He slept on the floor, surrounded by loss… Excerpt from Crystal Clear Truth #SciFi #Romance #MFRWhooks

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Crystal Clear Truth

Introducing a new book in the Antonello Brothers series, a slow-burn, forced proximity romance set in the far, far future in an empire full of treachery, mystery, and long-hidden secrets...
His entire life, Joe worked for this moment: Primary Terraforming Scientist assigned to the firestorm planet. Yet tragedy mars the day with the accidental death of both parents. Grief-stricken, he plods through family decisions and moves forward, surviving day by day. While reading his mother's handwritten diary, he discovers a folded flatpic of a teenaged girl and the cryptic words, "our son's mother." He searches for details, determined to know more.

When a friend asks Shohn to help a locate someone, she jumps at the chance. She's researching the firestorm planet for her employer, who seeks access to eyes-only information. Helping Joe might be her opportunity to uncover long-hidden secrets.

As their unexpected friendship deepens into more, each mystery they solve reveals yet another hidden layer. The truth they seek could immobilize interstellar commerce in the empire. To protect the Empire they both love, they must solve the riddle behind this elusive young woman, and trust one another.

But how can they trust when the "truth" they've been fed is a lie?

Crystal Clear Truth - Chapter One

Tarthian Empire, Kyrenie
Fenris City, Taskya District
Birit 40, 4669 Tradestandard

From the moment Joe Townsend had learned of his folks' accidental death a week ago, life had screamed past him. A banshee bearing a never-ending whirlwind of around-the-clock decisions. He leaned against the inside of his parents' front door and slid down.

Today, he'd said his formal goodbyes at their memorial. He'd smiled like a wooden soldier at the unending I'm-so-sorrys and the non-stop oh-poor-Joe-how-are-you-doings.

How did they think he was doing?

Life had plunged him into a lightless, inescapable world of sympathetic platitudes.

How could he move forward when everywhere he looked, the past held him fast?

How could he move forward when every step he took led him that much further away from the people he'd loved most?

How could he move forward and somehow lever past this pain?

There had to be a better way to handle heartbreak. A saner way.

Joe stood and dusted himself off. He should throw himself into his work. That's what his dad always...

A fresh ache swept over him as he recalled the man's sage advice.

"Whatever you can't change, accept and work through, Son. Focus on what you can do, what you have to do, and don't waste time looking back."

Joe braced an arm across his stomach. Would he ever think of his father's words of wisdom again without this foreboding sensation of loss? This sense that part of himself was missing? Or of his mother and her strength? Her abiding belief in him, encouraging him, guiding the way?

Dragging his feet, Joe staggered through the house, back to the room that had been his when he lived here as a boy, now stripped bare. His parents had put the house on the market and accepted an offer a week prior to their deaths. The new owners would arrive tomorrow.

Nothing remained of the place Joe had once called his haven.

There was no home to go to. Starting tomorrow, this place would be someone else's. Not his. Not his parents'. Not anymore.

This sterile room symbolized everything he'd lost.

He couldn't think about this tonight. Couldn't think about work, even work he'd prepared for his whole life.

Primary Terraforming Scientist assigned to the firestorm planet. Part of the elite team studying the formation of fiery tornado-like monsters that ripped across the planet Kyrenie, leaving wakes of sand crystalized in an instant. Joe had studied his whole life for the opportunity to follow in his father's footsteps. Carried three doctorates, each chosen with an eye to firestorm science.

The pride he'd felt when appointed had rivaled the thrill of working at his father's side. The joy of raw discovery, uncovering new truths while pushing the frontiers of knowledge to the nth degree.

Right this moment, science felt like a meaningless distraction.

Exhausted, he curled up in the middle of the floor, surrounded by nothing but loss. He'd spend one last night in this empty shell of a place he'd once considered home. Come morning, he'd walk away from his past forever.

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You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in New Book | Tagged Antonello Brothers, Crystal Clear Truth, Darq Antonello, Izzorah Ceeow, Luc Saint-Cyr, Sci-Fi Romance, Sempervians, Shohn Lexius |

A window on a new world. Sneak peek at Crystal Clear Truth #SciFi #Romance #MFRWhooks

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

At the Mercy of Her Pleasure - NarrAy

Once they reached the Royal District, the car pulled up to the front of the luxurious Royal Arms Hotel. Shaped like a giant arrow being driven into the ground, it displayed Tyran engineering at its finest. Like their suite on the ship, the empire-class suite at the top sported a common living area and four bedrooms with private baths.

