Starlit Throne - Chapter 1: Cinnamon Tea
English Version
Rating: M/E
Genres: Romantasy | Sci-Fi | Slow Burn | Space Opera | Fated Mates
Summary:
Cassia Harper thought her biggest struggles were making rent, keeping up with Brighton’s fashion scene, and selling enough handmade crafts to help her family. But when a mysterious, brooding soldier-for-hire with pointed ears crashes into her life, everything changes.
Her past isn’t what she thought. The father she barely remembers wasn’t just some distant traveler and the pin she wears every day? Not just an antique!
Now, with assassins on her trail and a protector who refuses to claim her (even though the tension between them is scorching), Cassia has to decide: will she run from her destiny or rise to it?
Expect:
🔥 Slow-burn with intense tension (and several many very hot payoffs 😏)
🐺 Cosmic pointed-eared protector (who knows she’s his mate but refuses to act on it... at first)
👑 Galactic politics
🌌 A space opera filled with action, smut & drama
🛸 Brighton, UK meets the stars
If you had told me a year ago that my life would turn into something out of a sci-fi epic, I would have laughed in your face.
My biggest concerns back then were paying rent, making enough money from my side Etsy gigs, and maybe figuring out how to finally buy that ridiculously expensive leather jacket I’d been eyeing for ages. But life had other plans, and somehow, I ended up in the middle of a story so wild, even my geeky brain struggled to process it.
To understand my story, we have to start with my mother’s, the trekkie.
Yes, my mother is a geek, and so I am, too.
If there were an award for the biggest Star Trek fan in the galaxy, she’d win it. Although she grew up reading The Lord of the Rings, devouring old superhero comics, trekking the galaxy thanks to the telly was her favorite poison. Then came the comic cons, perfect for enjoying cosplaying and selling some merch. So, it’s no surprise that she was in full post-Comic-Con bliss the day she met my father.
My mom, Romy, had just spent the weekend surrounded by cosplayers and panels, happy for all the overpriced merch she had sold, and she was still floating on that geeky high when she ran into him—literally.
He was tall and striking, with chiseled features that seemed too perfect to be real. His dark hair fell just past his shoulders, and his eyes had a golden hue that almost seemed to glow in the fading evening light. But the thing that stood out the most? His ears. Slightly pointed and elegant, they gave off serious Romulan vibes due to the weird fashion he was rocking.
Naturally, Mom assumed he was just another dedicated cosplayer who never broke character and had his take on the villainous race of Star Trek. Though she was for of a Captain Kirk fan, she wouldn’t say no to such a beautiful and striking Romulan.
“Wow,” she had said, grinning. “That’s an amazing take on a Romulan. Going for a fresh interpretation?”
He had tilted his head, studying her with what she later described as intense curiosity, as if she were an alien. She loved that. Then, in the most regal and deep tone, he answered, “I am not... Romulan.”
Mom had laughed, thinking he was just that committed to the bit. His deep voice was like a song to her, and his eyes bewitched her. And because she had no problem starting a conversation with a stranger, she kept talking, assuming they were just two nerds in the middle of a fun exchange.
That was the moment her life changed forever.
They spent hours together that night, walking along the Brighton Pier, talking about everything—well, mostly her talking, and him listening, clearly fascinated by her. She assumed he was just a quiet, mysterious type. She had no clue he was from somewhere far beyond Earth.
For him, it wasn’t just an ordinary night. It was the first time he had met someone who saw him as just a man, not someone to be feared or revered. Just... someone to talk to.
They fell in love fast. A whirlwind romance straight out of one of Mom’s favorite fantasy sci-fi novels. He told her bits and pieces about himself—just enough to make her believe he was from some forsaken old town in the US, but not enough to make her question reality too much. And the ears? A happy nerdy surgery to forever look like a cosmic man. She didn’t care. She just knew she loved him.
They built a quiet very British life together. They lived in our cozy flat for a year on top of the comic book store she runs with my aunt. He was happy with her, enjoying a simple life and being just a man, though he had an odd fascination with cinnamon. He swore he had never tasted anything like it before and grew obsessed, sneaking it into every cup of tea and every cake.
And then, the fairytale ended.
Mom was pregnant with me when it happened. When the attack came, he had stepped out to buy some groceries—cinnamon included. Shadows in a narrow street in the Lanes. Silent figures moving with deadly precision. She never saw them, only the aftermath. Blood on the pavement. A life stolen too soon.
Had he been home, Mom and I would’ve been killed too. But instead, she was left alone, with nothing but heartbreak and a secret she never knew. She never fully recovered from losing him. She never moved on. No other man could ever compare. But she didn’t let the grief break her. Instead, she focused on me.
She named me Cassia—because of him. Because cinnamon was his favorite thing, something he loved that didn’t exist where he came from. She raised me with love, telling me about the man who had been the love of her life, but never about his death. She only shared the good parts, the beautiful memories, the Star Trek that they fantasized about together, and then, whenever the topic drifted too close to the pain, she would shut down.
And me? I grew up thinking my dad was just a mysterious guy from some far-off place in the US. A traveler, maybe, or a scientist. Someone who had loved my mom but couldn’t stay. I never suspected the truth.
Not until everything changed.
Looking back, there were clues. The way Mom sometimes hesitated when I asked too many questions. The pin she gave me on my twentieth birthday—an intricate piece of metal with strange markings that I assumed were just a beautiful design.
I had no idea it was a symbol of something much greater.
And I had no idea my life would be turned upside down on a Saturday afternoon, thanks to my lousy cousin.
Glossary - Chapter 1
Slow-burn – A romance that develops gradually over time. (Romance que se desarrolla lentamente con el tiempo.)
Fated mates – A concept where two people are destined to be together. (Dos personas destinadas a estar juntas.)
Brooding – Having a serious, deep-in-thought personality. (Pensativo, melancólico, reservado.)
Chiseled features – Sharp, well-defined facial structure. (Rasgos faciales bien definidos y angulosos.)
Pointed ears – Ears that are slightly longer or sharper than normal. (Orejas ligeramente puntiagudas.)
Sci-fi epic – A large-scale, grand story set in a science-fiction world. (Historia de ciencia ficción épica y grandiosa.)
Making rent – Earning enough money to pay for housing. (Ganar suficiente dinero para pagar el alquiler.)
Comic-Con bliss – The excitement and happiness after attending a Comic-Con. (Felicidad después de asistir a una convención de cómics.)
Cosplayer – A person who dresses up as a fictional character. (Persona que se disfraza de un personaje ficticio.)
Trekker/Trekkie – A devoted fan of Star Trek. (Fan devoto de Star Trek.)
Overpriced merch – Fan-related products that are too expensive. (Mercancía de fandom a precios excesivos.)
Regal tone – A voice or way of speaking that sounds noble or royal. (Tono de voz regio o noble.)
Silent figures moving with deadly precision – A phrase describing assassins moving quietly and efficiently. (Figuras silenciosas que se mueven con precisión mortal.)
A life stolen too soon – A poetic way to say someone died young. (Una vida arrebatada demasiado pronto.)
Foreshadowing – A storytelling technique that hints at future events. (Técnica narrativa que insinúa eventos futuros.)