Born of Defiance

  Neither would Jullien.

  "Are you safe, Matarra?"

  "We are. Aros isn't taking any chances with Cairistiona's life, and neither is Tylie. In addition to Andarion Guard, we're surrounded by Triosan troops. What about you?"

  "We're fine."

  "Lorens? Felicia? Is my son lying to me?"

  Felicia pursed her lips. "Not lying, per se. Perhaps painting the facts in an optimistic light."

  "We should be fine," Lorens inserted. "I think the royals have bigger things to concern themselves with right now than Talyn's challenge. In fact, in lieu of what you just told me, I'm taking Talyn and Felicia to Command. With Tylie in charge, it'll be the safest place for them."

  "All right. Keep me posted." She hung up.

  Talyn wasn't sure what to think about all of this. It was happening too fast. "Are you sure about Command?" he asked as Lorens headed them back into the city.

  Before Lorens could answer, his link buzzed. "Lieutenant Commander ezul Terronova."

  "Commander, this is Acting Tadara Tylie of the Most Sovereign Blood Clan of eton Anatole. I'm sure by now you are well aware of the political upheaval taking place in the empire, and the fact that my mother has been deposed."

  "Yes, Majesty."

  "As a result, I have issued orders that have removed Prime Commander ezul Aysu from his post, pending investigation. A copy of that has already been sent to your inbox. My trusted allies have sworn that I can put my faith in you. Do I have your oath of loyalty?"

  Talyn held his breath. If Lorens gave it and the tadara happened to be reinstated for any reason, Lorens would be viewed as a traitor for siding with Tylie against her. That was something the old bitch would never let go.

  He would be executed immediately.

  Lorens glanced at them in the rearview mirror before he answered. "Yes, Majesty. I am forever loyal to you and your cause to remove the former tadara from power."

  Talyn respected him for standing by his convictions. That single statement was a declaration of war against Eriadne.

  "Then it is my honor to make you the acting prime commander of our armada until the new monarchy is established and a permanent prime commander is formally appointed. Do you accept the position and the responsibilities?"

  "It will be my honor to serve you and my empire, Majesty. I shall give you only my best."

  "Thank you, Commander. Your loyalty and service will not be forgotten. In the meantime, I am forwarding your new position to all our military. I'll be in touch with an update on the ruling monarchy later tonight."

  "Thank you, Majesty." He hung up.

  Stunned, Talyn leaned forward in his seat to clap him on the shoulder. "Congratulations, Prime Commander."

  Lorens snorted. "Don't congratulate me, Lieutenant Commander Batur. I'm appointing you as my second-in-command. I fall. You fall."

  Talyn sat back, completely slack-jawed as that sank in. He wouldn't have been more stunned had Lorens shot him in the head. "Pardon?"

  Lorens glanced at him over his shoulder. "There truly is no one else I'd put at my back right now. No one I trust more. We win this overthrow, and your rank will be permanent."

  Her face a mask of fear, Felicia swallowed hard. "And if we lose, both of you will be executed for treason."

  Talyn tapped at the markings on his neck. "I'm already branded a traitor. I've publicly insulted them all, and with their challenge, they've made it clear they want me dead. In the goriest way possible. You think if Eriadne retakes her throne she won't be coming for me, anyway?"

  Felicia wanted to deny it, but she knew the truth. "You are all that matters to me, Talyn." She placed her hand on Lorens's shoulder. "And you are my family. My blood. I don't want to bury either of you."

  Talyn winked at her. "Don't worry. I don't lose. Haven't you seen my fighting record?"

  Rolling her eyes, she didn't appreciate his lame attempt at humor. "You're not funny."

  "But I am funny-looking."

  She laughed in spite of the terror inside her. "You stole that from me."

  "Hope it's not the only thing of yours I've stolen."

  She stroked his jaw with her hand. "It's not. You stole my heart the first day I met you."

  Lorens cleared his throat. "All right. Knock it off, you two, before you make this any worse on me. I am the big brother, you know? No gru-gru in the backseat or I might gut Talyn myself. Geld him, at least."