NarrAy's corner room had a breathtaking view of vast Tarth City, showcase of the empire. Impossibly tall spires drove through the clouds. Steady shuttle traffic climbed into the sky to the west, near the starport. The wide swath of Tarth City Park divided the metropolis in half all the way to the horizon, and the Cyr de Typhin River meandered through the center, its bright blue water glinting in the sun.

For Women Only - Mehfawni

Mehfawni's hotel room overlooked Tarth City Park, a green strip of manicured garden that cut the city in half as far as the eye could see. The family servants unpacked her belongings while she stood at the window and gawked like a child. Seventy stories below, ground traffic crawled, and trains snaked out of holes and zipped halfway up the sides of buildings into more holes. In the distance, shuttle traffic cluttered the sky. Slender towering structures speared the clouds. Closer in, right on the edge of the park, a massive black building towered over all the others, dominating the view.

Why didn't it fall over? It looked too big, too flat. Mehfawni went to another window, straining to get a better view. The tallest building on Felidae rose six stories. Her family still used horse-drawn carriages, even though all of them owned modern hovers too. She'd marveled at the starport in Ruh Township, a provincial outpost compared to vast Empire Central on Tarth. She'd slept through the jump to Sanity IV and missed the wonders of seeing the vast array of habdrills taking the planet apart.

Crystal Clear Truth - Joe

By the time Joe reached his room, darkness blanketed the world outside. Out on the balcony, he braced his hands on the railing and drew the moist evening air deep into his lungs. It had been ages since he'd experienced Tarth City's cool evenings. Every bit as good as he remembered. If he had to live anywhere other than Kyrenie, he'd pick here. A whisper of wind shivered across his skin, and he rubbed his arms.

His room lay on the one hundred and tenth floor of a building shaped like the letter V. Tyran engineering ensured it stayed upright, even during the worst storms and earthquakes. Nothing ramshackle. Pure genius, especially considering they designed for people with legs, while they, themselves possessed haunches and hooves.

Lights along the outside raced from the topmost floor downward, giving it the appearance of some gigantic arrow, burying itself. Up here, with fog starting, the light created an ambient glow.

Considering the size and population of Tarth City, the fact that he smelled fresh air and not filtered blankness spoke to an outstanding municipal plan. Creating a city that harmonized with nature began with masterful terraforming.

The major drawback of a megalopolis -- lights stretched from horizon to horizon, blotting out the stars, with the single moon making no more than a thin crescent of silver.

A vibrating rumble tickled his chest. Off to the west, a sleepliner descended toward the starport. That it made only this much sound meant powerful buffers held vibrations at bay. No matter how many times he visited this city or where he went within it, the sight of a massive ship landing almost soundlessly never ceased to amaze.

He'd have stayed out here all night, but he had a workshop to teach the next day, so he dragged himself back inside.

Here's the blurb so far for the new book. I plan for this to be the last book in the Antonello Brothers series. We'll see! Sometimes characters have other plans.

Crystal Clear Truth - Antonello Brothers series #5

His entire life, Joe worked for this moment: Terraforming Specialist First Class, assigned to the firestorm planet. Yet tragedy mars the day with the accidental death of both parents. Grief-stricken, he plods through family decisions and moves forward, surviving day by day. While reading his mother's handwritten diary, he discovers a folded flatpic of a teenaged girl and the cryptic words, "our son's mother." He searches for details, determined to know more.

When a friend asks Shohn to help a locate someone, she jumps at the chance. She's researching the firestorm planet for her employer, who seeks access to eyes-only information. Helping Joe might be her opportunity to uncover long-hidden secrets.

As their unexpected friendship deepens into more, each mystery they solve reveals yet another hidden layer. The truth they seek could immobilize interstellar commerce in the empire. To protect the Empire they both love, they must solve the riddle behind the elusive young woman in the picture, and trust one another.

But how can they trust when the "truth" they've been fed is a lie?

