Son of No One

  And still he shook his head with blatant disregard. "I've never cared what they thought of me."

  That was sadly true and she knew it. But he had cared what they thought of her. She'd mopped too many tears from his beautiful face when he'd been a small child. Had tended too many bloody noses from the fights he'd been in with those who had called her whore and worse.

  And she'd seen the silent hurt in his eyes when females had viciously spurned him because he had no paternal lineage. Only his mother's broken one.

  He had suffered so much because of his father's actions. That, more than anything, was what she hated Fain for. She could handle her own humiliation.

  It was what had been unjustly given to Talyn that burned bitterest.

  What her son had been forced to endure that made her crave vengeance from his father. Her proud, precious baby had deserved none of it.

  Tears choked her. "You have ever been my brave champion." When everyone else had abandoned her, Talyn had stayed by her side. Ever the dutiful son.

  Maybe not verbally. He did have his father's limited fuse, and a smart mouth that had tested her temper and restraint on many occasions.

  But his heart had always been loyal. Always loving.

  Always ferocious. Her fierce little lorina.

  "You deserve to be a prince."

  "Titles mean nothing to me. You know that."

  Only his rank as her adjutant had ever mattered to him. He'd worked insanely hard to achieve his rank as fast as possible so that he could be with her and watch over her. Something that had been twice as hard for him since he'd lacked his father's prestigious military lineage. It was why he'd become a prizefighter for the Ring as a mere boy. With every title he'd earned, his military rank had advanced to match his proven martial skills. Most of the time, anyway.

  But even without his father's lineage, even with her being harder on him than she was on her other soldiers, he'd risen to become one of the youngest officers in the Andarion military. Had attained his current rank at an age when most were only beginning their obligatory service.

  He had done her proud.

  "You may think nothing of them, Talyn. However, that's not true of others, and I know how much you want to marry and start your own family."

  He looked away, but not before she saw the bitter yearning that lived inside him for something he'd been denied.

  "Exactly. I do know you, my son. As prince, you will have your choice now of any female who meets your fancy."

  He scoffed at her words. "If I wasn't good enough for them without a royal title, I damn sure don't want them because of it. Besides, I love my Felicia. She is everything to me. I am grateful and lucky to have her in my life."

  Galene bit back a scoff at his words. While she adored Felicia for taking care of Talyn whenever he was allowed liberty, she knew the truth.

  Felicia was a paid companion. A contracted mistress who lacked lineage, too. One Talyn had been forced to pay top dollar to keep in a style that was unheard of for others of Felicia's birth-standing. And the unfair terms of Felicia's original contract still sickened Galene. No other Andarion male would have been forced to sign such a travesty, or spend the credits he did for her services.

  Or to buy out her contract from her agency because they hadn't wanted Felicia tainted by Talyn's bastard status. Galene flinched as she remembered that particular nightmare.

  But because of her and Fain, Talyn's social standing ranked below even that of a slave's. It didn't matter how many fighting titles he'd earned. How many citations and awards he gained as a military hero, he was still unable to legally marry.

  Even a paid companion.

  Worse? Only one companion brokerage in all of Andaria had been willing to contract with him at all. The rest had rudely slammed their doors in his face, leaving him with no other options for a female in his life.

  Title and lineage were all that mattered to their people. The purer the lineage, the better, and the more choices an Andarion had.

  Had Fain married her as he was supposed to, Talyn would have had all the pride and dignity of a military prince.

  Instead, Fain had abandoned them and taken his lineage with him.

  But now that Fain had a new family lineage, Talyn might be able to salvage the rest of his future. "Your father's blood gives you everything I never could."

  "You've given me the only things that matter."

  Cupping his cheek, she shook her head. "You should have married long ago. We should be planning the Endurance for your eldest child by now."

  He snorted. "I don't need a wife nagging me. I have a viciously overprotective mother for that."

  Before she could respond, her office door pulsed open. She glanced past Talyn's shoulder to see the beast himself entering without being announced. Her lips curled involuntarily.

