Born of Defiance (42 page)

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.

Now …

“The Probekeins still have a contract out on Kiara's life, and her father is dealing with that distraction already. We can use some of our special guard to attack and make it appear as if they're the ones after Kiara.”

Jullien nodded. “I can contact Bredeh—I went to school with him and his brother, Arast. He wants the bastard dead even worse than we do.”

Merrell dug his index finger into Jullien's shoulder to emphasize his point. “You do that. Because if your mother or aunt
ever
learns that hybrid is still alive…”

“Trust me, I know.” They would personally kill Merrell's mother and demand the tadara's head. “You think I should tell my yaya that I saw him?”

Merrell paused to consider that. While the queen had been the one who'd originally used Merrell's mother to pose as Cairistiona to get rid of Nykyrian, the tadara was a capricious bitch. There was no telling how she'd react to this news that her grandson was still alive. The gods knew, she'd been furious when she'd found out Nykyrian had gone to school with them and they had failed to kill him then. The queen had as much to lose in this as they did should Nykyrian ever come forward.

But Eriadne wasn't that big a fan of Jullien these days either. She saw him as the weak hybrid coward that he was. Yet even so, she still preferred to see her direct blood on the throne than that of her sister. Which meant both he and Chrisen were forced to kiss Jullien's repugnant ass.

All these years, Merrell had been hoping to eliminate Jullien from their lives before the mutant troll spawned an heir. So far, they'd at least succeeded in keeping Jullien from marriage and procreation.

It hadn't been easy. Both he and Chrisen had bloody hands from it. And if Jullien ever found out, he'd kill them himself.

Hating that he had no choice except to kowtow to the creature he hated most, Merrell growled low in his throat. “Let me address this in private with her.” And while he did it, he planned to use this as a way to get permission to eliminate Jullien from succession as well. It was time for the throne to shift from Eriadne's Anatole branch to Merrell's.

Time for serious Andarion change.

Jullien nodded. “I'll go make a few calls and see what I can put into place.”

“And I'll stir the pot with Keifer Zamir. If Nykyrian really is with his daughter, it should be easy to make that paranoid bastard want his life for it. I'll tell him that you suspect the hybrid raped and is abusing her.”

An evil smile curved Jullien's lips. “Good.”

Merrell watched Jullien leave while his thoughts whirled. Things were unraveling fast. Sadly, he might have to sacrifice his younger brother to Chrisen's stupidity. But that was Chrisen's own fault.

This time, Terronova was out for blood.

If they fed Chrisen to Terronova, that should appease him for the time being. It would also quell the unrest with the nobility that was beginning to call for a restriction on royal power. Something they'd all taken a hand in causing, lately.

And once the nobles were distracted, Merrell would be able to go in and clean house.

Starting with the entire ezul Terronova line and ending with Eriadne's life and that of both of her two remaining daughters.

 

C
HAPTER
23

Felicia set a drink down by Talyn as she smiled at his patience while teaching Qorach how to play squerin—an old Andarion game. She was quite stunned at how fast and easily Talyn picked up both Qorach's native language and his signs. Her male was exceptionally intelligent and quick.

As she met Morra's gaze, the elevator pinged unexpectedly. Something that
never
happened.