Born of Defiance

Felicia moved to hug him. “She’ll be fine, Talyn. She’s the strongest female I’ve ever known.”


Her father let out an offensive curse before he handed his link to Lorens for her brother to read. His expression dark and lethal, he met Talyn’s gaze. “The Anatoles have responded to your challenge.”

Lorens’s curse matched their father’s.

Dread choked her. “What?”

Shaking his head, Lorens looked as green as Morra. “Both Anatoles and Jullien have challenged Talyn to the Ring.”

“Good.”

“No, Talyn,” Lorens said in a deep, earnest tone. “It isn’t. As royals, they’re invoking their right of proxy. You’re not fighting them. You’re fighting the Mortician, Widowmaker, and Slaughterhouse. In one night.”





Chapter 24





F

elicia couldn’t breathe as her father’s words slammed into her. “What?”

Talyn moved toward them to see the link. His features stoic, he gave a solemn nod. “As long as they agree to the historic terms of the Ring, I’ve got no problem with that. I win, the Anatoles submit to the court and pay the tithe.”

Felicia was aghast at his blithe acceptance. “Talyn… you can’t. There’s no way you can fight all three of them in one night. Are you out of your mind?”

“I can do it.”

“Your mother will kill you. I’m going to kill you!”

Qorach gestured at him.

“And Qory says he’ll sit on you until you see reason.”

Scoffing, Talyn pulled her against him and rested his chin on her head as he held her in the shelter of his arms. “I can do it,” he repeated.

She wanted to beat him.

Her father sighed irritably. “Arrogance like that will get you killed.”

Talyn shook his head at her father’s dire warning. “They have no idea what I’m capable of when motivated. You want them removed from power, this will do it. Trust me. What they’re too stupid to realize is that I come from the Open league. Marathon matches were routine there. Not to mention what Anatole did to me while he was my CO… Unlike my Vested opponents, I’m trained for this and I am motivated by a personal grudge.”

Felicia stared at her brother. “Lorens! Talk sense into him!”

Lorens locked gazes with Talyn. “I wouldn’t want to walk into that Ring with that lineup. But having seen you fight… I still think you’re an idiot.”

Talyn snorted. “Thanks.”

“What do you want me to say? I agree with Felicia. This is suicide. I can think of a lot less painful ways of killing yourself than this.”

“I challenged them. They accepted. There’s no way I can bow out.”

“You challenged one of them,” Lorens reminded him. “Not all three. At once.”

“Doesn’t matter. I will not back down.”

Lorens let out a frustrated breath. “You survive this noble act of blatant stupidity, and I’ll foolishly reward it by making sure you get a commander’s rank out of it.”

Felicia was aghast. “You’re not seriously going to reward his idiocy, are you? Really?”

Frustrated, she stepped away from Talyn to approach Qorach. “What would it take for me to get you to break Talyn’s arms and legs?”

He laughed.

Unable to stand it, she headed for the bedroom and slammed the door.

Talyn hesitated. “I didn’t mean to upset her.”

Her father smiled sadly. “She loves you, boy. Females are not like us. They don’t understand that sometimes duty and honor have to come above love.”

“This isn’t about either duty or honor.” Talyn pulled out his left contact to show her father his real eye color. “It’s only about love, and keeping her safe from all threats.”

Her father let out a low whistle. “There are only three Andarion families that carry that gene, and none of them are Baturs.”

Lorens paled. “What are you saying, Paka?”

“His father is Fain of the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk.”

Talyn mentally cursed Felicia’s father’s intelligence. He hadn’t even thought about the fact that anyone who knew the history of stralen would be able to put it together so fast. Truthfully, not even Talyn had known it was solely in three lineages. The only reason he knew the Hauks carried it was due to the legends of their family.

“Are you sure?” Lorens asked his father.

“Positive. Fain’s the only one in the three carrier families who’s been disowned.” Saren held Talyn’s gaze. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

Qorach gaped. Most likely, he knew Talyn’s uncle Dancer, since Dancer would be one of Qory’s Sentella bosses. He probably knew Fain, too.

Talyn swept his gaze over them. “I’m trusting all of you to keep it a secret. For Felicia’s sake. And my mother’s. No good can come of anyone knowing my father’s identity.”

Saren cursed under his breath. “The gods certainly screwed you, boy. You should socially outrank everyone in the empire but the tadara and her children.”

Lorens let out a bitter laugh. “How did I miss it? Now that I know, I see it clearly. You look just like your father… and uncles.”