{"product_id":"blades-of-arris-atana","title":"Blades of Arris: Atana","description":"\u003cp\u003eYes, I’m all that stands between Earth and these brutal aliens.\u003cbr\u003eBut the night sky isn’t the only place that’s filled with darkness.\u003cbr\u003eAnd I might be fragile as glass, but this glass holds oceans. Planets. Stars. \u003cbr\u003eTheir obsessive leader, with his beautiful fractured eyes, will never make me break...\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"My favorite so far. Fast paced and steamy. Love Atana and Lia's story. Love the crazy that are the engineers!\" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eRead if you love:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003ePrimal Mating Mark\/Bite\u003cspan\u003e💜\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eObsessive Hero\u003cspan\u003e⚔️\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDiverse Heroine\u003cspan\u003e🦋\u003c\/span\u003e\n\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eSpice 4 out of 5\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\"\u003cspan\u003eThis is the fourth book in the Blades of Arris series. It's a fast-paced and standalone book that will keep you engaged from start to finish. There's action, adventure, drama, danger, suspense...\" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"This book was simply AMAZING!! I think one of the very best things about this addictive series is that each book and every new couple brings a breath of freshness with it and that helps keep you deeply invested, highly entertained and anxiously wanting more.\" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSample from Chapter 3:\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e(He's just saved her by taking a shot to the chest - I edited this a little but THIS SAMPLE IS STILL A BIT NSFW!!!)\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cem\u003e~LIA~\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpFirst\"\u003eAtana enters a smaller, very cluttered room, shoves aside a stack of crates with his shoulder, and sets me down on the edge of a crowded platform. The door closes like a portal of knives that stab into the center and melt into a textureless wall.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe sets a medical kit next to me, hooks a finger in his collar, and pulls down. The gray leatherlike fabric separates and falls off him, coiling at his feet, and revealing a nude male body.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eInstantly, the ivy takes hold.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eMy arms itch.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe has gray skin, a medium build, and short black hair like all the others. Four small spikes form just past the top curve of his ears. Black lines are on his nail beds.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHis [body part] looks small in comparison to his muscular thighs. I could hold it in one hand if I had a death wish. And thanks to the ivy, I do.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eBlack chevrons on his wrists mark the edges of his skin sheaths. They look smooth, ordinary forearm tattoos, until he peels one open, revealing the silver tip of his embedded weapon.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eDread squeezes my belly.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe’s a conqueror.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eMusk hits my nose.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eMale.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003ePhysical pain unfurls within me [hunger] harsher than anything I’ve ever felt, and it winds tight, giving me pins and needles in my tender areas.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eOh, no.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eI’ve never really tried to resist my urges. I’ve only delayed them slightly while searching for a compromise, and my body has been good about enduring the ivy’s pain until I can slot a man into my schedule.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eBut it’s been a long voyage on the all-female cruiser, and then in the escape pod. So long since that kidnapping, that distant law office. I must be a billion light-years from Humana now. What’s that in Arrisan standard units? Millions upon millions of actungs?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eAtana rests his palm on the medical scanner. It chimes and displays a message in easy-to-read Arrisan Standard. \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003eMild irradium burn. Neutralize with cream. \u003c\/i\u003eHe opens the medical kit and picks through the supplies.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eA low rumble growls outside our small room. The ground trembles.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“Move faster, men,” Atana murmurs as he uncaps a tube.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eI lean my thigh against the platform. “Is the ship going to blow up?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHis silver irises play across his injury, then the medical screen again. He’s not going to answer me. I’m only a lesser to him, a servant world resident. Nothing and nobody.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eBut then he murmurs, “Not if they get it contained in the next ten clicks.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eTen clicks until the end of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eAtana doesn’t seem worried. Is irradium really that dangerous? What did Sewar mean that my blood was diseased? Do they know what this sickness is? Where’s everyone else? Did they survive?\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eThe ivy twists and pulls.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eTen clicks. So much time. It’ll be easy. I’ll be quick.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“And ten clicks is not much time,” he continues, again, mostly to himself, as he applies a thick layer of cream on the inner edge of his sheath. “Not much time for clearing a hazard area. Not much time for repairing the containment field.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eI lean forward and cup [him]. “Plenty of time for [this].”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe pauses.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eAnother long rumble shakes the room. I feel it all the way under my tongue.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eNine clicks until the end of the world.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe flicks his silver gaze at me. “I could cut off your hand before you could blink. I could carve you into small pieces and make a mosaic out of your decaying body. I could peel off your face and wear it for a mask and give Sewar new nightmares.