Born of Defiance

  His father, most likely. Before Fain Hauk had been disinherited, he'd answered to Commander ezul Nykyrian at one of their embassies. But Talyn withheld that information.

  "We might have met when I came to work with my mother. Years ago."

  The commander nodded slowly. "Tizirah Tylie said that you used to calm her sister when you were a child. She also made it clear that you were to be treated with regard, in spite of your caste and what your record says about you."

  Talyn went cold. "Sir?"

  The commander sat down and pulled up Talyn's file. "I want you to know that while I respect my dear cousin, Tizirah Tylie, I'm not one to put up with insubordination. Unlike my nephew and regardless of what my cousin wants, I will have you whipped for any infraction. You will stow your attitude and toe the line. Understood?"

  Nephew? Cousin?

  Minsid fuck. He should have known he'd be reporting to one of Chrisen's relatives.

  "Yes, sir."

  "Nor will I tolerate dereliction of duty or late check-ins. I have no idea what favors your mother was forced to call in for you, or perform on your behalf, but your past behavior stops now. I run a tight crew. The safety of my family relies on the skills of our guard corps. You step out of line, Batur, just once, and you'll learn why they refer to me as the Bloody Axe. Understood?"

  "Yes, sir."

  The commander buzzed for his adjutant. As soon as the door opened to admit him, Talyn felt his world tilt even more.

  Merrell Anatole. Chrisen's older brother.

  Shit.

  Talyn saluted him.

  With eyes lit by malice, Anatole returned his salute. "I shall take it from here, uncle."

  "You sure you can handle this?"

  An insidious smile curled his lips. "Absolutely. It'll be my pleasure to show the major around and finish his orientation."

  "You're dismissed."

  His stomach knotted tight, Talyn followed Anatole from the room.

  Merrell didn't speak until they were in the hallway. Then he turned on Talyn with a sneer. "My brother told me what a tattletale little bitch you are, Batur. You should know that if you try that here, it won't be just your rank we'll take." He moved to invade Talyn's personal space. "My blood family rules this planet, never mistake that. This is our empire. You live in it only because we allow you to live. Got it?"

  "Understood." None of the Anatoles could stand on their own. They bullied and intimidated, and expected everyone to bow down to them.

  If only that was in the nature of the Baturs and Hauks.

  Merrell arched a brow. "Do I hear treason in your voice?"

  Talyn shook his head slowly, reminding himself all the kinds of stupid it would be to punch that look off Merrell's face. "No, sir. I understand your terms."

  And just like at his previous post, there was no one to appeal to. No justice left in this empire. WAR was right. The Anatoles were rotten, through and through. They had become a disease that needed to be carved out of their gene pool.

  What sickened Talyn most was that all but one member of his father's family had been slaughtered in war to put these bastards and their forefathers on the Andarion throne. His mother's lineage had been persecuted to the brink of extinction by the Anatoles--hence the real reason the commander was called the Bloody Axe. His mother's direct family were the last of the once-great Baturs, who had rivaled the Hauks for their military strength and expertise.

  Until the current tadara herself had gone after the Baturs and driven them into exile or graves. Only his mother's grandfather had survived the "Purging" to remain in Andarion territory.

  "Is that defiance I see in your gaze, Major?"

  Yes, it was. But he wasn't completely stupid enough to confirm it. "I can't comment on your delusions, Commander." Talyn cringed at the fact that he hadn't quite managed to get the sarcasm out of his tone.

  Merrell tried to intimidate him, but since the moron only came up to Talyn's armpit, it was a less-than-impressive ploy.

  "Wipe the smirk off your face, Batur. It's time you met your royal charge." Merrell raked him with a sneer. "Follow me."

  A bad feeling went through him. But he had no choice except to obey his orders. Yet every instinct he possessed told him to cut Merrell's throat while he could.

  And when he entered Jullien's office, he knew why. The prince sat with Chrisen standing smugly at his side.

  His stomach cramping in angry trepidation, Talyn saluted them.

  They didn't return it.

