Born of Defiance (21 page)

He laughed. “Now you sound like my nurses.” Letting out an irritated breath, he kissed her cheek before he rolled out from under her. “I'll be right back.”

“Nature calling?”

“Like a beast.” Talyn picked her panties up from the floor and placed them on the bed, then headed for the bathroom.

With an inexplicable peace, he quickly tended his needs and washed himself. But as he went to turn the water off, he glanced into the mirror and froze.

Oh shit
.

Instead of the white eyes he'd had since birth, they were now glowing a sharp, deep red.

Minsid
hell.

He was stralen.

 

C
HAPTER
10

Talyn returned to the bedroom with two cool cloths. Making sure to keep his eyes hidden, he slid into bed and handed one to Felicia.

“You okay?”

“Headache.” He covered his eyes with the other one.

“Poor baby. Can I do anything to help?” She draped herself over him.

“Keep the lights off … please.”

“Sure.” She snuggled close.

Talyn hated lying to her, but no good could come of her learning he was stralen. It was a rare, rare genetic defect that ran through the males of certain lineages. Because of the legend of the thirteen War Hauks who'd once defended their homeworld from invaders, he'd long known that the trait ran through his father's DNA—it was almost as big a curse as the one that ran through his mother's. But given his father's abandonment, Talyn had assumed the trait had missed the two of them.

Could I have been more wrong?

No. He was the lucky bastard who got to carry not one, but
two
of the most recessive traits in all of Andaria.

Woohoo!

At least it explained his fierce feelings toward Felicia and the foreign serenity inside him whenever she was near. Why he was so protective of her. The overproduction of oxytocin and vasopressin in the brain that caused the stralen made the males with it extremely protective and possessive of the female who'd caused it. For some reason, the first onset of the condition always appeared during, or within an hour after sex. Usually, it receded within a few hours after climax, once oxytocin and vasopressin levels returned to a certain level. In even more rare and extreme cases, it was permanent and caused the eyes to remain red forever. Lucky him—that, too, ran in his father's family.

Either way, he was screwed. In a married male, stralen was the most desired trait in their culture.

For an unmarried male …

Ridicule. Humiliation. It would make all his previous abuse seem mild. And he didn't know Felicia well enough to even begin to guess how she'd react to it. She might welcome it, fear it, or use it against him.

The first was the best-case scenario. The other two were horrifying to contemplate. If it scared her, she'd leave, and he'd be royally screwed since she was the one he needed in his life. Worst case, she'd manipulate him with it, knowing he would do anything for her.

Even die.

Why, gods?

His life sucked enough. He really didn't need anything else added to the misery. Especially stralen.

You can fix this.

With luck, it'd recede by morning and he could buy colored contacts to cover it. No one would ever know.

He hoped.

Please be normal by morning.
Surely the gods would grant him that one small mercy.

Yeah, right …

*   *   *

Talyn got up slowly. He slit open his eyes to make sure he was alone in the room.

Thankfully, he was. Breathing a deep sigh in relief, he rolled out of bed and went to the bathroom to check his eyes.

They were white again.

Thank you, gods!
Grateful beyond measure, he quickly bathed and dressed. He wouldn't dare touch Felicia again until he had a way of concealing it. At this point, even a small kiss could bring the stralen right back.

Now he just needed to get to an optometrist without his mother or Felicia grilling him.
C'mon. You can do this.
Biting his lip, he left the bedroom to find his mother in the kitchen.

Crap.

“Where's Felicia?” he asked.

“She went to take her test.”

“Ah, okay.”

“Are you hungry?”

“Sure.” He sat down on the barstool while his mother made him a bowl of hot cereal.

“Why don't you go back to bed? I'll bring it to you.”

If only he could. “I really need to run an errand before Felicia gets back.”

“Honey—”

“I'm…” He tried to search for some reasonable lie. But the truth came out before he could stop it. “I'm stralen.”

She dropped the bowl in her hand. It went straight to the floor and shattered, sending cereal and porcelain in every direction.

Cursing, she quickly picked up the pieces. “What?”

Talyn nodded. “Felicia doesn't know. And I've got to keep it covered. From everyone.”

Eyes wide, she cleaned up the mess and fixed him more cereal. “Are you thinking contacts?”

“Yeah. Will it work?”

“I don't know. But it's worth a shot. I'll get you a set immediately.”

“Thank you.”

She set the bowl on the counter, then cupped his cheek in her hand. “My poor baby.” Wincing, she buried her hand in his hair. “I just wish you were married.”

“Me, too. It would make things much easier.”

His mother nodded. “How did you conceal it from her?”

“I lied to her last night, and I feel like crap. I hate to do that.”

“You had no choice.”

“It doesn't make it any easier.”

She patted his shoulder. “And that's what makes you a good male. What makes me proud to be your mother.” She kissed his cheek. “Now eat your cereal and go back to bed. I'll get the contacts and return as soon as I can.”

“Thank you.”

She pressed her cheek to his. “Stay away from Felicia until I get back.”

“Don't worry. I'm way ahead of you on that.”

His mom grabbed her purse and left him.

Talyn finished eating. He rinsed out the bowl and headed toward the bedroom to review his new orders.

He'd just finished reading through the whole packet when his mother entered the room.

She handed him a small bag. “I bought two pair for you to try. If they work, we can easily get more.”

“Thank you.” Getting up, he went to try them on.

His mom followed him into the bathroom to talk while he tried to figure out how to insert the contacts. “What do you think about your new orders and post?”

“It looks pretty sweet. Extremely cushy. I might get fat and lazy from it.”

She laughed. “You could use some weight.”

