Empire Reborn (Taran Empire Saga Book 1)

Chapter 2.1

As a rule, Raena Sietinen didn't conduct business before breakfast—a fact her assistant, Jovan, seemed keen to ignore. "Whatever you have to say, I don't want to hear it until I've finished my coffee."

"But, my lady, it's—" Jovan insisted, a flush coming through his dark complexion.

"Nope."

"What's going on?" Ryan Dainetris, her husband, asked from deeper within their palatial bedroom suite. He approached the door, his black hair still dark from a shower, with a pastry in hand. His gaze landed on the very agitated assistant. "Oh. Good luck getting her to talk now." He took a bite of the croissant.

"A ship was destroyed," Jovan blurted out.

That caught Raena's attention. "Where?" She snatched the tablet from Jovan's quivering hands.

"Near the Rift."

"Shit," she whispered, reverting to the curses from her youth spent on Earth.

Ryan rushed to look over her shoulder, his luminescent gray eyes narrowed with concern. "What happened?"

"This doesn't say. Only that the incident involved a salvage crew. There was just one survivor."

"Stars..." He skimmed through the cryptic report. "Attack or accident?"

"I only know what's in the document," Jovan replied. "My lady, your father would like to speak with you. This report came directly from him when he couldn't reach you this morning."

"I'll follow up," Raena acknowledged. "Thank you."

"I'll be standing by." The assistant bowed as Raena closed the door.

Ryan headed toward the viewscreen integrated into the wall. "I'll start a vidcall."

"No, I'm sticking to 'coffee first'," Raena stated. She flipped her chestnut hair behind her shoulder with one hand and took a sip from her mug. Running an interstellar civilization required dealing with a never-ending series of crises, and she'd learned that taking a few moments for herself and husband helped her keep a level head when it mattered. "Dad can wait fifteen minutes. If it was that urgent, he'd have astral projected to pester me."

Ryan hesitated. "I always forget how easy that is for you."

"Him and Jason, maybe. I'm out of practice."

Ryan shook his head. "If you say so. Shall we?" He motioned toward their breakfast table on the terrace overlooking the sea.

Raena followed him outside, trying to suppress her concerns about the destroyed ship. Since Dainetris Galactic Enterprises, the corporate arm of her husband's recently revived Dynasty, manufactured the starship involved in the incident—as well as the majority of all new starships in the Empire—it could be a public relations nightmare if the ship's destruction was somehow determined to be DGE's fault. However, if her father was tipping her off, that meant the Tararian Selective Service had taken notice, suggesting that something bigger was in play. After all, the TSS High Commander didn't send cryptic reports on a whim, parental relation or not.

"It's probably a one-off," Ryan said, sensing her mood.

"No, everything was going too well. There was bound to be a major issue."

Ryan eased into his usual seat at the table. "I suppose settling into a normal routine would be too much for us to ask."

She sat down across from him, smiling slightly. "I did try to warn you about my family."

"Like we had a genuine choice about any of this." He reached over the table and took her hand. "Not that I'd change anything—well, not with us, anyway."

Raena gave his hand a squeeze, then released it so she could cradle her coffee mug in both palms. "I've accepted that drama is a way of life for us. That's why I defend these moments."

"And I love you for it."

She leaned back and took a deep breath of the salty sea air rising from the vast ocean between the First and Third Regions of Tararia, the core planet of the Taran Empire. The terrace overlooked the northeastern coastline of the estate, four stories above the manicured grounds. Though picturesque, Raena hadn't completely shaken her memories of the isle's dark history when it had served as headquarters for the corrupt Priesthood, only overthrown five years before. Moving there to the newly renamed Morningstar Isle had been an intentional political move, but on days like this when bad news set the tone, she couldn't help wondering if the place was cursed.

"You're still thinking about it," Ryan said telepathically.

"Resorting to mind-reading now, are we?" she jested back. While she could have easily closed off her thoughts, she'd vowed to never keep secrets from her husband. He knew her better than anyone—even her twin brother, Jason.

"If there really is an issue," Ryan continued aloud, "your parents will handle it."

She nodded. "They always do."

"Stars, the last time they took on a big project, they overthrew the Priesthood and got us a castle to live in!"

Raena almost lost a mouthful of sweetened coffee through her nose. Somehow, he always knew just what to say to keep her thoughts from going too dark.

She admired Ryan from across the table—not just his handsome features, but the depth of his generous spirit. Like her, he hadn't found out about his royal lineage until near-adulthood, and they'd grown into their roles together. Spending their childhoods as regular civilians had granted them a perspective that none of the other High Dynasty leaders possessed.

"Don't hold your breath for another castle," Raena said, taking a cautious sip of coffee now that her chuckling had subsided. "We're finally making headway redecorating this place and I don't want to start over. Besides, the TSS can't benefit us again or we'll have a riot on our hands."

"Obviously, I'm joking." Ryan took the last bite of his buttery pastry and dusted the powdered sugar off his hands.

"I know. But even so, we walk a fine line."

"Public approval ratings are high. People don't seem to care."

"That can shift at any moment. As it is, having members of the Sietinen Dynasty holding the top spots in the TSS is a potential conflict of interest with political and military forces. All it would take is a spark to blow it into a big issue."

Ryan tilted his head, casting her a look he'd perfected that told her she was starting down a needlessly worrisome path.

Raena took a long drink from her mug. "And this is why I don't get into business before breakfast," she muttered.

"My love, let the TSS worry about the Rift. Your parents and brother can handle it."

"Yeah." She looked out at the ocean. It could have been me.

She'd had every bit of the Gifted talents as her brother, perhaps even more. Though she'd technically graduated from the TSS academy thanks to some rule-bending by her parents, she wasn't an Agent and could never be, because it would conflict with her political position. When she was honest with herself, there was a touch of resentment there.

It felt unfair to have had to set aside that part of herself. Her paternal grandparents had done the same, but they'd already had full careers in the TSS to explore their Gifts. Conversely, her abilities training had been cut short at the age of only seventeen, when Raena had 'taken one for the team' and gone to study on Tararia. There, she'd trained to become the perfect combination of politician and businessperson, poised to take over the Sietinen Dynasty and the family enterprise, SiNavTech. She couldn't help wonder what she might have accomplished if she'd gone down the other path.

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