  Corpulent and pompous, Jullien leaned back in his chair. Unlike a pure-blooded Andarion, his eyes weren't white. They were a strange greenish-brown, rimmed in red. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that really didn't enhance his looks. Even with the Andarion title of tahrs, Jullien would have a hard time getting laid.

  "Damn, Chris," Jullien snarled. "You weren't kidding. He looks just like the slimy bastard. How did you stand looking at him every day?"

  "Now you know why I shot him down. It was a moral imperative."

  Merrell curled his lip. "Remember that time when we were playing with that serving bitch and Fain reported us?"

  "I wasn't there for that," Jullien said, his eerie humanesque eyes glowing with fury. "What I remember is that hybrid piece of shit we went to school with. We'd just found the way to get rid of him. Permanently. And then, that little whore, Dancer Hauk, showed up with my class ring. 'Look what I found,'" he mocked. "'His Highness must have misplaced it. The hybrid didn't steal it, after all.'" He sneered at Talyn. "You've no idea how much we hate Hauks here."

  Probably as much as the Hauks hated Anatoles, would be his guess.

  "No, shit," Chrisen agreed. "I still have the scar from when Dancer crashed our pod because of his bleeding heart. Not even plastic surgery could remove it."

  Jullien snorted. "Never met a Hauk yet who wasn't a bitch."

  Talyn kept his jaw locked. To strike Jullien would be a death sentence. To hit a CO was a court-martial. He kept repeating that over and over again in his head as he held his salute.

  "Hauks and Baturs have always thought they were so superior to the Anatoles," Jullien continued. "Too good to mix their blood with ours."

  Chrisen and Merrell closed rank around Talyn.

  Merrell had to stand up on his toes to meet Talyn's gaze. "Your worthless father and pussy uncle were smart. They jumped planet to save their little bitch asses. You should have followed their cowardly example."

  "Instead of threatening me," Chrisen snarled in his ear. "Reporting me to Commander ezul Terronova. You little bitch!"

  Jullien moved to stand in his face. "Are you a quim, too, Iron Hammer?" He glanced at his cousins as if seeking courage from them. "You must be."

  "Yeah," Chrisen said with a laugh. "He's a puss. Tattletale little bastard. Just think, boy. Had your whore of a mother sucked my cock instead of your father's, you'd be a commander now."

  Talyn's gaze darkened.

  "Aw now," Jullien taunted. "Does that hurt your little feelings?"

  Chrisen slapped his brother on the arm. "Wait until you see the whore he has sucking his cock now. Nicest piece of ass I've ever seen on a female. We're going to have fun with her."

  Talyn smiled evilly at them as his temper broke. He'd never been all that smart. And this was more than he was going to take. No one insulted his mother or threatened Felicia.

  It was time for them to meet his two best friends.

  Right and left fist.

  Before he could stop himself, he punched Chrisen in the throat. Merrell reached for him. Talyn caught his arm and flipped him to the ground before he slammed his fist into Merrell's chest.

  Screaming, Jullien ran for cover as his guards attacked and called for reinforcements. Talyn lost count of how many he went through, trying to reach the only real bitch in the room.

  Jullien eton Anatole.

  But all too soon, they began stunning and shooting him. Not that it mattered at first. Too used to physical pain to care a
bout the blasts, he powered through until his nervous system gave out.

  Even then, he fell to his knees for several heartbeats before he finally collapsed and the darkness took him under.

  Jullien scowled at Chrisen, who was unconscious on the floor. He met Merrell's stunned gaze as he stood on trembling legs. "What the hell is he?"

  Shaking his head, Merrell put more distance between Batur and them. "He's an effing War Hauk and the last of the Winged Baturs. Crazy lineages."

  "Have you ever seen anyone take that much with a stun blast?"

  The guards hesitantly nudged Batur's body with their booted feet. "I unloaded three full charges into him, dead on."

  With fear in his eyes, Merrell swallowed hard. "Don't stand there! Get him out of here before he wakes up."

  "Yes, sir. Where do you want us to take him?"

  Merrell locked gazes with Jullien. "You're the tahrs. What's your command?"

  "He's assaulted two members of the royal family and would have hit me had he been able to. Smacks of treason. Throw him in with the lifers and make sure you tell them they have a celebrity in their midst."

