Heir Of Violence (#1 Betrayed Destinies) - ONC2024

Chapter 4 - Identity Revealed

The little pixie's name destroyed the spa reception area's quiet with bomb-like efficiency, blasting Zaen from his complacent and somewhat prurient curiosity. Pulse hammering, it took him a moment to close his mouth. By the time he'd gathered himself, Doctor Cadwell—Caeryssa Cadwell—had disappeared.

"Did she say 'Caeryssa'?" Emmed murmured, joining Zaen in gawking at the empty hallway.

"Yeah. But her last name is Cadwell, not Hawke," Zaen reminded Emmed. She probably wasn't the daughter of that fucking assassin, right? No way could they be that lucky. Yet, Caeryssa wasn't a common name. At least, he'd never come across another and he'd met many women in his thirty-five cycles. His gut clenched. And those stormy grey eyes—the same eyes he'd seen in recordings of that stone-cold killer.

"Could be a married name."

"Maybe." But no rings graced Caeryssa's fingers, and she wore synthate gloves. She wasn't mated. Even as he tried to stay objective, he knew... knew the truth of who she was.

"We should check. Ping her data."

"Yeah."

Yet both men continued to stare down the white and silver patterned hallway with its navy wooden flooring.

Dhevun grunted from his position against the wall, keeping an eye on the exits. "Is she a threat? Do you want me to run her name through our security databases?"

Zaen shook his head. Serving vengeance on the spent-carbon assassin who'd killed his mother and sister was his vow to deal with, not his bodyguard's. Although the idea that a woman half his size could be a threat had him arching an eyebrow at Dhevun. It wasn't like she was the assassin.

Dhevun shrugged. "Just because she's small doesn't mean she can't be deadly."

Emmed had his wrist comp open to a slick company promotional page, and Zaen flicked a finger to increase the size of the projected holographic display.

"She didn't lie about being a xenobotanist, although she sure didn't mention she's the lead scientist at Aura Industries Medical and Agricultural Exploratory Division. I'm surprised she doesn't have security surrounding her. She's worth a fortune to them."

Zaen agreed as he perused the discoveries she'd made. It didn't make sense. Why was she travelling alone? AIMAED was based on Ankion, a four-day hyperboost from here. If she truly was Karzen's daughter, as Zaen's instincts insisted, surely her father would have hired a bodyguard for her, even if this was their home planet. Or did he treat his family as coldly as he treated his targets? Would he care if his daughter was at risk? Maybe she wouldn't be valuable as a hostage. Still, she'd know her father's location, at least. Could he be close by?

Emmed scrolled through her company biography. "Her planet of origin is Alcyone, another possibility on our list for that shitstain's home base."

"So if she's his daughter, Karzen probably isn't here with her." On his wrist comp, Zaen accessed his file on the assassin who'd murdered his mother and sister a decade ago. Despite constantly searching, Zaen had yet to find the man he'd sworn to kill. Karzen Hawke was a ghost, with long cycles passing before the master assassin was credited with another completed assignment. It left few clues to track him, and Zaen's attempts to hire and entrap him had failed.

But the prince was patient.

From a disgruntled former guild member, Zaen had discovered Karzen had a soulmate, Aya, and a daughter, Caeryssa, but his informant had ended up disembowelled, with his tongue, eyes, and ears removed, stuffed in the space station's recyclers before the prince could get more from him. The assassin's guild didn't suffer traitors, unfortunately.