3013: SPELLBOUND: A 3013 Novella (3013: The Series) Read online

  3013: SPELLBOUND

  3013: THE SERIES

  A 3013 NOVELLA

  By Kali Argent

  Table of Contents

  3013: SPELLBOUND

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  EPILOGUE

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  The 3013 Series

  3013: MATED by Laurie Roma

  3013: RENEGADE by Susan Hayes

  3013: CLAIMED by Laurie Roma

  3013: STOWAWAY by Susan Hayes

  3013: SALVATION by Laurie Roma

  3013: MENDED by Kali Argent

  3013: TARGETED by Susan Hayes

  3013: CHAOS by Laurie Roma

  3013: ALTERED by Kali Argent

  3013: FATED by Susan Hayes

  3013: GENESIS by Laurie Roma

  3013: REVOLUTION by Kali Argent

  3013: PRIMAL by Laurie Roma

  3013: OUTLAW by Kali Argent

  3013: ALLEGIANCE by Laurie Roma

  3013: FEVER by Kali Argent

  Novellas

  3013: SYNERGY by Laurie Roma

  3013: ASYLUM by Kali Argent

  3013: SCARRED by Susan Hayes

  3013: BROKEN by Kali Argent

  3013: EXODUS by Laurie Roma

  3013: TRINITY by Kali Argent

  3013: KISMET by Laurie Roma

  3013: REMEDY by Kali Argent

  3013: SPELLBOUND by Kali Argent

  3013: SPELLBOUND

  Copyright © January 2020 by Kali Argent

  Covert Art by Black Butterfly Designs

  Published by PECCAVI PRESS

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal, except for the case of brief quotations in reviews and articles.

  Criminal copyright infringement is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to 5 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.

  All characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any resemblance to actual persons living or dead is strictly coincidental.

  3013: SPELLBOUND

  Agreeing to live on Earth with his sister might have been the biggest mistake of Sentry Xi Moonmist’s very long life. Far away from his home world, he has no duties to perform, no job to do. He has no purpose. Worse, his magic is fading, turning against him, and even the smallest of spells has unpredictable consequences.

  Everything changed for Cynda Vargas the day her fathers died. Left alone with a jealous mother and two spoiled sisters, she’s known nothing but loneliness and neglect for years. An infertile human female, rejected from the Academy, an embarrassment to her family, she has no time to dream when she’s simply trying to survive.

  The path to happily-ever-after isn’t an easy one, but when fate brings these two lost souls together, all it takes is one kiss and a little magic to leave them both completely spellbound.

  PROLOGUE

  The world had changed in the year 3013.

  Earth rebuilt their civilization after the Alien Wars ravaged the planet and an unknown virus nearly wiped out the entire population, but nothing could ever bring back what once was. A new age of mankind was born, but some of the edicts set forth for humans to survive have become obsolete in the ever-changing universe.

  What fate has in store is uncertain, though, one constant is clear. In a cosmos filled with endless possibilities, love is the ultimate prize. Warriors from every species search the stars for love, and they will risk all to fight for those who hold their hearts. But danger is always present when worlds collide. As new challenges arise, all the known races must adapt and learn from their allies. However, not all desire peace, or to live in harmony.

  And as a new year dawns, the battle for the future has only begun…

  CHAPTER ONE

  “Oh, my stars. Can you believe this place?”

  “Come off it. You know the Brightons are rolling in credits.”

  “Yeah, that’s true, and Commander Brighton is so handsome.”

  “Too bad he’s already mated to that shrew from Xenthian.”

  Stepping out of the shuttle behind her twin sisters, Cynda Vargas combed her hair forward so that it effectively obscured the star tattooed near the corner of her right eye. As she followed her siblings up the wide, stone steps to the front doors, she kept her head down, but couldn’t resist sneaking glances at the opulent mansion through her lashes.

  It really was an incredible piece of architecture with towering columns and windows that shimmered in the morning sun. From its place atop the hill, it could be seen from pretty much anywhere in Light City. Yet, she’d never appreciated just how vast the structure really was until now.

  “I heard his mate has a couple of brothers,” Anise whispered as she reached out for the glowing button set into a silver panel beside the double doors. “I mean, they’re not exactly Brightons or Harts, but—”

  “They’re still part of the family,” Sage agreed, a devious gleam in her sapphire blue eyes. “I wonder if we’ll meet them today.”

  Cynda bit the inside of her cheek to smother her smile. She’d been hoping to meet a Xenon ever since the Alliance had learned about their existence. When she’d heard there were several on the planet, living right there in her city, she could hardly believe it. For months, she’d poured over every scrap of information she could find on the race, learning all about their home world, their culture, and their language.

  Of course, her language converter made that last bit kind of redundant, but she’d been so fascinated by Xenthian and its people, she’d wanted to know everything. They were said to be beautiful, almost ethereally so, with the bonded males nearly twice the size of their unmated counterparts. The public archives had been vague on the details about the increased size of these males, but she’d deduced it had something to do with soulmates—a Xenon’s destined companion chosen for them by the fates.