  Laughing, Merrell wiped the blood from his lips. "I can't wait to see which one of them makes the Iron Hammer his bitch first."

  *

  Talyn came awake to the worst feeling of his life. And given how many times he'd had the crap beaten out of him inside a Ring, that said a lot. His head throbbing, he opened his eyes to find himself inside a pit, surrounded by males who didn't appear to be friendly.

  They were, however, huge bastards.

  Awesome.

  He suddenly felt like a kid again, attending temple on holy days of obligation. An unwanted specimen of vermin that had found its way onto the top of their shiny new shoes. In spite of his pain and nausea, Talyn rose to his feet to face them. While he'd been unconscious, someone had removed his uniform jacket and boots, and left him with his pants and undershirt only.

  A massively muscled male approached him with that familiar smirk that said the two of them were about to dance.

  Name the tune....

  Without flinching, Talyn met his gaze.

  "You really Iron Hammer?"

  "I am."

  Another male approached at his back and spat on the ground. "Vested piece of shit." He moved to shove Talyn's shoulder.

  Talyn caught him and knocked him unconscious with one blow. He caught his next attacker, then two more, and quickly dispatched them.

  Not even breathing heavy yet, he faced the first one who'd approached him. "I might fight in the Vested league now, but I held the title in all three Open league divisions first, and longer than anyone before or after me. Anyone else want to find out why?"

  The male in front of him laughed. "Gutter rat?"

  Talyn nodded. "My father's an Outcast."

  A loud whoop went through them at that.

  "Batur's one of us!"

  Talyn stepped back, even more trepidatious now than he'd been before they attacked him. What was going on?

  The male in front of him inclined his head. "I'm Maren. When they dumped you in, we assumed you were one of them." Maren jerked Talyn's jacket off a much smaller male who must have stolen it. He handed it back. "Whichever one of you assholes took the Hammer's shoes, return them. Now!"

  They came flying out of the crowd to land near Talyn.

  "Thanks," he said, reaching for them.

  The males laughed as they befriended him.

  "So why were you arrested?" Maren asked while Talyn pulled his boots back on.

  "I was unconscious at the time of my arrest, so I don't know the exact charges."

  Maren scowled. "Were you drunk?"

  "No. I was, however, beating the shit out of two tizirani and their guards when I was stunned."

  A laughing roar of approval went through the other prisoners.

  "What about you?" Talyn stood and pulled on his jacket.

  "I accidentally met Merrell Anatole's gaze while I was fixing his bathroom sink."

  Before Talyn could say anything else, the monitor over their heads came on to show the face of a palace guard. His stare went straight to Talyn.

  "I just received word from Commander ezul Nykyrian himself. Any prisoner or prisoners who defeat or kill Talyn Batur will be instantly released."

  Talyn's stomach hit the dirt as he heard those words. Words that sucked out every bit of camaraderie from his fellow inmates. He looked to Maren, who gave him a sad smile.

  "Sorry, champ. We'd kill our own mothers to get out of here."

  Talyn cursed as he mentally calculated the number of males around him.

  It was bad. But not as bad as the number of males he knew were here beyond them that he couldn't see.

  So this is how I die.

  Just like he'd lived every day since he'd been forced out of his mother's womb.

  Fighting with everything he had.

  CHAPTER 13

  "Lena? Is something wrong?"

  Galene blinked at the tizirah's unexpected question. She'd thought Cairistiona was still sleeping. But she was awake in bed and frowning at her.

  "Forgive me, Highness. I didn't hear what you asked."

  "You look upset and worried. Is something wrong?"

  She smiled at the tizirah and shook her head as she slid her link back into her uniform pocket. "I'm fine."

  "Don't lie to me. We're alone, and you're the only friend I have. The only one who believes that my baby is still alive." Cairistiona held her hand out toward Galene.

  Taking it, Galene allowed Cairie to pull her down beside her. The tizirah laced fingers with her and sighed before she closed her eyes.

  Unsure if the tizirah was lucid or not, Galene bit her lip as she saw her future. Cairistiona had been one of the most capable military commanders in Andarion history. Fierce. Confident.

