Like Bastien with Ember. She would always be the one who'd gotten away. The one he regretted losing.
Sumi turned around slowly.
And the pain on Fain's painted face was tangible. He stared at her as if she were a ghost whose sole purpose was to haunt him.
Darling glanced back and forth between them. "You two know each other?"
"I was married to her older sister." Fain blinked as if finally getting a handle on the fact that she wasn't Omira and that she meant him no harm.
Jayne smacked her hand against her own forehead. "That's why she looks so familiar. I knew I recognized her from somewhere. Stupid me. I was thinking bounty sheets, not Fain's wife."
Fain's gaze dropped to Dancer's head in Sumi's lap. In that moment, Dancer blinked his eyes open as if he felt his brother's presence. Guilt and anguish marked his features as he realized how this must look to Fain.
Moving forward, Fain dropped to his knees next to Dancer. "Hey, drey. You still with me?"
Dancer scowled. "I'm sorry."
"For what?" Fain asked in a shocked tone.
He glanced at Sumi then back to Fain. "I never meant to hurt you."
Fain cupped Dancer's head in his hands. "Dancer ... this doesn't hurt me." He gave him a sincere smile. "You deserve to be happy, kiran. It's all I've ever wanted for you." He dropped his hand to Dancer's then he took Sumi's into his other hand and joined them together. "Don't let my past darken or taint your future. I love both my kisa and kiran. I always have."
Even so, Bastien saw the ragged torment in Fain's eyes. It was a pain he knew all too well himself.
"I'd rather you hit me, drey."
Fain laughed at Dancer's words. "You're too weak at the moment. Few days ... I'll be happy to beat you down."
He playfully slapped his brother's face. "You suck as a brother. I want my money back."
Fain snorted. "Could be worse. I'm stuck with you."
Bastien bit his lip to stifle the unexpected tears those words wrought inside him. And the guilt and self-recrimination they awoke. How many times had he yelled at his brother and called him every insult he knew in six languages?
He'd stupidly thought he hated Quin--so much that he'd blown off their last holiday together because he'd refused to sit through another dinner with Quin eyeballing him and judging him as lacking. For that matter, he'd barely stomached Lil most days. He'd looked for any excuse to avoid being around them, wishing he was anywhere else other than in their company.
Until they were gone.
Now ... he'd give anything to see them and apologize. Trade every bit of his future life if he could go back to one single memory and relive it with them as a whole family.
Even a fight.
Why hadn't I gone to that stupid holiday dinner when Oda asked me?
How could they be gone now? Why was he still here without them? For that pain alone, he wanted to beat his uncle until nothing was left of him. Barnabas should have killed him, too. Should have never left a single breath in his body.
Without a word, Syn returned to them. He let out an irritated sigh as he checked Dancer's IV. "How much do I have to give you to keep you unconscious? Damn Andarion metabolism. Stay down, beast!"
He fanged Syn then looked at Fain. "Kill him."
"I would, but his wife would tear me up. And no offense, she scares me. You really don't."
Ignoring them, Syn added more medicine to the IV as a skimmer appeared. A small team of medics ran off the craft with lifts for Dancer and Bastien.
It was only then that Fain glanced in his direction. His jaw went slack as instant recognition lit his white eyes. "Bas!" he said with a laugh. "And here I thought you dead. Should have known better."
Bastien gave Fain a droll, offended stare as they placed him on the lift. "Your brother damn near finished what you started. Luckily, I'm like a cockroach. Hard to kill."
Shaking his head, Fain patted him on his arm. "It's good to see you again, drey. Thank you for fighting with my brother for me."
"Only for you, drey. Only for you."
The medics rushed Bastien into the skimmer, then took him to a massive interstellar ship and to a medical bay that was as impressive as the best-equipped hospital.
There were people everywhere.
Never had Bastien felt lonelier. How weird that he was more isolated here than he'd been while alone in his desert base. At least there, it wasn't as obvious that he had no one. But for some reason, having people nearby who didn't give a shit about him hurt a whole hell of a lot more.
