Born of Legend (103 page)

“Why?”

“Well, he was gigantic, for one thing. I mean, he's still huge—don't get me wrong. But he was probably a good hundred and seventy pounds heavier, so he took up a lot of room, and it was extremely intimidating. Plus, he seemed to have a crush on me. Whenever he came around, he was all the time trying to ask me out or invite me to perform in his empires in a way that left me terrified I'd find myself locked up someplace like this, where no one would ever see me again. And then there was the small matter that he was always surrounded with an entourage that bled cruelty. You looked at them, and it was like watching a pack of snakes slithering by. Not to mention, he wore these weird red glasses and was
so
condescending and snotty to everyone he spoke to.”

“He wasn't condescending. That's his defense mechanism whenever others are assholes to him first. I've never known him to pull that trigger without prior provocation.”

She jumped at the deep voice of the one Jullien called Thrāix beside them. Dang, he moved as silently as her assassin husband.

He held two small bottled waters for them. “As for the glasses, he had to have them to be able to see. He still has to wear them in certain lighting conditions, or he gets vicious headaches.”

“You don't know. You weren't there.”

“I'm Trisani. Trust me, I can see your memories more clearly than you can because my view isn't clouded by your emotional reference point. And you're right. They were a pack of snakes around him, and he'd have sold his soul to break free from those bastards. Unfortunately, every time he tried, he was thrown back to them because none of you ever gave him a chance to escape.”

Desideria scowled at Jullien. “What's he doing? Oh my God! I would kill to have Caillen do that without complaint!”

Turning his head to see what she was talking about, Thrāix laughed while Jullien changed Zarina's nappy without even pausing in his discussion with Davel and Darling. “He carries his own daughters around so much, he doesn't think anything about it. Mira's practically a symbiotic life-form who's permanently attached to her father's hip. And before them, his nieces used him as their own private jungle gym. Nadya basically claimed his shoulders and lap the first day they met and only grudgingly ceded them when his daughters were born. She still uses his shoulders to perch on for parades.” He headed back to Jullien.

Kiara sat there, stunned. Even more so when a few minutes later, Adron, Jayce, and Taryn nudged their way into the planning group.

Aros started to send them off, but Jullien pulled Taryn to sit on his knee while Davel allowed Adron to sit on his and Thrāix took Jayce. It was obvious these Tavali thought nothing of having children around them as they discussed politics and battle strategy. They even took time to patiently answer the boys' questions and explain things to them.

Once Zarina was asleep and snuggled against Jullien's chest while he attempted to awkwardly draw out their plans, Kiara went over to to retrieve her youngest child. “May I?” she teased.

He looked up in confusion. “What?” Then it must have dawned on him that he still had her daughter. “Oh!” Blushing, he gently held Zarina out to her. “Sorry.”

“I'm surprised you didn't yelp when she bit into your hand earlier. In fact, you barely reacted, and I know she caught some flesh with her fangs.”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “My daughters do it all the time. Pretty sure the only teething ring Viv used was my fingers, knuckles, and thumb. Besides, it's my cyber-arm. The nerve endings aren't as sharp in it.”

Kiara's jaw went slack. “You lost an arm?”

All of them grew silent at her question, especially his parents.

Grimacing as if the question embarrassed him, Jullien sighed. “What can I say? I'm an annoying asshole. No one likes me. Some really don't like me and try to kill me off.”

“Can I see it?” Taryn asked.

“Taryn,” Kiara growled at her son. “That's rude. We don't ask things like that.”

“It's fine.” Jullien rolled his sleeve back and allowed his nephew to examine it.

Taryn oohed and ahhed. “You can't tell.”

Jullien rubbed at his shoulder. “You can, where they attached it. There's a lot of scarring. But you're right. Down on the arm itself, it looks natural. It's just a little darker than my normal skin.”

His mother swallowed hard as she stared at him. “How did you lose it?”

“Doing something very few others would have,” Dimitri said simply. “Threw himself on top of an IED that would have taken out our entire station and probably killed all our families had he not been willing to commit suicide rather than see his loved ones go up in the blast and aftershock.”

