This was the first time Talyn had seen the bastard since he'd been at their mercy. And it took every ounce of will he possessed not to attack him. Or to kick his desk straight into his chest.
Don't do it.
He's not worth a death sentence.
That's what his common sense said. His sense of justice, however, begged him hard to do it, anyway, regardless of consequence.
The repugnant asshole hesitated before he returned Talyn's salute. "You're on KP and GP, janitorial duties. I trust neither of those will interfere with your recovery, Lieutenant."
"No, sir."
"Then welcome back. So nice to have you here again." His voice dripping with derisive sarcasm, he shoved the orders at Talyn.
Talyn picked them up, saluted, and left immediately before he gave in to his suicidal urges. But as he looked over his new orders, he wanted to turn around and shove them down Anatole's throat.
Whatever. He'd had worse, and this was leaps above what they'd done to him at the palace. At least the KCO wouldn't torture him.
He hoped.
Heading straight for his new assignment, Talyn reported for duty in the hot, stifling mess hall where they were already preparing the night's meal.
At first the major in charge sneered at him. Until he saw Talyn's name on his file. He expected the light of recognition had come from his fighting fame.
Shockingly, that wasn't the case.
"Batur ... you related to Colonel Galene Batur?"
"Yes, sir. But she's a deputy commander now."
He skimmed Talyn with a frown. "Are you her boy?"
"Yes, sir. Proudly so."
His frown melted into a friendly smile. "You don't remember me, do you?"
There was something vaguely familiar, but Talyn couldn't really place it. "No, sir. Sorry."
He brushed it off. "You were just a small mite back then. I was the one who brought flowers to your mother while she was in the hospital after she'd been shot, protecting Cairistiona."
Talyn nodded as he remembered the male finally. "You helped me with my homework, while we waited for her to come back from testing."
"Aha! It really is you. Yeah, I did." He glanced down at the orders and scowled again. "This puts me at one hell of a moral dilemma, Batur."
"How so, sir?"
"I was told to expect a smart-ass, disrespectful lack-Vest bastard. A coward. And that I should make sure you regretted whatever it is you did that caused you to lose rank and be sent to the mess hall. But I owe my life to your mother. She took three blasts for me and the tizarah while everyone else scattered to save their own asses. And you didn't seem disrespectful then, and you damn sure don't look the part now. Who did you piss off?"
"I'm not at liberty to say, sir. I signed a nondisclosure on the matter."
He cursed under his breath. "That answers it. Can you cook at all?"
"I can run a household MU and boil water. Most of the time without catching anything on fire."
The major laughed. "That's useless.... Tell you what, change into your ATUs, and I'll set you on refill duty and counter cleanup for the night."
"Thank you, sir." Talyn stepped back and saluted.
He returned it and dismissed him.
Grateful his new ACO didn't hate him, Talyn headed for his barracks. While he didn't relish refilling the meal stations, it could have been a lot worse.
As he reached his barracks, he was stopped by Captain Raohul. "Where you going, Batur?"
"My bunk and locker ... sir."
The captain snorted derisively. "You don't belong here. You're not a pilot anymore. You've been busted back to the gen-deck. Your belongings are in lockup there, pending your reactivation. Don't forget to change out your rank before you put on your uniform. It's a court-martial to misrep rank."
Of course it was. Like he'd forget that?
But the captain wasn't trying to be kind. The prick's eyes gleamed with cruel satisfaction. "Thank you, sir, for the reminder."
When Talyn stepped back, the captain grabbed his arm. "Did I dismiss you, Lieutenant?"
Talyn ground his teeth. "No, sir."
"Then you stay planted."
"Yes, sir."
Glaring at him, the captain broke into Talyn's personal space. Something that was much more offensive to an Andarion than a human. "Are you giving me attitude, Lieutenant?"
"No, sir."
"No?" He all but touched his nose to Talyn's. Of course, he had to stand on his tiptoes to do so. "I think I see rebellion in your eyes."
"No, sir."
"Captain!"
Sneering, he moved back, then gasped as he saw Felicia's brother heading toward them with long, angry strides. He immediately fell into a crisp salute.
