Aria's Ascension (Taken Book 2) Read online

  ARIA’S ASCENSION

  Taken Series Book Two

  Stacy Jones

  Contents

  Introduction

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Chapter 38

  Chapter 39

  Chapter 40

  Chapter 41

  Chapter 42

  Chapter 43

  Chapter 44

  Chapter 45

  Chapter 46

  Chapter 47

  Chapter 48

  Chapter 49

  Chapter 50

  Epilogue

  Obituary

  Glossary

  Acknowledgments

  Also by Stacy Jones

  About the Author

  Copyright 2020 © Stacy Jones

  All rights reserved.

  ARIA’S ASCENSION (Taken Series Book Two)

  Edited by H. Hooks, 34 Editing

  Cover by Crimson Phoenix Covers

  Formatted by Stacy Jones

  Artwork by Christof Grobelski

  This book is protected under Copyright Laws. Any unauthorized reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, please contact the author.

  This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this story are either products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual events, business establishments, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  Introduction

  They should’ve never taken her. Now, she’s going to show them just what happens when you get between a woman and her mates.

  After being caught by the Overlord, Aria is sent back to Earth with her memory wiped. But, the mental suppression isn’t strong enough to control her forever. Bit by bit, it begins to crack.

  Until, finally, she remembers…

  The arena. Her mates. The hundreds of slaves she’d sworn to free.

  She remembers everything.

  With the suppression constantly trying to drag her under, she struggles to distinguish what’s real and what isn’t. But one thing she knows for sure: she must find a way to leave Earth and get back to the alien slave planet.

  The Overlord should’ve killed her when he had the chance, because nothing will keep her from returning to Tirox and Kix. When she gets back, she’s going to take him down, claim her mates, then take over the planet.

  Who said plotting world domination was only for the bad guys?

  Sometimes, to be the hero, you have to get your hands dirty.

  But, not everything is as it seems. And when she finds out the truth, it could change everything…

  Chapter 1

  Aria clutched at her head, trying to breathe through the deluge of memories flooding her mind. A flash of swirling, golden eyes inundated her with feelings of happiness, devotion, and utter trust. Glowing, blue eyes filled her with peace and sharp-edged need, in equal measure. White eyes, set in a scarred face, sparked yearning so intense it hurt.

  Each memory, each emotion built upon the last, layering and growing instead of canceling each other out. How could she feel so much? How could her heart possibly hold so much without shattering? And, yet, with every flash, she felt stronger, felt herself becoming whole, as though those memories held missing pieces she hadn’t even known to search for.

  Faster and faster, the images rose up, surfacing from the depths of the dark, suffocating water fighting to pull them back down.

  Purple skies. Fighting. Zhrovni.

  Pain. Anger. Desire.

  Need. Resolve.

  Love.

  Heart-wrenching, all-consuming love. The kind that was only supposed to exist in books and fairytales, but she felt it. To the depths of her soul, she felt it.

  All at once, like a thunderclap only she could hear, the memories coalesced.

  Sucking in a sharp breath, Aria jerked her head up and stared at her partner, Foster, in wide-eyed silence for a long second, her heart hammering in her chest.

  Tirox. Kix. The dragon. The arena.

  The office around her grew hazy, her fellow FBI agents milling about suddenly muted.

  This isn’t real. None of this is real. This is a simulation. It has to be.

  The need to find a way out of there and get back to her men battered at her, flooding her with anxiety. She didn’t even know if it was possible. Zhrovni might try to keep her trapped there indefinitely. She didn’t know what he was capable of.

  What if he found out the suppression had fractured? Could he wipe her mind again? Erase her memories of Tirox and Kix permanently so that, even if she found a way free, she wouldn’t remember them?

  What if she lost them? What if she looked right at them and didn’t know how important they were to her? Would she even recognize them? Would some part of her know how much they meant to her?

  What if she forgot she loved them before she’d even had a chance to say it out loud or act on it?

  No. She wouldn’t—couldn’t—let that happen.

  She wanted to leap to her feet, to act, to do something to fight her way out of this place, but just as she was about to get up, she twitched sharply, and the urgency was gone, like mist dissipating under the heat of the sun.

  Gazing around, she still knew what she saw wasn’t real and that she needed to get out, but the hurry to leave had left.

  Aria blinked slowly and settled back into her chair, frowning as she tried to focus. Why did she want to leave? She should stay here. Her men were fine. Of course, they were fine.

