Single-handedly for three days, the Hauks had battled the tech-superior army, and held the invaders back from their capital city walls, until the Andarion chief could mount a counterattack. But the cost to their family had been a high one.
When that battle ended, only two Hauks remained. Father and son. The father died just days later of his injuries, leaving his son to found what was considered the first true blood lineage of Andaria. A hero who would later refuse to be the chieftain of his homeworld when they'd offered him the first united crown of Andaria.
"A Hauk is not a politician. There is no room in our hearts to sit in peace with those who would do any Andarion harm. We are, and will forever be, protectors of our brethren, family, and homeworld. So long as a single War Hauk lives, no nation will defeat us. No race will dare to invade our air, lands, or sea. We will stand and we will defend.
"For we are not bred of mercy and we are not bred for peace.
"We are born of fury.
"Forever Andaria!
"And forever fear the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk."
Sumi had learned to recite that speech as a class project to honor Fain's Andarion heritage. He'd never once said a word about it being his direct ancestor who'd originally given it.
She looked at Thia. "I didn't realize that was his lineage." Because of the legend of the Thirteen War Hauks, Hauk was the most common surname on Andaria - taken to honor the family that had given so much to protect their freedom and planet, and to remind their people that it only took a handful of brave Andarions willing to fight and die for their brethren to hold back a superior army.
Thia nodded. "Dancer is the name of that first War Hauk who founded their lineage. His brother Fain is named for the War Hauks' father and the eldest brother, who was the first to die in action while protecting his father's back. Uncle Hauk and Darice are the last two members of that most prestigious bloodline, and are the only two in all of Andaria who can legally be styled as the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk. If Dariana releases Uncle Hauk from his pledge --"
"Another female could tie into his lineage."
Thia nodded. "One with a higher-caste bloodline than hers. Should Uncle Hauk do that, Darice would no longer be styled as Darice of the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk - only the children of the two strongest unified lineages can use that title. Darice would be downgraded to Darice of the War Hauk Blood Clan. And Dariana would fall back a level in the Andarion caste system. Forever."
But there was one thing that still didn't make sense to Sumi. "Then why not marry Hauk and breed children with him herself? Would that not ensure her lineage and theirs?"
The darkness returned to Thia's gaze at that question. "To begin with, that would still downgrade Darice's title. Unless she's willing to allow Uncle Hauk to be listed as his father and remove Keris from Darice's lineage - something she has said repeatedly that she would never do... as I said, she hates Uncle Hauk and really doesn't believe he's worthy of her bloodline. So much so, that to preserve her right to keep Keris's lineage as her own and to block Uncle Hauk from his, she had Darice more than a decade after his father's death."
Sumi gaped at something she should have figured out by their ages. But honestly, it hadn't dawned on her. "How did she do that?"
Had she exhumed his body for DNA?
Ew!
Thia raked her hand through Illyse's coat. "Whenever the males of prestigious bloodlines enter their obligatory military service, their sperm is taken and frozen so that if they die before they procreate, a female who has a legitimate claim to that bloodline, such as a pledged or married female, can be artificially inseminated with it."
To carry on their lineage and DNA. Man, Andarions were weird.
Sumi was still aghast at their customs. "Pardon the pun, but that is so cold."
"No, the coldest part is keeping Uncle Hauk tied to her and not going through with unification. It's selfish and wrong on every level." There was a lot of hatred and venom in those words.
"How so?"
Thia cursed Dariana under her breath before she spoke. "How much do you know about Andarion male anatomy?"
"They're huge compared to humans."
She snorted at that statement of the obvious. "Anything else?"
"No. Not really. Other than the fangs, claws, and eyes. Why?"
Thia lowered her tone before she spoke again. "They are creatures with very strong passions and urges."
"Yeah, the whole I-would-rather-kill-you-than-look-at-you kind of gives that away."
"Yes, but that's not the only thing they're aggressive about. Unlike humans, Andarion males have to..." Thia's face turned absolutely red in the darkness.
"You okay?"
Fanning her face, Thia glanced to Sumi. "No idea why I'm telling you this, other than to illustrate what a bitch Dariana is, but... the males have to be... drained, for lack of a better word. Kind of like a lactating woman. If they don't get regular release, it's extremely painful for them and causes all kinds of problems and even severe illnesses for them. It's why they mate early and tend to have extremely," she dragged out the word, "large families."
"Oh." Now her face was as red as Thia's. "So why's that a problem? I'm sure any female would be more than willing to..." she cleared her throat, "drain Hauk."
Including her.
Thia snorted. "He can't. Ever. That's why she's a whoring, conniving Queen Bitchtress."
Sumi arched a brow. Why not? Was there something physically wrong with Hauk? "You've lost me again."
Thia released an irritated breath. "Long ago, to protect the purity of the lineages, the Andarions set down stringent laws. Adultery, which covers both married and pledged males, is punished severely and publicly. And..." Thia held her index finger up for emphasis. "Adultery by their laws means an Andarion male can't touch any female, except his wife or pledged, without being removed from his lineage."