  Talyn laughed as he put a little more room between them. "So what are our first orders, Commander?"

  "Put a two-Andarion space between you and my sister on that seat. Then establish ourselves at the command center. We need to make sure our troops see their leaders and know who we are."

  *

  Felicia hesitated at the sight of Talyn in his formal uniform. Her heart pounding with pride and fear, she brushed her hand over the lieutenant commander epaulette badges Lorens had loaned him. Two stars and two stripes for his new rank, and the winged skull with a dagger through it that marked all Andarion military designations. In that instant, one of their first conversations went through her mind.

  All Talyn had wanted was to make a commander's rank.

  "Does this mean you're going to retire from the Ring?"

  A slight smile hovered at the edges of his gorgeous lips as he looked down at her through hooded lashes. "Only if you stay with me."

  "I have no intention of leaving."

  "Then once I fulfill my current contracts, I'll retire, and never look back."

  Those words choked her as she remembered that she was the entire reason he had those upcoming fights. But for her, he'd be done with it now.

  "Don't," he breathed as he fingered her lips. "You are the only reason I'll be able to stop fighting this year. Without your brother, I'd still be Lieutenant Batur. Not a lieutenant commander."

  "You earned that rank. Had Anatole not been a bastard, you would have made it by now."

  "Maybe. But don't look over your shoulder, and don't dwell on what we can't change. Keep your eye on the horizon and focused on what we need to do now. Upwards and onwards. Always."

  "Spoken like a true fighter pilot."

  He winked teasingly at her. "And a Ring fighter."

  She smiled then and kissed him. "Good luck."

  Closing his eyes, he held her against him for a moment longer. With a deep breath, he forced himself to step back and meet Qorach's gaze. "Keep her safe."

  Qory inclined his head.

  Talyn left her to head toward Lorens's office, down the hall from the prime commander's lounge where Felicia was being guarded by Sentella.

  He just "adored" the way the other soldiers' gazes went from his rank to his bald head and back again. It was obvious they wanted to comment, but didn't dare since he was now second only to Lorens in rank ... he even currently outranked his mother.

  And it took all his willpower not to self-consciously brush his hand over the light dusting of hair that was just starting to grow back. He refused to give them the satisfaction of seeing how much their judgment stung. They weren't worth it.

  Scanning his hand, he half expected the door to not open. To everyone's surprise, including his, it did, and admitted him into Lorens's office, which was still in perfect order from the last Andarion who'd held it. Nothing had been packed or removed from the room.

  Talyn frowned. "You're not moving?"

  Lorens shook his head. "I doubt my rank advancement will be permanent."

  "Why?"

  "Just thinking that if Cairie and her son are returned to succession, your mother will be the next prime commander."

  Talyn scowled at his assumption. "What makes you think that?"

  "She's the one they trust most, which is why they're keeping her close to them in this time of crisis. They don't know me or my loyalties. Not really. I would choose your mother over me, were I they."

  Made sense. But Talyn found it hard to believe that Lorens was so complacent. "You're okay with that?"

  Lore
ns smiled. "I'm the second-highest-ranking member of the armada, of course I'm okay with it. Personally, I don't want the responsibility that comes with the PC's office. I would take it if I were appointed, but I like the rank I held. Adjutant to the prime has been good to me." Lorens handed him a small link. "Your access clearances are all in place. This runs on a secured network that only three of us can access. Me, you, and the ruling house. Which at this time is Tylie."

  He threw his hand up and the walls illuminated with news feeds for Talyn's view. "Most of the riots have been quelled. The League is still after you, but I've notified them that they are to cease and desist, or be held in violation of our treaties. Unfortunately, that doesn't mean they'll listen."

  True. Still, it was better than nothing. "Where's the former tadara?"

  "She's fled with her personal guard. At this time, her exact location is unknown. The Sentella is after her, too. Jullien is also off-grid, as are Merrell and Chrisen. Last we heard, Jullien was headed toward his father's empire. The rest of the Anatoles and ezul Nykyrians are in lockup, awaiting the return of Tylie and her court." One screen lit up.

  Talyn scowled at it.

