Bound

By Danika Jeffries

Passionate and deadly, Jessa has spent her life putting the needs of others before her own. Bound by her duties to the Protectorate and to her planet, the princess of Erumar isn’t known for taking anything else particularly seriously, especially not relationships.

Karim is an outcast from his planet, harbouring terrible powers that he would love nothing more than to forget. He’s tormented by his past and afraid to pull anyone into his anguish, especially not a beautiful woman who seems to go out of her way to help him when he’s struggling.

Forced to make difficult and uncomfortable choices, how far will they go to free themselves from their pasts?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Danika Jeffries
• Release date: Nov 2, 2013
• ISBN: 9781311472465

Danika Jeffries

Danika is new to the genre of romance, but has been writing fantasy for a few years now, under her real name.

Book preview

cover-image, Bound

Bound

An Elementalist Novel

Danika Jeffries

Smashwords Edition

Copyright 2015  Danika Jeffries

Discover other titles by Danika Jeffries at Smashwords.com

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

This eBook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only.  This eBook may not be re-sold or given away to other people.  If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each recipient.  If you’re reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy.  Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Epilogue

Chapter 1

Are you sure that you can do this?

Jessalyn grimaced, the expression twisting her pretty features. Gee, she drawled, thanks for the vote of confidence, Lieutenant.

There were a few chuckles from the closest soldiers, and Gregory Feulion, the company’s lieutenant, blushed, the colour reaching all the way to his dark brown hair. 

That’s not what I meant, he was quick to protest, but Jessa silenced him with a smile and an upraised hand. She looked down on the compound built into the ravine below them, reassessing their target.

Let’s go through it all again, for everyone’s sake, she finally stated. The lieutenant needs a bit of reassurance. Word was passed along and the soldiers huddled closer, the nearest taking a knee so that their comrades could crowd in.

Most of us will head down into the ravine while our snipers take up positions overlooking the walls and the inner courtyard areas. Once I’m close enough to touch the grid, I’ll bring down the security, which should include cameras, the locks on the doors, and any other grid protections. I’ll manipulate the energy to thicken the air inside the building, hopefully rendering our targets unconscious.

Jessa looked around at her company, smoothing back her brown hair in a gesture those closest to her recognized — she was a little anxious. 

Make sure that your breathing gear and radio are working before you head into the compound, and remember that I’ll lose control at the edges of the compound first, so secure the outer corridors quickly. These guys are running black market tech, so they’ll likely have everything we do, and maybe a few nasty surprises, so be careful.

Does anyone have any questions before we head out? Gregory asked, taking his time to ensure that he met everyone’s gaze before nodding with satisfaction. Remember that we’ve got a couple of newbies to break in, so look out for them. The Protectorate doesn’t like waste, and we don’t want the commander to get into any trouble; she manages enough of that on her own.

A few chuckles and some ‘fresh meat’ comments followed the lieutenant’s statement as the Protectorate soldiers checked their gear one last time, locked helmets into place, and got prepared themselves. As soon as they were ready, stealth gear was enabled and the men and women flickered out of sight, singly and in pairs. Gregory squeezed Jessa’s shoulder reassuringly before he too disappeared, and with a deep breath, the commander of the Erumari Protectorate’s First Company pressed a button on the control pad of her combat suit and started to ghost down the steep pathway that led to the bottom of the ravine.

As she moved, Jessa mentally ran through the plan again, silently walking herself through the steps she’d need to take in order to bring her soldiers home safely. Playing with energy was tricky, and even though she was a master-ranked Elementalist, it was still very easy for things to go horribly wrong, very quickly.

Reaching the main compound gate, Jessa closed her eyes to centre herself, and then she reached out to taste the energy flowing through the building’s power grid, pressing a button on her wrist to open the communication channel to her company.

I’m hoping you’ve managed to keep track of your partner, she announced. I’m about to grab the power grid, so watch out for malfunctioning electronics. If your gear goes down, retreat immediately.

Keeping the comm channel open, Jessa psychically grabbed hold of the energy running through the gate in front of her while trying to weed out the energy being given off by her suit, her weapons, and the gear of the nearest soldiers. When she heard nothing over the radio to indicate that she was gathering too wide a net, she pulled a little harder, leeching energy out of the security grid and twisting it in her mind. Her particular affinity was for Air, and so Jessa used the excess energy she was pulling from the power grid to affect the air molecules inside the compound, making them move more slowly. This would make the air considerably harder to breathe, and a countdown clock appeared on her helmet’s display. When the clock reached zero, the soldiers would enter the compound and attempt to take control. Until then, Jessa stretched the reach of her power farther, envisioning the heavy air travelling through the ducts and along the corridors, slipping under doors and forcing the regular air higher, toward the ceilings.

