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  A sleeping beauty wakes to find five Fire Bringers waiting for her to choose one as a mate.

  Fayra’s colony ship has been waiting for five years for the Anvin to allow any of their personnel to wake. She is the first one to wake up, and she is also the only one. She is briefed on her situation—she must prove her species’ worth in order to earn a place on this new world. To do that, she needs a mate, a child and nerves of steel.

  The five Fire Bringers never imagined that they would have a chance at a mate, let alone a family. They have to use their charms to win Fayra’s favour and all without touching her. It is a challenge they must rise to or lose their chance at a child of their own.

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  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Bride of Fire

  Copyright © 2013 Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-77111-699-2

  Cover art by Martine Jardin

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the written permission of the publisher.

  Published by Devine Destinies

  An imprint of eXtasy Books

  Look for us online at:

  www.devinedestinies.com

  Bride of Fire

  A Sci-Fi Fairy Tale

  By

  Viola Grace

  Fayra Maimas sat up with a cough. The medical bay was empty and hers was the only cryo tube visible.

  “Lay back, Ms. Maimas. We had to bring you out of cryo early. Your people need you.” The bot trundled up to her and examined her closely. “You seem to have come through the sleep without damage.”

  “Oh good.” Fayra listened for the throb of the engines, but she didn’t hear anything. “Have we landed somewhere?”

  “You will be briefed as soon as you are fit for this assignment.”

  “Wait, what assignment? I am not in the military; I am a teacher for pities’ sake.” She coughed again.

  “Irrelevant. You have been assessed to be the most suitable for this assignment, so you have been woken.”

  Fayra waited for four hours while her body was balanced with supplements and she hydrated. She was just about to get up and go exploring when the bot trundled back in with a tray covered in folded fabric.

  “Put this on. The briefing room has been prepared with the necessary vids.”

  “Where is the briefing room?”

  The medical bot’s face would have rolled its eyes if it had any, she was certain. “Deck four, room three twenty-eight.”

  She stuck her tongue out at the bot and took the tray of clothing. It wasn’t standard issue. There was a bodysuit in white and a long ankle-length tabard in a gauzy white. A belt of black leather cinched around her hips and kept the tabard in place.

  A pair of soft white boots covered her feet and ankles.

  She didn’t have any way of brushing her hair, so she simply braided it and tied the end in a knot. It swung against the middle of her back as she made her way to deck four.

  The interior of the ship was eerie. There was not one other set of footsteps in the entire place. Everyone was still asleep on the cryo decks. She was walking through a ghost ship, and ironically, she was the one wearing white.

  The mag-lev carried her down to the fourth deck, and lights came on as she moved. If the engines were off, then they were on minimal power. This was very peculiar.

  Room three twenty-eight was lit, and the vid playback was waiting for her. It was strange, she had a distinct feeling that she was not the only living being on deck four, but no one else was visible.

  She settled in to watch the vids, and with every minute, her sense of unease increased. The vids talked about their settlement and a species called the Anvin. She knew about the evacuation; heck, she had been piled into a ship along with the rest. The new species was news.

  The Anvin were a dying race. They divided their people up into groups of the fertile and infertile. The fertile women were called Life Bringers; their partners were Breeders. The rest of the men and some women were divided into Death, Fire, Water and Power. They prepared habitable worlds for the Life Bringers so that the next generation of Anvin had a better chance at survival.

  “That makes sense.” She watched the vid and had to agree with their method of thinking. If her own people weren’t rampant breeders, they never would have needed to find a new world or worlds.

  The joke about Protheans was that they were world-fillers. Nothing kept them from making more Protheans. Fayra came from a family of nine, and each of her parents came from large families as well. They weren’t on this ship. They had had enough money to buy a nice home on the home world and only their single children had travelled.

  Now, the vid showed the guardians left behind when the Death Bringers arrived. The image of one of her own was front and centre. Sargent Saloa Winger, warrior extraordinaire.

  “Sargent Winger was examined by the Anvin, and her body was found to have similar properties to a Life Bringer. Moreover, she was able to bear a healthy child with one of the Death Bringers, and by all Anvin standards, they were thought to be sterile.”

  “Yay, Prothean reproductive drive. What does this have to do with me?” She muttered it to no one in particular.

  “A proposal was made by the Anvin. They would allow our ships to land and remain on fertile worlds if we agreed to offer up test subjects in an attempt to verify the results of the Winger joining.”

  Fayra suddenly got a very unhappy feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “Fayra Maimas, you have been chosen for your family history and your lack of essential status to the ship’s inhabitants. You will be the ambassador and the test subject for the Anvin here on Secanna. If you are successful in your assignment, the population of the ship will be allowed to leave and set up a colony on the northern continent. We are counting on you.”

