Born of Betrayal

  He cracked what he hoped was a charming grin. "Yeah, well, I was never fully housebroken. You knew that when you unified with me."

  Galene would have protested more, but then he took her hand and kissed her ring with a gesture so tender that it made her forget how unrefined a beast he could be. Especially since he led her toward Hermione's chambers to check on Ryn--a thoughtful gesture that was very much a part of his character and why she'd always loved him. No matter how unruly or rough he could be, he was ever considerate of others.

  "How's he doing?" he asked Hermione as she answered the door.

  Hermione stepped back to show Ryn on the couch with his arms propped on his knees and his head resting in his hands. Misery was etched on his face and he appeared lost and bewildered. Completely bereft and devastated. "I've never seen him like this. How could he have loved her so much and me be so clueless about it?"

  Fain shook his head. "None of us knew. I've even been on missions with them and had no idea. They hid it well. I actually thought they hated each other, the way they went at it whenever they were together."

  "He told me ... it was a ruse to keep anyone from growing suspicious." Hermione choked on her tears. "I can't stand seeing my baby in so much pain."

  Galene took her hand and squeezed it in sympathy. "I know," she breathed. "It's so much easier to take it ourselves than watch them suffer. I am so sorry."

  "Thank you. The remainder of the fleet is limping toward us and should be here in a few hours, with Jupiter Hinto leading them. They have to make extensive repairs from the battle. Gadghe's headed back for their main base. My understanding is that his son has taken command from his father, since he's too upset to handle things right now."

  Fain lowered his voice so that Ryn wouldn't hear him. "Was Mack's body recovered?"

  "No one knows. They sent over that last transmission to say her ship went down, and nothing since."

  "Then I'll find out discreetly when Jupiter lands and make sure to relay it to you."

  Hermione rubbed his arm. "Again, thank you. Now go and secure your family. Then we'll plot our vengeance."

  Galene glanced to Ryn before she spoke. "I already have a plan. I just need a few minutes with Tahrs Nykyrian before I move troops."

  "I want to know the minute Jupiter calls for clearance."

  All three froze at the sound of Ryn's deep, deadpan voice.

  Her face pale, Hermione turned to face him. "Ryn--"

  "I'm not an infant, Mom. Jory won't be in any better shape than I am. He's the only one who was at our wedding, and he worshiped the ground his big sister walked on. It's not fair to put all this on him and leave him standing alone." He joined them at the door. "Let me know when you're ready to attack, Commander. I'll be there. All I can say is that bitch Kyr had better buckle up. I'm going for his throat with everything I have."

  Fain held his hand toward Ryn. When Ryn took it, he pulled him in for a hug. "United in purpose."

  "United by bond." Ryn clapped him on the back. "Forever Tavali."

  "Forever Tavali." And with that, Fain put his arm around Galene and led her away from them. "Hell of a day, huh?"

  "Indeed. Makes me terrified of tomorrow."

  As they headed for Fain's ship, his link went off with Nyk's ring. He clicked it on. "Yeah?"

  "Conference me with Galene."

  Fain tapped her link so that she could hear the call, too. "You're on. Go."

  "You asked for Kyr's weakness?"

  Galene met Fain's gaze as they paused to listen. "Yes, Highness?"

  "There isn't one."

  Galene gaped at Fain. "What?"

  Nykyrian sighed in their ears. "We've gone over everything. And I mean every last detail we could sift."

  "He's right," Saf said through the speaker on Nykyrian's end. "I've talked to every member of my family. After the death of his wife, Kyr closed himself off completely. Mentally and emotionally, he shut down. From what everyone says, I was the only one he cared about. And you saw what that got me. He practically killed me, and he now thinks I'm his enemy. I know from being in The League with him that he has no one there he trusts. At all."

  "We've got no eyes on him," Maris joined in. "Not one Sentella spy or agent has been near him. After Sumi's attack, he has sealed himself away."

  Fain sighed heavily. "How do we stop him?"

  "We have to kill him."

  Galene flinched at Nykyrian's cold words. "Safir?"