Jullien scoffed. “Yeah, right. You would have done the same.”

Davel laughed hard. “Uh, no. I don't think I could ever knowingly launch myself on top of a bomb. Gal?”

She shook her head.

Dimitri agreed with them. “He's right, Ixurian. You're a fool if you think that inclination comes naturally to others. We tend to run away, not toward explosions. Only
you're
that big an idiot.”

“Oh. I just assume everyone's as stupid as I am. Anyway—” Jullien pointed back to the map. “If that tunnel is still holding, we should be able to reach the ships.”

His mother scowled. “You keep acting like we need to run. My forces—”

“Will follow whoever wears the crown and holds the Anatole Warsword.” He swept an annoyed glare over her. “That's not you. By now, it will be Eriadne, who most likely dug the Warsword out before she looked for survivors. She won't hesitate to reinstate herself and proclaim you dead.”

“But if I'm alive—”

“You will be slaughtered before you can speak, and there's not enough of us to prevent that from happening. Dear gods, Matarra! Look around you. Look at this place. Do you think I learned nothing of how your mother thinks or operates? Believe me, her cruelty is seared into the fiber of my soul. I know that bitch like the back of my hand.”

Standing up, Jullien placed Taryn on his feet so he could face his mother. “Do you think I put myself to the hazard the whole of my childhood to protect you to see you killed now? For once, use your head!”

She scowled at him. “What are you talking about? What hazard?”

Thrāix moved forward. “Tell her, Jules.”

He laughed bitterly. “She won't believe me. And it doesn't matter.” He glanced around at the children. “Our time is growing short. We have to move. By now Eriadne and the others will be gathering here for a press conference to reestablish her power. There should be enough chaos that we can forge documents for launch. But if we delay much longer, WAR will reunite and everyone's guard will go up.”

Tylie sneered at him. “What do you know about WAR?”

Thrāix started for her, but Jullien caught him. “Let it go. You have a wife and a baby to get home to. Think of Mary and Sphinx. Your son will need his father. You don't want Trajen teaching him his powers, do you?”

“That's a low blow, Andarion.”

“But an effective one.” Jullien winked at him. “Let's wake our sleeping members and see if we can get this plan into motion.”

“Uncle Jullien?”

He turned at Taryn's insistent tugging on his sleeve. “What is it,
luden
?”

“As your Fetchyn, can I be your point?”

Cupping his cheek, he smiled down at him. “I would be honored for you to be my wingman. You can march between me and Uncle Thrāix.”

Taryn frowned. “Is he really my uncle?” He turned to Thrāix. “Are you really my uncle? Or are you like Uncle Darling?”

“I'm married to the sister of Dagger's wife … so to an Andarion, yes, that makes us
calduracyn,
with me your basha, and my children your
kyzir
.” He looked at Jullien. “Did I get that right?”

He nodded. “You can be taught. Who knew?”

As the adults assembled, Jullien went to Thia. “How old are you,
sozibe
?”

“Nineteen.”

“Can you handle a blaster?”

Her face lit up. “Yes! My father trained me, but he seldom lets me near them.”

“Well, I'm not your father.” Jullien handed her one of their spare holsters that contained a set of blasters. “Anyone comes near you you don't know, you lay them in the ground. Got it?”

“Excuse me?” Kiara shot to her feet. “We don't teach my daughter to kill things! She's—”

“Old enough to die and be raped. Or worse, sold into slavery.” Jullien put Thia's hand on the grip. “Shoot to kill. Do not wound. Those are the same orders I give my son anytime he flies under my Canting.”

Thia gaped. “You take your son out with you when you fly?”

“Of course. He's a member of my crew.”

“Only reason Vas isn't here is that Jules didn't want him in the crossfire should something go wrong.” Davel looked at Axl and laughed. “
We
should have heeded that fear, eh?”

“Speak for yourself, Krunch.
Mi cépandrey.
”

Davel shoved at his little brother. “Worthless suck-up. It's why you were always Mom's favorite.”

