Born of Defiance

She felt sick over the news.

Talyn brushed his wrapped hand lightly against her cheek and offered her a bashful smile. “It’s all right. Pain’s my best friend. Just makes me that much more determined to watch him cry like a bitch when he loses his pay.” Dropping his hand, he sucked his breath in sharply as his manager touched a particularly nasty bruise on his back.

“Here,” she said, pushing the male aside. “Let me.”

Ferrick arched a brow.

She met his manager’s sneer without flinching. “I’m a licensed physical therapist and med student. I can help him.”

Talyn took her hand and placed it against his cheek. An Andarion gesture of extreme affection. “Ferrick and Erix, meet my Felicia.”

Ferrick moved away so that she could take over. “He has limited mobility on his right arm. If you could loosen the muscles there, we’d all be grateful.”

“Is there a table he can lie down on?”

Erix gestured past the lockers. “In back.”

She gently tugged for Talyn to follow her to it. “Can’t you delay the fight?”

He shook his head. “Only for death or military orders. Anything else is a forfeit.” He hesitated at the table. “Face down?”

“Yes.” She waited for him to lie down before she gently touched his back to evaluate what all had been done to him. It was even worse than it appeared. “Oh, Talyn.” She wanted to weep at how badly he’d been beaten already. And he hadn’t even stepped into the Ring yet.

“Really, it’s okay, Felicia. Believe me, this isn’t the worst ass-kicking I’ve had. And those were just from my mom for failure to put the toilet seat down at night.”

She rolled her eyes at his offbeat humor. Given his immense size and muscle tone, she seriously doubted his mother had ever laid a finger to him. “No one should be used to this.”

He lifted his head to look at her. “Would you think I’m a totally sick bastard if I said I’d gladly have the shit kicked out of me to feel your hands on my skin?”

She laid her palm against his cheek as those words brought tears to her eyes. “Yes.”

He smiled at her. “Good. I don’t want any pretense between us.”

She kissed his cheek before she worked on his shoulder and back, where the worst damage seemed to have been done.

“Talyn! It’s time.” Ferrick joined them.

Felicia stepped back as Talyn sat up and took the ornate leather mask from Ferrick’s hand. He slid it over his head so that all that showed of his features were his white eyes that held a tiny band of red around the outer edge of the iris.

“You look like an alien is eating your face.”

Reaching for the hand wrap covers, he laughed at her comment. “Erix has a seat in front, reserved for you.”

She screwed her face up at the thought of it. Okay, she totally understood now why his mother didn’t come to these things, after all. “If you don’t mind, I’d rather wait for you back here. I don’t really want to watch you get beat on. But I am here for you, if you need me.”

Her declination didn’t seem to faze him at all as he shadowboxed to loosen his muscles. “Okay. I’ll be back in a little while.”

She walked slowly into his arms and hugged him. “Good luck.”

Talyn savored the sensation of being held. No one had embraced him like this since he’d been a boy.

“Hammer! Let’s go!”

Reluctantly, he released her and headed for the Ring. As he reached the door, he glanced back to see her watching him. Damn, she was beautiful. Like an ethereal vision. He still couldn’t believe she’d agreed to accept him, given his lack of birth standing.

That she had yet to run screaming for the nearest door to escape his presence.

All he had to do was not get killed tonight. That would seriously screw up his future plans where she was concerned.

Clamping down on his fang guard, he smiled under his mask and winked at her. He hadn’t been kidding. To have her with him, he’d gladly get the shit kicked out of him.

The gods knew, he’d been beaten for a whole lot less.



Unsure and terrified for Talyn, Felicia chewed her nails as she paced the back room while she listened to the sound of the crowd. She heard hisses and boos and cheers so loud, they shook the stained walls around her. None of it told her how Talyn was doing.

If he was winning or losing.

Part of her was dying to know, but she’d meant what she said. She couldn’t stand the thought of watching him be pounded on by another fighter. Especially not with the savagery that went on in the name of entertainment. Ring fighting was the most popular sport in Andaria.

And it was the most brutal.

Every year, dozens of fighters died in the Ring. Dozens more after the match ended, from the injuries they’d sustained during the fight. While they wore masks and taped their clawed hands to keep from being scarred, there were no real rules. They fought until only one was left standing. However long that took.

A loud, thunderous roar went up. It was followed by an alarm of some sort.