  He hesitated before he confirmed Nykyrian's statement. "I know he's my brother. But the brother I knew died a long time ago. My father has accepted it as a necessary action for the good of the Ichidian Universe and the United Systems, and is willing to sanction it. The Phrixians won't retaliate. They condone whatever action is necessary to secure Kyr's abdication from League power."

  That was good, but she knew it couldn't be an easy decision for a father, even a Phrixian one, to make against his own son. "And once we've removed him, who would we trust in his position? We can't just dismantle The League entirely. While it has become corrupted, it did stand for centuries as a noble endeavor that protected all the systems from tyrants such as Eriadne and Justinian Cruel. Whether we like it or not, the Nine Worlds have grown to depend upon it as a necessary part of our governments."

  "I agree. What I propose is a restructuring of how it's run, and who controls its power. Rather than one prime commander whose authority is absolute, we will need to reinstate the Overseer's Consulate to take command of League forces, so that one individual will never again be the sole authority. Rather, The League's prime commander will now answer to and take orders from the Consulate in the same manner as any military leader answers to the governing body of his or her world. And as far as Kyr's replacement, I plan to propose Lorens ezul Terronova for the position."

  "You've heard from him?" Galene couldn't suppress the hopeful note in her voice.

  Nykyrian nodded. "He's with an enclave of WAR. They've rescued his father, and several members of my mother's council. Lorens is requesting reactivation for his rank in the armada, and he wants Ilkin to step down so that he can take over. They plan to make an attack against Eriadne at first light ... but only with your express approval."

  "I trust him implicitly. And I gladly cede full control of Andarion troops to him. They're his to command. Please, reinstate his rank and oath, and I promote him to the acting prime commander of our armada in my absence. If he has a shot at Eriadne and Nyran, he is to take it on my authority with extreme prejudice and I will bear out all consequences for his actions.... Are the Caronese there yet to back him?"

  "Almost."

  "Good. I shall let Acting Governor Drakari know then to coordinate with Commander Terronova for his strikes. And, Highness?"

  "Yes?"

  "Can we requisition something else from Lord Drakari?"

  "What would you like?"

  "Two dozen of the best-trained Kimmerian Corps he can muster."

  Nykyrian choked on her request. "And may I ask why you want us to hire assassins from a rival organization I can barely stand?"

  She laughed at his offended tone. "The Sentella is the best of the best. No doubt. Unfortunately, The League knows your uniforms too well. As well as all your tricks and tactics."

  "But not those of the Kimmerians," Nyk said speculatively. "You're right. I like it. They've never crossed The League before. It's definitely something Kyr won't see coming."

  "You think the Kimmerians will join on?"

  "We can try, and I can raise you one better for the cause."

  "How so?"

  "A former Gyron Force officer aching for payback on The League. My cousin is salivating for a way to get to Kyr. Whatever you're planning for the Kimmerians, I say we put Bas in charge of them."

  Fain let out an evil laugh. "Yeah. I trained with Cabarro. He is all kinds of crazy. I swear that Kirovarian has Andarion in him somewhere. Strongest human I ever met. Fast. And unpredictable as hell in a fight. You never know what he's goi
ng to pull."

  Galene liked what she heard. That was exactly what they needed. The best advantage when dealing with any enemy was unpredictability. "Then let's do it."

  "I'll get started." Nyk hung up.

  As they entered the bay where his ship was docked, Fain pulled Galene to a stop so that he could marvel at the miracle of her being with him.

  "Something wrong?"

  "You are the most beautiful female I've ever known." He cupped her face and placed a tender kiss to her lips.

  Galene wasn't sure about Fain's mood. There was a strange solemnity to him. One that honestly scared her. "What are you thinking?"

  He pulled back with a scowl. "I don't know ... something keeps tugging at the back of my mind. A detail I missed."

  "What do you mean?"

  Fain hesitated before he answered. "I'm not exactly sure. Just ... I guess I'm being stupid." But as they boarded his ship, he turned around slowly to scan the bay. He couldn't suppress the sudden chill in his body.

  And it wasn't because there were others on board. This wasn't his nervous system reacting to the additional heat signatures on his ship.

  This was another matter entirely.

