Lindsay Cummings - Nexus

Return to the high-stakes, riveting world of The Androma Saga in this dazzling finale from #1 New York Times bestselling authors Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings.

With her crew captured and her ship a smoldering ruin, notorious mercenary Androma Racella is no longer the powerful Bloody Baroness, but a fugitive on the run. And with most of the galaxy now trapped under the mind control of the bloodthirsty Queen Nor, not even the farthest reaches of Mirabel can offer safety for the queen’s most-hated adversary.

But Andi will risk anything, even her precious freedom, to save her crew. So when she finds herself stranded with bounty hunter Dextro Arez on the unforgiving ice planet of Solera, Andi seeks out the mysterious Arachnid, the one person who seems to be fighting back against the vicious queen...and uncovers the true, devastating reason for Nor’s takeover.

Back on Andi’s home planet of Arcardius, Nor’s actions have made Mirabel vulnerable to invasion from an outside force. Now allying with her mortal enemy may be the only way for the Bloody Baroness to save the galaxy—even if that alliance demands the most wrenching sacrifice of all.

About the Authors

SASHA ALSBERG is the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Zenith , the first book in The Androma Saga. When Sasha is not writing or obsessing over Scotland, she is making YouTube videos on her channel, Abookutopia, and studying history at university. She lives in Massachusetts with her two dogs.

LINDSAY CUMMINGS is the #1 New York Times bestselling coauthor of Zenith , the first book in The Androma Saga. She is also the author of The Murder Complex duology and the Balance Keepers trilogy for HarperCollins. She lives in north Texas, where she writes full-time.

Also by Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings

The Androma Saga

Zenith

Nexus

Nexus

Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings

Copyright

An imprint of HarperCollins Publishers Ltd

1 London Bridge Street

London SE1 9GF

First published in Great Britain by HQ in 2019

Copyright © Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings 2019

Sasha Alsberg & Lindsay Cummings asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work.

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library.

This novel is entirely a work of fiction. The names, characters and incidents portrayed in it are the work of the author’s imagination. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events or localities is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins.

Ebook Edition © May 2019 ISBN: 9780008228361

Version: 2019-04-25

Praise for

Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings and Zenith

“A whirlwind, out-of-this-galaxy adventure! The dynamic cast of characters, edge-of-your-seat action and sprawling universe had me hooked from the very first pages.”

—#1 New York Times bestselling author Sarah J. Maas

“A dazzling space opera by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings, Zenith moves at hyperspace speed and never lets up. Epic, mesmerizing and heart stopping, you’ll be left breathless and wanting more.”

—New York Times bestselling author Danielle Paige

“With characters whose over-the-top shtick would fit right into Guardians of the Galaxy , this series opener morphs unexpectedly into a dark and complex sci-fi drama.”

—School Library Journal

“Zenith is a spectacularly stunning, whirlwind adventure with a race-against-the-clock plot and strong as hell female characters.”

—BuzzFeed

“This sprawling space opera from Alsberg and Cummings (the Balance Keepers trilogy) features plentiful action, complex politics, and a rich mythology.”

—Publishers Weekly

From Sasha:

To my mother,

who I know is watching from the stars.

From Lindsay:

To my dad, Don Cummings.

Thank you for being the ultimate bookworm in my life.

Contents

Cover

Back Cover Text

About the Authors

Booklist

Title Page

Copyright

Praise

Dedication

Map

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

EPILOGUE

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS—SASHA ALSBERG

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS—LINDSAY CUMMINGS

About the Publisher

DEX

Dextro Arez had never truly believed that the Godstars were tangible beings.

They were soul-felt, a comforting presence inside your heart, an idea that filled your mind as if soldered on with iron and fire. Always nearby, yet as far away as the stars in the night sky.

Dex’s body was tattooed with the Godstars’ white constellations; a living shrine to their power and strength. Here, on his left arm, were the twisting, intertwining patterns that symbolized the twin Godstars of life and light. And on the back of his right shoulder, stretching up toward his neck—the angular constellation that marked the godstar of hope.

But tonight, as Dex slumped forward in his chair, the thick, rigid lines of the godstar of death stared up at him from his left hand. The tattoo stretched out like a narrowing eye as he clenched his fist. Dex looked away from it, swallowing hard. He felt as if death were truly here—a beast breathing down his neck as he turned his gaze to Androma’s pale, still form.

Andi had been unconscious for nearly a week now. Dex knew that it was due at least in part to the painkillers they’d given her for the wound on her chest—a parting gift from the traitorous Valen Cortas, who’d turned his blade on her after stabbing his own father during Queen Nor’s attack on Andi’s home planet, Arcardius.

But Dex also wondered if Andi’s mind just wasn’t ready to return her to this world yet, too terrified by what had transpired in the moments before Valen tried to kill her. And if that were true, how long would it be before she came back to them?