Born of Betrayal

"Can you move at all?"

  Talyn coughed, then groaned. "No. You?"

  Growling, Fain pushed with every bit of his strength. But all it did was hurt him more. "No."

  The lights went out, bathing them in complete darkness.

  By sheer force of will, Fain dug his hand through the twisted debris until he found Talyn's arm. "I'm with you, mi tana. I'm going to get you out of this."

  Talyn snorted. "Good luck, old man. But I don't believe in miracles." Yet even so, he squeezed Fain's hand back and then laced his fingers with his. "Can you reach your link?"

  "No. It fell during the explosion. You?"

  "No." Talyn cursed under his breath. "If I don't make it--"

  "Don't talk like that. You're going to be fine. Just think about Felicia and that baby that needs a paka. You have a promise to keep."

  "What promise?"

  "To rip the body parts off any male who comes near her for unification."

  Talyn laughed, then let out a fierce groan of agony.

  Fain tightened his grip on Talyn's hand. "Squeeze as tight as you need to. I'm here for you."

  His breathing ragged, Talyn's grip weakened.

  That sent a wave of terror through Fain that made his own pain fade. "Stay with me, boy! Don't you dare break your mother's heart. You hear me? That's my job. Not yours."

  "You trying to piss me off, Hauk?"

  "I'm trying to make you fight."

  Talyn let out a bellow of anguished rage. "Trust me, I'm fighting. I want the ass of everyone who had a hand in this." He paused his movements. "You knew, didn't you? It's why you came running in here like you did."

  "I didn't know it was another IED. I just knew you'd been arrested and that you were being targeted by assassins."

  "And you came running," Talyn repeated.

  "It's what I would have been doing your whole life, had I known I had you. I'm ... I'm sorry I failed you again."

  Talyn coughed and wheezed for several minutes.

  For a little while, they were quiet while they tried to dig themselves out, until Talyn finally spoke. "Can I tell you a secret I've never told anyone? Not even Licia?"

  "Sure."

  Panting, Talyn laid his head back to rest. "I only agreed to sign on with Erix Yetur as my Ring trainer because he'd been yours when you fought. It made me feel closer to you to be coached in the same gym where you'd trained. I used to imagine sometimes when I was a kid that he was you, and that you were the one teaching me."

  Tears stung Fain's eyes at that confession. It was something he'd have never guessed, given Talyn's initial reaction to him, and it made him ache.

  "Of course," Talyn continued, "I didn't know that until he took me to his office to show me his awards from his fights, and the trophies from the others he'd worked with. He wanted to impress me with his skills and their records. But it wasn't any of those that won me over. In that glass wall case hung a pair of red claw covers that he'd saved from his first award-winning fighter. From the first fight his protege had won in record time against a much older and larger opponent. Erix kept talking, trying to convince me to let him take over my training, but I didn't hear a word of it. I just kept staring at the name on those covers, and the picture of the young fighter that hung beside them."

  "Venym Sting." Fain hadn't thought about that fight in years. Barely thirteen, he'd walked into that Ring so scared, he was still surprised he hadn't wet himself. He should never have been allowed to participate in a Vested title match at that age. It'd been criminal to throw him up against a title-holder, even in the Pinna Weight class. And he would never have done that to his son.

  But his mother had demanded it.

  Erix had held him back as long as he could. In the end, he'd been forced to do it or lose Fain as a client. Since he was Erix's first fighter, Erix had needed the creds too much to stop it.

  To this day, Fain could see the stern resignation in Erix's eyes as the former Ring champion had clapped him on the shoulder. "I have faith in you, kid. You're fast.... You're tougher than any I've ever known. Just stay out of his reach. Remember, you don't have to win. You just have to stay alive. There's no dishonor in losing your first fight."

  His mother had scoffed. "You lose this fight, you better not come home."

  Positive they'd be pulling him out of the Ring in pieces, Fain had felt like total shit as he left the dressing room. Until he'd neared what he was sure would be his morgue.

  Galene, who had told him she wouldn't be there to watch him bleed, was waiting for him. Her eyes filled with love, she'd smiled at him. "Kick his ass, Fain. Show them all the mighty War Hauk you are. There's no one better than you. It's time they all knew it." She'd pressed her cheek to his. "And please don't get hurt. Every time he strikes you, I will feel it twice as much."