  A premonition of a thing out of place. His subconscious picking up on a detail that didn't belong. If only it would clue his consciousness in on it.

  Not that it mattered. He planned on being on high alert anyway. Because the one thing that had forever remained true in his life was that whenever things went right ...

  Everything backslid into hell.

  Yeah, a shitstorm was coming for him. The deluge always did. He just hoped this time, he was the only one it took under and drowned. Because the last time he'd felt like this, his older brother had been murdered, Dancer had almost followed Keris into the grave, and Fain had lost everything in his life that mattered to him.

  CHAPTER 16

  Nykyrian stared down at the small child nestled in his arms, in absolute wonder of it. Her dark hair tousled, her cheeks were stained bright pink while she slept in blissful ignorance of the war that kept the rest of them from finding any peace at all. To her, the world was still fresh and new, a place of safety and love. She knew nothing of the real horrors he and his friends had survived. The absolute cruelty her beloved father was capable of.

  Or him, for that matter.

  And he prayed to the gods that she never did.

  Innocent and sweet, she'd crawled into the lap of a heartless bastard who'd been trained to ruthlessly and methodically take lives and feel nothing for them as they died by his cold, steady hands. All at the command of an organization that had sold his services to the highest bidder.

  Every life has a price. That was the League motto that had been drilled into him until it had replaced every last shred of his soul, and drowned out his conscience and humanity. As an assassin, his life had meant nothing to them or anyone else. Not even him. Either kill or be killed. Failure was not an option.

  And in the darkest hours of a night very similar to this one, in the blink of an eye, a single innocent child and her mother had changed all that. When he'd lived in a place of numbness so deep he thought nothing could ever reach him again, the unexpected pleas of a mother for her innocent child's life had.

  "Kill me. But, please ... please, don't harm my daughter. She's an innocent. Too young to die for no reason. I don't care what you do to me, just don't hurt her. I beg you!"

  It'd been the first time in his life that he'd seen a mother's love for her child. As foreign a concept to him then as war was to this toddler in his arms now. And that sole, unexpected plea, while the child's father's blood had dripped from his fingertips, had changed his life forever. There in that darkened room, on that fateful night, he had turned his back on The League.

  One seemingly insignificant job. A typical, meaningless assignment.

  Then in a single, unexpected heartbeat, everything had changed. That mother hadn't just saved her child. She'd given him back his soul and opened his eyes to what The League really was. To what he'd become.

  A brutal tool.

  A mindless animal.

  Vowing to never again let anyone else have that kind of control over him, to wear no one else's leash, he'd walked away and founded The Sentella to save as many innocent lives from The League as he could. And that little girl whose life he'd saved that night had grown into a fierce warrior herself--one who now wore a Sentella uniform, and fought for his cause with the same fervent passion her mother had given him. Nykyrian still watched over her and made sure that no harm came to her.

  He always would.

  Thankfully, she had no memory of his part in her past. Nykyrian prayed she never did.

  But as much as he cared for her, it'd been another lady who had returned his heart to beating. Another innocent victim of The League who had given his hollow existence true meaning and purpose. Who had shown him love and made him understand it for the first time in his worthless life.

  Without Kiara, he was nothing.

  Mira mumbled and smiled in her sleep before she nuzzled against his chest and clutched at his shirt, just as his own children often did whenever he comforted them from whatever night tremors they had.

  Distracted from his meandering thoughts, Nykyrian cupped her tiny head in his gloved hand. How could something so precious come from his traitorous snake of a brother? While he certainly wasn't without his own sins, Jullien was another beast entirely. Never would he have imagined his brother finding a conscience of any kind.

  Not with both hands, a star chart, and an expert guide leading the way.

  He just couldn't wrap his mind around the concept of Jullien loving anything.

  Except his own repugnant reflection.

  But then as he'd sat here, he'd begun to remember things he hadn't thought about in a long, long time. Memories of being in the palace with Jullien before Nyk had been sent away to die.

  Of Jullien reaching out and being pushed away. By everyone. Ignored until Jullien acted out and was punished for it.

