At least a dozen of the Dawn hovered inside. Within seconds, every one of their eyes was on Arixa, yet no greetings were offered.
Dak was there, still armed and ready to charge a foe in spite of heavy wounds. There were Matas and his son Plin. There were Arixa’s half-sister Leimya and steppe-sister Tomiris, and more.
Zhi was there, as was Fizzbik, but after a brief glance those two went about their work, of which a considerable amount lay ahead.
Of them all, it was Leimya who acted first, throwing herself clumsily across the space between them to nearly collide with Arixa. She would have spun into a wall had Arixa not reached out and grabbed her.
Leimya turned the rescue into a tight embrace. “I’m with you,” she said. “Always.”
An instant later, Tomiris hovered at Leimya’s shoulder. She smiled, faintly but with warmth. “You need not even ask.”
“We’re with you, Captain,” Matas said.
“Let’s kill them all.” This came from Dak. Others murmured agreement.
Arixa was looking upon the array of faces with immense relief when Ivar sailed from behind into her field of vision from behind.
Breaking the embrace with Leimya, she waited with held breath to learn Ivar’s mind.
“I warned you about making decisions without consulting us,” he said ominously. “This is no small thing that you did. Not all of the Dawn will be of one mind about it.” He paused and resumed, “Never doubt that I’ll stand behind you. Always. But it must be my choice. From now on, be sure our voices are heard, will you?”
Even though it would have been simpler to agree, Arixa said, “I can’t promise that.”
She could promise anything to an enemy and swiftly break her word, but not to Ivar. Not to the Dawn.
Finally, the Norther laughed. “Fine,” he conceded. “I suppose you can’t. But you could try.”
Arixa smiled. “I will try.”
“Good enough,” Ivar said. “A lighthouse, hmm?”
“More or less,” Arixa said. “Mostly less.”
“And what next, after we destroy it?”
For the first time since the end of the battle to make the Sagaris her own and become its Captain, Arixa felt like herself again.
“What Dak said,” she answered. “We kill them all.”
END OF BOOK 1
Continued in
NEXT TIME: As the Sagaris hurtles through the Blue toward unknown dangers, Arixa will need to unify a fractious war band, find food and supplies and devise a plan to attack the Jir that won’t get her remaining warriors killed and her homeworld destroyed. A powerful improvement to her alien weapon the Ironglove will make her a force to be reckoned with, but is it enough to fight a war that Earth isn’t nearly ready for? Is it enough to keep the Dawn alive?
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Table of Contents
Copyright Page
Scythian Dawn
Prologue
One
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Fifteen
Sixteen
Seventeen
Eighteen
Nineteen
Twenty
Twenty-One
Twenty-Two
Twenty-Three
Twenty-Four
Twenty-Five
Twenty-Six
Twenty-Seven
Twenty-Eight
Twenty-Nine
Thirty