Rose Point (Her Instruments 2) Ebook

Reese is only just getting used to running the Earthrise in the black---and with an Eldritch in her crew---when a trip to a colony world gives rise to a whole new problem: Hirianthial is showing powers that even the Eldritch rarely have, and that only in legend. He badly needs training, support and advice, and the only place he can find them is... at home.

To see the world of the Eldritch is a once in a lifetime opportunity, a thing of fantasies and rumor. And to finally meet the Eldritch Queen, the author of so many of Reese's windfalls! You'd have to twist her arm to get her to admit it, but Reese can't wait to go. But a court out of fantasy and a breathtaking land aren't enough compensation when they come packaged with a rabidly xenophobic species whose world is falling apart. The last thing they want any part of is some mortal interloper.

Is Reese ready for the Eldritch world? Better to ask: are they ready for her?

Genre (setting): space opera (Pelted)
Tags: found family, woman protagonist, minority protagonist, adventure, space opera, romance, elves (space)
Rating: PG-13 for implied violence, rape

Excerpt from Chapter 1

Theresa “Reese” Eddings, captain of the registered Terran Merchant Ship Earthrise, was sitting in her room at its battered old desk in front of her display. Scowling at numbers was one of her least favorite activities, and yet she always seemed to be doing it. It didn’t matter whether she was in the black or the red, she always found a reason. Reese had been frowning at these for so long that her cheeks hurt; she stretched her mouth and rubbed her jaw, wincing as it popped.

An image formed in her head: drooping willows, their melancholic fronds dragged in a leaden gray stream. She looked down at the fuzzy round alien in her lap and said, “All right, all right, it’s not that bad.”

The sun tried to gild the leaves of the tree in her head. “Don’t get too optimistic, though,” she said. “Fleet gave us a hell of a lot of money, but the upgrades were expensive. And I don’t want to dip into our savings.” She paused to savor the word. She’d never had savings before. Squaring her shoulders, she said, “I want to protect our reserve, you know?”

The alien’s neural fur turned a bright, cheery yellow. She smiled and petted him—it, technically, but she’d never been able to think of Allacazam as an it—and said, “We’re going up, slowly. But I don’t want to blow it. It would be easy to end up poor again.”

The Flitzbe set fire to the tree in her head, added people running around it, screaming, and then threw in a rain of frogs for good measure. Who would have thought something more plant than animal and shaped like a furry ball could have a sense of humor? She hugged him with a grin. “Okay, maybe I’m being a little paranoid. But better that than spendthrift.” Lifting her head, she frowned. “Come to think of it… the engine noise’s changed, hasn’t it?” She leaned over and hit the intercom. “Hey, bridge!”

Sascha’s voice: “Hey, Boss!”

“Did we make it?” Reese asked.

“We did. Kerayle awaits.”

“Great,” Reese said. “There should only be one town. Set us down in walking distance. And I mean ‘close enough not to give me panic attacks about being able to see the horizon clearly.’”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Reese squinted. “Something wrong?”

“The view’s a bit underwhelming,” Sascha said. “It doesn’t look like they get much traffic out here.”

“That’s fine,” Reese said. “It means they’ll be happy to see us.”