  "Finally ... that's the location of Merrell and Chrisen. They seem to be hiding on their father's back property, on the outskirts of Eris. Would you like the honors of arresting them?"

  He quirked a sarcastic brow. "You have to ask?"

  Lorens laughed. "Make sure you take a team. Anything happens to you and I have to face my little sister. No offense, she scares me more than you do."

  Talyn snorted. "She scares me, too."

  Relishing this task, he left immediately to carry out his orders. He paused in the hallway as he caught sight of Syndrome's little brother. "Captain Pinara?"

  He snapped to attention and saluted Talyn immediately. "Sir!"

  Talyn returned the salute. "At ease ... You're Farina's youngest brother?"

  Swallowing hard, he nodded. "Yes, sir."

  "Then I think you'll enjoy our assignment. We're out to arrest Chrisen and Merrell Anatole."

  The vicious, hungry light in his eyes was one Talyn understood all too well. "Thank you, sir."

  "Grab an assault team you trust and meet me in the hangar."

  "Sir! Yes, sir!" The captain ran off to comply.

  Talyn froze as he caught sight of himself in the window's reflection. He barely recognized it. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't get used to not having his warrior braids. His mother had plaited them on his fourteenth birthday on their way home from his Endurance. Like all Andarions, he'd worn them as a source of pride.

  You're still a warrior. Still a Winged Batur.

  Still a War Hauk.

  No one could ever take away his will to fight. That was an integral part of his being.

  And it was time for payback. Quickening his stride, he went to suit up for a mission he was definitely looking forward to.

  *

  Talyn adjusted the link in his ear as he listened to his men surrounding the royal compound. "There are three small signatures in the front room. From their size, I'm assuming children or females. The two we're after are in the rear left quadrant with what appear to be three large bodyguards."

  "Copy that, Commander. Eight targets confirmed. Weapons to stun."

  Talyn hesitated. He glanced over to the female on his right. "Lieutenant Veryl? Let's try to gently extract the smaller targets before we rush the males. I don't want innocent blood on anyone's hands. Are you up for it?"

  She removed her helmet and gave him a look of approval. "Yes, sir."

  He spoke into his mic. "Cover the lieutenant."

  She walked up to the door and knocked softly.

  The female who answered the door was Merrell's wife--the same female who had been married to Lorens's brother Merrell had murdered.

  Veryl talked to her for a moment before the female paled and called the two children over. By their age, Talyn assumed they were more likely related to Lorens and Felicia than the Anatoles. With Veryl and two males covering their retreat, they headed across the yard to a transport.

  "Merrell Anatole's wife and her two children are secured."

  "Good job, Lieutenant. Protect them." And with that, Talyn gave the order to move on Chrisen and his brother.

  Talyn led his troops into the house. Cautious and alert, he made his way down the back staircase, until he heard them watching the news, and commenting on what they intended to do to Cairie, Tylie, and Talyn's mother once this "nonsense" ceased.

  His gaze turning red, Talyn moved in first. One of their bodyguards started to draw on them, until he realized how many soldiers were with Talyn.

  The guard fell back.

  As they swarmed in, Talyn saw that it was four bodyguards and Merrell. One target was missing.

  "Where's Chrisen?" The words were barely out of his mouth before he felt something hot slide in through the plates of his body armor and pierce his side.

  "Right here, you son of a whore!" Chrisen growled in Talyn's ear. Still, there was no sign of the male. Nothing that registered visually or through their equipment.

  "Cloaking device," Talyn gasped as he staggered back. Unwilling to risk one of his soldiers being harmed, he latched on to Chrisen and held him fast so that he couldn't escape or wound another.

  Chrisen twisted the blade, but Talyn wouldn't allow him to pull it out of his body. His sight dimmed.

  And as Chrisen tried to knock Talyn away, Talyn grabbed his head with one hand and wrenched the helmet off, exposing Chrisen for the others to find in the event he passed out.

  Yet that was all he could manage before his legs buckled. His soldiers closed rank and subdued Chrisen as they called for medics.