  Those words were what had carried him to victory. They had fueled his need to end the match and make sure she didn't suffer a second longer than necessary. With one blinding punch, he'd laid that bastard out, and earned the name Venym Sting for it.

  And his son--the son Galene had given him--had torn that record asunder the first time Talyn had stepped into the Vested Ring and made a mockery of Fain's abilities there. Damn, he loved them more than he could have ever imagined.

  "I'm so proud of you, Talyn," he whispered.

  Talyn swallowed and tightened his hold again on Fain's hand. "And that's the secret I never told anyone. It's why I fought like I did ... why I chose red, gold, and white as my Ring colors."

  The same colors as Venym Sting.

  "All I ever wanted in my life was to be worthy of being my father's son. To do honor to you and your lineage, and not shame you or my mother."

  A tear slid down Fain's cheek. "I love you, Talyn."

  "I love you, Paka."

  Fain bit back a sob as his son finally called him Dad. Not Father.

  Dad.

  "Fain! Talyn!"

  His heart sped up at the sound of Galene's frantic voice cutting through the smoky darkness. "We're here!"

  "Mom!"

  "They're over there. Did you hear them?"

  Through the darkness and debris, light danced from above. Yet Fain was none the better for it, as all it did was show him how bad off they both actually were. Talyn was pinned beneath half of a wall, and the debilitating pain in his own side came from a piece of beam that was buried in it. But the good news was it didn't appear it would take too much to dig Talyn out.

  He, on the other hand, was going to be here for a bit.

  "Fain?"

  "He's by me, Mum." Talyn grimaced as he tried to rise up.

  Something fluttered to the right of Fain, brushing against his arm. His breath caught the moment he realized what it was. "You're winged?"

  Talyn flashed a bloody grin at him. "Yeah. It kind of popped out when the wall hit me. I take it Mum never showed you hers, then?"

  "No, she kind of missed that. Hey, Storm! You've got some explaining to do about our boy, and another little secret you kept from me."

  *

  While workers and engineers helped survivors, Galene searched the snarled, smoldering wreckage with her heart in her throat. The only thing that kept her marginally calm was the fact that she could hear Talyn's and Fain's voices, and that Fain maintained a sense of humor as he continued calling out to her.

  When Dancer had told her what had happened during his call with his brother, she'd almost passed out from terror. It'd seemed like forever before she'd reached the site where the brig had gone up and she'd seen the damage caused. Fearing the worst, she'd recklessly started in even before the rescue teams and firefighters had shown up.

  She hadn't cared. Not while her son and husband were trapped.

  And as the light caught them in its beam and she saw how they were trapped in the gnarled mess, she had the same light-headed sensation again. Horror filled her as bile rose in her throat.

  How could Fain even speak?

  Choking on a sob, she fell to her knees and tried
to pull some of the building off them.

  Fain cried out.

  Dancer pulled her back. "Give the engineers a few minutes to brace it. We can't start moving things around. The way they're in there ... we could cause more damage and bring it down on top of them."

  Galene bit her lip as the team set to work. He was right, and she hated that fact. Extracting them would be a scary game of weights and balance. "Fain? Talyn? Speak to me. Let me know you're all right."

  "Not sure I'd classify this as all right. Definitely sucks to be here." Fain's voice faded. Then came back in a shout. "Talyn! Open your eyes, boy! Stay with me."

  "Talyn!" Galene shouted. "What are you doing?"

  "He's going into shock." Fain cried out as he struggled to push against the beam that had him pinned. "Dancer! Get my son out of here. Now!"

  Dancer squatted down by her side. "We're trying."

  "Send me a lift. I can get to him and get it around him."

  The engineer next to Dancer shook his head. "It'll crush Fain if we do that."

  Dancer swallowed. "We can't do that, Fain."

  "Yes. You can. Don't lip me. We're venting atmosphere. I can feel it. We need to isolate this section and we're going to have to make a hard decision soon, anyway."

  Galene shook her head. "No! I'm not about to leave you down there with no ventilation."

