Born of Shadows

  Fain headed for the guns to try and repair them.

  Caillen stopped him as he had a gut suspicion about the pilot's identity. Please let me be right. If he was, this was a good thing.

  Maybe.

  God, don't have a long memory. Was it too much to ask for a small concussion to forget just that one little incident...? Opening a channel, he hailed the new fighter. "1-9-8-2-6 is that you, Aniwaya?"

  When the answer came in, the deep baritone voice made him smile. If lethal ever had a proper name, it was Chayden Aniwaya. That rogue bastard was many things to many people. Assassin. Self-serving pirate. Thief. Brutal fighter when crossed. But to Caillen he was known by one simple thing.

  Friend.

  At least some days.

  Please gods let this be one of those days.

  "Dagan, you worthless bastard, what are you doing in my sector and in the company of an unauthorized fighter no less? Don't you know that's suicide here? You're lucky my boys haven't raked your basement."

  "Bleeding mostly," Caillen said, answering his first question before he addressed the latter. "That UF you noted happens to be an unidentified assassin on our tail. Any chance of an assist?"

  "Depends. You going to sleep with my girlfriend again while you're in my sector?"

  Gah, so much for a concussion. Why did Aniwaya keep bringing that up? Make one little mistake and damned if you couldn't ever live it down. It was doubly annoying since Aniwaya basically agreed with him. Any woman who'd snake around when attached wasn't worth grieving over. "How many times do I have to tell you that I had no idea you two were together?"

  "Until the day I actually believe your sorry hide."

  Caillen scoffed. "Hey now, I only lie about my cargo, never my women."

  "Sad thing, Dagan, I actually believe that." Chay broke off their conversation as he engaged the fighter.

  "Hey, hey, hey," Caillen said in rapid succession as Chay went to the fight like he always did... with everything he had. "I don't want him dead. I'd like to haul him in for questioning if you can refrain from execution for a few."

  "Lazy krikkin pacifists wanting to save the bunnies when they need to be skinned..." Chay grumbled under his breath before he called in for his fellow band of miscreants to help trap the assassin. "We'll let him live, but you owe me, Dagan."

  "Bullshit. This is me claiming a debt you owe me."

  Aniwaya let out an annoyed breath. "Fine... asshole."

  Hauk arched a brow at Caillen as he closed the channel between their ships to keep Aniwaya from hearing their conversation. "Who's our new friend?"

  "One of the surliest pirate warlords in the business. Chayden Aniwaya." He jerked his chin toward Fain. "Do you know him?"

  "Why would I?"

  "You're both Tavali. I figured you might have run across him at some point in your travels." The Tavali were an interstellar organization of pirates who flew under one single banner--their symbol was the same one Fain had on the mask he normally wore. A mask that also marked him as Tavali. It was a warning to others that if you messed with one of them, you messed with them all. They might be liars, thieves and riffraff, but they were loyal to each other to the end. No matter who you were or where you came from, if you bore their mark, you were family and they would all fight to protect you whether they knew you or not.

  Fain snorted. "In case you've had massive damage to your temporal lobe, there happens to be a lot of us. There's no way to know them all."

  "Yeah I know. You breed like rodents."

  Hauk cleared his throat to get Caillen's attention back on his inquisition. "His girlfriend? How did you get hooked up with her?"

  That was a long story so he shortened it. "She went to school with Kasen back in the day."

  "And you slept with her?"

  Caillen let out a disgusted breath at his own rank stdity. If he could only change that... "Four years ago and in my defense she was seriously hot--even you'd have slept with her." Hauk wasn't fond of human women as a rule. "Lethal harita forgot to tell me she was engaged to Aniwaya who almost had both of my heads for it when he found out." Not that Caillen blamed him. He'd have been pissed too. But really, it wasn't his fault.

  "How'd he find out?" Fain asked.

  "She told him as soon as she crawled out of my bed. Apparently, I was a tool she wanted to use to strike at him and stupid me, I let her. She thought it'd be funny to betray him with a friend. Lucky me, huh?"

