"Nah. It's fine." While he mostly saw the father, he'd been treated a few times by the daughter. She was a strange female, but he had no issue with her. Might as well get it over with.
He stood and placed Kalea in bed. "Will you watch her until I get back?" he asked Darling.
"Sure."
Hauk headed for the stairs. "El? Where's the doctor?"
"In your office, Hauk. Would you like me to have her move to another room?"
"It's fine." Yawning, he went in to find her reviewing his old trophies that lined the wall case.
Jerking around, she smiled at him. "Hope you don't mind my snooping. Are all these yours?"
"Most. So what can I do for you, Doctor?"
"I'm just here to do a quick health check for my dad. He's been worried about you." She pulled her bag from over her shoulder. "If you'll take a seat and remove your shirt, I'll be out of here in a few minutes."
"I thought your dad was coming tomorrow."
"Something came up. Since I was nearby, I told him I'd check in with you."
Hauk removed his shirt and took a seat while she pulled on a pair of exam gloves.
"So how have you been feeling? You look rather tired."
Because he had yet to sleep. But he didn't want to go into that with her. "Fine."
"Any pain?"
"Not really."
She moved to stand behind him. "That's a shame."
He frowned at her words. "Pardon?"
She answered by shooting him in the back with an injector.
Hauk cursed at the unexpected action, and tried to move away, but his head spun like crazy. One minute he was in the chair. The next, he was sprawling on the floor.
The doctor kicked him over. "I should have known better than to pay an assassin to kill you. If you want something done right, you have to do it yourself." She knelt by his side and shot him with something else while she covered his mouth with her hand. "Shh... just close your eyes and die like a good boy."
Sumi staggered back as Dariana shoved her whole weight against her sword. Her entire arm was numb from holding her ground. At this point, Sumi was short-swording and using her weapon more like a small staff. Which was working well since Dariana couldn't break through it to stab or cut her.
But it really wasn't helping Sumi to win the fight. How aggravating that Andarions didn't believe in a shield. They relied on their sword skills alone. And since the swords were shorter than human broadswords, yet longer than daggers, with large, ornate hilts, using them was more akin to axe fighting than actual sword fighting. It was a whole different style than anything Sumi had ever done, and it was using every muscle in her body to deflect and stay sharp.
Shrieking in frustration, Dariana finally made a strategic mistake. She lifted her sword to slice. Sumi twisted hers sideways so that when Dariana brought her blade down, it caught in the curved hilt of the Hauk Warsword. Faster than the Andarion could react, Sumi twisted Dariana's sword out of her hands and captured it.
She kicked Dariana's leg and knocked her down to one knee so that she could grab her throat and pin her.
Dariana tried to break free, but this was something Sumi had perfected in League training.
Sumi increased the pressure. "Yield!"
"Never!"
Sumi looked to the judges. "She's defeated. And while I'd hate to kill her and the child she carries, I leave that decision up to you."
The judges conferred for a few seconds before the head one spoke up. "She is defeated. Her claim on Dancer Hauk is cleared. The War Hauk heir is yours, Princess. The gods have ruled it so."
Sumi released Dariana, and saluted them before she twisted the sheath down to her side and placed the sword in it then returned it to rest on her back. Ecstatic beyond belief, she headed for Fain and Darice.
Darice's smile faded as he looked past her. Before she could turn, he jumped into the arena and shoved her back. The moment he did, a small knife buried itself into his shoulder.
"Darice!" Sumi grabbed him to her.
"No!" Dariana screamed as she realized she'd struck her son instead of Sumi.
Guards ran to arrest Dariana while Sumi lowered Darice to the ground. "Dare?"
He sucked his breath in sharply between his teeth. "How do you and Dancer stand it? This really hurts!"
She laughed as she realized it was just a flesh wound. While it wouldn't be comfortable, it wouldn't kill him. "You are ever my hero."
Syn ran over and quickly removed the knife so that he could stop the bleeding and seal it.
Dariana was shrieking in Andarion as royal guards removed her from the arena.
Sumi ignored her completely as she stayed focused on Darice. "I'm so sorry you were hurt."
"Better my shoulder than your throat." Biting his lip, he looked at Syn. "The scar won't be visible after it heals, will it?"
Syn rolled his eyes. "It'll barely be there. If anyone is close enough to you to see it, you better be pledged to them, kid."
Darice let out a relieved breath. "Thank the gods."
Sumi snorted. Andarions and their vanity.
As Syn finished tending Darice, his link buzzed. "Yeah?" The color faded from his face as he listened.
Dread tightened her stomach. By his expression, she knew it was bad. Had Kyr taken Kalea again? "What?"
His breathing ragged, Syn stared at her in disbelief. "Hauk's dead."
CHAPTER 36
S
umi's entire world came to an end with those two words. "Don't fuck with me, Syn. I mean it!"
By the look on his face, she knew he wasn't.
Her universe shattered as she struggled to breathe. Syn was calling orders to others that she couldn't understand. Not while her mind tried to get some kind of handle on what was happening. On how it'd happened.
