Farin The Dark

By Kelly Lucille

Twenty years after Sara, the first compatible Tellox mate was discovered on Earth, a new generation has come of age.
Farin the Dark, High Commander of the Tellox warriors, has brokered a deal with both the quickly adapting government of Earth and the planets of the intergalactic Alliance for the right to test females for bonding compatibility with his warriors.
The Tellox Accords, as they came to be known as, gave the Tellox hope for lives that consisted of more than just battle and endless wandering. Between the Accords and the coming of age of the first females to be born Tellox in thousands or years, there is new hope for his people.
But what happens when a warrior sets his sights on a woman who is not bound by the accords?
When you are Tellox? You go hunting.

Ember, Siren of the Trios, is no easy prey. Her manipulated genetics and hidden past guarantee that she is as dangerous as she is alluring.
Now a past she thought she had destroyed is catching up with her, and her present if full of danger and the allure of a pushy High Commander she is not sure she wants to escape.

This is a stand alone story. You do not have to read the first Tellox trilogy to enjoy the new series, but if you do you will recognize many of the characters I introduce throughout the new series, all of them connected by a continuing history.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Kelly Lucille
• Release date: Jun 15, 2020
• ISBN: 9780463913093

Kelly Lucille

Kelly Lucille was born in Bremerton, Washington. April 9th, 1974.She has a B.A. Degree in Creative Writing and Literature from Naropa University.Her first book "Keeping Her" published in July of 2013."The Dragon's Mage" was release August 2013"Loving Her" (Mac and Ben's story in the Keeping Her Series) just released on August 31st,2013.Still to come: "At Ones Pleasure." and "Web of Bones" the second in the Dragon Mage series.Also in the works:Two Fantasy/Paranormal Romance novels: "The Journeys End" and "Claiming Her"and a Contemporary Romance "Beatrice and Douglas."On a more personal note- I read my first romance novel: "Shanna" by Kathleen E. Woodiwiss when I was 13 years old. I still read it every year or so just to remember how amazing a really good romance novel can make you feel.Check out more of what's coming next at kellylucille.com

Book preview

Farin the Dark

The Tellox Accords 1

By

Kelly Lucille

Copyright © 2019 Kelly Lucille

For Smashwords

All rights reserved

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three

Chapter Four

Chapter Five

Chapter Six

Chapter Seven

Chapter Eight

Chapter Nine

Chapter Ten

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Twelve

Chapter Thirteen

Chapter Fourteen

Chapter Fifteen

Chapter Sixteen

Chapter Seventeen

Chapter Eighteen

CHAPTER ONE

The day was sweltering, even for Centralis. Most of the planet was sand and rock, it's three major cities all terraformed and shielded from its three suns to support life. But even with the technology available, at this time of day, when all three suns were sharing the red skies above, it was bloody hot. It was no wonder that the usually bustling market was so quiet.

The crowd that were still milling about were mostly the lower dregs of society who came at this time of day to miss the rich travelers and get the best deals. Or the newly arrived travelers on their way to find accommodations, or passing time waiting for a connecting space flight.

She felt the worst for those people.

Everyone else had a choice to be here. Those traveling Alliance space on a budget could either stand around in the bustle of space port and try to nap inside the shields that muffled the sounds from the rest of the planet, clutching on to their belongings tightly against thieves, or they could wander the nearly deserted market under the three sun’s and hope they didn't suffer heat stroke.

At least the shields blocked the damaging rays enough that no one had to worry about sun burn. Still, it was not pleasant. Most people knew that the few hours of the day when all three suns were visible in the sky was the best time to sleep. Those that had the choice of it, and were smart, were tucked into air frosted dark rooms until the first sun passed behind the craggy rock cliffs that surrounded the space bubble the city of Aine sat in.

Ember smiled absently at the small boy trying to get her attention, determined to ignore the parchment dry heat that seemed to press in on her from all sides. The child gave her something to focus on besides a yearning for the waters of an ocean home she had only seen but one time. It was no wonder that as a cold-water ocean dweller by genetics she was not faring well in the heat of the market. But because of those same genetics, she had bigger worries than the heat.

The boy could not be more than twelve or so with the dark brown skin and hair coloring of the native people. Unlike most of the poor that trudged through the heat around her at this time of day, he looked completely aware of his surroundings, and entranced by her.

Sirens were rarely seen away from their home planet of Trios, so it was no wonder he was staring at her like he had never seen anything like her before in his life. Even in a port city known for its diverse travelers, he likely had not. Which was why she had been so careful to keep herself covered and her unusual hair confined. Unfortunately for her, it had a mind of its own on most days and today was being a complete nuisance. It had managed to escape the confines of her thick braids and escaped the deep cowl of her hood enough to move around her as if dancing to a wind no one else could feel in the hot stuffiness of the market.

Right now the boy was a cute distraction, but if she did not get her hair under cover soon more than the small child would be affected, and things could go very wrong for her.

Ember stopped looking around for a shady spot to stop and repair her appearance and just started shoving her nearly ankle length hair back into the confines it had escaped.

She sighed when more and more children began to clamor around where she stood. All boys, all on the cusp of manhood. Easy prey for her kind, and always the first to fall under her spell.