  Hauk shook his head. "Yeah, some women will do it to you."

  And Hauk would know. It was amazing he'd even go near a woman again after what had happened to him.

  Then again, sex was one hell of a motivator and they were dumb enough to let it rule them... "Tell me about it." Caillen turned his attention back on the action outside.

  Within seconds, Aniwaya and his band of pirates had the assassin routed and captured in a tractor beam. Damn, the renegade bastard made it look easy, but then when you had five people to move as a team it was a whole lot easier than when you only had yourself and one overemotional sister trying to do it. Aniwaya's team moved like they shared a single mind. They knew each other so well that half the time they finished each other's sentences.

  It was the kind of team Caillen would kill for. Unfortunately, he'd never been able to find that many people who wouldn't knife him in the back as soon as he let his guard down. Aniwaya had a rare team and they all knew it.

  Chayden opened the link between ships. "Where you want him?"

  Dead, but that wasn't an option quite yet. "Sentella VII."

  Aniwaya let out a scoffing laugh. "Uh... yeah. Negatory, Captain. We're not exactly welcomed there. So I think I'll keep my head and my distance away from those psychos."

  Caillen was surprised by that. Usually the Sentella welcomed any pirate who preyed on the League and her allies which was what Chayden and his crew lived for. There was only one thing he could think of that would have them skittish of the Sentella. "Who'd you kill?"

  "No one. We captured one of their extremely loaded and enticing supply ships a few months back and they've been a little cranky with us ever since."

  Yeah, that would do it. The Sentella didn't like to be victimized in any way. "Chay..."

  "Don't give me no lip, Dagan. You'd have done it too if you'd seen what they carried and I can still shoot you down and no one would care."

  Well, he was right about that at present. In fact, his enemies would reward him mightily for it.

  Hauk took over the conversation. "For the record, I would care if you shot us >

  "Yeah, right. I've heard that before. How stupid do you think I am?"

  Hauk passed an irritated look at Caillen.

  Caillen held his hands up in surrender. "I don't control the pirate brigade. Chay's a paranoid sonofabitch--and deservedly so given the people out to slay him--so don't cut those freaky eyes at me, looking for help with him. I got nothing useful."

  Sighing, Hauk opened the channel. "On my honor, the soul of Akuma, no harm will come to you or those who fly under your banner."

  Aniwaya's voice dripped with suspicion and ridicule. "You telling me you're the infamous Akuma wanted by the League and all the United Systems combined? Flying in that hunk of shit with a lowlife like Dagan? Boy, find another gullible fool. This one isn't taking."

  Hauk growled in the back of his throat as frustration must have strangled him. Not that Caillen could fault Aniwaya for his skepticism.

  Akuma meant demon. Each one of the five founding members of the Sentella had an alias they used to protect their identities and to keep their families safe from the wrath of the League and her allies.

  Nykyrian was known as Nemesis or vengeance. Darling went by Kere or death. Jayne was Shinikuri, the spirit of death, and Hauk had chosen Akuma.

  Because all of his family was dead, Syn had refused a moniker claiming he didn't care if they hunted him down and killed him. But now in order to protect Caillen's sister, he went by Shinikami--death wolf.

 
But only a tiny handful of people knew those names and who they belonged to. Divulging their real identities wasn't something any of the Sentella did lightly which was why Chayden was crying foul. Caillen only knew them because he didn't believe in betrayal in any way and they trusted him implicitly.

  When Hauk spoke, his tone was that deadly tight one that effectively conveyed his ire. "Trust me, pirate. No unauthorized being would ever dare use my name." He glared at Caillen who'd actually done that on the colony--oops. Good thing the Andarion loved him or they'd be locked in a death match over it.

  "Sanctum Sentella, Aniwaya. On that you have my word and that is sacred." With those two phrases, Hauk offered Aniwaya safe passage.

  Aniwaya hesitated before he responded. "Thanks, Akuma. I'm trusting you with the safety of my men. If you back out on your word, take my life, not theirs."

  Hauk arched a brow at Caillen. "You're right. He's not real trusting is he?"

