Born of Defiance (26 page)

Against his common sense, he'd reported Anatole to Lorens for disciplinary action. They were supposed to meet for lunch so that Talyn could review and sign his statement to continue the investigation that would allow Lorens to take steps to remove Anatole from his position and rank.

If anyone ever did that to Felicia …

Screw the Ring. He'd murder them on the street.

One punch.

Bitterness stung his throat. He still couldn't believe Anatole had all the males so cowed. It went against everything Talyn's mother and Aunt Jayne had drilled into him. You stood up for others, especially those who couldn't defend themselves.

And one way or another, Talyn was going to stop it.

Pulling out his link, he scrolled through his pilot contact list until he found Farina's information. He tried to call her again to tell her what he was doing, only to have it roll to her voice mail.

Talyn had left half a dozen messages, but for whatever reason, probably fear over the lies she'd told against him, she never returned his calls. Not that it mattered. He wouldn't rest until he took care of this and made sure the females under Anatole's command were safe.

Determined, he entered the main gate guardhouse. Pulling out his orders, he handed them to the daytime duty officer's adjutant.

Bored by it all, the female signed him in and summoned a lieutenant to escort him to his new CO's office. Like his mother's office in the tizirah's wings, it was massive and impressive. Elegant.

The older male had graying hair and the royal bearing of an emperor. As soon as Commander ezul Nykyrian saw Talyn, an odd smile toyed at the edges of his lips. Rising to his feet, he returned Talyn's salute. “So you're Galene's boy.” Then he scowled and tilted his head to study him. “You remind me of someone.”

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 about 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.”