  No. That wasn’t right, was it? She definitely had… something she needed to do.

  A thought, quiet and slippery, passed through her mind.

  She remembered something? No, not remembered. Realized. Yes, she realized something—something as important as returning to her men, something damn near as devastating as the thought of losing them.

  What, though?

  It was there, this essential, compulsory thing she needed to do, she just couldn’t quite grasp it.

  What could be as important as getting out of here?

  It was there, flitting about like a butterfly…

  Oh! My parents. Foster. My brother. Yes. That feels… right? I should tell them I’m leaving.

  This may not be real, but it was probably the only chance she’d ever get to say goodbye. She shouldn’t squander it. She should stay long enough to go see them, to tell them the things she should’ve.
Of course, there was time. Her men were fine.

  Aria blew out a quiet breath. She felt better now that she had a plan. She hated not having a plan.

  Glancing up at Foster, she held his gaze and voiced the words she should’ve said years ago.

  “I know I haven’t been the easiest partner. I was… closed off for a long time after Irman died, and I was an asshole to you when we were assigned to each other. I’m glad you stuck with me. Regardless of how much was actually real, you’ve taught me a hell of a lot in the last five years, and I’m grateful.” Swallowing past the lump in her throat, she finished, “You’re my best friend, and I love you.”

  The worry on his face morphed to full-on alarm. Leaning forward, he darted a look around then focused back on her. “Taylor, what the hell are you… ”

  She cut him off. “Tell Elise… tell her to keep on kicking ass and to never let anyone tell her she can’t do something. She’s an amazing kid. She’s going to do great things.”

  “Taylor, seriously, you’re freaking me the fuck out.”

  Seeing his genuine distress, doubts began flickering in the back of her mind.

  He seems so real.

  His reactions and facial expressions mimicked her partner’s so well she began to worry she’d been wrong and this was actually happening.

  Had Zhrovni lied? Did they actually steal people’s minds, and he’d only told her otherwise to make her think she couldn’t escape the arena?

  Maybe… maybe he only used the fabricated version of home in between consecutive tournaments instead of going through the trouble of sending the gladiators’ minds back every time.

  There was a feeling of pressure on the back of her head. It grew until it almost hurt before it released suddenly when she decided that made sense.

  Had Zhrovni sent her back in truth this time because she was no longer under his control? He’d said something about Federation-approved technology. She remembered that. That implied there was a governing body on that world with laws even a slimy fucker like him obeyed. Maybe he wasn’t allowed to kill her outright and sending her consciousness back to Earth was his only means of being rid of her.

  If that were true, the possibility that she’d lost her men just became a reality.

  Her breathing picked up speed and panic sank its claws into her, but she fought against it and tried to think rationally.

  The sky this morning. I’m sure that was wrong. Skies don’t change like flicking on a light switch. I know that. And I don’t remember the drive to work or getting to my desk.

  Didn’t she know this wasn’t real? She’d been so certain of that moments ago. Aria lowered her hand to stroke the grip of her gun and startled. For just a second, she thought she felt bare skin but, glancing down, saw her sidearm right where it was supposed to be.

  No, I remember the lab. This has to be some kind of virtual reality implanted into my brain. It’s… glitching. Yes. Because I’m not under the suppression any longer.

  This wasn’t real. She was almost sure of it. Even if Zhrovni didn’t steal bodies, only minds, this had to be fake, just some fancy alien virtual reality shit.

  It’s not real. It’s not real…

  She repeated that over and over again in her mind until the mantra began to change.

  I will know I am dreaming, I will know I am dreaming…

  With sudden realization, Aria raised her hands. Did they look strange? A little blurry? She got the distinct feeling they weren’t quite the right shape, but neither could she pinpoint what was off about them.

  Glancing under the desk at her feet, she thought she was wearing her usual work shoes, but the longer she stared, the more they looked bare. Lifting her head, she stared at people walking past before shifting her gaze to the wall of windows beyond them. Little by little, the more she focused on her surroundings, the more the edges of the room began to blur.

  The breath whooshed out of her, and her shoulders relaxed.

  “Taylor, what the hell is going on with you today? Do I need to be worried, here?”

  Foster’s question brought her attention back to him. Everything else in this construct may be falling apart under scrutiny, but he was still clear. For some reason, that made her smile.