  Talyn pulled her against his chest and held her so that she couldn't attack Fain again. "Don't kill him," he whispered in her ear. "The queen won't forgive you that."

  Laughing, she hugged him close. "All right." She kissed his cheek before she let go.

  "I'll be just outside." Talyn passed a threatening glare to Fain. "Call me if you need anything, Commander."

  "I will, Talyn. Thank you." Forcing herself to remain calm, she faced Fain. "What are you doing here?"

  Fain watched Talyn until the door was closed behind the brat. "You just can't keep your hands off him, can you?"

  She arched a brow at the jealousy she heard in that deep tone of his, and couldn't resist egging it on. "You should have been in here a few minutes ago when I was physically spanking his little ass. I think you would have enjoyed it. I know I did."

  He twisted his lips up in disgust. "You really live with him?"

  "Yes. I have for years."

  "And what? Do you have to burp him after you feed him, too?"

  "I've been known to."

  Fain was nauseated by her and her lifestyle choices. How could she be so flagrant with a boy almost half her age? Did she have no dignity whatsoever?

  "What happened to you, Galene?"

  "I was stripped of my family and forced to live on the street. You?"

  That took some of the fire out of him. "I never meant to hurt you."

  She gave him an arch stare. "Wow. If the damage you did me was without effort, I shudder at what you could do if you actually applied yourself. What did you think would happen when you left me for a human? That my parents would throw me a parade? Send flowers and celebrate?"

  "I assumed you'd pledge another male. Chrisen. Actually."

  Galene looked away as old memories flared. Had she not been pregnant ... had Fain not been disowned over a human ... she might have survived the scandal. But once her pregnancy showed and after Fain's mother had publicly disavowed him as a traitor to their people, no family would accept her. Not while she carried an unlineaged baby.

  And no matter how much better her life would have been, she couldn't bring herself to destroy her child. Nor could she have given him up. Not with what happened to abandoned Andarion children. They were relegated to a caste so low, even slaves pitied them. She'd refused to save herself by sacrificing Talyn. His conception had been her mistake.

  Not his.

  While she regretted every minute she'd ever known Fain, she'd never once regretted Talyn in her life. No matter how hard or awful it'd been, one look at his precious face had made everything worth it.

  "Well?" Fain asked. "Why didn't you marry Chrisen?"

  "Chrisen wanted nothing to do with me after you left. I was a pariah to everyone, Fain. So deformed, they all claimed, that I drove the male I was pledged to into the arms of a pathetic human female. Instead of shoving you into that auditorium, I should have killed you where you stood. That would have saved my social status, and that is my sole regret in life."

  "Really? That's all you regret?"

  She laughed bitterly. "You're right. I do have one more."

  "And that is?"

  "That I didn
't aim at your head on your arrival."

  3

  Talyn drew up short as he left his mother's office to find his "uncle" waiting in the secretary's lounge. A few inches shorter than him, Dancer looked a lot like his father. Enough that it made him want to punch the bastard out where he stood.

  But unlike his father, his uncle had red, glowing eyes, instead of the typical Andarion white.

  It was a rare genetic defect that caused Dancer's eyes to glow red like that. One that meant his uncle was overly possessive and loyal to his female. A trait that was inside Talyn, too. Ironic really, as that was a deformity most Andarion females would sell their souls to have in their males.

  And here all but Felicia had rudely turned him away.

  If they only knew ...

  Dancer raked him with a less than complimentary stare. One that turned into a stern frown as he finally focused on Talyn's features, which were very similar to both his and Fain's.

  Just as Dancer opened his mouth to speak, a tall Hyshian female swept into the office with a bright smile.

  One Talyn returned immediately as she grabbed him into a fierce bear-like hug. At least she made his day better since she was like a second mother to him. "Jaynie? What are you doing here?"

  Her back to Dancer, she cupped his face in her hands. "I heard Lena shot Fain on his arrival and had to tel-ass immediately to see for myself." She frowned as she saw the bruise on his eye, courtesy of his father. "What happened to my sweetie?"