  Fayra felt cold. No word as to the man she was to try procreating with, no encouragement and no option. Although she knew that she had handed her life over to the ship and its commanders when she stepped on board, she had never considered herself sacrificial material before.

  A shadow shifted in the hall. Fayra jerked in surprise. So, she hadn’t been alone.

  The vid spoke again. “The Anvin have sent a guard contingent to retrieve you. If you are watching this, they have been summoned.”

  Fayra blinked as she realized something. “Wait, if Saloa had a child, how long have I been asleep?”

  A deep voice answered from the doorway. “Five years by the count on Secanna. We have been eagerly awaiting your arrival.”

  The man was dressed in robes of ash grey and the scent of fire was on him.

  “Who are you?”

  “Fire Bringer Altuoth. Your name, mistress?”

  “Fayra Maimas, teacher.” She shrugged and got to her feet.

  “It is an honour to greet you, Mistress Maimas. There were many battles for a chance at your affections when it was announced that you were coming.”

 
She got to her feet, not sure if she was up to running or not. “Battles?”

  “For your hand.”

  “I have been briefed on the breeding situation, and it is not my hand that your men are after.”

  She heard a chuckle.

  “True, but it was only to narrow down the candidates so that you would not be overwhelmed when you arrived.”

  “So, how many do I have to choose from?”

  “Five.”

  “Are you one of the candidates?”

  “I am. The other four are in the hallway. If you would come with us, please?”

  She hesitated but stepped forward. The method of her dress was now understood. It mimicked theirs. Each man had a hood that shadowed his face, but his clothing was the same as hers in everything but colour. Black and grey seemed to be a theme.

  “Why am I in white?” She wanted to swallow it the moment that she spoke.

  A rumble of a voice so low that she could barely hear it spoke. “So that if one of our kind touches you, we will know it. Any marks on that white will glow, and we will track down the one who dared the contact before your choice was made.”

  She blinked rapidly. “I get to make the choice?”

  “Sargent Winger was most adamant about your choice and your body making the call for a proper match. It was likely that it was that factor which allowed a Death Bringer to sire children.”

  “Wait…children? How long have I been asleep again?”

  “Five years since the evacuation of your people.” Another man inclined his head.

  Fayra found herself the focus of all five men. She cleared her throat. “Are we leaving the ship?”

  Altuoth nodded his head. “Of course. Please. Quarters have been arranged for you and a keeper has been created. We waited until we were ready before alerting your vessel.”

  Created? This was going to be interesting as soon as she ceased being petrified.

  “I need you to know that this is not why I was on board the vessel. I was a teacher who specialised in teenagers, developmental skills and basic mechanicals. This sort of destination was not something I had anticipated.”

  The deep voice spoke again. “We understand that, but the clock is ticking for your species’ time here. Either you choose a mate, or your ship leaves. With its fuel cells as depleted as they are, it won’t get very far.”

  She shivered as the verbal gravel ran down her spine. She wanted to turn to him, to look into the depths of the hood, but her instincts told her that it would be the most dangerous thing that she could do.

  Altuoth waved her along, and she was flanked on all sides by the circle of five.

  They walked through the silent halls of the ship that had taken her across the stars to a new world and away again. Surrounded, she smelled smoke, wood and the distinct scent of males who spent a lot of time doing physical work. It wasn’t unpleasant, but it was definitely not something she could mistake for anything else.

  She crossed her arms across her stomach and clutched her elbows. It was a self-pacifying move, but it did make her feel better.

  They stepped into the mag-lev and the circle around her tightened.

  It was interesting—in her panicked state—that they kept an even distance around her. Even their crossed arms, which mimicked hers, were at least one foot away from her at all times. Altuoth was right. They were not going to touch her until she made her choice.

  How was she supposed to choose when she didn’t even know what this species looked like? They seemed close to the Prothean standard, but the images on the vids had all contained men in armoured suits. There was no telling what she was getting into.

  When the mag-lev opened and they stepped out onto the departure deck, she asked, “What is a Fire Bringer?”

  Her question must have surprised them, because they all jerked slightly. As they entered the open air one by one, they raised a hand and one by one, fire engulfed it.

  The low, gravelly voice asked, “Does that work as an explanation?”

  She blushed and walked out, surrounded by men who were on fire but didn’t burn. It was enough to add yet another insecurity to her mounting bonfire of uncertainty.

  “It does help, yes.”

  The five laughed and walked with her out of the ship and toward a vehicle.

