Born of Defiance

Bracing himself for the worst, he obeyed. “Yes?”


She toyed with his ear. “I’m sorry. For everything. Just not used to caring this much about someone else. Twice now, I’ve had to sit in a hospital because you were seriously hurt. And I’ve seen what you look like after a fight. It’s not pretty.” She gestured toward the bruise on her face. “And now that I’ve been hit, I have a whole new appreciation for what you go through. How do you stand it?”

He shrugged nonchalantly. “I was an Andarion in a Hyshian school. I couldn’t get into trouble because if my mother was called in for counseling, she’d be punished by the military for it. The other students knew I couldn’t fight back, so it was open season on me. Same for the teachers. They were scared of me and it made them vicious. When I came home, I couldn’t let my mother know about it or she’d cry and feel guilty. So I learned to take the blows and hide the bruises. It’s all I’ve ever known.” He brushed the hair back from her face. “It only hurts when you’re the one attacking me. One mild insult from you is like a dagger through my heart.”

She pressed her cheek to his. “I love you so much.”

“I love you, too. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for you.”

“Yeah, I noticed. Only a special kind of idiot would get into a Ring with that lineup.”

“Yes, but I’ll always be your special idiot.”

She finally laughed. “When will Jayne get here?”

He shrugged. “She’ll be coming in interstellarly, if not intergalactically. Could be a couple of days. I’d call her back, but I’m afraid you might hurt me.”

She rolled her eyes at him. “You can talk to your aunt Jayne. I won’t say a word.”

“You sure? ’Cause I’ll toss her right out.”

She handed him his link. “Call her, goofball.”

“I can’t do that. If I call her goofball, she’ll kick my ass, and she’s not a small woman. Not to mention, she’s a trained assassin.”

She arched a brow at the thought. “How is a teacher a trained assassin?”

He laughed at her confusion. “She’s the daughter of Egarious Toole. He’s an infamous underworld mastermind and thief on Hyshia. Jayne was in and out of lockups as a kid. So, as a young adult, right after she married, she tried to go straight for a bit. Ended up getting pulled back into the dark side, and now works for The Sentella.”

“Ahh,” she said as she finally put it all together. “She’s the friend your mother didn’t name, but called. Got it.”

He nodded. “It’s why I know so much about The Sentella. I figured if anyone could help us, it would be they. Anatole won’t be able to touch them. They’re not Andarion citizens or soldiers. He has no authority over their group.”

“They could still be arrested for assaulting a royal. Not to mention, the tadara is no friend of theirs.”

“Yes, but Anatole isn’t the tahrs and he’s not worth an interplanetary incident. And while I expect him to try something, Jayne is a goddess of creative solutions. I trust her implicitly.”

“Then can’t you join The Sentella?”

In theory. But since he knew his paternal uncle was one of their key members, it made it rather awkward. While Jayne had often commented on how much they favored, both he and his mother had laughed it off by saying all Andarions looked alike to Hyshians. But Dancer would know the minute he laid eyes on him that they were related. He shared too many traits with his father and uncles for it not to be obvious.

“I’d have to leave the Ring circuit to do that. And I wouldn’t be able to take care of my mother if I was one of them.”

“You can’t help it, can you?”

“Help what?”

“Thinking of your mother first.”

“She has no one else. Because of me. It would be wrong to turn my back on her after she gave up everything to keep me with her. I might not be a lot of things, but I’m never ungrateful.”

No, he wasn’t. Felicia ran her finger down the stubble on his chin, marveling at how handsome he was even without hair. She didn’t even see the scars on his body. Not until he pointed them out.

“Take your contacts out, Talyn.”

“Why?”

“I want to make love to you, as you really are. No pretense. No walls. Just you and me.”

He took them out so fast, it left her laughing.

“Eager, are you?”

He pulled his briefs off. “I have a beautiful female in my bed, wanting me naked. What do you think?”

“I think you’re preciously annoying.”

“So long as you consider me doably annoying, I’m good with that.”

Rising up on her knees in the bed, she cradled his body with hers. “I will always consider you doable.” She fell back onto the bed, pulling him with her. Felicia ran her finger over his eyebrow as she marveled at the fact he was stralen. “You look so different like this.”

“Does it frighten you?”