Baron Shawn du Locke must choose between honor and desire...with the fragile peace of the Human Galactic Empire hanging in the balance.
Shorn of his lands, regency, title, father, lady, and name, the only thing left to the Baron Shawn du Locke is his honor. Nothing in the past had shaken it and nothing would cause him to compromise it—until he met the Lady Elina Acier.
Elina Acier is the last hope of both the family Acier and the Noble Houses of the Human Galactic Empire. If Acier falls into the hands of the Emperor, few will be safe in the ensuing cataclysm, and to protect the planet Acier from the Emperor, the Lady must marry a Duke’s son.
Baron Shawn du Locke vows to convey Elina to the Imperial Capital to marry Duke Nior’s son. But that is before Shawn meets the Lady Elina. Elina Acier is the cousin of Shawn’s long dead love the Lady Lyral Neuterra, and Elina could be Lyral’s twin.
Shawn once loved Lyral enough to grant her his House and to fight a war in her name—now he is honor bound to deliver Elina Acier, Lyral’s twin, to marry another man.
So begins a breakneck race across space—a race against time, intrigue, death, and love. Every time Shawn looks at Elina, he sees Lyral. Every time she speaks, it is as if he hears a voice from the grave. And every time he thinks about Elina, he remembers how his own actions led to Lyral’s death.
Shawn must safely deliver Elina to the Imperial capital. He must do so before the Emperor discovers and kills Elina, and before her presence drives him insane… or he falls in love.
What of Elina? Can she respect a disgraced noble? Can she love a man undone by her appearance and the sound of her voice? Can she accept a man in love with a ghost out of the past?
This time, Shawn promises himself over and over, this time he will succeed—this time.
Nine New Novellas, Part III is a collection of nine sci-fi/paranormal stories to complement the nine in Nine New Novellas, Nine New Novellas Part II and Nine New Novellas, Part IV.