Just before the countdown hit zero, people started to exit the building ahead of them, and Jessa saw tiny bursts of red energy fired into the courtyard as the snipers picked the people off. She didn’t know if the enemy was trying to get to the outside so that they could breathe, or if they were coming to attack, but ultimately it didn’t matter. She had orders to burn this place to the ground, and bringing in any of the pirates for trial wasn’t part of their warrant. As soon as the courtyard was empty of the enemy, the Protectorate soldiers flickered into view and entered the building, Jessa following along behind.

Today, she didn’t have a combat role, something that irked her to a certain degree, but Jessa understood that bringing down the security system would ultimately benefit her soldiers more than one more blade or gun involved in the fighting. She tightened her grip on the power grid and pushed her heavy air through the rest of the building.

Commander, we have a locked section of the underground here. How should we proceed? 

Was the door guarded? Gregory asked, saving Jessa from having to answer.

Yes, Sir, came the reply. There were six men here, all unconscious when we arrived.

It’s likely a stash of their black market goods, Gregory speculated. We’ll blow the door later.

Commander, Lieutenant, we have a problem here.

Jessa recognized the voice of one of her higher ranking sergeants, and she cursed. The man wasn’t one to exaggerate, so if he said there was something wrong, it was likely something serious.

What’s happening? came Gregory’s voice over the comm channel.

We’ve come across a barricaded door, and we’re taking fire from inside the room.  From what we can see, they’re destroying documents.

How can you see into the room?

It looks like the door slid open when the commander took over the power grid, the sergeant explained, so the pirates have barricaded themselves inside with overturned furniture and the like. They’re wearing breathers too, and it looks like six or seven of them.

We need those documents, Jessa stated. Anything black market pirates wanted destroyed was something she wanted. Can you toss a target into the room?

Yes, Commander, that shouldn’t be a problem.

Okay everyone, listen up, Jessa commanded, addressing her entire company. I’m about to drop my control of the grid in favour of dealing with our little document issue. I’ll concentrate everything I’ve got on the target, so watch out. Go ahead, Sergeant.

Jessa stopped twisting the energy she was currently controlling, and just waited, senses extended to their fullest. The targets used by Elementalists in situations like these let out a concentrated burst of light and sound, acting as energy beacons so that people like Jessa knew where to direct their attention.  As soon as the target sent up its beacon, she dumped everything she was holding into the room, which resulted in a few muffled curses over the open radio from the men and women nearby who hadn’t adequately prepared themselves for her attack. Taking all of the power grid’s energy and transmuting it into light and force was like dropping a concussion grenade in the middle of the room, and Jessa could hear the sergeant ordering his squad past the barricade to deal with the pirates while they were still trying to pick themselves up from the blast.

Security system’s back up! one of her men yelled into the radio. Sirens immediately began to wail as power filled the circuits in the building once again. 

Who has the command centre? Jessa demanded, drawing her energy pistol and starting to jog down the corridor. She could hear a pair of soldiers behind her, but paid them no mind.

We can’t get in, one of her sergeants reported. The door was on a separate power source or something.

Drop a target, Sergeant, right beside the door. I’ll leech out what I can.

Skidding to a halt and causing one of the soldiers behind her to collide with his partner, Jessa waited for the next flare in energy. Targeting that spot, she pulled everything she could from the area, hoping to force the command centre door open.

You should know better than that!  Jessa  heard the sergeant exclaim. Get him out of here!

What’s the problem, Sergeant? Gregory’s voice chimed in.

One of the men was too close to the blast, and the commander took his suit down.  He’s fine… just stupid.

And the door? Jessa wanted to know. She could hear some commotion coming faintly over the comm channel.

Just about got it, Commander. The command centre should be ours in just a few—

Commander! Someone’s set the building on fire!

By all that is holy, can’t anything go right tonight? Jessa asked rhetorically. Please tell me it wasn’t one of us.

No, Commander, it wasn’t us.

Can you contain it?

No, Commander. It’s been burning for a while, it looks like, and I think having the heavy air sitting on the fuel just made it burn hotter.

Fabulous, Jessa sighed. Okay everyone, if you’re someplace with documents, tech, or anything else interesting, grab it and go. Everyone else, retreat back to the outside of the compound in an orderly fashion.

What about the locked room? someone wanted to know.

Blow the door quickly and see if it’s worth it, Gregory ordered.