Whoa. Wait a minute. Was Thia implying...
"Are you telling me Hauk's a virgin?"
Thia visibly cringed. "Well... this is really awkward suddenly. Given that he's my beloved uncle, my thoughts never went to that particular conclusion. I was speaking of celibacy, generic Andarion customs, and total bitches. But... now that you've mentioned it... considering his age when he was first pledged, and that the only time he wasn't pledged, he was undergoing surgeries and physical therapy..." She bit her lip and nodded. "Yeah. That would be a safe bet. One that makes me want to hurt Dariana even more now that I know. What a minsid whore!"
Wow. Sumi sat back in total stupor. So no one had ever climbed aboard that giant piece of sexy male and taken him for a ride.
Unbelievable. Who in their right mind would bypass that opportunity? She didn't know who this Dariana was, but the female had to be the dumbest cow ever bred.
It explained a lot about Darice. So much for superior genetic material. Brains were a nice component to have with all that brawn.
Not to mention, her opinion of her own sister bottomed if Omira had been told any of this. And surely she'd known what her marriage to Fain would do to him. That it would cost him his extremely prestigious family name. Forever.
Why would Fain have given up all of that for Omira? Surely not even love would be worth that degree of stupid.
"What about his brother Fain? What happened to him?"
Thia curled her lip in distaste. "Fain made the mistake of marrying a human who decided too late that the last thing she wanted was to be tied to an Andarion male who had no lineage."
Not exactly, but Sumi couldn't argue that with her... not without outing herself. "I notice you're not insulting her. Not like you do Dariana."
Thia turned toward Sumi with an expression that was riddled with seething hatred. "Believe me, it's hard not to, given what he's been through because of what she did. But I love Uncle Fain and I would never dishonor the woman he gave his heart to. He'd beat my butt if I did. No one's allowed to say a word against her. Ever. Being Andarion, his philosophy is that had he been wort
hy of her, she wouldn't have left him. He takes all responsibility for his failed marriage, and still holds her on a pedestal. For that matter, he wears her wedding ring, she threw in his face, on his pinkie and has never removed it."
Tears filled her eyes at the last thing she'd expected to hear. All this time, she'd assumed, from what Omira had said, that Fain hated her sister. That he'd been the one who'd left their marriage first.
"I should never have married an Andarion, Sumi. What was I thinking? They're not human. They don't act human. They're terrifying creatures who will tear you apart. I know Fain's going to come for me one day, and rip out my heart and eat it. I know it."
Omira had lived in absolute fear of him finding her. But she'd never really said why she was so scared of him. Other than he was an Andarion barbarian.
"How do you know he didn't leave her first?"
"Because I know Uncle Fain. Why would he still have her ring on his hand? Not to mention, all he'll ever say about it is that he wasn't what she really wanted." Thia shook her head. "No, he feels too much grief to have left her."
Sumi's throat tightened as she remembered how heartbroken and terrified Omira had been when she came home after Fain had supposedly left. For three days, she'd locked herself in the bathroom, and had refused to come out. Barely nine, Sumi had been scared that Omira would kill herself.
"Father... we have to do something to help her."
"Let the tainted whore die. Better for all of us if she's gone."
She still didn't know how their own father could be so callous and unfeeling. When Omira had finally emerged, he'd refused to even look at her. While he hadn't thrown her out of their house, he'd treated her like a ghost. Never would speak to her or acknowledge her presence.
Omira had accepted it as best she could. But it was the reactions from other people who'd learned about her husband and her ongoing terror that Fain would hunt her down that had finally done her in.
Sumi had just turned eighteen when Omira had decided she couldn't handle it anymore - that life, and the condemnation of others, wasn't worth the struggle to get through it.
All Omira's suicide had done was worsen their father's alcoholism and his hatred of the only family he had left. He'd turned on Sumi like some bastard stepchild he wanted out of his sight.
"You're a whore, just like your worthless mother and sister. You'll find some cock to suck and then leave me, too. Just wait and see. You bitches are all the same."
As he'd predicted in his drunken stupors, she'd moved in with the first man to invite her, during her first year in college. She'd have done anything to get away from her father's insults.
Little had she known, it wouldn't be long before she'd wish herself back to her father's hell over that of her first boyfriend's. And even that disaster hadn't been nearly as bad as the one that would arrive with Avin.
Old enough to have known better, she'd somehow allowed that bastard to deceive her completely. And she still wasn't sure how she'd missed the warning signs of his insanity before she'd allowed Avin to move in with her.
At least with her father, she'd been able to gauge what would send him off into a rage and avoid most. Avin's triggers could be as simple as asking if it was raining outside. They were so arbitrary and capricious...