  Talyn shrugged. "Same as ever. I bumped into a fist."

  Tsking, she continued to examine it. "I thought you were retired from Ring fighting?"

  "I am. But not from asshole fighting.... So how's Hadrian and the kids?

  She rolled her eyes at him. "All good. Sway's been nagging me to let him go camping with you again. I don't know what the two of you did last time, but he really enjoyed it."

  "Traded porn mostly. You know ... typical guy stuff. Kid gets tired of swimming in the estrogen pool."

  Chucking him on the arm, she laughed.

  "You two know each other?"

  Turning around, Jayne finally saw Dancer in the room. "Hey, sexy! I didn't see you there. Why you hiding in a corner?"

  He jerked his chin at Talyn. "Keeping my eye on him."

  She laughed. "I must have missed one hell of a party."

  "That you did," Hauk said drily. "Fain failed to explain to us exactly what a powder keg the commander would be. We were extremely ill prepared for her hot reception."

  She turned back toward Talyn. "So I have to know. Fain refused to tell me. What is this prank your mother supposedly pulled on him in school?"

  "Mother?" Dancer asked incredulously.

  Talyn ignored him. "On their graduation day, she shoved him naked into an auditorium full of witnesses."

  She covered her mouth with her hand. "No, she didn't."

  He nodded.

  "Why does she hate him so much?"

  "They were pledged," Dancer answered. "She's the one Fain left for Omira."

  Jayne sucked her breath in. "Damn, Hauk. Why didn't you tell me that before I stuck them back together?"

  "I had no idea until Fain opened the door on our arrival here. I was just a kid when he was disinherited. I didn't know anything about a previous pledge ... but, in retrospect, that explains a lot about my mother's hostility toward him."

  Dancer narrowed his suspicious gaze on Talyn. "I'm surprised your father married your mother, given that."

  Talyn had to force himself not to roll his eyes at his uncle's density.

  "Lena's not married," Jayne said before Talyn could stop her. "She's never been married that I know of."

  Dancer went pale as he mentally did the math and realized who Talyn's father had to be.

  "Yeah," Talyn said drily. "You're so bright."

  Seeing the look on Dancer's face, Jayne scowled. "What?"

  Dancer looked sick as he struggled to accept the truth. "Why didn't she say something?"

  "To whom?" Talyn asked defensively. "Who in your family would have given a single shit?"

  Dancer raked a hand through his braids. "Does my mother know?"

  "Know what?" Jayne asked. "What do you two know that I don't?"

  Crossing his arms over his chest, Dancer jerked his chin at Talyn. "That he's my nephew."

  She snorted derisively. "Impossible. Keris would have been..." Her voice trailed off as she finally put it together. "Oh my God, no wonder she shot him. I'm just surprised she didn't go for his head."

  Talyn scoffed. "I'm surprised she didn't go for his crotch. It explains why he was holding a helmet there when he came off the ship. She must not have changed much since her youth."

  Dancer approached him slowly. "I knew you looked like Fain. But damn ... I just thought that was why she'd picked you for a boyfriend."

  He screwed his face up. "That's my mother you're talking about. Do you mind?"

  Dancer laughed. "No. No wonder you attacked us like you did. You were protecting your mother." He tried to pull him into a hug, but Talyn shoved him back.

  His uncle took the rejection in stride. "Fain's going to shit when he finds out. I can't believe he has a son."

  Jayne's evil laughter joined his. "Who's going to tell him?"

  Stepping back, Dancer shook his head. "Not me." He cupped Talyn's cheek in his hand so that he could examine his features.

  Talyn slapped his hand away. "I'm not your whore, boy. Get your hands off me."

  Again, Dancer shrugged his insult away. "The guilt from this is going to destroy Fain."

  "Good." Talyn stepped out of his uncle's reach. "I hope he chokes on it."

  "Careful. That's my brother you're talking about, and he's a good male. He's stood by me when no one else has."

  "Nice to know he can be loyal to someone. The gods know, he never showed that side of his character to my mother."

