In Command Read online

  First Published by Ink Monster, LLC in 2021

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  Ink Monster, LLC

  100 Commons Rd., Ste 7-303

  Dripping Springs, TX 78620

  www.inkmonster.net

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  ISBN 9781943858743

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  Copyright © 2021 by Ink Monster, LLC

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  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof

  may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher

  except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Also by Aileen Erin

  The Complete Alpha Girls Series

  Becoming Alpha

  Avoiding Alpha

  Alpha Divided

  Bruja

  Alpha Unleashed

  Shattered Pack

  Being Alpha

  Lunar Court

  Alpha Erased

  * * *

  The Shadow Ravens Series

  Cipher

  * * *

  The Aunare Chronicles

  Off Planet

  Off Balance

  In Command

  On Mission

  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

  On Mission

  Looking for more from Aileen Erin?

  Also by Aileen Erin

  About the Author

  Chapter One

  AMIHANNA

  A beeping woke me, but it wasn’t enough to pull me fully from sleep. I rolled over, curling deeper into the sheets.

  But then came footsteps. I slowly stopped my movements under the covers. I didn’t want to alert whoever had come into my room, but I was aware that I might be in for a fight.

  I held my breath, waiting as the footsteps came closer.

  Waiting for the right moment.

  Waiting for them to get a little closer.

  Wait—

  Someone shook my shoulder.

  Now.

  I threw myself from the bed, hit a warm body, and quickly pinned it to the ground. Whoever was in my room thought they could catch me when I was asleep, but I never slept. Not deeply. Not when the threat of assassination was high.

  I pressed my forearm across a neck and tried to see in the dark.

  Damn it. What was the Aunare word for lights again?

  Hands pushed at my arm, but I held it firmly in place. Whoever this was, they weren’t getting away.

  “Shit, babe.” The voice was strangled—for obvious reasons—and strained, but familiar. Really familiar. “Wake up.”

  Wait. I was an idiot. Lorne had switched his room comp to Earther English. “Lights, twenty percent.”

  The lights eased on, stopping just above dim. The room came into view.

  This used to be Lorne’s suite, but now it was ours. The lamp beside the bed gave off enough light to hurt my eyes for a second, and then I glanced at who I had pinned.

  “Shit.” I immediately moved my arm and rolled away. “What the hell, Roan? Why are you sneaking into my room?”

  “You can’t what the hell me. That’s my line. What the hell was that?” He rubbed his neck. “I think I might get a bruise right here. Is it red? Can you see?”

  He always said that, but Roan was incredibly hard to bruise. “No. It’s not red.”

  I was finally fully awake and realized my heart was racing. I rubbed my eyes, and I took a breath, trying to slow my heart a little. Everything was fine. I was fine. But I’d nearly killed my best friend.

  “Sorry. I didn’t know it was you.”

  He shot me a look that told me he was only moderately pissed off, which was good. “Who else would it be?”

  “SpaceTech spies? Jason Murtagh finally coming to finish the job? Or—I don’t know—another guard that decided I was better dead than as their future queen? The list of people who want me to stop breathing is pretty long, my friend.”

  Roan laughed at me like assassins hadn’t tried to kill me just a few days ago. Some of them my own guards. Ditto on the SpaceTech spies.

  “You must’ve really been sleeping hard because none of those people you just listed would’ve bothered to ring your doorbell.”

  Oh. Right. Fair point.

  “I didn’t hear it.” Except I remembered the beeping. It had been woven in with my dreams and hadn’t fully registered as my doorbell, but I couldn’t say I didn’t hear it. “And even if I did hear a doorbell, ignoring it means go away. I was sleeping.”

  Roan sat up and grabbed his tablet from where he’d dropped it. Or maybe I’d knocked it from his hands. Whatever. I glanced at it, and the screen seemed fine, as did Roan. Thankfully. I wasn’t sure what I would do if I’d hurt him.

  Other than throwing him into a healing pod and apologizing profusely.

  “You don’t have time for sleeping in today.” He stood and reached a hand down. “It’s my first official day as your assistant, and I’m going to do my job.”

  I groaned, instantly regretting giving him said job. I thought we could mostly spend time hanging or training, but if he woke me up, then I guessed there was more to my life now.

  I took in my best friend. He was wearing a button-down shirt and some nice pants. His active shoes were replaced with something nicer. Was that leather? His hair was in tiny, tight curls, instead of its usual poofy mess.

  He grinned at me, his white teeth standing out against his darker skin. “I look nice, right?”

  “Man, your ego isn’t hurting at all is it?” But that’s exactly what I’d been thinking.

  He looked really nice. The only jobs he’d had on Earth required clothes that he could get dirty in. I guessed I hadn’t really thought about what he’d wear to this job, but clearly, he’d thought about it a lot. He looked like a whole new Roan.