  "He's Tavali," Fain said. "We're no more trusting than the Sentella is. The price on our heads is every bit as staggering as yours and like you guys we tend to make more enemies than friends."

  Hauk nodded. "I get it."

  And that was why Caillen flew unfettered. While there was some safety that came from being aligned to a specific group such as the Tavali or Sentella, there was also a lot of crap and internal politics that could easily drag a smuggler or pirate into a mess faster than sleeping with an aristos's wife. As a free agent, he could be "friend" to anyone without politics intervening.

  The bridge door pulsed open.

  Desideria finally rejoined them--wearing Caillen's one clean shirt that he'd left out for her. For some reason he couldn't name, he liked seeing her in it even though it swallowed her whole. It sent a strange surge of possessiveness through him.

  Yeah, she could definitely borrow his shirts anytime she wanted and he hoped her scent stayed in the fabric...

  Pausing by his chair, she yawned. "What's going on? I heard a strange voice over the intercom, but I couldn't understand what you were saying."

  Hauk grumbled a humorless laugh. "Nothing much. You just missed another near-death experience."

  Her eyes widened. "Excuse me?"

  Fain indicated Caillen with a jerk of his chin. "Luckily your boy knows people who carry a lot of guns. As long as he doesn't sleep with anyone's girlfriend again, we should be fine."

  Oh yeah, if they could freeze the smoldering look on her face as she glared at him, it could be sold as a lethal weapon on the black market and make them all rich. "Pardon?"

  Caillen let out an annoyed breath. "Fain has a mental disorder that causes him to spout random stupidity for no apparent reason. It's been a source of constant embarrassment for his brother since they were kids. Ignore him."

  Fain snorted in response. "I'll remember that next time you need help, food."

  "Good thing I have Hauk's number on speed dial then, huh, pun'kin?"

  Hauk laughed.

  Fain appeared to want to say something, but then seemed to change his mind.

  Good, he was learning...

  Desideria took a seat beside Caillen as they handled the landing. True to their words, she saw the familiar black fighter that appeared to be held by a brigade of pirates. "Are those what I think they are?"

  Caillen winked at her. "Aye, Princess. They be pirates indeed."

  "And I take it they're on our side."

  "Yes."

  Okay... She didn't understand it, but if the men were good with it, who was she to argue?

  How long did I sleep? Obviously, she'd missed something important. Turning her thoughts back to the renegade at ha, she watched Caillen with a new awareness of him. It wasn't just that his scent was branded into her memory or the way his eyes lit up with that childlike spirit. She felt connected to him in a way she'd never been connected to anyone.

  What was it about him that had made her love him when she'd never loved anyone else? Of all the men in all the universe, why Caillen Dagan?

  It didn't make sense and yet she knew she'd die to keep him safe. What a shocking realization. She'd never really thought to feel this way about anyone and she knew her mother had never loved her consorts. Not like this. Yes, she was fond of them, but when Desideria's father had died, her mother hadn't even reacted. She'd taken the news with the same degree of stoicism as she did the morning news from her advisors. Cold. Calculating. Distant.

  If something were to happen to Caillen, she had no doubt it would devastate her entire being. The mere thought of losing him was enough to drive her to her knees.

  A swell of emotions she couldn't even identify choked her.

  I love you.

  Three simple words that seemed so inadequate for what she felt for him. How could anyone convey so much emotion with mere words? And yet she knew they could never be together. Especially not if they cleared their names. He was the prince and heir of his empire and she was the heiress to hers.

  Their countries and politics would never allow them to unite. Two rulers couldn't marry. It was a conflict of interest. One of them would have to step down and she knew it couldn't be her. There was no one else to take her mother's place. Gwen would never be able to handle the responsibility.

  And Caillen wasn't the kind of man who would willingly subjugate himself to the role he'd have to play on her world. Nor could she ask that of him.

  Maybe he could beat me...

  The truth was, she didn't want to fight him for it. The thought of taking arms against him and bruising him...

  She couldn't do it.

  There was no future for them. None. That reality cut through her as she realized just how hopeless all of this was. It wasn't fair. No matter what, she would lose him.