  "Yes!" Fain looked up and met her gaze. "Stormy, we both know I'm nothing but a worthless piece of shit. I've never done anything right in my life. Please, don't risk Talyn for me. We've got to get him out of here."

  "He's right," another engineer chimed in. "We are venting atmosphere."

  "Then work faster," she growled. "Get them out!"

  "We don't know where the leak is. We could make it worse. Again, we might lose them both."

  Galene broke on those words. "No!" She leaned over and tried to find them through the darkness. "Fain ... please, don't do this."

  "It's okay, Storm. I'll always be with you. You know that. Not even death will keep me from you."

  Dancer met Galene's gaze with eyes filled by torment. "What do I do?"

  "I don't know. I can't make this decision. I won't ... I can't lose either of them. And I can't watch another brother die."

  An aftershock shook the station, knocking the engineer from his feet. Dancer cursed as he went skidding sideways.

  Galene barely caught herself before she fell, tumbling over the edge, down on top of Fain and Talyn.

  Fain let out a roar of pain as more debris crashed on top of him and Talyn.

  "Baby?" she called. "What's happening?"

  "It went deeper.... I'm bleeding worse. You have to move fast. I'm not sure how much longer I can help Talyn. Send me the lift."

  "No!" Talyn growled. "I'm not leaving you. We fell in together. We get out together."

  Fain smiled at the son he didn't deserve. "You live. I live."

  Talyn shifted and took Fain's hand in both of his. "There's only one thing in this life I want, Paka." He swallowed hard. "To hand my son to you for his naming. For him to carry on your name for another generation."

  Closing his eyes, Fain savored those words. That was the highest honor any Andarion son could bestow on his father. While mothers chose the names of their daughters, the fathers picked the names of their sons. For a male to ask his father to name his son in his stead ...

  It was rarely done.

  Normally, the birth father chose the names of family members he wanted to honor or impress. Friends who meant something special to him. Fain only had Dancer, but he wouldn't take the honor of Dancer being able to name his son after himself.

  Besides, Dancer had always hated his name. And there was only one other Andarion Fain honestly treasured.

  Fain blinked back his tears. "Then if it's a son Felicia honors us with, I would ask that he be called Talyn Aubrien of the Winged Blood Clan of Batur."

  "Aubrien?"

  He smiled sadly at his son. "The name I would have given you, after the War Hauk who gave his life to save his sisters. And Talyn for the greatest athlete and son Andaria has ever produced."

  Talyn laughed, then groaned. His red eyes burned into Fain. "Love you, Paka."

  "And I, you. Forever and beyond. With all I am, and all I hope to be."

  The lift fell down by Fain's side, striking him so hard that for a moment, he thought he might lose consciousness. Only his sheer force of will and refusal to see his son perish kept him alert enough to pry it from the rubble and work it around Talyn. With the last of his strength, he pulled up on the beam that pinned Talyn's legs.

  "Lift!"

  They did. The moment Talyn began to rise, it shifted the weight of the beam that was piercing Fain and brought it down on him even harder. Fain bit his lip and tried to remain silent as pain ripped him apart. But he couldn't stand it. Crying out, he waited for death to stop the agony.

  Suddenly, the pain lessened.

  Not understanding the source, he looked up to see Nero and Hadrian through the breaks in the debris. With arms spread wide, they were using their Trisani powers to hold the rubble back from him while the engineers lifted Talyn out.

  Galene pressed her hand to her lips and prayed beside Jayne as Talyn came free of the wreckage. Weeping silently, she ran to him. The medics placed him on the ground so that they could evaluate his condition. For once, he didn't fight them when they placed the mask over his face or even while they cut away his uniform.

  That more than anything told her how bad his condition was. The only other time he'd not fought against medics had been after his last fighter crash.

  Wanting to comfort him, but knowing she had to stay out of the medics' way, she squeezed his hand to let him know she was there and met his gaze.

  She had half her heart safe.

  The other part ...

  Galene glanced over to Hadrian and Nero. Both were sweating from the strain of holding up so much weight. Though to be honest, Nero looked much worse. Hadrian had always been the stronger of the two Trisani brothers. And that was the bad part about their exemplary mental powers. Too much, and they could give themselves brain damage.