A slow-burn, forced proximity romance set in the far, far future in an empire full of treachery, mystery, and long-hidden secrets...

You'll find these characters mentioned in many books in my story universe.
Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

Characters mentioned on this page might be found in multiple books in my story universe. Download a printable book list and check them off as you read.

~ Copyright ©2024 Kayelle Allen. All rights reserved ~ Kayelle Allen participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates program, an affiliate advertising program which provides the means for sites to earn fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com. If you purchase an item listed on the site from Amazon.com, Kayelle will earn a small commission. Other sites might be affiliate links as well. These will not result in higher prices for you. Thank you for your support!

To experience art, sci-fi, romance, and space opera with unstoppable, unshakeable, unforgettable characters so real you'll swear you've met them, join me on Ream Stories!

Posted in New Book | Tagged A Stolen Heart, Antonello Brothers, At the Mercy of Her Pleasure, Bro, Crystal Clear Truth, Darq Antonello, For Women Only, Khyff Antonello, Luc Saint-Cyr, Mehfawni Ruh, NarrAy Jorlan, Sci-Fi Romance, Senth Antonello, Shohn Lexius, Tarthian Empire |

Meet the heroine of Crystal Clear Truth #SciFi #Romance #MFRWhooks

Updated on 09/25/2023 by Kayelle Allen

Shohn Lexius is a Kin, a catlike alien who looks mostly human. She's been in multiple books, but always as a supporting character. She has a major supporting role in A Stolen Heart, the first book in the Antonello Brothers series. It seemed fitting she should get a starring role in the final* book of the series.

This is her first time having a point-of-view role, and she was full of surprises.

In this excerpt, we meet her at the start of her journey in Crystal Clear Truth.
*"Final" subject to character approval ;)

Excerpt edited for most current content - Mar 2022

Though she ached to slam it, Shohn Lexius eased her office door shut, then took a civil and polite step back. Hissing, she swiped the air with her claws and stuck the smallest ones straight up.

Claws retracted, she stalked to the narrow window, braced her hands on the sill and pressed her forehead to the glass. The spring sun offered no heat. And why? Because on human worlds, builders installed special glass so their precious little sun wouldn't hurt their precious fragile skin.

Humans. Honestly.

Oh, all right, she'd admit human skin was sleek. Nice to stroke. She even liked its smoothness against her tongue, but come on. Would it hurt so much to let in a little heat?

Humans protected themselves from such trivial 'dangers' as sunbeams. On this world, indoor temperatures never fluctuated. And forget opening a window.

Not on the seventieth floor of the city's tallest building.

She laid back her ears, aching for the fresh air of her homeworld. The freedom of a hynder beneath her, galloping full speed in sunshine along the beach. Charging through the forests, cantering in the rain. A purr rumbled in her chest at the memories.

Working up an honest sweat mucking out stalls, tending the stock, shoulder to shoulder with family, everyone laughing and singing. Accepting her word that when she asked for something, she should get it. No one telling her how much money she could spend or asking why she needed it. She reined in her thoughts. That was her old self talking.

The person of privilege her family had reared her to be, not the fighter for equality she'd become. Sometimes, though, living off-world rankled. Here she was, a Kin warrior with the honor blade at her side to prove it, stuck working in a human-oriented office on the capitol planet of what she'd once considered her people's enemy.

Well, she'd brought this on herself, hadn't she? She'd left her homeworld of her own accord. It was her fault she spent every day with round-eyed humans whose ears could hear a third less than her own. A race oblivious to the overpowering reek of its own species.

Not that humans stank, individually. At least, not once they shed themselves of the cloud of cleaners and so-called deodorizers that added more scent to what was already there. But put a crowd of 'clean' humans in a room?

She hissed at the thought.

A Kin's sense of kahlah caught the scent of human lies no matter how small. A handy skill during interrogations. She knew before a human spoke if they would try to pull a fast one, and they all tried. As for the tartness of their fear, well, a clawed Kin had better get used to that pretty fast, because a fanged smile was no help whatsoever.

A knock at the door pulled her back to here and now. She picked up a notereader tablet and fanned herself, dispersing any scent of frustration she might have released.

After straightening her green-and-black uniform jacket, she squared her shoulders. "Come."