Dancer couldn't be dead. He couldn't.
Not her huge, strong Andarion. It was a mistake. It had to be.
Syn and Nykyrian rushed for the doors. She ran after them. Nykyrian grabbed an airbike and waited for her to join him. She slung her leg over the back and put her arms around his waist. He flew them through the streets, back to Dancer's house, at a speed that was illegal on every known world. And still she couldn't focus.
Over and over, she saw Dancer in her mind. His large, intrepid nature that fought on, no matter what was thrown at him. He couldn't go down. Dancer wouldn't let himself. Not while he had Kalea to protect.
He's just wounded. That was it. Syn was mistaken. He had to be. There was no way her Andarion Tactical Assault Monkey would be dead. He was too strong for that.
Too intelligent.
As soon as they were parked, she ran from the bike into the house. She didn't have to ask Eleron where Dancer was. Darling's angry voice carried plainly through the house. She followed the shouts to the office, where Darling, Maris, Ryn, and Drake were gathered around Dancer, who lay shirtless on the floor.
"God damn you, Hauk!" Darling snarled as he attempted chest compressions on him. "You better breathe, you stubborn Andarion bastard! Don't you do this to me! Get up!"
Unable to cope with it, she froze in the doorway, hugging the doorframe. Syn ran past her to kneel on the other side of Dancer's body, while Nykyrian brushed past her. Dancer was so pale. His eyes were half open and he wasn't breathing.
Tears filled her eyes and choked her. He really was dead.
How?
"What happened?" Syn snarled to Darling.
"I don't know. A fucking doctor came in. Said she wanted to check his injuries. I was watching Kalea for Hauk when Eleron told me his vitals were down. I handed her off to Nero and ran in here, and found him on the floor with no sign of the doctor. This is why I fucking hate medics! You can't trust any of them! I swear when I find that bitch, I'm going to blow her entire family into the upper stratosphere!"
As the others began arriving to witness the horror, Nykyrian pulled Darling away while he continued to snarl in anger and make more threats. Then Nyk handed the emp
eror off to Maris. He met her gaze.
Sumi couldn't move. She was frozen by grief and terror. Frozen by the agonizing fear of losing Dancer.
Forever.
You can't leave me...
Like Darling, she wanted to curse everyone. She wanted to spill the guts of anyone who'd ever hurt or insulted Dancer.
Instead, she slowly approached him and knelt so that she could press her cheek to his. Brushing her hand along the stubble, she winced at how cold his skin was already. She buried her hands in his braids. "Don't leave me, Dancer," she whispered in his ear. "I need you here. Kalea needs you. Please don't break our hearts. You promised me you wouldn't leave me alone, again."
"Pull her back."
She started to protest until she realized Syn had pulled a defibrillator from his pack. Without protest, she allowed Fain to hold her while Syn worked on Dancer. Fain wrapped his arms around her and rocked her. He watched with a stoicism the bright tears in his eyes belied.
Silent tears fell down her own cheeks as she prayed and waited.
Nothing worked.
"Damn you, you fat, fucking bastard!" Syn shouted before he slammed his fists down on Dancer, in the center of his chest. "Get up!"
Dancer sucked his breath in sharply, then coughed. He glared at Syn. "What the hell are you doing? Damn it, stop hitting me! Gah, did you run over me or something?"
Sobbing, Sumi broke away from Fain and threw herself on top of Dancer. She rained kisses all over his face. "Don't you ever die on me again!"
"O... kay." Then he stiffened and groaned in pain. "Where's that bitch," he growled.
Pulling back slightly, Sumi frowned down at him. "Who?"
"Pera Duece."
"Who?" she repeated.
"My mother's girlfriend."
Every pair of eyes in the room went to the doorway, where Darice stood, watching them.
Dancer pushed himself up, even while Syn was trying to hold him down. "Stop!" he snapped at Syn, slapping at his hands.
The look on Syn's face said he was one heartbeat away from punching Dancer. "Three minutes ago, you were completely dead. You're the one who needs to stop. Don't make me slap you, 'cause I will!"
Dancer glared at him. "I'd like to see you try."
"How about I help him, then?" Nykyrian asked drily.
Dancer nodded slowly as he lay back down and allowed Syn to return to scanning his body. "Floor's looking mighty sweet." He glanced back to his nephew. "What were you saying about your mother?"
Looking away, Darice rubbed gently at his wounded shoulder. "She and Pera have been lovers since before she married my father."
Hauk was sure the stern scowl on Fain's face matched his as he met his brother's gaze. "Did you know this?"
Fain shook his head. "I don't think anyone did."
Hauk's frown deepened as he remembered what his brain had been trying to tell him on Oksana, outside of Aksel's base. It was a snatch of a childhood memory when he'd walked into Keris's house for a practice climbing session. Dariana and Pera had been in the living room, and they'd jumped apart guiltily, before Dariana had taken his head off over not knocking before he entered her home. Her extreme anger over it and the backhand she'd given him had been completely unwarranted.