  I took his hand, and he pulled me to my feet. Now that the threat was gone, I wanted to crawl back into bed but somehow restrained myself.

  Mostly because Roan put himself between me and the bed. “No, you can’t get back in there. I just got you out, and you have an hour to get dressed and eat. I figured it used to take you ten to do both on Earth, but you gotta get pretty. I mean, I don’t know if you can reach the level of my pretty today, but you should definitely give it a shot. And then we have to be out of here.”

  I ignored the fact that my best friend thought he was prettier than me and moved on to what he was really getting at. I rubbed my temples, trying to make myself think. I needed to be dressed up and out of here for something? But I couldn’t remember anything. Whatever it was, it sounded like something I did not want to do. Anything that wasn’t training wasn’t my bag.

  I’d only been awake for minutes, and already I could tell this day was going to be a pain. I had to ask a question, and I didn’t want the answer to it.

  “Why?” I held my breath, hoping he’d tell me quick, like ripping-off-a-bandage quick.

  “High Council meeting.” Roan could read me like no other. The words were out fast as if that would make them sting less. “They said they needed a four-hour block of your day.”

  Oh man. I really, really wished he hadn’t woken me up. I could’ve slept for another few hours and missed it.

  Wait.

  “A four-hour block? Four hours? Are you serious right now?” What could possibly take four hours?

&
nbsp; “Well, you did say we needed to declare war on SpaceTech. So, best guess, they want to talk to you about that, but there’s no official set agenda. At least none that they shared with me.”

  I did want to declare war on SpaceTech, but if they wanted four hours, that meant they were going to fight me on it.

  Kill me now.

  “Where’s Lorne?” Because I wasn’t going anywhere without him.

  “Hang on.” He glanced down at his tablet. “Fynea sent me a link to his cal so we could coordinate schedules if needed. Checking…” He tapped a few times. “Okay. This says he had a call starting two hours ago.”

  “Two hours ago?” I shoved past Roan and sat on the bed.

  “Come on, Am. We don’t have time for this.”

  I wanted to be good and listen to him, but the white sheets were soft and silky and begging for me to crawl back inside their cocoon of sleep. I tried to resist—I really did—but it felt early. Painfully early.

  I tugged the covers over my legs, but Roan yanked them down.

  “Just one more hour.” My voice was a smidge whiny, but I couldn’t help it.

  “No. You don’t have time for that. I already let you sleep in,” Roan said.

  My eyes started to grow heavy. Maybe I was still recovering from the last few days, but I didn’t think that was it. I didn’t even remember Lorne leaving this morning, and that stung a little. I wished he’d woken me up so that I’d know he wasn’t here. Instead, I was left missing him and feeling a little empty.

  I grabbed his pillow and snuggled deep.

  Ugh. I was pathetic. I just needed more sleep. “What time is it?”

  “The second sun just rose.” Roan’s tone was getting more frustrated, but I was right. It was brutally early, and yet I was a slacker for not being awake already?

  Or maybe Lorne was just an overachiever? I guessed I’d find out soon enough. It’d only been days since I moved into Lorne’s suite. Not nearly long enough to get into a rhythm.

  I painfully dragged myself out of bed again and went to the curtains, pushing them open.

  Two suns lit the morning sky, giving everything a slightly rosy hue. Lorne had an awesome view of the gardens and the fountain of me. I wondered if he’d put the statue there so he could see it, but that would be a little stalkerish. Or maybe it was sweet? I didn’t know. I was thinking about wandering through the estate to find him so that I could get a proper good morning, so maybe I was just as bad.

  I moved through the bedroom and into the living room beyond it. There was a massive u-shaped couch facing a large vid screen. There was a fireplace off to one side and a round table with four chairs on the other. But none of that was what I needed.

  I walked to the small fridge and grabbed a chilled bottle of wyso. It was the closest thing that the Aunare had to coffee, but it was much, much stronger. I learned the hard way that if I drank too much too early, I’d be wired and forget to eat.

  After a few sips, I felt much more human. “What’s the High Council meeting going to be like?”

  “I’m not sure exactly.” Roan leaned against the back of the couch, typing on his tablet. He paused to look up at me. “It’ll be my first meeting, too. We both read through the digital packet on the council members and details on it, but honestly, it didn’t feel like it gave me enough intel on what it’d be like to actually go to a meeting. Want me to message Fynea and ask for some tips?”

  The stubborn side of me screamed to refuse the help. I could do this on my own. I knew I could. But that was me being stubborn. Knowing when to ask for help was a sign of strength.

  “Yes, please.” I started toward the bathroom. “I’m going to shower.”

  “Good. I’ll wait here and order you some food, too.”

  I paused, turning back to him for a second. “I can’t go to the kitchens?” I always went by the kitchens in the morning to grab something from the market-size pantry.