Not that her kind ate the young, or anyone else for that matter. Her ancestors might have been the scourge of the seas, but she liked to think they had evolved at least that much in the last ten thousand years. For instance, they primarily lived on land now, seeking the solace of the ocean tides only for brief respites. It was rare that her claws and fangs even showed themselves since she was usually smart enough to keep herself out of situations where she would need to defend herself, or hunt.

When the growing crowd of boys started to draw eyes their way and she began to attract other kinds of attention, Ember knew she had to get out of sight.

With a harassed sigh she gave up on the idea of waiting in the line to purchase the scented soaps she had come for. Her bright idea to miss the crowds of market evening to limit her exposure had backfired thanks to her underestimation of the heat, and her overestimation of her ability to handle the discomfort of it.

Truthfully she should have known better that to leave her rooms at the height of the day’s heat, but she had needed so badly to get out of her room, cool and luxurious as it was, it was still just four walls and some soft furniture. She was in the capital of the Planetary Alliance, she wanted to see it. She knew from experience that once the diplomatic functions started in a few hours she would be working nonstop. It seemed like going out now had been her only choice if she wanted to see more than her lodgings and the ballroom where the performance would be taking place.

Continuing to tuck in her unruly strands of hair as best she could she slid through the crowd hoping to lose the children, and the gazes of the men who watched her go. But too many had seen her, and while she left the children far behind, she had no hope that the rest of the males that she slid through and around would be as easy. Not when her hair reacted to her emotions more than her will and was determined to flow like water around her face and body. Not when it mesmerized and beckoned with every undulation. She stopped when two men stepped into her path. She was not even surprised to see the greedy lascivious way their eyes coasted over her.

Even covered as she almost was in her long turquoise cloak they managed to leave a trail of cold discomfort across her skin. It was not just that her pale skin glowed with an eerie blue light over slender limbs, or that her long white hair moved as if it was dancing to an imaginary wind, or even the unusual color of her lavender eyes that drew men in.

She was a siren, every movement of her body, hair and especially her voice was meant to lure. And she was of royal blood, which she had discovered when she made her one and only pilgrimage to Trios, so she knew her lure was more potent than most. Still, most people would have heard stories of the predator that lurked beneath those seductive waves of hair and soft glowing skin. Sirens were easy to recognize and known for being a predatory species not to be messed with. Pity that most men saw a small curvy female with flowing white hair and soft skin and lost their ever-loving minds, forgetting all the warning of danger that went hand in hand with the tales of her kind.

Move out of the way gentleman, I have somewhere to be, She used just a hint of power in her voice, but it had the effect she needed, at least temporarily. She dared not try anything stronger in the small crowd of the market. She was as likely to attract attention as command it away. Both men looked momentarily befuddled and moved to the side, allowing her to pass between them. But she was not even three steps beyond them before one of them cursed and followed.

What did you do to me? The bigger scruffier one asked the anger clear in his voice.

He attempted to grab her arm and halt her progress, but he was too late, she moved so fast he caught only air. As soon as she was free of the maze of market stalls Ember wasted no time making her way back toward her hotel. Avoiding having to kill a bunch of men who had no control over themselves her only priority.

She turned her last blind corner and nearly ran straight into the arms of a warrior. Lucky for her she was nearly as lite moving across the land as she was in the water. She twisted and twirled to avoid the collision and was around and through the five tall warriors before any of them could do more than grab for her flowing cloak. She let it go without a fight, leaving the dark warrior looking down at an empty cloak.

He raised black eyes up from the cloak to her and everything around them stopped, as if the worlds were taking a breath. The cold dark eyes that found her reminded her of the chill of space, even as the piece of her that was pure predator reacted to suddenly being so close to another predator. These were not the small sun baked natives of the market. With one look it was clear she had stumbled into a pack of apex predators. And the most dangerous of all of them held her cloak.

Nearly seven foot in height, built of solid muscle, his massive frame should have been lumbering and clumsy, but instead every move was fluid. Every inch of him well-proportioned and dangerous. And those black eyes saw everything.

Without her cloak for cover, that left her in only the light armor and skirt of her battle gear. The armor and cloth were lightweight and waterproof but breathable, allowing her to fight in most conditions, and minimal as was the way of her kind.

Her breast plate was fitted, shoulders and arms bare, her thighs beneath the small skirted leather were bare to the top of her thigh high boots.

The boots, like the skirt, were made of supple but nearly indestructible cloth that slicked off water as well as a blade, breathed and moved with her motions.

All of it, besides the shiny silver breast plate in shades of blue blended in with the colorful sand dwellers around her. Ember had no doubt that the predator assessing her saw all and would not make the mistake so many had made and dismiss her as less than the dangerous predator she was. The flickers and flashes of reactions in those cold eyes told her that. As did the way they he and the others stood so still, predators that came upon each other in the wild and knew to be wary.

Without the cloak stifling her she immediately felt cooler than she had since she came to the market. But instead of calming her down the exposure whipped the long tresses into an undulating frenzy. Her braids had long since unraveled and without the cloak she glowed like some exotic beast. Skin, hair, eyes, all meant to lure in her prey, or a mate. Her hair free of all constraints danced around her, flirted and glowed, making its own breeze and cooling her even more.

Right now it was doing its best to lure the warriors closer. Reacting to her own nerves to protect her. Most knew to stay far away from the silver shine of it. Depending on her emotions it could wrap around a