Star of Ishtar: Warriors of the Elector, #1

The Star of Ishtar

Blurb

The first time Elara laid eyes on Grayson was when he rescued her from the clutches of a madman and his scientists who were kidnapping humans and conducting horrific experiments on them. That was years ago. In spite of her attempts to deepen their relationship, they remained nothing more than close friends.

Now Elara is a medic with the Admiralty, and she knows what she wants. It’s been Grayson since the beginning. When Elara is stationed on the Star of Ishtar, she arrives with a plan to further her career. But this time her plan has an added bonus—to finally get her man.

Grayson’s spent years fighting the connection between himself and Elara. He’s certain it only exist because he saved her life. But his will is failing, and he fears he just might give in to temptation.

Foreword

This is the third and final edition of Star of Ishtar. It’s been through so many incarnations, but I feel that the book and story is now complete.

Thank you for coming along on the ride with me. I’ve had a blast!

Thanks to Jocelyn at Dexpress Covers for the awesome covers that have renewed these titles.

Thanks to my family for your support and lastly to you, my lovely readers.

Imogene Nix

2021

Copyright © 2020 by Imogene Nix

Second edition

All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

This book is a work of fiction. Character, places and events are from the author's imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

Cover Art (c) Dexpress Designs

ISBN 978-1-922369-25-3

Contents

Newsletter Signup

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Miss Isabelle’s Craving

The Blood Bride by Imogene Nix

Also by Imogene Nix

About the Author

Chapter One

I finally made it. Elara Sudonne watched as the hull of the Star of Ishtar loomed in the inky darkness. She clutched her hands tightly together as the shuttle approached the hulking battleship.

This would be her new home and first combat ST placement for the Earth Empire. She quaked inwardly with nerves but fought to keep her serene exterior. Previously her deployments had consisted solely of on-planet expeditions and in rehabilitation and dirtside facilities. When the chance had arisen to move to the battleship, she’d grabbed it with both hands.

The frigid air chilled her bones as she sat in her shuttle seat, but a trickle of sweat inched its way down her back under the fresh gray wool flight uniform. Little puffs of vapor escaped her mouth as she rubbed her arms. Nerves stretched tight, she looked through the small portal at the front of the vessel. She wanted to tug at the collar that somehow seemed to have grown tighter as the ship loomed ahead, but instead she firmed her mouth, straightened her spine, and concentrated on the future.

So damned long. She’d been working toward this outcome since the day Grayson Myatt and Duvall McCord had saved her from her Ru’Edan captors. She was lucky, she’d survived the ‘experimentation’ of the Ru’Edan leader Crick Sur Banden’s scientists. And all I have to remind me are my scars. She didn’t grin at her own joke.

The person seated behind her jostled but she ignored it, lost in her memories. On that day, so very long ago, the young Elara, fresh-faced and with idealistic views of the empire, was taken from the mall where she’d been shopping with friends, thrust into the back of a transport vehicle, and given to the Ru’Edan scientists to experiment on.

For days they’d worked on her and others, seeking an average pain threshold of humans, slicing her skin then noting reactions and how long it took to