Garnets or Bust

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Year 5, Saurellian Calendar Daaron crept up to the edge of the hillside on his belly, raising the scope of his rifle to his eyes, finger light on the trigger. The small figure of a woman came into focus and his breath hissed inward. He recognized her.

Tessa Marasdottir.

Fuck.

Of all the people in the damn Empire to find the garnet deposits, why the hell her?

Tessa’s tiny form hunched over an ore processor, and from the excited tension she radiated he knew she’d struck pay dirt. She’d discovered cerulean star garnets, which just happened to be the new Emperor’s favorite gemstone. Before today, they could only be found on one planet in the entire Empire.

The damn things would be worth a fortune, a dream come true for Tessa. Now Daaron’s job was to kill that dream. By all rights he should kill Tessa too. He sighed heavily and raised one hand to signal his men to hold their fire. He just couldn’t bring himself to do it, not yet.

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