  Against tradition, Cairistiona had boldly and defiantly taken a human tiziran as her lover. Because Aros was an heir to an empire every bit as powerful and vast as theirs, Cairie had known from the beginning that they could never marry. Even so, she'd birthed twins for the man she loved.

  Two boys.

  Ironically, the twin who was named for his human father--Jullien--had looked the most Andarion, and her son who'd appeared the most human had been named for Cairie's father's paternal lineage, Nykyrian. Pictures of both boys hung all over the walls of her bedroom. But it was Nykyrian's photo the princess slept with. His stuffed toy that she kept in her bed with her at all times.

  Against every reason, Cairie swore he was still alive. Even though his body had been identified and buried. She refused to believe it.

  Maybe it was easier that way.

  "Aros called last night," Cairie whispered. "Did I tell you that?"

  "No, Highness."

  Aros Jullien Triosan was the human father of Cairie's sons. He'd tried to marry her many times over the years, but neither Cairie's mother nor his government would approve the alliance. His government out of fear of an insane Andarion female sitting on one of their thrones, and the Andarion tadara out of fear that Cairie would wake from her stupor and take the throne that was her birthright.

  The tizirah clutched Galene's hand tighter. "He's being pressed by his senate to name another heir. The humans don't trust my Jullien." She opened her eyes to look up at Galene. "Do you trust him?"

  "He's a fine boy, Highness."

  She laughed. "You're lying. I'm not asking the military commander for her opinion. I want to hear from my friend who played with him when he was a boy."

  Galene glanced around the room. In truth, she hated Jullien and always had. Obnoxious and cruel, he had relentlessly picked on her when she'd been a girl. It was why she'd spent her time at the palace with Tahrs Nykyrian. He'd been a sweet, quiet boy who reminded her a lot of Talyn.

  But that was something she could never tell the tizirah who'd birthed them. "Your friend is afraid that we're not alone here and she doesn't want to see you drugged more."

/>   Cairie nodded and blinked slowly. "They're afraid of me."

  "Who?"

  "My mother. She's afraid I'll depose her. It's why she drugs me. But I don't want the throne that makes my family so vicious. It killed all my brothers and sisters. Except for Tylie, who doesn't want it either." Cairie pulled Nykyrian's toy to her chest. "Why are you so sad, Lena?"

  "I haven't heard from my son."

  Cairie gasped. "Where is he?"

  "With yours."

  She relaxed instantly. "Then he's fine. Jullien knows to take care of what I love, and I love you. I always have. Therefore I love your son, too."

  "And I love you, Highness."

  Smiling, Cairie snuggled closer to the toy. "I shall call Jullien tonight and tell him to have your Talyn contact you."

  "Thank you, Highness. I would be forever grateful."

  Cairie lifted her head and listened. "Nykyrian?" she called. "Is that you, keramon?" She started to leave the bed, but Galene caught her.

  "Highness, you're too sick to walk." Actually, she was too drugged for it. The nurse had only left a short time ago. Every four hours, Cairie was given a shot "for her health."

  It was sickening what the tadara did to her own daughter to keep her complacent. But there was nothing Galene could do to stop it.

  She'd tried once and had lost her rank as a result. She would have lost her post and life as well, but Tylie had stepped in and prevented it. Because Galene had once been Nykyrian's playmate, she was the only one who could manage Cairistiona. The tizirah thought of her as a strange cross between cherished daughter and beloved friend.

  Galene hummed to her while she tucked the covers around Cairie's body. She still remembered the first time she'd seen the tizirah. It was one of her earliest memories. Cairie had been pregnant. Dressed in her sharp military uniform, the tizirah had been breathtakingly beautiful.

  Because her immediate family was mostly medical, Galene had never seen a female officer before. She'd been completely awestruck.

  "Can I touch your blaster?"

  Galene's father, the royal physician who'd been overseeing Cairie's pregnancy, had been horrified. "Forgive my daughter, Highness. She's never seen a royal family member out of imperial robes before. She doesn't realize who you are."

  Placing her hand against her stomach that was just beginning to round out, Cairie had smiled and knelt down by Galene's side. "Would you like to touch it?"