Lorens narrowed his gaze on the captain before he returned it. "Are you all right, Batur?"
"Fine, sir."
"Then, at ease." He slid his gaze back to the captain. "You're dismissed.... Batur, walk with me."
"Yes, sir." Folding his hands behind his back, Talyn followed Lorens.
As soon as they were alone, Lorens relaxed his formality. "Felicia told me that you were called in. I got here as fast as I could. How's it going?"
"It is what it is, sir."
Lorens snorted. "Gods, you are military. You probably bleed red and black." He paused to face Talyn. His gaze went to Talyn's epaulettes that bore his new rank. "I'm going to get you back on palace duty. We need someone in there."
"I wish you luck with that, sir. I really do."
"Commander?"
Talyn flinched as he heard Anatole's nasal voice. Locking his jaw to keep from saying anything, he turned and forced himself to salute the bastard, even though what he really wanted to do was plant his fist in Anatole's haughty face.
Anatole completely ignored him to salute Lorens, who was obviously put out by his appearance. His gaze slid to Talyn before he snapped his attention back to Lorens. "May I ask why you're here, sir?"
"That's no concern of yours."
Anatole sputtered. "I'm his CO ... sir."
"And I'm the second-in-command of the entire armada. I don't believe I need your permission to speak with Batur."
He panicked. "Whatever he's telling you is a lie. I don't know if you're aware of it, but this is retaliation."
Lorens arched an intrigued brow. "For?"
"My aunt, the tadara, busted his rank for insubordination. So the allegations he's making against me are all lies."
"All allegations made by any officer, regardless of rank, must be heard and fully investigated. You know that." Lorens tried to lead Talyn away from Anatole.
"I didn't touch his whore!"
Talyn froze where he stood as those words went through him like a hot, searing knife.
No ...
No, he didn't ...
It's death to strike a member of the royal house....
Fuck it.
Whirling, Talyn gave in to the demon inside him. He slugged the bastard with everything he had. And he would have done more had Lorens not pushed him back and blocked his access to Anatole as three provosts rushed forward with weapons drawn on him. His breathing ragged, Talyn tried to push past Lorens without hurting the male.
"Talyn!" Lorens snapped as he put himself between them. "Get ahold of yourself! Their weapons are set to kill, not stun!"
That finally sank in. Still craving blood, Talyn held his hands up and fought the urge to kick the bastard, who was laughing as he wiped the blood from his lips.
"You're going to pay for that, Lieutenant. With your life. Then, I'm going to find out for myself if your whore was worth it."
Talyn went for him again, but the guards blocked his path.
"Take him to lockup!" Anatole ordered.
"Halt!" His face mirroring Talyn's rage, Lorens turned back toward Anatole. If the idiot had an ounce of preservation, he would have seen the fury in Lorens's eyes that matched Talyn's, and run for cover.
"Is he talking about Felicia?" Lo
rens asked Talyn coldly.
Trying his best not to leap again for Anatole's throat, Talyn gave a subtle nod.
"What happened?"
Talyn ground his teeth. This was not how he'd planned for Lorens to find out about the attack. Of course, the plan had been for him not to find out at all. Felicia's explicit order was to keep her brother out of it since they didn't know who had done it.
Now ...
"I order you, Batur. Tell me what he's talking about!"
"Someone attacked Felicia on her way home, and tried to pull her into a transport. She said it happened so fast, she didn't know who it was."
"The bruise on her face that she told me came from a doorjamb?"
Overwhelmed by rage at the reminder, Talyn went for Anatole again. One of the guards shot at him, narrowly missing his head.
"Stop!" Lorens ordered all of them.
"He's lying!" Chrisen snarled. "I didn't touch his whore!"
Lorens lunged.
This time, Talyn stopped him. "Think of your children. Since I'm already going to jail. Let my execution be for his murder."
"Oh, I'm going to avenge my sister." Lorens glared at Anatole. "You motherfucker! No one touches a member of my family! How dare you!"
Anatole paled. "What?"