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“You don’t have time for that.” I hold [him] more firmly. “But you do have time for [this].”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHis eyes narrow. “Why haven’t you learned fear?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“You said you weren’t going to kill me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“I never said that.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“You haven’t yet.” I squeeze.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe caps the cream, tosses it in the medical kit, then picks me up at the waist and sets me on the edge of the platform. The movement causes my hand to drop from his body. He rests his palms on either side of me and looms over me, his silver eyes circled with a thin black line.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“You’re infected with our lusteal. But so long as I have this,” he thumps his clear face mask, “I don’t sense it. There’s no way for your sickness to enter my blood. And I don’t need it. I’m sick enough already. Be a good lesser and sit tight. Someone will rescue you shortly.” He returns to the medical kit and dabs ointment on the black bruises crossing his chest where he shielded me from the laser. His voice lowers to mutter, “A real hero.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“What’s lusteal?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“The metal required for us ‘celibate’ Arrisans to breed.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eI scoot closer. “You could breed with me.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“This isn’t the arena.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“It could be.” Seven clicks until the end of the world. “How is it at the arena?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“I wouldn’t know. Engineers don’t go. We’re not worthy.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“Then this is your chance.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“Forbidden knowledge is the only knowledge worth having. But I don’t care for this. The cost is too high.” But his eyes drift, almost unwillingly, to my lower regions.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“I could teach you.” I pull off my pants and underwear. They pool at the floor next to his suit. Then I lick my fingers. “Did you want to know?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“What are you doing?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“I’ll show you.” I wet my palm and spread the saliva between my fingertips. “Humans do [this] every day. I know all about it. And after I teach you, then you too—”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe moves lightning fast.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHis hand closes around my jaw, his mouth separated from mine by the thinnest sheet of formfitting clear plastic. His eyes flash, and his lips curl back to reveal even, white teeth. “Arrisans eat planets like yours. We enslave your people. We suck the very marrow out of your bones, and here you are, offering your body as if I can’t just take it and destroy it if I want to. The other humans infected with our lusteal knew their place. They feared me. \u003ci style=\"mso-bidi-font-style: normal;\"\u003eWhere is your fear?\u003c\/i\u003e”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eFear is an instinct of self-preservation.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eAnd although he’s gripping my jaw, it’s not hard enough to bruise. He’s not strangling my neck.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe said I have a sickness.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eBut I knew that already.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eA healthy person would feel fear.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eI curl my wet fingers around his [body part].\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe gives me a little shake. “I don’t sense your lusteal, lesser. Touching me does nothing…”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e[It] hardens in my hand.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe stares at a spot over my shoulder, and his jaw moves side to side as if he’s mulling over a surprising turn of events.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003eHe focuses on me again. “How did you do that?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“You forgot something.” I hook my leg around his thigh. “Another way chemicals can enter your body.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp class=\"MsoNormalCxSpMiddle\"\u003e“Which is?”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e“Through your largest organ.” I put my presumably infected saliva on [him]. “Your skin.”\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eTRIGGER WARNINGS:\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Love the madness that is Atana. The Engineer's are live by their own set of rules. The are the backbone of the Empire. My favorite so far. Fast paced and steamy. Love Atana and Lia's story. Love the crazy that are the engineers!\"  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"The main character is such an unexpected I guess he's more of an anti-hero in this situation. And I love anti-heroes. And I honestly didn't expect him and Lia to make a good connection. But The best way I can describe this book is bruh. I don't even want to describe what makes this book good. I love this series. It's so unexpected that it's great. So do me a favor, just read the book and decide to eat breakfast before you read...\"  ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"Hard to follow at certain points but another good one. Good couple. Psycho guy is always my favorite. Very cathartic read if you’ve ever felt chronically unwanted.\" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan\u003e\"I absolutely adore Atana’s character. Out of all the Arris males so far in the series he is my absolute favorite (of course I do tend to think that after each book, so that tells you a lot about the characters right there)!\" ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ - Reader\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Starla Night","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45620276560171,"sku":"BOA4EBDSSHOP","price":5.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0786\/0990\/8011\/files\/7_dac711f0-4fd2-475a-8d96-567161d49ac9.png?v=1791846494","url":"https:\/\/www.thenightbookstore.com\/products\/blades-of-arris-atana","provider":"The Night Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}