  A creature screamed, and the Fire Bringers moved as one, sending whips of fire into the sky. A large beast was illuminated for a moment, but when the fire struck it, it screamed and changed direction, flying for unoccupied ground.

  She didn’t ask what it was, didn’t ask why they kept fire at the ready when they loaded her on the vehicle and took to the sky. She had a pretty good idea.

  Fayra realized that the new world she was on was dangerous, but if you needed to be able to generate flame out of your body, she had no idea how her people were going to survive here.

  The skimmer that they were on flew low over the fields and toward large gates that opened at their approach and closed as soon as they were inside. They cruised the streets of the nearly empty city, and Fayra couldn’t look around enough.

  The city was surrounded by a huge stone wall, and she was now on the inside. Nothing like being a prisoner to make a girl feel secure.

  Her men closed ranks when they stopped in front of an elaborate building. Shadows started moving, and as they left the skimmer, she could see about fifty figures shifting in the darkness.

  Her men paused for a moment and pinned her in a protective circle. They fired up both hands and stood prepared to defend their prize.

  The men in the shadows faded back without confronting her guards. A crisp voice sounded from the building. “Please bring my charge to me. You have all seen her. That is enough for one day.”

  The voice was female and mechanical at the same time. There was no way that someone was going to argue with it.

  “Yes, Keeper.” Gravel voice spoke to it.

  They parted, and she turned to mount the steps toward her keeper. It was a bot, but the bot was structured like a standard biped.

  “Ah, Life Bringer. I am so happy to meet you finally. Please come in. You must have thousands of questions.”

  Fayra turned to look at her escort, and they were all lined up at the base of the stairs as if held there by some force field. “Good evening, gentlemen.”

  They bowed as one and remained in place until she turned to go inside. They turned and stood guard as she followed her keeper into the building.

  Keeper didn’t have a name, but she was delighted to be giving Fayra a tour of the Life Bringer facility. “They built it before they realized that it would be unsafe for our people, but if your people are as adaptable as they say, you should have no trouble shaping this world to suit you.”

  “I thought this world belonged to the Anvin?”

  “Oh, it does, but if you can breed with those thought to be infertile, then it will be a slick matter of politics to allow your people to remain here with the Fire Bringers as protection until they can be integrated into your population or you into ours.”

  Keeper chattered on about the structure of the building and how it was meant to house fifty Life Bringers, but Fayra was going to have the run of the place. Well, Fayra and whichever Breeder she chose. Their files were waiting in her private quarters.

  “Why five?”

  “The Fire Bringers work in hands of five men to a zone. It seemed best that a group of candidates be made from a selection from across the city. They were the best out of three hundred Fire Bringers.”

  Fayra nodded and swallowed. “So, there are two hundred and ninety-five men who don’t even have a chance.”

  “That is correct. Would you care to see your bathing chamber?”

  “Please.” There was little else to say. Keeper was unemotional about the entire thing, and Fayra’s body was starting to feel the effects of hours of nerves and no food.

  She followed Keeper through the maze of rooms,
and when the bathing chamber was revealed, she sat heavily on a waiting bench.

  Keeper stared at her and jerked suddenly. “Ah, you are in shock. Did they just wake you from cold sleep?”

  “Hours ago. Yes.”

  “What have you eaten in the meantime?”

  “Nothing, Keeper.”

  A mechanical clucking made Keeper sound like a giant bird. “Remain here. I will fetch you something.”

  Fayra sat quietly and looked at the subtly carved stone tub. It was large enough for three people to share, and after the confined life with the colony, it was an astonishing luxury.

  Her mind was still spinning, trying to find her a way out of the situation without costing the colonists their chance at a new home. Her body for a home. It was a sucky, sucky trade.

  Fayra’s first night was spent on a luxurious bed with a full belly. The next morning, Keeper got her up and into that bizarrely large bath, kneeling down to scrub her hair for her.

  “Today, you will meet with your suitors one by one. Each one will have an opportunity to court you.”

  “What does the courtship entail?”

  “They are merely allowed to speak with you in any of the public spaces. I will be nearby, and if any of them attract you, I will make a note of it, and we will discuss it later.”

  “How will you know?”

  “From the information your people have provided, there will be physiological cues. I have been programmed to see those cues.”

  “I see.”

  “Rinse.”

  Keeper released her, and Fayra shook out her dark hair under the water, the natural coils were around her in a dark cloud. When her lungs couldn’t hold on anymore, she burst from the liquid and gasped.

  Keeper was standing and holding a towel. It was a not-so-subtle hint.

  Fayra sighed and climbed up and out of the bath. She was swathed and seated in a moment.

  Keeper took a comb out and started to move it through her long black locks. “Do all of your people have long hair?”