  Jayne came between them. "Whoa, guys. Breathe and stop before you say something you're going to regret. You both are entitled to your feelings. But Dancer, you don't know how hard their lives have been. I love every one of you. You're my family. But Fain hurt them. Badly. And Talyn ... you've no idea what your father's been through. Trust me. Fate got him back. With interest. He hasn't lived a fairy tale, either. There's a reason he's in a Tavali uniform."

  "And I don't really give a shit, Aunt Jayne."

  The door to his mother's office opened. His father came storming out.

  Fain curled his lip at Talyn, then turned his attention to Jayne and Dancer. "I cannot work with that..." His voice trailed off into a choked sound as he gestured at the door. "She's impossible!"

  Talyn grabbed him. "Did you hurt her feelings? What did you say to her?"

  As his father went to punch him, Dancer came between them. "Stop it! Both of you!"

  "Talyn!"

  He froze at his mother's sharp tone and withdrew from the fight.

  "Yeah, you better keep walking, boy."

  "Fain!" Dancer snapped through gritted teeth. "Bite it."

  He held his hands up in surrender. "Call Nyk. I'm out of this." With long, furious strides, he quit the office.

  Dancer let out an elongated breath as he locked gazes with Galene. "I know you hate my brother and I'm sure you're entitled to it. But you should both know that while you had each other, he had absolutely no one. He didn't even have a country to call home."

  Galene curled her lip. "What about his human?"

  Dancer's gaze turned sharp and biting. "Let's just say that out of the two years they were together, his happiest memory is probably you shoving him naked into an auditorium full of family and friends, and locking the door behind him." And with that, he followed after Fain.

  Galene couldn't breathe as those words echoed in her ears.

  Two years?

  What?

  She looked at Jayne for an explanation. "What happened to his wife?"

  "Before or after he caught her screwing a human male in their bed?" r />
  Bile rose in her throat. "You're serious?"

  Jayne nodded, then pulled her into a comforting hug. "I had no idea Fain was the one who left you."

  "I had no idea you were friends with his brother." Because of her less than legal activities and associates, Jayne never talked about her friends or family in anything more than the most abstract of terms. She never mentioned anyone, other than her husband and children, by name.

  Without commenting on that, Jayne glanced to Talyn. "How are you holding up, sport?"

  He shrugged. "I'm Andarion."

  "That's really not an answer."

  "For him it is." Galene rubbed his arm. "Notify the team that we'll try this again tomorrow with The Tavali. I need the day to mentally regroup."

  "Yes, ma'am." He gave her a sharp salute before making an about-face and leaving them to carry out his orders.

  Jayne snorted. "I'm so used to him as a civ that I forget how military our boy really is when he dons that uniform."

  Galen smiled proudly. "I'm far more likely to break protocol than he is."

  Jayne let out an elongated breath. "I'm really sorry about this, Lena. I'm the one who suggested you for the position. I had no idea what I was getting you into."

  Sadness choked her as she thought back to the day she'd learned she was pregnant with Fain's child. It had been one of the tiny handful of perfect moments in her life. They had been pledged on his sixth birthday. Just a few days apart in age, they'd been raised together and had gone to the same school. Since he was to be her husband, she hadn't even looked at other males.

  Back then, Fain had been her entire world. A renowned and regaled athlete and champion, he had been destined to become a war hero like his father, and she'd planned on med school like her parents. Their wedding had been set for the fall, following their graduation.

  And Talyn had been conceived on Fain's birthday. Her virginity a gift to her fiance.

  Instead of becoming a delighted father and devoted husband as she'd expected, Fain had shattered her heart and thrown her love away as if it was meaningless. She'd never recovered from his betrayal.

  "I hate him so much," she whispered. "But he did give me the greatest gift of my life. I couldn't ask for a better son."

  "He's just like his father."

  She quirked her brow at Jayne's comment.

  "He is," Jayne said defensively, with a nervous laugh. "Now that I know, I see it clearly. I don't know how I could have missed it, all these years. Talyn's not Fain's son so much as he's his clone. Driven. Fierce. Stubborn. Loyal."