"Felicia is my sister, you stupid whoreson! Talyn hadn't even mentioned you. Contrary to what you think, you are not the center of anyone's universe except the sorry Andarion bitchtress who shit you out!" Lorens pointed to Anatole. "Arrest him!"
The guards did so without question.
"You can't do this!" Anatole snarled. "I'm the tadara's nephew!"
"And my paran sits to her right hand. How do you think he'll react when I tell him you attacked his youngest daughter, you son of a bitch!"
Anatole gulped audibly.
Lorens sneered at him. "If I were you, I'd pray for the mercy of facing Talyn in the Ring. Gods help you if my father gets his hands on you!" He stepped back. "Take him to the brig before I let the lieutenant have him with my blessings."
Once they were gone, he turned on Talyn. "How could you keep this from me?"
"I promised Felicia I would let her tell you. With the exception of the one bruise and being shaken up, she was unharmed. Had I known he was the one who did it, I promise you, I'd have ripped his throat out. She kept that knowledge from both of us."
"And you left her unprotected?"
Talyn growled at him. "Hell, no! What kind of Andarion do you think I am that I'd leave my female alone to be harmed?"
Only then did Lorens calm down. "Who's with her?"
"She has Sentella guards. Two of them. One even larger than me."
"Really?"
"Of course. I'd have gone AWOL before I put her in harm's way."
Finally calming a degree, Lorens stepped back. "Are the guards why you agreed to those additional fights I heard about on the news?"
Talyn looked away, unsure of what to say.
"I want the whole truth of what's going on. I'm her brother, Talyn. Granted, we haven't always gotten along or been close, but I am the head of our generation. She falls under my direct protection. It is my honor and duty to ensure her safety."
"Then why did you allow her to become a companion?"
Rage darkened Lorens's eyes. "Don't you dare take that tone with me, soldier! I didn't know what she was doing. She didn't come to me before she signed up for it. Not that I owe you an explanation. But that's the truth. Now you answer my questions."
"I agreed to those fights to pay off her contract so that her agency couldn't force her to sleep with Anatole or someone else she didn't want to."
Lorens gaped. "Excuse me? Are you saying that my sister is living in your home without a legal contract?"
How stupid did Lorens think he was? "Relax. It's her home now. My name's off the lease. Completely. I'm not an idiot. I gave her the condo, free and clear. She's in no kind of legal danger. I've been doing everything I can to protect her."
"Except call me."
"She's my female," Talyn snarled. "It's my responsibility to keep her safe."
"But she's not your female, Talyn. Not without blood or contract."
Talyn ground his teeth and clenched his fists to keep from punching Lorens for speaking a truth that shredded his heart. Lorens was right. For Talyn to go near her now risked a jail sentence for both of them.
In that moment, he hated Fain Hauk more than he ever had for denying him his birthright.
A tic started in Lorens's jaw. "You really gave her that condo?"
"I don't need it. Really didn't think I'd live long enough to see it again, as I was sure I'd punch Anatole when I got here." He flexed his bleeding hand. "And look," he said drily. "I did."
Lorens snorted. "You got balls, Batur. I'll give you that. Short on brains, but long on balls." Hands on hips, he faced Talyn. "How much did buying her contract set you back?"
"A little over half a million."
Lorens let out a low whistle. "You paid that and demanded nothing in return?"
"I love your sister."
"Well gods, I would hope so, considering the fact that you've given up several million dollars and are paying who knows what for her security." Lorens narrowed his gaze on Talyn. "You really have Sentella guarding her?"
He nodded. "Two of their best. A Qillaq and a Phrixian."
With a stern frown, Lorens scratched at his chin. "Good choice. Two races Anatole won't be able to intimidate."
"And both have diplomatic immunity from the Caronese embassy for anything they might do to the royals in their protection of Felicia."
"How did you swing that?"
"I know people in low places who know people in high ones."
He snorted a short laugh. "You must. I had no idea you had any connection to The Sentella or the Caronese royal house."
Talyn shrugged. "I don't give up secrets."
"No, you don't. And that's a rare thing, indeed." Lorens sighed. "I'm putting you back on leave until I have a doctor's clearance in my hands."
