Rasalas

It's only a transport, an ordinary escort mission to a normal, ally world. Routine escapes into the ether, though, when Caz sympathizes with his empyrean passenger's harrowing circumstances. He's a professional diplomat, ordered to complete the negotiated handoff and stay out of political traps. But explorers' spirits aren't so easily tamed. And Caz has always been fearlessly independent.

Caspian Sheridan hasn't gotten this far in life by avoiding risk. Preferring to leap into unknowns and figure out strategy along the way, he's made a successful career out of mediating tough situations with level-headed tenacity and impeccable English manners. He's managed to survive some of the most challenging diplomatic exchanges the FGIA has to offer and kept his stellar reputation intact. But nothing prepared him for escorting a wonderfully likable, exiled Nih'laiian dignitary back home to a palace bristling with intolerance. And when the truth suddenly shifts into something he never could have expected, he's left blindsided by doubt. With authorities on all sides crying foul and several innocent lives hanging in the balance, the only thing Caz can do is jump in to help. He has to hope he won't lose everything on a chance for redemption.

Feeling like a complete failure, Uriberos Melandrach dreads arriving on Olm Caelora with every fiber of his being, despite the sworn duty he has to uphold as an imperial guard of the realm. His prince is stranded, in dire need of supplies, and Uri's the only one who knows and can do anything about it. No matter the repercussions, he must go home. He must get help to Jen. He's ready to sacrifice himself; he always has been. What he's not ready for, though, is being tossed in the middle of the ambitious machinations he's spent a lifetime avoiding. All he wants is to reconnect with his family, his people, the world he loves. Instead, he's being used as a political pawn by the man he hates most, forced to assume another false identity to keep his loved ones safe. Though his heart urges him to fight and his soul begs him to resist, he's stuck. He has far too much to lose this time.

Allied against all odds, Caz and Uri can only feel their way through the treacherous web of greed with mutual trust and understanding. Despite their opposing cultures and backgrounds, they must come together to battle a common enemy in the name of intergalactic peace. If they fail, an alliance and an entire innocent world could be lost. If they succeed, though, they could find themselves on the wrong side of a royal execution.

This work is intended for a mature audience and contains mature content. For a more comprehensive list of content tags, please see this book's information page at the author's website.