  Roan winced, and I knew I wasn’t going to like what he said next. “So, um, last night, Plarsha talked to me. I guess the kitchen staff sort of feels uncomfortable with you in there now that you’re going to be the High Queen.”

  “What?” They didn’t feel comfortable? Plarsha had been my nanny before I’d been stuck on Earth, but now she managed the entire estate. If she said the kitchen staff were uncomfortable with me in the kitchens, then I knew they were. But why? “Did I do something to piss them off?”

  “I don’t think it’s like that. She didn’t seem upset, but the Aunare are more formal than we are. Plarsha said we needed to let the staff take care of you now, and when you show up in the kitchens, it’s like saying they’re sucking at their job. That you don’t trust them to bring you food that you’d enjoy.”

  My mouth dropped open. “What?” That was some insane logic. “I just don’t like bothering anyone. It’s so much easier if I just go to the kitchen and grab what I want to eat. I don’t need anyone to wait on me. They’re too busy to—”

  “Their main job is to feed you, your parents, and Lorne. That’s it. And you’re not letting them do their primary job.”

  “But they’re not just feeding the three of us. They have to provide meals for all the other million people that live on the estate or visit it during the day.”

  “Right. But they see it as a privilege to cook for you. Feeding you is the top of the top jobs for the Aunare. You’re not letting them do their job, and the Aunare are all about doing their jobs. Because it’s not a job, it’s a vocation. A passion.”

  I guessed I could see his point, but I didn’t like it. I knew things would change around the estate, but it was happening too fast. It’d only been three days since I’d put Lorne’s ring on my finger, and already everything was different. Lorne wasn’t here when I woke up. Instead, Roan was here telling me what all I had to do today, which was nothing fun. I wouldn’t have minded it if I was doing four hours of training with my guards. But this High Council meeting was going to be awful. The digital packet had done nothing to make me believe it could be anything else.

  And now I couldn’t even get my own food?

  I didn’t like relying on someone else, even if that person’s job was to be there for me. It felt weird. It was the exact opposite of what I was used to.

  “I’m going to shower.” I left the living room and didn’t stop moving until I was inside the bathroom, letting the door slide closed after me, cutting off whatever Roan was saying.

  I stripped off my nightclothes—a pair of shorts and a loose tank made out of the softest silky material—and stepped under the hot spray. This was the best part—one of the best parts—of being on Sel’Ani. The showers. In my apartment on Earth, I’d used a quick wash cleaning spray. It did the job and wasn’t as expensive as using water, but now I was getting spoiled.

  As I washed my probably too-long hair, I tried to think of all the things here that I was grateful for. All of the things that made all the growing pains of becoming whoever I was supposed to be a little less painful.

  Showers with clean, hot water. Obviously.

  Lorne. He was top of the list. I never thought I could feel for anyone what I felt for him. I didn’t have the words to properly describe the feeling, but it was more than love. The connection felt like it had a life of its own, and I was still trying to wrap my head around it.

  I was safe here. Mostly. If I didn’t think about assassins or SpaceTech spies or the war that threatened to wipe all the Aunare from existence, but at least I wasn’t being overtly hunted here. That was something I wouldn’t take for granted.

  The food here was real, not like the synthetic Earther stuff. It actually made me feel full. Especially Nori’s, Lorne’s sister’s cooking. It was like having the best of both worlds.

  Maybe I could get her to send over a batch of enchiladas for dinner tonight. But would that upset the kitchen staff? Maybe I should give it a few days to smooth over whatever insults I’d unintentionally given them and then ask if I could have my favorite meal br
ought in?

  Or I could ask them to make it, but what if they didn’t know how?

  Why did this have to be so complicated?

  No, Amihanna. Back on track. I turned my face into the spray of water and thought of good things in my life again.

  I was thankful for Eshrin, my head guard. He was so much fun to train with, and—funny enough—after the week I’d had, I kind of liked having guards. Except for traitor guards like Komae.

  I remembered I needed to follow up with Eshrin on hiring new guards. Right now, Eshrin was the only one that I really trusted, but he couldn’t work around the clock. And I couldn’t have a team following me around all the time if I didn’t trust them.

  I added that to my mental to-do list—make sure Roan schedules time to get that together.

  My wrist unit buzzed, and I swiped the water off the face to read it.

  Roan sent a warning. I had ten minutes left.

  Ice it all. “I’m hurrying,” I yelled to him, not caring if he couldn’t really hear me.

  I cut the shower, wrapped myself in a towel from the warmer box, and walked into the adjoining closet.

  It was massive, filled with rows of clothes. It curved around and had sections for different kinds of events. I should probably grab something more formal for the meeting, but being comfortable meant I would be more confident.

  I reached for a pair of leggings.

  “No! What are you doing?” a voice came from inside the closet.

  I tightened my grip on the towel. “Who’s here?”

  A young, blonde woman with lightly browned skin came out from between two rows of dresses. “It’s me. Almya.”