  Talyn had been wounded enough in his life that he knew how bad this wound was. Blood poured out of the injury, like an artery had been nicked. Everything swam as he tried to focus and maintain consciousness. He sprawled on the floor and rolled to his back. The room tilted even more. Darkness was coming so fast, he wasn't sure he'd make it to the medics' arrival.

  He pressed his voice dial and called the one person he needed most.

  "Talyn?"

  In spite of his pain, he smiled. "Hey, baby." He pressed the link deeper into his ear so that he could savor every syllable of her precious contralto.

  If he had to die, he wanted the last sound he heard in this life to be Felicia's tender voice.

  She hesitated. "What's wrong? You don't sound right."

  He groaned as the medics arrived to cut open his armor and they pressed against his wound. "Love you, mia."

  *

  "Talyn!" Felicia shouted as she heard the chaos over his link. Tears blinded her. "Baby, if you can hear me ... I love you, too. Please be okay!"

  Suddenly, another voice came over the link. "Who is this?"

  "The commander's female, Felicia. Who are you?"

  "Ger Tarra, I'm a medic. He's wounded and we'll be taking him to North Eris ER."

  "I'll meet you there. Thank you." Her hands shaking, Felicia hung up and told Qory what had happened.

  Lorens met her in the hallway of the command center. "You heard?"

  She nodded. "Talyn called me. What happened?"

  "Chrisen was cloaked. Coward ambushed him. He would have probably taken out more of our men, but Talyn, even wounded, subdued the slimy bastard. C'mon, I have a transport at the entrance."

  She ran to the front of the building as fast as she could.

  Once she was inside the transport with Lorens and Qory, Felicia started to call his mother, but didn't want to upset her until she knew more details about Talyn's condition. Terrified, she clutched her link and prayed as they rushed through the streets that were still littered with remnants of the political shift in power.

  Much of the rioting had stopped once word of Tylie's official ascension had reached their media. While no one shed a tear for Eriadne or Jullien, many respected both of the tizirahie. Tylie because of a vicious attack her own sister,
Irenie, had made against Tylie when Tylie was only thirteen, and Cairistiona for being the one who'd saved Tylie's life by brutally slaughtering Irenie for her treachery.

  Now all that appeared to be left of the overthrow was the cleanup.

  As soon as they reached the hospital, Felicia ran inside. She reached the nurses' station at the same time the doors opened to admit Talyn and the medics who were trying to save his life.

  She rushed to his side.

  A soldier started to push her back.

  Talyn held his hand out to her. "Felicia?"

  Only then did the soldier let her pass. Tears blurred her vision as she took his hand. "You've got to find a safer, saner occupation."

  He choked on a laugh.

  "I love you, Talyn."

  He squeezed her hand. "Love you." And then they took him into the OR, leaving her there to stare after them and pray.

  Lorens pulled her against him.

  She wanted to cry. But this wasn't the time for tears. Felicia forced her emotions down as she called a nurse over. "We have the same blood type. If he needs a transfusion--"

  "No need, Ger Tarra." The nurse jerked her chin toward the door. "We already have a list of volunteers, with more calling in even as we speak."

  Dumbfounded, Felicia gaped at the sight of thirty-five Andarion soldiers in the waiting room who'd followed the medics in. And as her gaze swept them, they offered a salute. At first she assumed it was for her brother, until one of the soldiers came forward and removed his helmet.

  He bowed before her. "It is an honor to meet the commander's female. If you need anything, Ger Tarra, let us know."

  Scowling, she glanced at Lorens. "I don't understand."

  The soldier straightened. He glanced at the others before he spoke. "Before we moved in, the commander, who has more reason than any to want to brutalize the entire royal family, secured their innocents without conflict. Then after he was assaulted by a coward, he held the knife in his side to keep the rest of us from being harmed. Commander Batur is the most honorable Andarion I've ever served under. We are here to guard both of you with our lives."

  A tear slid down her cheek. "Thank you, Colonel..."

  "Verrus."

  "Verrus. It is my honor to meet you."

  He gave both her and Lorens a salute before he took up post at the OR doors.

  This time, Felicia didn't have to wait long before a frazzled orderly came rushing through the doors.