Following her own order, Jessa holstered her weapon and turned around, starting to make her way back to the building’s main entrance and the courtyard beyond. She could smell the smoke now, an acrid scent that she associated with burning electronics coming faintly through the respirator on her helmet.

We’ve got kids here.

Jessa stopped dead, a shiver of disquiet running through her. Repeat that!

We’re in the med centre, Commander, and we’ve got kids here.

A concussive blast seemed to rock the foundation of the building as the squad on the lower level blew the locked door they’d found. The report Jessa was dreading came through a few moments later. 

We’ve got kids here, too.

Everyone not currently carrying something, fall back to the med centre or underground. We have to get the kids out of here. Snipers, take down anyone not in a Protectorate uniform. I don’t want anybody escaping, if we can avoid it.

Jessa spun back around and took off at a dead run toward the centre of the building. She knew that she was closer to the med centre than the underground, so that’s where she went.  As she ran, the smell of burning grew stronger and the smoke grew thicker. Soldiers carrying small bodies began to appear, and Jessa unconsciously began to count the children being carried to safety.

We’re not going to have time to get them all, the sergeant in charge of the med centre squad reported as soon as she saw Jessa skid to a halt at the doors. The fire’s coming too fast.

Jessa looked where the sergeant gestured, and sure enough, she could see the lurid glow of approaching flames. 

All of you, do what you can, she ordered before jogging alone deeper into the med centre, toward the fire. Flames needed air to burn, and she could remove the air from the building just as easily as any other kind of manipulation. Pulling on the power grid again, Jessa twisted the energy into a whirlwind, starting to siphon air away from the flames.

She kept track of the radio chatter in the back of her mind as she directed the energy to do what she wanted. Everything seemed to be going fine until the flames reached the power centre of the building and power grid crashed. Jessa stumbled as the energy manipulation she was controlling faltered briefly as the energy source changed to her suit’s energy pack.

Jessa! Gregory’s voice assaulted her over the open comm channel. He’d obviously felt her falter through their bond, and he was worried enough that he dropped her rank, something he rarely did when their soldiers could overhear him.

I’m okay, for now, she answered, aware that her breathing was already laboured. Get the kids out.

Gregory swore, not caring that their company could hear him. Don’t you dare die, he ordered. I’m coming for you.

Jessa started to cough as the air filtration system on her helmet started to fail. Backing away from the fire, she kept her eyes on the flames and held her hands behind her to minimize the chance of bumping into something and falling. With a crackle, her radio failed entirely as her gift continued to pull energy from her suit to fuel the manipulation that she didn’t dare stop. Without her radio though, she wouldn’t know when everyone was out…

The combat suit failed entirely, the power source drained to nothing, and Jessa fell to her knees as the energy drain moved to her aura, her own personal supply of energy. As a master Elementalist, she had a fair amount of energy stored, but as the fire continued to grow, so had her siphon, and Jessa battled with the choice between saving herself and making sure that everyone else was out of the burning building. She risked a quick look around the med centre, and seeing nobody, Jessa dropped her siphon, turned, and ran for the courtyard. Gregory said he’d come for her, but with no power to her suit, there was no power to her rescue beacon, either. He’d be able to find her through their bond, but it would take longer. She hoped that she had time.

The floor shuddered as she ran, making her footing precarious, and she stumbled a few times but managed to keep her feet. Then the ceiling started to give way with the groan of twisting metal, and Jessa instinctively flung power upward and outward to ward off the chunk of falling concrete. The sudden drain on her aura brought her to her hands and knees, darkness threatening at the edges of her vision. She struggled back to her feet and set off again, this time at a staggering lope.

The floor bucked beneath her feet as something collapsed behind her with a crash. The walls started to fall in toward each other, dust and bits of concrete raining down on her head, and Jessa forced herself to keep moving. She stumbled along, gasping on soot- and dust-filled air, and she could feel and hear the flames flickering behind her until one of the walls gave way and fell, blocking the fire. The force of the wall collapsing brought Jessa to the ground again, and she stayed there, head hanging and trying to muster the energy to get up.

Jessa!

Commander!

Hearing voices coming from ahead, she tried to call out to them but only managed to choke and cough. Even that sound seemed faint to her though, and she worried that her men would be unable to find her in the darkness. With a little of her remaining energy, she sent up a flare of light.

There! Gregory called faintly from ahead, and Jessa let herself sag to the ground as her body fought her mind. Energy depleted, her heartbeat fading and her breathing slow and shallow, her body tried to force her into unconsciousness, but Jessa knew that if she gave in, she’d quite possibly never wake again; death from energy drain was a very real possibility for Elementalists. She closed her eyes.