  Worse case, coma and death.

  Jayne fretted by her side. "Hadrian can't do this much longer."

  Galene ran to the side to see if there was any way to reach Fain. Damn it! What good were wings when she couldn't even fly down to him? "Fain?"

  "I'm here, love. I know they have to let go. Tell Nero and Hadrian it's okay. There's no need in them risking Jayne descending into hell to kill us all for them trying to do a good deed."

  Hadrian snorted at his misplaced humor. "Not giving up yet, Hauk. Besides, you know how much I love to live dangerously. Why else would I share a domicile with Jayne? Risking her wrath is what I do for fun."

  "You need to find a new hobby, my friend."

  "How 'bout we get you out of that hole and you can teach me one?"

  Fain coughed as his sight dimmed. Sadly, it wasn't going to happen. But he was glad that he wasn't alone. If he had to die, he wanted it to be with the sound of Galene's sweet voice ringing in his ears.

  "We're losing oxygen. We've got to seal the area before we jeopardize more of the station."

  Galene growled at the engineer. "Not until we get Commander Hauk out!"

  Nero staggered and went down to one knee.

  The moment he did, Hadrian's nose started bleeding. "I can't hold this alone. It's too heavy."

  His breathing ragged, Nero tried to stand. "I ... I can't." Anguish darkened his silvery blue eyes as he met Galene's gaze. "I'm so sorry, Galene."

  Hadrian tried, but after a minute, he let out a fierce scream of agony before he fell.

  And when he did, she knew it was over. Nothing but silence rang in her ears.

  Cold. Dark.

  Horrifying.

  Fain was dead. For a full heartbeat, she couldn't breathe as that reality crashed down on her with the weight of the wreckage that had killed the only husband she'd ever
have.

  And out of the bitter, aching darkness, she heard a strange squealing sound. At first, she thought it was her soul screaming over the agony she felt.

  But after a minute, she realized it was the sound of metal being bent and pulled apart.

  Stunned, she looked from Hadrian to Nero, who wore shocked expressions similar to hers.

  Hadrian shot to his feet. "There's another Trisani here."

  Jayne drew her blaster. "Where?" She took aim at every shadow.

  He glanced down at his wife and smirked. "Given the amount of power I'm sensing, that will only piss him or her off."

  Suddenly, Galene saw where the help was coming from. On her right, Dancer, who had slipped away while she'd been preoccupied with Talyn's medical care, approached her with Syn, Caillen, Ushara, and Nykyrian. They flanked a tall, cloaked figure who had to be the unknown Trisani. By the height and broad shoulders, he was obviously male.

  Without a word, he moved with the fluid grace of a wild hunting beast toward her.

  When he came even with her, he stopped by her side, yet there was no trace of his features. The design of his clothes kept every part of his form hidden from sight. Only his accent gave any clue to his esoteric origins. Lilting and deep, it was as mysterious, gruff, and majestic as he was. "I swore to my blood oath brother that I would keep his family safe in his absence. And while I know you consider Jullien eton Anatole your bitter enemy, know that it is for him alone that I do this. I would never have exposed myself for anyone else."

  With those words spoken, he spread his hand out and lifted Fain effortlessly from the depths of the debris. More than that, he bathed both Fain's and Talyn's bodies in a strange orange glow.

  Uncertain, Galene met Jayne's shocked gape. "Is he healing them?"

  She nodded wordlessly.

  Unable to believe what was happening, Galene was torn between running to her son and to her husband. As if sensing that, the Tavali mystic lifted Fain's body with his thoughts and placed it beside Talyn's.

  He gave her a harsh, red stare. "There. Now you can reach them both, Commander."

  "Thank you," she breathed before she ran to them to make sure they were all right.

  By the time she got to them, they were sitting upright and staring at each other and her, every bit as shocked as she was. Laughing and crying, she grabbed Talyn and then Fain and rained kisses over both of them. "I swear the two of you are trying your best to shorten my life."

  Fain couldn't speak as he held Galene against him and stared in amazement at being next to his son again. Unharmed and whole. "Are you all right, Talyn?"