Unless he'd walked in on them...
Darice kept rubbing his shoulder. "They made sure to keep a lid on it, because they knew what would happen to them if anyone ever found out. But I think my father knew. I'm pretty sure it's why he hated Pera, and went off into a rage every time he saw her."
And Keris had beaten her right before his death...
A bad, bad feeling went through Hauk. "How do you know this?" he asked Darice.
"I've suspected things for a long time. I knew Pera stayed over... a lot, especially at night. But I didn't know how far it went, not until you came back with Sumi. My mother has no idea how much her voice carries when she's angry. Nor how verbose she is when she rants."
Fain sighed heavily. "Is that why you went to your great-grandmother's to stay?"
Darice nodded. "And it's why I refused to sit with her family today." His lips trembled. "They killed my father... if he is my father."
"He's your father," Fain chided. "Your DNA was tested."
Shaking his head, Darice scoffed bitterly. "Pera's a doctor. She's..." His voice broke off before he continued. "That baby my mother's pregnant with isn't a War Hauk. Keris's sperm didn't take with it, so Pera used someone else's, and then fabricated the DNA results to keep my mother from having to marry another male, who would live in her home and find out about them. I think they might have done the same with me."
"Sweetie," Sumi said gently. "You look just like your uncles. You are a War Hauk."
"Maybe... but Pera and my mother have been scheming for years to shield my mother from having to sleep with a male. It's why Pera gave my mother drugs to keep Keris under control, and why my mother has never honored her pledge to Dancer."
Hauk met Sumi's gaze. "I'm hoping you won your match."
She gaped in mock anger. "You didn't just ask me that, did you? As if."
"Good." In spite of Syn's protests, Hauk rose to his feet. The room swam around him and for a minute, he thought he'd be sick. But he was through with these games.
Syn, Fain, Nyk, Ryn, Drake, Maris, and Darling formed a wall between him and the door.
Hauk glared at his family. "I'm ending this. Now."
"No," Fain said sternly. "You're going to let Syn treat you before you fall over."
Hauk shook his head. "This is my family they've threatened."
"And it's my brothers they abused. My brother they killed. I'm not letting them kill you, too."
"Dancer?" Sumi placed her right hand on his arm then cupped his face with her left. She forced him to look at her. "Remember what I told you? You are my life. I've already seen you dead once today. Don't make me do that again."
The tears in her eyes and voice weakened his resolve. And when one fell down her cheek, he was completely undone by it.
Nodding, he brushed her tear away. "For you, mu tara. I will be a good boy." He dipped his head down to whisper in her ear. "But only if you reward me for it later."
Sumi pressed her cheek to his and held him there as she savored the warmth of his body. Choking on a sob, she agreed. "Let Syn clear you of whatever she did to you. Vengeance can wait."
"Okay."
"Are we better now?" Syn asked sarcastically. "Can I finally take you to the hospital and flush the poison out before you collapse again?"
Dancer made a mocking face at him. "Next time, I'm going to collapse my fat ass on top of you."
Sumi rolled her eyes. "I wish all of you would stop saying that. Yes, Dancer's big as a house, but there's not a bit of fat on his body. And you all know it."
Holding her hand to his heart, Dancer rubbed noses with her. "My fierce mia. Always defending me, even against myself."
She gave him a light kiss and stepped back as a medic team brought in a stretcher. "I'll see you at the hospital."
He inclined his head before he lay down and allowed Syn to begin treating him again. Even though the two of them slapped at each other like children, and argued the whole time.
Rolling her eyes at them, Sumi stepped to Darice and gave him a hug. "Don't frown so, sweetie. You are a War Hauk, and you are loved by both your uncles, and by me. And by your cousin."
He glanced up at her. "Is she here?"
She nodded. "Would you like to meet her?"
A slow smile broke across his face. "Very much."
Taking his hand, she led him upstairs to Kalea's room, where Nero sat, playing with her on the floor, under the watch of two guards.
"Mommy!" Kalea came running and launched herself into Sumi's arms. "You're back!"
She held her daughter tight. "I told you I would be."
"Did you win?"
"Of course I did." With Kalea on her hip, she turned toward Darice. "And this is another of your cousins. Darice Ha
uk. Dare, meet Kalea."
"Oh yaa!" she breathed happily, clapping. "Finally a cousin with my name." She launched herself at Darice with enough force that he staggered back.
"Wow, you're strong, Kalea."
She grinned at him as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "Just like my daddy, but not so big yet." Screwing her face up, she fisted her hands in his braided hair. "You got hair like my daddy, but not all of it." She touched his chin where he had a little bit of stubble. "Can you grow hair there, too? Or are you a girl-boy?"
Darice wasn't sure how to answer.
Sumi laughed at his confusion. "Darice is a male, and he's just at the age where his facial is starting to grow. In time, he'll be able to have a moustache and goatee like Daddy."
"Oh." Her eyes widened as she squealed in delight. Then she squeezed him tight and laid her head on his shoulder. "I love you, Darice, even if you don't have chin hair yet!"