I’ve got you!

Jessa, unable to force her eyes open again, felt herself grabbed roughly from the ground and cradled against a strong, hard body. She felt her head lolling like it was attached to her body by only the thinnest cord, but Gregory tried to keep her neck stable as best he could as he turned back the way he’d come and ran for the fresh air of the courtyard. She heard her lieutenant cursing as he ran, berating her for being stupid and trying to reassure her at the same time. Jessa felt unattached from her body, knew she was slipping toward a coma, and knew that though it was her fault, Gregory would never forgive himself if she died.

Reaching the courtyard, fresh air brushed gently against her face through her helmet, and Jessa wanted to drink it into her air-starved lungs, but couldn’t figure out how. She felt Gregory drop to his knees as soon as he was clear of the collapsing building, felt her helmet ripped away, and then his hands were cradling her face. His lips crushed against hers in a kiss more frantic than passionate, and she felt energy flowing into her.

Come on, come on, Gregory begged as he broke the kiss and pushed her sweat-soaked hair back from her face. Cupping her cheeks again, he brought his lips back to hers and Jessa willed the energy he was holding in his aura to move into hers, willed her heart to beat more strongly, willed her lungs to fill once more.

They both knew that the more skin-to-skin contact they had, the more intimate their connection, the faster the flow of energy would happen, but their position in the pirate stronghold constrained them, and Gregory really couldn’t do more than kiss her. Still, he worked to strip her gloves off, fingers entwining with hers, and Jessa focussed on the feel of his calloused fingers brushing against her skin. She was unaware of anything but her partner, only peripherally conscious of the fact that most of the rest of their soldiers had gathered around them in a loose circle. Somewhere nearby, a child was crying.

With a gasp and a cough, Jessa turned away from Gregory. He held her while she drew deep, shuddering breaths, but it wasn’t until she opened her pretty blue eyes that her lieutenant relaxed a little. Jessa felt some of the tension leave his arms as he let her sit up, but kept hold of her bare hand in his, keeping a small trickle of energy flowing into her.

Did we get them all? Jessa asked as soon as she could draw enough breath to speak. Her voice sounded weak and raw.

Nearly, one of the sergeants answered. We got them all from the med centre, and most from underground.

Jessa nodded weakly. And did we lose anybody?

No, Commander, we didn’t, the same sergeant told her. One of the boys was on his way out with a kid when the corridor collapsed behind him. They made it out okay, but nobody could head back in for the others.

Enough for now, Gregory stated firmly, standing and pulling Jessa to her feet. She staggered, and he wrapped an arm around her waist, supporting her while she found her balance. Commander, you need to rest and recover. Half of you get those children onto the ship, and the rest of you make sure that this place finishes burning. Bring the documents and tech we managed to scavenge, and we’ll debrief when we get back to Nevern.

Gregory continued to support Jessa as they made their way back up the steep ravine trail, leaving the soldiers behind them to follow their orders, and he shook his head.

Why do you hate me? he asked.

I don’t hate you, Gregory, Jessa replied softly, you know that.

Then why do you keep trying to kill yourself? Your father is going to have my head one day. Will that make you happy?

Jessa sighed. You knew what you were getting into, my friend, and you know that I don’t have a death wish.

Well, you still act like you do, he protested. You’re reckless, that’s what you are.

She chuckled weakly. I can’t argue with that.

By the time they reached their company’s ship, Jessa was faltering again, though she tried to hide it. She shouldn’t have bothered, however, her bond to her partner making that sort of deception impossible. Without hesitating, Gregory swept her off of her feet and strode up the landing ramp and into the bowels of the transport. 

What do you think you’re doing? she asked, pushing against his arms weakly in order to get him to put her down.

I’m going to put you to bed, he told her. 

And what is our company going to think about that?

They will realize, again, that I’m doing my duty as your bonded partner, Gregory stated. Since you insisted on being reckless and draining yourself dry in the pursuit of your duty, you need an infusion of energy so you don’t slip into a coma. This isn’t the first time, and it’s not likely to be the last, and our soldiers know full well that taking care of you is part of my job, even if they don’t know the details. Arguably, this is the best part of my job. This last he said with a smile, but Jessa could see the worry in his eyes.

Reaching her quarters, Gregory keyed the entry sequence that only he and she knew, and he stepped inside. The lights flickered on as he set Jessa on her feet, and he took her face in his hands as she sighed.

They don’t think you’re weak, he stated firmly, understanding her sigh for what it was. "They all saw what you did, holding back the flames like that so that they could get the kids and get out. You didn’t lose anybody tonight, nobody except you is