  “I hear footsteps.” Anise glanced at her twin with a giddy smile. “This is really happening.”

  “I can’t believe they denied our request in the first place. Don’t they know who we are?” Sage demanded with a disgusted snort. She turned her head to stare at Cynda over her shoulder. “Try not to embarrass us.”

  Cynda bowed her head lower and pressed her lips together into a thin line. What could she say when her very existence was a constant source of humiliation for her family?

  The twins may have been born infertile like her, but both had received high marks during their aptitude testing. They had also been accepted into the Academy. While their careers as elites had been somewhat lackluster, they still had a lot more privileges and freedoms than ordinary civilians.

  Much to their mother’s dismay, the genetic enhancements hadn’t produced any extrasensory abilities in her sisters. The injections had, however, made them both perfect in virtually every other way from their golden hair to their hourglass figures. Even hidden beneath the Alliance’s standard black-and-gray uniform, their bodies were visible works of art.

  Cynda fidgeted with the sleeve of her faded black dress. She wasn’t as tall as her siblings, and she didn’t have their enviable curves since she’d never received the enhancements. As such, Sage’s old dress fell around her thin frame in a lifeless ocean of fabric.

  That wasn’t their only physical differences, either. Instead of hair the color of spun gold, Cynda’s long locks were dark as midnight, contrasting
horribly with her pale complexion. Where her sisters’ eyes shined like sapphires, her eyes were a dull, forgettable blue and far too big for her mousy face.

  The double doors with their intricate stained glass swung inward, and a petite female with dark hair and delicate features stepped up to the threshold. “Hello, I am Jael, Commander Brighton’s mate. You must be the Vargas sisters.”

  She spoke pleasantly enough, but her smile strained at the edges, and her lavender eyes held a hardness that belied her words. To anyone paying attention, it was obvious she wasn’t happy about their arrival, and honestly, Cynda couldn’t blame her. The trials for the infertility drug designed by Hart Pharmaceuticals wouldn’t begin for months yet, and they certainly wouldn’t be held in the commander’s home.

  But whatever Anise and Sage wanted, they usually got. Since their fathers had been decorated heroes who had died in the service of the Alliance, their last name opened a lot of doors—both metaphorical and literal. It also didn’t hurt that one of their grandfathers had been a respected regent who still wielded a lot of influence, even after his retirement.

  When news had spread about the development of a drug to cure infertility in human females caused by the Zyphir virus, the twins had demanded access to it immediately. Naturally, their mother had agreed, and it had taken only a few vid calls from their grandfather to make that selfish request a reality.

  Taking a step back from the doorway, Jael waved her hand to indicate they should enter. “If you’ll follow me, we’ll be conducting the tests down in the laboratory. You were informed that the process can take several hours, correct? Will you be comfortable in your uniforms for the duration?”

  “Oh, that’s not a problem,” Anise answered with a hint of impatience. “We brought a change of clothes and a few things to keep us occupied.”

  Sage gave a nod of solidarity, then turned to Cynda. “Where are our bags?”

  “In the shuttle.”

  Her sister arched an eyebrow at her. “Well, don’t just stand there. Get them.”

  “Oh, I can have someone take care of that.” Peering around the twins, Jael gave Cynda a warm smile. “One of my brothers would be happy to help.”

  Anise eyes lit up at the mention of the Xenon males, but Sage shook her head. “Thank you, but it’s really okay. Cynda doesn’t mind.” There was pure, icy threat in her tone when she continued. “Do you, Cynda?”

  “No, I don’t mind.”

  Backing down the steps, she made sure to keep her tone light and her smile untroubled. She knew what was expected of her. She knew not to speak out of turn, cause a scene, or embarrass the family. It was better to just keep her head down and not make waves.

  Life was much easier when she just did what she was told.

  * * * *

  If one more word came out of his brother’s mouth, Xi was going to kill him. Not hurt. Not grievously injure. He was going to straight up murder him.

  He loved his siblings more than anything else in the universe, but all four of them living under the same roof was probably the worst idea they’d ever had. As the eldest, it was his duty to look after them, protect them. It was also his job to make sure they didn’t get into trouble or do anything that would reflect poorly on their race as a whole.

  So far, he’d at least succeeded in that task, but by the ancestors, they were driving him mad. It seemed like every day, Syrie found something new to hate about Earth. She didn’t like the food, the animals, the flowers, or how humans put frozen cubes of water in their tea. The electrical lights in the mansion gave her a headache. The conditioned air made her skin itch.

  The complaints never ended.

  Jael’s mood swings were giving him whiplash. He’d never met another creature who could go from laughter to tears in the span of seconds. One moment, she’d be giggling over something her mate had said, then the next, she’d start raging because someone had eaten the last slice of cheese from the food console.

  Since she was with child, he supposed her volatile emotions were to be expected. Moreover, there wasn’t a damn thing he could do about it except tread lightly around his baby sister.

  Then, there was Osian. Unlike Syrie, his brother loved everything about their new home. Even the simplest things amazed him, like the color of the sky or the texture of the grass. He wanted to do everything, try everything, and his enthusiasm usually led to calamity. Six times, he’d set the kitchen on fire. Twice, he’d ignited the back deck, and no one, including Osian, was really sure how.

