Chapter 1

"That's it," Layla grumbled. "I'll just have to stay here until I die."

Despite it being the middle of a bright Konian day, Layla was curled up in bed, hiding under the covers. It wasn't that she'd slept late. In fact, she'd already gotten out of bed that morning, dressed for the day, and had breakfast. But the thought of stepping outside sent her right back under her blanket in the hopes that what awaited her would go away if only she avoided it long enough.

"I didn't come to Kona to be treated like a common criminal," she snarked, snuggling further into her bed.

She got enough of that sort of thing back home on Earth where her parents treated her more like trash than a sentient being. Immigrating to the small planet of Kona had given her hope for a better life, and for a couple of weeks it had appeared that it really was an improvement. She'd even made her first friend. At least she thought she had.

Unfortunately, her "friend," Darina Indorsha, turned out to be more of a curse than a blessing. The old woman's face flashed in Layla's mind. At first, Layla imagined her kind, smiling visage and then the vitriolic scowl that had crossed Darina's face just two days before. It had appeared every time since the wealthy heiress caught sight of Layla.

The thought made Layla curl up even tighter under the covers, wrapping her arms around herself in a futile attempt to seek comfort.

A sharp chime rang out from between the folds of the blankets and Layla groaned.

"What now?" she muttered to herself, throwing open the covers and peering at her wrist comm that shone brightly with a new message.

Layla Killingsworth, you are summoned to meet with Zyair Lorrz of Probe and Pursue Services at the home of Darina Indorsha in the second-floor guest bedroom to discuss the missing Desolation Stone. Now.

"Are you serious?" she said to no one, except perhaps her comm.

She threw herself out of bed, suddenly incensed by the demanding message. Probe and Pursue Services sounded more like a private investigation agency than any government authority. She could already guess what his job was—to prove her guilty.

She was about to leave the guest house when a sudden realization dawned on her. She checked her comm again, just to be certain. Sure enough, she saw the name that had stirred a sense of recognition in her.

Lorrz.

That could only mean one thing. This investigator wasn't just some run-of-the-mill Lorr. He was the son of the king of Lorr. She let out an exasperated sigh that threatened to turn into a sob.

Even though Layla was generally a strong-willed and optimistic woman—confident and resilient in the face of adversity—she was also coming to the end of her tether. She'd worked so hard to escape to a better life and now she had a half-human, half-Konian heiress accusing her of theft and an investigator who was practically the prince of one of the star system's most powerful planets demanding her presence.

Much as Layla hated being summoned in such a way, she was also painfully aware that this Zyair might be her only hope of clearing her name. She hadn't taken the damn artifact Darina was accusing her of stealing anyway.

She only prayed she could make her case to the investigator and that he was actually interested in doing his job properly instead of just putting away the most convenient suspect, which—she had to admit—was her.

Before leaving for the mansion just a short walk across the manicured lawn, Layla looked in the mirror in a last-ditch hope of making a good impression on the Lorr. What she saw there didn't inspire a lot of hope, though. Her cheeks were tear-stained, her eyes puffy, her nose red. Her long brown hair stuck out at all angles.

She did her best to fix herself up, but she knew she didn't have much time. The last thing she wanted to do was anger the only man who might be able to help her by turning up late, even if he'd been rude by demanding her presence so suddenly.

Leaving the small guest house behind, Layla made her way to the mansion, practically trembling with every step. Even though she'd spent the last two weeks as a guest in the mansion itself, she was no longer trusted to be there. Hence the guest house.

Making her way across the lawn, Layla shook her head in despair.

"Why couldn't the hostel keep my reservation?" she muttered under her breath.

She knew that if her reservation hadn't been lost when she turned up two weeks earlier to start her new life on Kona, she wouldn't have found herself in the mess of a missing artifact. Now she had the added stress of having a private investigator about to grill her.

She thought back to the day that started it all. She'd just found out the hostel had no record of her reservation and that nothing else on Kona was even remotely within her budget. She'd made her way to a bar in despair and got to talking to the bartender. The last thing she expected when she explained her plight to him was for a tall, well-dressed older woman to come sauntering up to her.

"I couldn't help but overhear," she'd said, gazing at Layla with her bright blue eyes peering out from an otherwise human-looking face. "But I'd be happy for you to come and stay with me until you sort out your situation. I have plenty of room, and I'm always happy to help out a fellow Terran."

For a second, Layla hadn't known what to say, and to her dismay, she'd reacted by arguing against her own case.

"Oh my god, thank you, but you don't even know me. I don't even know you," she'd managed to say through her shock.

"Well, what's your name?" the older woman had said unfazed, flashing a warm smile through her red-lipsticked mouth.

"I'm Layla Killingsworth," she answered, still shocked.

"Darina Indorsha," the woman raised her hand with her fingers splayed in greeting. "Charmed, I'm sure."

Layla had followed her back to the mansion that night with professions of gratitude. She felt that despite her bad luck with the hostel, things were looking up.

Now, though, she was stepping into that same mansion with the heavy weight of suspicion following her. As she stepped into the house and made her way up to the second floor, she felt the distinct sensation of being watched. It only abated when she stepped into the guest bedroom to which she'd been summoned.

The room was familiar—almost identical to the one she'd stayed in until two days before with a large bed at one end and a semi-detached study at the other.

Sitting behind the desk in the study was a tall, muscular Lorr warrior. His violet skin shone beautifully in the light that streamed through the window, highlighting the naturally occurring white patterns that seemed to be almost etched along his muscular arms and neck.

From his head, two scrolled black horns sprang out amid a tresses of dark hair. But his eyes made Layla's breath almost catch in her throat—a pair of purple eyes that bored into her with what she recognized instantly as suspicion.

This isn't going to be easy.