She'd make a stew and it would be too salty. Then she'd make it again and it wasn't salty enough. Don't wear heels and tower over me! Why aren't you wearing heels? Huh? You've wasted money on a closet full of them, and yet you never wear them!
"Closet full" by his definition was three pair. But that was another argument.
Gods, he'd been such a bastard. How had she ever allowed herself to think for one minute that she loved him? Who could ever love such a selfish prick?
A tear slid down her cheek as the pain of her past sank its claws into her heart. Sumi wiped it away before Thia saw it. There was no need in thinking about the life she'd had before. She was an assassin now. Her marriage was to The League alone. And at least it wouldn't be too many more years of torture. She was already over the average life expectancy of an assassin. Sooner more likely than later, someone, probably Hauk, would kill her before she got them.
That was her life. The best she could hope for was to save her daughter from the same fate.
Clearing her throat, she brought the topic back to Fain. "Where's Hauk's brother now?"
Thia stroked the lorina's head as it napped on her leg. "He lives as an Outcast and nomad. Sometimes in human zones. Sometimes Andarion, even though it's dangerous. He never stays in one place too long."
"So he's healthy?"
Pausing her hand midstroke, Thia pinned her with a gimlet stare. "You're showing a lot of interest in Fain. Should I ask why?"
There was no missing the underlying threat in those words. She better assuage the girl's suspicions or she'd be meeting with a bad accident soon. "Curious is all. Sorry. I ask questions when I'm nervous. I rather stumbled into all of your lives. I'm just trying to get my bearings."
Thia seemed to accept that. "I know the feeling. It took me awhile to acclimate to all of them myself. Especially Uncle Hauk." A nostalgic smile tugged at her lips. "The first time I met him, I thought he was going to cut my heart out and eat it, and I ran screaming down the hallway."
"Why would you think that?"
She raked a less-than-flattering look over Sumi's body. "You do that now and you're a trained assassin who's a lot closer to his height than I was or am. Not to mention that whole wide-as-a-house thing he has going for him... It's extremely off-putting, especially when you're a kid. That male can palm a twenty-pound bowling ball. Seriously. I've seen him do it."
Illyse rose suddenly and hissed.
Before either of them could move, the lorina launched herself into the darkness. Thia shot to her feet and pulled her blaster out.
"Relax, Thee, it's just me." With Illyse by his side, Hauk slowly made his way into the circle of firelight, carrying a giant beast over his shoulder.
Sumi's eyes widened at the size of the creature while Thia holstered her weapon. "When you hunt, you don't play around, do you?"
"Not really." He scowled as he dropped the beast and then noticed Darice, facedown on the ground. Arching a brow, he turned toward Thia. "You kill him?"
"No. Just a good stunning."
A slow, boyish grin curved his lips. He rubbed at his goatee with his thumb. "Would it be wrong if I left him there until morning?"
Thia shrugged. "It's an Endurance. You tell me, oh great uncle."
"Maybe I'll just throw a blanket over him and leave him there for a while."
Thia scoffed. "It's more than he deserves."
As Hauk prepped his prey, Sumi noticed that he was much more relaxed than he'd been when he left. He was almost peaceful now.
"So killing things is how you unwind?"
He looked up with a wicked smile that flashed a bit of his fangs. "Indeed. Want to help me skin it?"
She screwed her face up as he pulled out a huge knife from the sheath on his thigh that also holstered his blaster. "I'd really rather not."
Pausing, he arched a brow. "A squeamish assassin? Really?"
"Conscripted," she reminded him. The last thing she needed was for a trained killer, holding a knife, to see her as the threat she knew she could be. "Before that, I was a botanist."
He sharpened his knife against the bracer on his forearm that contained a whetstone. Sumi wasn't sure what part of that disturbed her more. The fact he was so nonchalant about it, or the fact he felt compelled to wear a whetstone for such occasions.
Hauk tested the edge of the blade with the pad of his thumb. "So slaughtering innocent plants doesn't bother you?"
"I never slaughtered any plants. I only studied and catalogued them." She turned away and grimaced as he...
Shivering, she couldn't even think about it. It brought back too many awful memories for her.
Suddenly, she felt his warmth at her back. He was close enough to touch her, yet
he didn't breach that little distance between them. "How did The League train you?"
She trembled even more. "Death matches and hunts."
He turned her to face him. In spite of the darkness, she saw the sympathy in his eyes as he stared at her. "Botanist, huh?"
Sumi nodded.
Hauk watched as she nervously bit her bottom lip. That single act sent a ferocious wave of desire through him and set his heart pounding again. Because he wasn't allowed to touch a female, he'd never spent much time around any who weren't bound to a male. Not that it mattered. Andarion females considered him disgusting and hideous. One look at his scarred flesh, and they curled their lips and insulted him before they scurried away to their mothers.
None of them would ever accept him in her bed.
The one and only time he'd tried to kiss Dariana, she'd stabbed him and warned him that if he ever offended her like that again, her next attack would be against his groin.