  For three days, he’d been obsessed with something called a “croissant,” and if he didn’t shut up about it, Xi was going to lose it.

  In a moment of insanity, he had promised Jael that they would all stay for as long as she needed them. If had known then how hard it would be to keep that vow, he probably would have kept his lips sealed.

  Worse than Jael’s waspishness, Syrie’s constant complaints, or Osian’s unwavering excitement was the unending boredom. On Xenthian, he commanded dozens of sentries in the royal guard. There were always borders that needed patrolling, guests who needed an escort, training to oversee, and orders to be given.

  Now, he had no duty, no purpose, no direction. As the days stretched into weeks, his restlessness grew, and every morning he fought the urge to board the nearest vessel and return home. He knew Jael would understand. She wouldn’t hold it against him, but he’d made a promise, and not once in almost four thousand years had he ever gone back on his word.

  Still, he couldn’t wait for Luke to get his pharmaceutical empire operational again so they could all return to Xenthian and their regularly scheduled lives.

  “Too bad we don’t have any pickles,” Osian mused as he finished assembling the sandwiches on the kitchen counter. It was one of the few tasks they’d found for him to do that didn’t end in disaster. “I read that pregnant females on Earth love pickles.”

  “Our sister isn’t human.” Picking up one of the plates, Xi stared down at the sandwich and frowned. “What’s a pickle?”

  His brother shrugged. “No idea, but I bet it’s delicious.”

  “Pickles are phallic-shaped vegetables soaked in something called vinegar.” Syrie gave a little shudder as she entered the kitchen. “I don’t think we should try them. They’re probably toxic.”

  While Osian had adopted the casual, human attire Luke preferred, Syrie was dressed in the jade green tunic and tall boots they all wore as sentries on the Southern Isle. She had even completed the ensemble by strapping a set of golden daggers to her hips.

  As for Xi, he’d discovered he quite enjoyed the leather pants preferred by males of some of the other races. He also kept a small blade in a special loop on the inside of his right boot. It was smart to be prepared, but he didn’t feel the need to be as excessive as his sister.

  “Who do you think is going to attack us in the house?” Osian asked, giving voice to Xi’s thoughts. “You should try to relax, sister.”

  “And you should try to take things more seriously,” she countered.

  “I take things seriously!”

  Marching up to him, Syrie poked her finger in the center of his chest and sneered at the white T-shirt depicting a rock. That was it. Just a damn rock. Xi didn’t know what the words beneath it said, and it was unlikely Osian did, either. No doubt, it was something stupid.

  “My mistake,” Syrie said dryly. “I must have been thinking of some other reckless idiot.”

  And they were off, trading insults that gradually increased in both volume and creativity. It wasn’t surprising considering the pair couldn’t be in the same room lately without bickering. It was, however, exhausting.

  Shaking his head, Xi took two plates from the counter and carried them to the lift that descended into the basement lab. Luke and Jael had been down there all morning, overseeing treatment for a couple of infertile females, and he doubted either of them had eaten since breakfast. Luke could take care of himself, but Jael’s crankiness always seemed worse when she
was hungry.

  That, and it was a ready excuse to get away from Syrie and Osian.

  He hoped the other humans had already departed. While he didn’t dislike Earth the way Syrie did, he did make it a point to avoid interactions with the natives whenever possible. Not just the Earthlings, but the Krytos, Helios, and Tarins as well. He particularly disliked the Reema.

  The D’Aire were okay, he guessed.

  The lift slowed to a stop with a quiet chime, and the door slid open onto a cavernous, sterile room that smelled slightly of leather and soap. Winding his way through the dozen or so workstations, he frowned at the various beeps and buzzes coming from the data units.

  He was damn proud of his baby sister, and he knew her research would change countless lives, but that didn’t mean he actually understood it. Honestly, when she tried to explain it to him, it kind of made his head hurt.

  Continuing toward the corner office at the back of the lab, he slowed his footsteps and grunted. It wasn’t Jael that was making his temples throb now. It wasn’t big scientific words that made the muscles in his back knot.

  Rolling his shoulders, he took another step. His pulse jumped. Another step, and a current of electricity sped down his spine. One more, and his mouth turned as dry as the deserts on the Western Isle.

  His stomach twisted. His chest constricted. His vision dimmed at the corners.

  Setting the lunch plates down on the nearest lab table, he changed directions and headed for the exam rooms that lined the far wall. There was something in one of those rooms, something he needed to find. He couldn’t say what exactly, but it called to him, beckoned him like a shining beacon on a stormy sea.

  As he approached the door at the end of the row, the markings on his arms began to shimmer with an iridescent light that pulsed in time with his heartbeat. The closer he came, the more brightly the light shined. Whatever he was looking for, it was beyond that door. It was…

  The opaque glass door slid open, and two females—identical from their honey-colored crowns to their matching black boots stepped across the threshold. They stopped, their eyes big and filled with appreciation as they stared up at him.