“Nah, that's 'cause I'm the cutest.” Axl playfully slapped at Davel, whose eyes flared.

Recognizing that battle sign, Jullien stepped between them. “And I'm about to cull the family if you two don't stop and act your age. Axl, to the back. Davel, go visit your stryper.”

Jullien took a moment to wrap his armored jacket around Kiara and Zarina again.

She frowned at him. “Why are you risking your life for us?”

“Because I'm really sorry about what I did to you with Aksel. And I know this doesn't make up for it. That nothing ever will. If I don't make it back, tell Nyk that in spite of everything I said and did when we were in school, I do love him. I was just too fucked up mentally to know what to do to get us out of the situations we were in. Every time I moved, I ended up back here in this shit-hole.”

Pausing, he ground his teeth. “I wish to the gods I'd done things differently, especially where you were concerned.” He locked gazes with her so that she could see his sincerity. “I swear on the lives of my children that I had no idea Aksel would hurt you. He promised me he wouldn't. A part of me thought he might be lying, but honestly, I figured he'd be too afraid of your father to do any real harm to you personally. He said that once he had Nyk, he'd release you to your father, and I took him at his word. I was just so mad and hurt that night, and it wasn't even at Nyk. Or you. I should have never taken my anger out on you two. I only hope that I can get you home to him and that maybe this'll even our score.”

“Why did you betray us?” his mother asked.

Jullien stepped back as those words slapped him like a physical blow. “
I
betrayed
you
?”

“Yes, you did. You handed Kiara over to your brother's worst enemy, and then you helped your grandmother escape our justice. Did you not think we'd find out what you did?
Haevoc Ichi?
”

Stunned and pissed, he stumbled back with a bitter laugh. “
Haevoc Ichi
? You really think
that
was my code name?” He looked to his father, then to his mother. “I have no idea where my intelligence comes from, but thank the gods, I didn't inherit either of yours.”

And with that, he stormed to the front to lead them out of the vörgäte.

Thrāix moved to stand beside Aros and Cairistiona. “Jullien's alias was, and is, Dagger Ixur. He worked with WAR to get you and your sister to his father to keep you safe during the political overthrow he helped put in place. It was his intel and codes that were used to bring Eriadne to justice and capture her on the Porturnum base station. Something that has put him in jeopardy with The Tavali to this day. You know
nothing
of your son.”

He started past them, then turned back. “And for the record,
Haevoc Ichi
was Chrisen Anatole. It was also his call sign, if you'd bother to check your own military database.
Ichi
was the unit he flew in. Kind of how Talyn Batur is
Viper Ichi
.”

When he moved to leave, Cairistiona pulled him to a stop. “Do you know why he kidnapped Kiara?”

Thrāix glanced to where Jullien had already vanished. He knew he should keep his mouth closed, but there was no need in it. The time for the truth had come. He met Darling Cruel's curious frown before he answered. “After he'd risked his life—” He gestured at the underground prison they stood in. “And you can see he was well versed in what real torture at your mother's hands meant for him, and after he'd done everything he could to protect
you,
including pit himself against your mother to keep you alive, he overheard that oh-so-pleasant conversation you had with your sister in the embassy.”

“What conversation?”

Thrāix snorted bitterly. “How could you forget laughing and joking about throwing your own son in prison after you disinherited him?” He turned to Tylie. “And what was it you said? You wanted a ringside view as the convicts had their way with his spoiled ass? Only you doubted any of them would touch him because he was so repugnant?”

Darling sucked his breath in sharply as both his mother and aunt went stark white.

“He heard us?” Cairistiona

“Yeah. He heard you. Now that you see his extensive experience with an Andarion prison, I think you can understand why he went a little crazy that his own mother intended to put him in one permanently. And with even more psychotic, pissed-off felons. He also knew from personal experience just how wrong your theory was where he was concerned, Tylie. You didn't have to bribe inmates with pardons to attack him. Brutalizing a hand-cuffed royal eton Anatole was what they lived for.”