Tears welled in his eyes as he remembered a time when he'd been flippant about being the center of attention. Dismissive of his family's overbearing love.
"Hey," Syn said as he finally came in and checked the IV they'd started in Bastien's arm. "I'm going to put you under and get that tracking device out of you, if that's okay?"
He had to ask?
"You get that out of me, Doc, and I'll kiss you for it."
Syn grinned at him. "Don't let my wife catch you. She's insanely jealous." He put his hand on Bastien's shoulder. "Just relax. We'll have you up to running speed real soon."
Nodding, Bastien closed his eyes and waited for the drug to take effect.
Syn watched as his patient drifted off, then checked his vitals. In spite of his unkempt condition, malnutrition, and slight dehydration, Bastien was remarkably fit. Injuries notwithstanding.
But hell, anyone spending time with Hauk was going to come away wounded. The bastard could find trouble lurking in a nunnery.
As he left the room to prepare for surgery, he found Nykyrian waiting for him in the hallway. "What's up?"
"Came to check on Bastien."
"He'll be fine." Syn scowled as he caught the shadow in Nyk's green eyes. The two of them had been friends for a long time. Wingmen for so long that Syn could finish any sentence Nyk started. "You don't trust him?"
"I don't know him. Hauk said he found some items in the base that had come from Jullien."
"Jullien.... Your brother?"
He nodded, and there was no way to miss the burning hatred in that cold expression. "If they've partnered up..."
"I don't think he's partnered with anyone, Nyk. He's in bad shape. Been alone and scrounging for a long time. Trust me, I know the signs." He'd been a gutter rat himself and lived among the sewers, barely surviving until Nyk had saved his life.
Nykyrian rubbed at his neck. "Still ... my father said that the evidence against Bastien was substantial. Aside from eyewitness testimony, he was found covered in my aunt's blood. His prints all over the murder weapon."
"You gotta know he didn't do it, though. No one would have shot up his family and stayed there, waiting to be arrested for it. He's not that stupid. If he were, he'd have never survived on his own."
Nykyrian crossed his arms over his chest. "You're right. The testimony came from his uncle who inherited the throne in his stead. And his ex-wife, who got a divorce and Bastien's property, money, and titles out of it."
"Follow the creds." Syn sucked his breath in sharply. "Um, yeah ... he definitely didn't do it." Having been accused in a corrupt legal system, Syn knew a setup when he heard one. "They framed that boy."
"My father refuses to believe it, though."
"Why?" Syn was aghast.
"He knew them all. Said Bastien was a spoiled brat who needed a good ass-beating most days."
Syn scoffed. "I live in fear of what he'd have said about us, back in the day."
"So you do trust Bastien, then?"
Syn shrugged. "Trust is a stretch. Like you, I have serious mental issues with that whole concept. But Hauk did, and Bastien got him out of there, even though he had nothing to gain, really."
Nyk nodded slowly as he continued to think it over. "Keep an eye on him and let me know when he wakes up."
*
Bastien came awake with a start in a cold, sterile room. For a moment, he was terrified as he thought himself back in League custody. With a c
urse, he sat up and started to rip the IV and monitors off.
Then he saw Aros in the corner, eyeing him as if he were filth.
Bastien's heart retreated from his throat as he remembered what had happened. That he was in Sentella custody. Not League. He was technically safe. But given the way his uncle was staring at him, that state might not be a lasting one.
"You've no idea how much it angers me that they removed your death sentence from you, boy."
Scowling, Bastien tried to understand what Aros meant. "I thought you begged the Overseer for clemency in my case?"
Aros screwed his face up as if the very thought nauseated him. "I would never have done such. I wanted to see you hung for what you did to my sister and her family."
Yeah, 'cause they weren't his family, too.
Bastien glared at him. "Then why did you send the petition to Alia Mureaux on my behalf?"
"I never sent anything to her about you."
Bastien's jaw went slack as he realized what had happened.