He carefully washed off the contact and gently placed it over his eye. “Yeah, right. I weigh as much as a transport.” He grimaced at the strange feeling of the lens. Blinking, he turned toward his mother. “How's that?”

“Great. I can't even tell they're contacts.”

“Yeah, but my eyes aren't red under them … yet.” He put the other one in. “So is there anything I need to know about working at the palace?”

“Just remember that you're not to meet the gaze of any royal family member. And you can't strike them. It's an automatic death sentence.”

He forced himself not to rub at his eyes. “Why do you think I'd hit one?”

“Honestly? Jullien can be an arrogant ass. I've been tempted to sock him a few times. He's very condescending toward his staff. I've heard from highly reliable sources that his valet spits in his food before he takes it to the tahrs. And you don't want to know what some of the others do. So never touch anything brought to him.”

Talyn was aghast at that audacity. “Are you serious?”

“Yes, but I'm told Jullien wisely leaves his guards alone. Since they protect him, they tend to be immune from his
charming
personality. They mostly complain about how much noise he makes while having sex. But everyone else is fair game for his abuse.”

“Great.”

She nodded. “You will also have to sign nondisclosures and take an oath of loyalty.”

“I've already done that.”

“These are different from your initial service intakes. They're not about national security as much as they are about royal secrets.”

“Such as?”

“The two biggest ones you'll find out your first day there is that Tizirah Tylie is a lesbian and Tizirah Cairistiona is bat-crap crazy.”

He gaped at her as he made his way back to bed. “What?”

Nodding, she sighed heavily. “That being said, I adore Cairistiona. Unlike her mother and Jullien, she has a good heart. She just can't accept the fact that her son's dead. You'll see her wandering the halls, from time to time, looking for Nykyrian. Invariably, she makes her way to Jullien's wing that the boys shared when they were young. And she'll probably ask you a few thousand times if you've seen her Nykyrian, or know where he is. Just tell her that it'll be all right and help her back to her rooms. Whatever you do, don't go into his nursery or bedroom for anything. No one's allowed to touch his personal items. She'll have you executed if you do.”

Wow, that was extreme.

“What happened to him?”

“He died in a school fire when he was a boy. She was the prime commander of the armada at the time it happened. In a heartbeat, she lost her mind and has never recovered.”

“That sucks.”

His mother tucked the covers around him. “It does, indeed. But I understand her pain. I would be the same if something ever happened to you. In fact, I think I'd make her look sane in comparison.”

He heard Felicia returning.

Felicia pulled up short as she came into the room and saw them together. “Am I interrupting?”

“Nope.” He yawned.

“Is your head better?” Felicia asked as she moved to check him for a fever.

“His head?”

“He had a headache when he went to bed last night.”

“It's what I was telling you about, Mum. I'm better now, though.”

His mother nodded. “Good.”

He turned his attention to Felicia as she placed her backpack on the floor. “How was your test?”

“I think I did okay on it.”

His mom picked up the shopping bag before Felicia saw it and held it out of sight. “Well, I'm going to put my things away. I'll see you two in a bit.”

Looking upset and concerned, Felicia turned back to him. “Can I ask you a huge, giant favor? I swear that I'll never ask you again.”

Not quite certain why she was so skittish and afraid, he nodded. “Sure. What?”

“I know how much you hate company and being with strangers, but…” She clenched her eyes shut as if really dreading his reaction.

“But?”

She twisted her hands together in the cutest, most adorable way. Little did she know, when she looked at him like that, there was nothing he wouldn't do to make her happy. “Is there any way I could talk you into having dinner with my brother and his two sons?”

Talyn cringed at the mere thought of it. To say he hated company was tantamount to saying the core temperature of a star was slightly warm. “Can I ask why?”

She sat down beside him on the bed. “It's my nephew's birthday and they're huge fans of yours. I screwed up and told my brother that I knew you. I swear I'll never ask another favor. Ever. Ever. Ever … ever.”

He brushed her hair back from her face. “Only if you do something for me.”

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

“That's it?”

“That's it … well, and smile. Don't look so scared, Licia. I'd
never
hurt you.”

Laughing, she kissed him. “Thank you!”

Talyn held her against his chest. “No problem.” For her, there was nothing he wouldn't do. He just couldn't afford to let her know that. He'd already seen what happened when one partner loved another and the other one left.

It was devastating. Even decades later.

The last thing he wanted was to have the same heartache his mother dealt with every day. He had no idea how she could still love his father, but she did.

Talyn swallowed as he tried not to think of the picture his mother kept hidden in her nightstand. The photo he'd found years ago while hunting for clues on what to get her for a birthday gift. It was of his parents in school. His mother had been staring up at his father with an adoring look he'd never seen on her face. One of complete, untainted happiness. To this day, even when she was ecstatic, there was always a twinge of sadness in her eyes that nothing ever erased.

For that alone, he hated his father. And he hated how much he looked like him. It had to have been excruciating for his mother to watch him grow into an exact duplicate of the male who'd fucked her over and ruined her life. Yet to her credit, she'd never once said anything about it. At least not negatively. Nor would she allow him to say anything against his father. That, too, told him how much she'd loved Fain Hauk.

Bastard. Too bad
he
hadn't been stralen.

“You okay?”

He blinked at Felicia's worried frown. Smiling, he fisted his hands in her beautiful curls. “Fine.”

“You sure you're not mad at me?”

“For this? No, baby. Not even a little.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you mad at me for something else?”

“Gods, no!”

Letting out a relieved breath, she gave him a light squeeze before she pulled away. “Good. I'll go call my brother and make his day.”

Talyn bit back a groan at the reminder. He really wasn't a social creature. Too many years of being rebuffed at best, ridiculed at worst had made him extremely skittish around anyone else. Though, to be honest, he'd had a friend once.