  Aria nodded reassuringly. “It’s going to be okay, Foster. I have to go, now. I won’t be coming back, not if I succeed. You’ve been a hell of a friend. I’ll miss you.”

  With that, she pushed out of her chair and turned to leave before she could get confused again. Foster called out to her, demanding to know where she was going, telling her to come back, that they would deal with whatever she was going through together.

  The alarm in his voice tore at her and the pressure on the back of her head made her want to turn back, but she didn’t stop.

  Before she could make it to the hallway, between one blink and the next, Aria found herself standing on the porch of her childhood home in Los Angeles.

  The abrupt change wasn’t disturbing that time, it was reassuring.

  Chapter 2

  Tilting her head, Aria caught voices coming from inside the bright yellow house from her childhood. She knew immediately it was her parents. They hadn’t lived there in years, but their voices were unmistakable.

  Before she could twist the knob, the door swung open, revealing her mom’s smiling face. She was just as Aria remembered, her dark brown eyes sparkling, her naturally curly hair straightened and cut in a bob. She was wearing her favorite bright red blouse.

  “Mijita!” her mom beamed.

  Aria was enfolded in a strong embrace before she could return the greeting. With a deep sigh of both happiness and longing for this to be real, she returned the hug, resting her forehead on her mom’s shoulder.

  “I missed you, Amá,” she whispered hoarsely.

  “Oh, sweet girl, I missed you, too. Now, get in here and tell me about all the bad men you’ve beaten up,” she demanded, pulling back from the hug to grip Aria’s shoulders, gazing down at her with an impish smile.

  Aria laughed and shook her head. Her mom both hated her career and loved to listen to her tell abbreviated versions of the things she’d seen and done, watching on with a horrified, yet rapt, expression on her face.

  Her mom shooed her into the house, peppering her with questions all the while. Had she met anyone? Why was she so skinny? Had she punched anyone lately? How was Foster? His wife and daughter? When was Aria going to give her some grandbabies?

  Aria didn’t have time to answer one question before her mom fired off another. She was saved from responding when her dad boomed from the kitchen, “Is that my baby girl?”

  “Hey, Dad.”

  She smiled as she rounded the corner and saw him sitting at the kitchen table, his perpetually messy hair more grey than blonde now, thick glasses magnifying his green eyes, the same color as her own, and a huge grin on his face.

  He pushed out of the chair and strode to her, wrapping her in a bear hug and swinging her around in a circle before setting her on her feet and bending low to plant a smacking kiss on the top of her head.

  “It’s been too damn long since you visited, kiddo. Come on, have a seat and tell us what’s new.”

  “Language, Papá!” her mom scolded, reaching up to swat at his broad shoulder lightly.

  Dad shot her mom a teasing smile before responding, “Yes, my love.”

  Taking a seat at the table, across from her parents once they’d seated themselves, Aria opened her mouth, but hesitated. She didn’t know what to say now that she was faced with them. She didn’t want to upset them by saying she was leaving or telling them where she’d been.

  “What is it, kiddo?” her dad asked, the beginnings of a concerned frown tenting his brows.

  Taking a deep breath, she met both her parents’ gazes. “I’ve met… someone.”

  Her mom gasped and leaned forward, staring at her intently, “Is it serious? Tell me about him!”

  “He’s uh,” she hesitated again.

&
nbsp; How the hell was she going to describe them without giving away they were a them? She decided to just describe them one at a time while pretending they were the same man.

  “He’s, um, foreign.”

  At that, she almost laughed. Foreign was definitely a mild way to put it, but it wasn’t like she could say Tirox and Kix were aliens or mention the red skin, horns, and swirling golden eyes or bioluminescence, six fingers, and pearlescent, grey skin.

  “He’s… kind of scary looking, actually. Looking at him, you wouldn’t guess how incredibly sweet he is,” she smiled softly, her gaze going distant as she pictured Tirox. “He’s also protective, funny, passionate… a little cocky. He isn’t threatened by how independent and headstrong I am. He likes it, a lot. I think he even likes my temper.”

  At that, her mom shot her dad an affectionate look, one he immediately returned.

  With a private smile curling her lips, she responded, “That is good. A man needs to appreciate a woman’s fire and strength.” Turning back to her, her mom became serious, giving her a probing look and asked, “But, do you trust him? I know you struggle with that… after what happened in high school.”