Jullien. There was no other explanation. That little bastard loved to forge paperwork. He was the only one who'd have had the skill, knowledge and balls to pretend to be his father, and to send that in without the Triosan emperor knowing, and no one else in the Trigon Court realizing it was a forgery.
He was also the only one who'd never bought into the lies. Not once.
Leave it to Julie. But then, that was how he was. Never sought credit for any good deed, because if he was ever caught doing one, it was met with extreme suspicion from everyone around him. So he kept to the dark recesses where he couldn't be seen--a shadow dweller like Bastien.
Pet hate, indeed ...
Forget Syn. Jullien was the only man he wanted to kiss right now.
But since he wasn't here, he pinned a gimlet stare on Aros. "If you think me guilty, why are you here, Uncle?"
With a grim expression, Aros stood up. "I wanted to look you in the eye and tell you personally that I hope you get exactly what you deserve."
Those words fell like blows against his soul. Gut punches he could have done without. So much for being home.
Yet that was okay. They also fueled his own fury and determination. Because the one thing about Bastien Cabarro, he was a scrappy son of a bitch and nothing motivated him more than condemnation and obstacles.
Over. Under. Around or through. There was always a way to get what you wanted. To get what you needed.
Let no one stand in your way, son. Especially not yourself.
His father's favorite saying.
The need for vengeance, and to make them all eat their unjust convictions against him, swelled inside him. Rising from the bed, Bastien slowly peeled the monitors off.
Then he pulled out the IV.
"For your sake, Uncle, you better pray that I don't. Because if I do get what I deserve, I will be emperor of the Kirovarian empire. And when I am, your crown is the first one I'm coming after...." He raked a repugnant stare down his body. "Funny, really, I only came back for the head of one uncle, but after this ... two heads mounted on my wall will be all the sweeter."
CHAPTER 9
"You're sure you won't stay? At least a little longer?"
Standing in the Sentella landing bay, Bastien hesitated.--Nyk's question meant a lot to him. Every member of their high command was there to see him on his way. "Thanks, but I have to see this through."
Syn sighed while Jayne pouted. Even Dancer and Fain appeared to be on the verge of tears. "We've grown attached to you. Not often I find someone more sarcastic than me."
Dancer concurred. "Yeah, you're like that fungus in the bathroom that no matter how hard you try to scrub it off, keeps coming back. Till you're forced to live with it."
Laughing, Darling nodded. "We hate to see you go."
"Appreciate it." I think.
But in spite of the missions he'd flown with them over the last few weeks, they weren't his tribe. And he had a date to keep. "I've waited a long time for justice. It's time I see it met."
Syn nodded. "You need us, call immediately."
"Thanks."
Dancer caught his arm as he started to leave. That personal contact wouldn't mean anything coming from a human, but for an Andarion to make such a gesture was significant. It meant he considered Bastien family. "I owe my daughter's safety to you, Cabarro. And my life, and Sumi's. Night or day, you call."
He inclined his head to Dancer and clapped him on the back. "It was my honor to see Kalea returned to you and her mother. No family should be separated."
"Which is why you need to stay with us." Jayne winked at him. "You're one of us now."
Bastien laughed before he returned his attention to Nykyrian. "I'll return the fighter to you as soon as I can."
"It's yours, drey. Least we could do given what we owe you." Nyk's expression turned even grimmer than it'd been before. "Sorry about my father and how he treated you."
"It's all good."
Aros hadn't told Nykyrian that Bastien had threatened him. Most likely because he didn't think it a real threat.
Then again, it wasn't.
It'd been a promise.
But first he had another to keep. "I'll be in touch."
Their good-byes followed him as he climbed aboard the fighter and prepared for launch.
After pulling his helmet on, he took a moment to glance back at Nyk, Darling, Syn, Fain, Dancer, and Jayne, who was waving at him.
It'd been tempting to accept their help for this, but the last thing he wanted was to drag their nations into another war while they were already fighting against The League. They had their own battles.
This was his.