  Caillen turned in his seat to flash that familiar devilish grin at her. "You all right back there? You're being awfully quiet."

  Fain snorted. "It's okay to admit you're sick from his lack of skill at the helm. No one here would think less of you for it."

  Caillen shot Fain a lethal glare. "You're just jealous I'm a better pilot than you are."

  "Yeah, that's so it. I live in fear of the comparison." The dryness of that tone would rival a dust bowl.

  Desideria smiled at their banter as she tried not to think about the fact that she'd have to leave him soon. "I'm fine, and Caillen is a fabulous pilot."

  All three of the men appeared shocked by her compliment. Honestly, it shocked her too. Since she'd grown up with nothing but criticism, any kind of compliment was hard for her to give to someone else. Yet she couldn't help it. She wanted Caillen to feel good.

  Girl, don't feed that ego. The gods know, it's the last thing you should do.

  Yeah, okay, that was probably true.

  Heat stung her cheeks as Caillen carefully guided them into a well-secured space station. A calm, smooth approach that was a nice change from their frenetic launch.

  As they entered the bay and continued forward, guided by a tractor beam, Desideria's eyes widened at the impressive display of artillery that followed them all the way to the landing pad. If there was any doubt about how serious the occupants were when it came to their safety, the red targeting dots put it away. If those cannons went off, there would be no escape.

  She let out a low whistle. "Wow, they're not playing around with that, are they?"

  Hauk shook his head. "The Sentella can't afford to. The League has too big a price on the head of anyone associated with them. You put one of us down, we're taking you with us."

  Obviously.

  Hauk took over the communications from Caillen as the controller gave him explicit orders to safety lock all of his weaponry. "This is XN-8-2-1 requesting clearance."

  There was a moment's hesitation. "Voice analysis match. Welcome, drey," said the smooth computer voice.

  Drey? That word confused her as she moved to stand closer to Hauk. "What does drey mean?"

  "Brother," they answered in unison.

  "What language?"


  Hauk's fangs flashed as he spoke. "Syn's. It's a corruption of Ritadarion and Andarion."

  Syn... Caillen's handsome brother-in-law she'd seen in his vidframe. Desideria tucked that knowledge away as Caillen ordered her to strap herself in. She quickly took a seat and did as he asked.

  Caillen made a smooth landing on the back pad while the pirates and fighter followed suit nearby.

  It only took a few minutes to lock the ship down and open the hatch. Before Caillen could do more than unbuckle himself from his chair and stand, three women ran on board and practically tackled him to the ground. Desideria would have been jealous had she not recognized them as his sisters.

  They each took turns scolding and adoring him in a variety of pitches. Their words came so fast and furious that it actually made her dizzy trying to follow them.

  "How could you be so reckless?"

  "Have you any idea how much trouble you're in?"

  "What brain were you attempting to use?"

  "How dare you put us through this, you selfish little worm."

  "We've been so worried about you!"

  "Thank the gods you're all right."

  "When was the last time you ate? You look thinner."

  "What happened to your face? Do you need a doctor?"

  "I swear, you're such an idiot! How do you get yourself into these things?"

  A loud whistle split the air and silenced them.

  Desideria cringed at the shrillness and plugged her ears. She looked to the source to find the infamous Syn. Dressed all in black, he was dark and deadly. His long black hair was secured with a band at the nape of his neck. With at least a day's growth of whiskers, his face was roguishly handsome and finely boned. Those black eyes took in every detail of the situation with an eerie astuteness that only Caillen's could rival. One corner of his long coat was pulled back, out of the way of his holstered blaster so that he could get to it if he had to.

  But there was no need. A person would have to be an absolute imbecile to confront someone with an aura this lethal. Syn's sternness made her appreciate the fact that Caillen's fierce aura was tempered by his humor and good nature. It would have to be hard to live with someone as grim as Syn.

  He strode forward with a predator's lope as his gaze went to each of Caillen's sisters in turn. "Dagan women, down. The poor man can't even breathe with all of you stifling him so badly."