roguish smile or Kix’s beautiful eyes.

It was a sacrifice she was more than willing to make, a role she was more than willing to fill. But that didn’t mean she didn’t yearn for more, for something… simpler. Happier.

A warning tingle in the back of her head and the faint flutter of wings jerked her out of her ruminations. Ducking quickly, Aria dodged the octofly zipping past, narrowly missing the blade gripped in one of its tentacles.

A blade that, unless she was seriously mistaken, had been aimed for her throat.

Whipping around to follow its trajectory before it could loop back for another attack, she found Spar, the ex-CIA agent she was going to strangle one day, grinning at her from where she was leaning back against a massive mushroom tree.

Holding the soon-to-be-strangled woman’s gaze, Aria listened for the almost imperceptible flutter of the octofly’s wings then blindly shot a hand out and grabbed it mid-flight. After disarming it, she let it go and smirked at Spar’s disgruntled look.

Raising her voice, she called out, “I can still hear them.”

Spar was determined to train the half-animal, half-machine creatures, previously used to record gladiator tournaments, to attack. She already used them as spies and scouts on the covert missions she went on in the city beyond the arena walls, but after losing one on her last trip, she’d come up with the idea of teaching them how to kill. In an effort to do this, she’d taken to siccing them on Aria at random times to test the skills she was trying to teach them.

In spite of the woman’s efforts, none had succeeded in sneaking up on Aria, let alone actually managed to inflict injury.

Pulling a face, the petite blonde woman pushed off the tree and walked closer so they didn’t have to yell.

“Of course,youcan hear them. I swear you’re part ninja. But will anyone else be able to?”

Aria cocked a brow. “Tirox can feel the vibrations of an incoming enemy from fifty yards off, so yeah, I’m sure there are other beings out there who won’t have any trouble picking up on the sound of their wings.”

Pausing to eye the animal now perched on Spar’s shoulder, it’s iridescent tentacles draped around her neck and chest, its delicate, frilled, butterfly-like wings drooping slightly with defeat, she considered something.

“Have you thought about switching tactics? Instead of trying to train them to attack up-close, train them to attack from a distance.”

Spar tilted her head. “How do you mean?”

“Fabricate small guns for them and train them to shoot. They can conceal them under their tentacles. The guns will lose some power with the miniaturization, but not much, I wouldn’t think. They’d still have enough kick to kill—”

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