If he failed, he didn't want to destroy anyone else's family in the process. Especially not after getting to know them. A sad smile tugged at his lips as he saw Sumi and Kalea in his mind. They'd met him for a farewell breakfast.
Kalea had broken into tears at the thought of Uncle Bas-Bas leaving. He could still feel the warmth of her wet hug. It really had been his honor to help them rescue the little girl from League custody.
Now grateful for this send-off, he inclined his head to them and signaled control before he launched.
He was headed for Jullien. Another reason he'd been unable to accept their offers of aid. The one time he'd brought up Jullien's name, Nyk had almost torn his head off.
He's a bastard and a snake. I wouldn't trust him for shit! If I ever meet him again, I'll hand him his testicles and laugh while he bleeds out at my feet.
While extreme, that threat wouldn't mean much coming out of the mouth of the average person. Coming from the mouth of one of the most lethal assassins ever trained by The League ...
It was as much a promise as the words Bastien had delivered to Barnabas.
So for now, he wouldn't even attempt to cross-pollinate those two. Nykyrian obviously needed more time to forgive his brother.
Few more decades, at least.
After breaking atmosphere, Bastien let his thoughts wander to where they always went when left unchecked.
Ember. Against all common sense, he'd tried to trace her from the Sentella's computers, but there had been no records for her over the last few years. Her sisters either. Only Alura showed up.
His gut drew taut in fear that something bad had happened to them during Barnabas's takeover. Had Ember married, there would have been something to mark it.
But the last movements he could find on her were about a year after he'd been made Ravin. The Gyron Force logs had her and her sisters and mother listed as MIA.
Yet he knew better. KIA would be most likely. Because if she were still alive, she'd have returned to duty.
Unshed tears choked him at the thought of her dying in the field with her sisters by her side. If Barnabas had been behind it, then he would gut him with his bare hands.
Closing his eyes, he could still feel her touch on his flesh. Hear her laughter in his ear as he made love to her for hours on end.
Going ho
me without her there would be excruciating. In fact, he could still remember the first time she'd taken him to meet her parents.
"Are you nervous? Captain Ghost Gadget?"
He'd given her a droll stare. "Of course I'm nervous. Never met parents before. At least not intentionally."
She'd scowled at him. "Meaning?"
He'd flashed his most charming grin at her. "Well ... there was this one time when Dad came home early while I was at university. Wouldn't have been so bad had he not been one of my professors."
"Oh my God! Bas, tell me you weren't?"
"What? Naked? Of course I was. Her, too. Needless to say, flunked that class."
Her laughter had ended in a sympathetic groan. "Well, keep it in your pants, flyboy. I've already warned them about you."
"Meaning?" he asked, using her favorite phrase she had anytime she wanted more information on the given topic.
"Oh, c'mon. Like you don't know."
"Know what?"
"That you're the friend everyone has to explain before they meet you and then apologize for afterward."
"Oh gee, thank you."
Bastien smiled at the bittersweet memory. Ember had been the only person he'd ever met who could make him laugh while she insulted him. Tell him to go to hell and make him look forward to the trip.
You were ever a woman of multiple, unique talents.
And he would love her forever.
She was still on his mind when he finally reached the main Gort base and asked the hostile controller for permission to land. Obviously not something they granted out of routine procedure like most bases. And judging by the amount of time between their communications, it must be taking an act of the gods for them to clear him.
Eternity passed before the woman returned with the permission he needed to land in their North Bay. There was no missing the shocked disbelief in her voice as she told him he'd been approved.
Wow, Jules ... paranoid much?
Then again, he couldn't blame him, given the number of beings out to end his life.
As soon as Bastien landed, he spotted Jullien waiting for him with a man and woman he didn't know. Hard to miss his cousin's gargantuan ass, even among the huge Fyreblood Andarions who called this place home. Only their species could make Bastien feel like a middle-schooler, since they dwarfed him. It was weird not to be among the tallest in a group.
But they put his genetics to shame.
Bastien removed his helmet and jumped to the deck, then made his way over. He pulled Jullien in for a brotherly hug.