"Commander--"
"You want to be on duty?"
"Not really. But--"
"Go, Batur. Take the leave until I get this sorted out and your rank restored. By attacking Felicia, Anatole finally made a strategic mistake I can use against him. Our job is to figure out how best to exploit it so that we all get satisfaction from his stupidity."
"I can answer that easily."
Lorens quirked a curious brow.
"Let me have him in the Ring. Five minutes. That's all I need to legally put him out of everyone's misery. Forever."
A calculating gleam darkened Lorens's gaze. "You up to a fight that brutal?"
Talyn scoffed. "You seriously underestimate me, Commander. Trust me, both legs and one arm broken, I could still hand-feed that quim his entrails."
"Then I will see it done. Now go home, Talyn. I don't like hearing the sound of my sister weeping in my ear. We'll figure something out about the contract. If anyone catches you in the condo, just say I sent you there under orders to protect her after her attack."
Talyn stepped back and gave him a sharp salute. "Yes, sir!"
As he walked toward the gate where transports usually waited to pick up soldiers, he slid his gaze toward the brig where Anatole had been taken. C'mon, Lorens, don't fail me with those orders. If WAR wanted to bring down the royal house, Talyn was more than willing to personally escort Anatole straight to their gods. That only left three others from that generation who could inherit the throne.
Jullien, Merrell, and Nyran.
They should have never made this personal. Never threatened Felicia. But now that they had ...
There would be a party at the Batur house all right. One that wouldn't end until there was blood on the walls and three hearts in Talyn's fist.
*
Jullien went ramrod stiff. "What do you mean, Chrisen's been arrested?"
Merrell raked a sneer over Jullien that, had it been witnessed by
anyone else, would have caused Jullien to have him punished. Cousin or not. But since they were alone, he allowed the insult to pass. "That whore he went after? She happens to be the youngest daughter of Saren ezul Terronova."
Jullien cursed that unfortunate luck.
"Exactly. And after the attack on his other daughter and son, Terronova's demanding Anatole blood from Eriadne. And this time, he's notified everyone, and made sure he had an audience when he made his demands. Bastard's learning. We were blindsided so badly, there was no way to do damage control." Merrell paused with a frown. "What are you doing here, anyway? Aren't you supposed to be at your father's?"
Jullien growled in anger at the reminder of what had brought him back to Andaria. Last thing he'd expected to hear from his secretary on arrival was that his favorite cousin and cohort was currently jailed, and there was nothing he could do to get Chrisen out.
Making sure the guards were out of hearing range, Jullien closed the distance between them so that he could whisper and only Merrell would hear. "I saw the bastard. He still lives."
Merrell had the same reaction Jullien had in the restaurant on Verta. He went pale, then his cheeks turned bright red with his fury. "What?"
"It gets better. He was with Kiara Zamir. Having lunch in an Andarion restaurant, of all things. In broad daylight."
"The Gourish princess?"
Jullien inclined his head to him. "I don't dare contact her father, personally. He hates me. So, I came back for you to light a fire under her father's ass and get him to execute the hybrid before someone else realizes who and what he really is, and rains bombs all over our parade."
Merrell leaned in to whisper in the lowest audible tone possible. "What are the odds of anyone recognizing him as your brother?"
Jullien clenched his teeth tight and spoke furiously through them. "He looks just like our father. Anyone will know at this point. You can't miss it. Even with the scars on his face. It's worse now than when we were in school with him."
Merrell started to step back, but Jullien caught his arm to keep him by his side and finish his report. "There's more."
"What?" Merrell growled.
"He was dressed in Sentella gear. He's one of them."
"That explains the hard-on they've had for us for so long."
Jullien nodded. "Doesn't it? And that's why I came home. We have got to get rid of Nykyrian, one way or another. The last thing we need is for that bastard to hook up with the Gourish princess. We would lose everything."
Merrell growled low in his throat as he digested what Jullien was telling him. Damn it all. Why was Nykyrian still alive? Their grandmother had paid well for his childhood demise.