Free Coalition 02.5 - The Kingbird by Justine Davis

The Kingbird
    Coalition 02.5

    Justine Davis

    ---
    What was hidden is now found.
    It has been a decade since King Dare and the flashbow warrior Dax reunited to protect their world. The Coalition has been driven out, but they have never given up on regaining the jewel that is Trios, and the battle is ongoing. The constant threat of the Coalition is a heavy load to carry, but it is made easier for King Dare and Dax by the presence of their mates, Queen Shaylah and Califa , and brightened immeasurably by their children, Lyon and Shaina .
    At the urging of the queen, the families steal one single day away from the pressure, a day of rest spent at one of the few pristine spots left on their beloved planet, a place full of Dare's family history--a place where they find hope in a treasure thought lost forever, and their children unexpectedly discover what could well be the miracle to keep Trios safe.
    ---

    SHAYLAH STARED at the destruction around her, trying for the sure and serene confidence that was expected of her as Queen of Trios, mate of a king and mother of a prince, reformed Captain and decorated pilot of the Coalition. She looked at Paraclon , the crusty old man who was standing amid the rubble, tugging at a blackened strand of gray hair. The eccentric inventor had paid a price for allowing two small rapscallions to experiment in his lab.

    She had heard the explosion from the courtyard and had raced here, fearing the worst. Now, seeing no one had been truly hurt, she had to school her expression to sternness, battling the urge to smile, marveling that she finally could smile since the Coalition had been driven not only out of Trios, but her home world of Arellia as well.

    Instead of an invading armada, she had only these two miscreants, the royal prince of Trios and the daughter of the Defense Minister, to be dealt with.

    “And what,” she said, eyeing them both, “do you two have to say for yourselves?”

    As usual, it was Shaina who answered first. Her son never answered quickly, preferring to think before he spoke in these situations. Which were frequent. The two of them together seemed explosive in and of themselves.

    “It would have worked,” she insisted. “We just needed to adjust the fuel a little more.”

    Again Shaylah had to bite back a smile. That the girl would answer with such bold assurance was just so very ... Shaina . More concerned with the goal than the damage incurred in trying to reach it.

    “A little more and you would have destroyed my entire lab!” Paraclon’s indignation echoed in his voice.

    “It only broke some of those crystals,” Shaina protested.

    “And melted my central processing unit!”

    Shaina looked a little chagrinned at that. “Maybe we did have it aimed a bit wrong. But we didn’t think the flame would shoot out that far behind.”

    “I believe ‘didn’t think’ is the phrase to be used for all of this,” Shaylah said sternly. “What in the stars were you trying to do?”

    “We were trying to make a rocket,” Shaina said, her expression saying that should be obvious although she kept her voice respectful; Shaylah suspected more because of the closeness of their families than her royal status.

    “I can see that,” Shaylah said dryly. “Perhaps I should have asked why?”

    “To launch it at the Coalition.”

    Her son had finally, quietly spoken, and she shifted her gaze. She knew that young face so well. She saw so much of his father in it, knew she was seeing what her beloved mate, Dare, had looked like as a boy. But the eyes were hers, and right now they were full of an earnestness that made her heart twist in her chest.

    Her child had never known peace. The active rebellion against the conquering Coalition had begun before he was conceived, before she and his father had even met. And it had continued for every breath in his short life. It was no wonder the boy was so serious, so focused on protecting his planet. His father influenced more