  In school, it'd been the same way. Their teachers had taken a great deal of pleasure in pointing out Jullien's shortcomings and making him come to the front of the room more than anyone else. And because he'd been so overweight, and Andarion, the other students had been merciless to him. He was constantly getting into trouble for something.

  At the time, Nykyrian had thought it justified and reveled in seeing Jullien punished and ridiculed. With some perspective and distance, he was no longer sure of that.

  Yes, Jullien had been an ass. No question about that. But he'd also been isolated by his peers. For all his lineage and political standing, Jullien had been shunned and rebuffed by women.

  Still, none of this made sense to him. How had his arrogant brother ended up as a Tavali pirate?

  Nykyrian heard a light, aggravated gasp as Ushara came into the room and saw her daughter asleep in his lap. "How in the Nine Worlds did she get here? I've looked all over for her!"

  The corner of his lips twitched in amusement as he saw the shadow of her standing there, hands on hips. "She snuck in a little while ago. She said she couldn't sleep. That her father always told her a bedtime story and that she needed to hear his voice so as not to have nightmares. Since he wasn't here, she thought my voice might work to keep them away, as we have the same accent."

  Growling, Ushara rolled her eyes. "I swear Jules has ruined her. She's such a paka's girl. I can't do anything with her when he's not around." She moved to take her daughter from him. "I'm sorry she bothered you."

  Nykyrian frowned as he realized Ushara had removed all her makeup. She looked nothing like he'd imagined. While most Andarions had dark complexions, hers was absolute porcelain--like a fragile, perfect doll. Especially given the whiteness of her hair and paleness of her eyes. It was a stark contrast to her black eyelashes and red lips. No wonder the Andarion clans had once believed the Fyrebloods to be godlike. She appeared ethereal and divine. Exotic and otherworldly.

&
nbsp; Blinking as he realized he was staring rudely at her, he cleared his throat. "She was no bother at all. I actually appreciated the distraction. It soothed us both for a bit."

  "You miss your children?"

  Like a vital organ that has been savagely ripped from my body.

  But assassins never admitted to such things out loud. Nykyrian clenched his teeth against the pain her innocent question wrought. "As with your Mira, at least one of them demands I rock them to sleep at bedtime. Kiara calls it stalling, but I don't mind. Rather, I dread the day when they grow too big for such things."

  Ushara brushed her hand over Mira's dark hair. "I've never really been away from mine. Not until Vasili began his training for Canting. Even then it was rare until a year ago when Jullien apprenticed him full time as part of his crew."

  "You didn't apprentice him yourself?"

  "I couldn't. My rank's too high to run a single crew, and Trajen relies on me, as I'm one of the only few he trusts at his side. Had Jullien not taken a rank reduction so that he could sponsor him for me, I don't know what I would have done ... other than gone mad from ragged nerves and stress." She smiled, exposing a bit of her fangs. "It's one of many reasons I love your brother. He knows how I worry. Still, I hate when they go out together. I know I have to let Vas grow up, but it's so hard when I still have the urge to burp him after he eats."

  Nykyrian snorted. "I know exactly what you mean. I feel the same with my eldest and she resents me for it. She thinks I'm the most overprotective beast ever born. But I've seen too many shattered by cruelty to risk her, and I know what I'm capable of should any harm ever come to her. I would not hesitate to do my worst to any who make her cry a single tear."

  She started to lift Mira from his lap.

  Nykyrian stopped her. "You shouldn't be carrying her in your condition. I'm quite aware from my own wife that when females are near their due dates, their backs are stressed and aching. Show me where she sleeps and I'll carry her for you."

  "Thank you." Ushara gave him a grateful smile.

  With Mira in his arms, Nykyrian followed her from the council room of her ship down the narrow corridor to the crew quarters that were decorated to show where her children slept. He paused in amusement at the door that bore the ghostly Gorturnum screaming-skull logo against a solid black background with the words Vasili the Brave and Terrible circling it. Yet it was obvious from the script and design that the picture was a holdover from her son's younger days, and done by his mother to amuse him. Just as his sisters' door had a more feminine version of the Gorturnum flag with their names so stylized in pink.