Born of Defiance

“Such as?”


“The two biggest ones you’ll find out your first day there is that Tizirah Tylie is a lesbian and Tizirah Cairistiona is bat-crap crazy.”

He gaped at her as he made his way back to bed. “What?”

Nodding, she sighed heavily. “That being said, I adore Cairistiona. Unlike her mother and Jullien, she has a good heart. She just can’t accept the fact that her son’s dead. You’ll see her wandering the halls, from time to time, looking for Nykyrian. Invariably, she makes her way to Jullien’s wing that the boys shared when they were young. And she’ll probably ask you a few thousand times if you’ve seen her Nykyrian, or know where he is. Just tell her that it’ll be all right and help her back to her rooms. Whatever you do, don’t go into his nursery or bedroom for anything. No one’s allowed to touch his personal items. She’ll have you executed if you do.”

Wow, that was extreme.

“What happened to him?”

“He died in a school fire when he was a boy. She was the prime commander of the armada at the time it happened. In a heartbeat, she lost her mind and has never recovered.”

“That sucks.”

His mother tucked the covers around him. “It does, indeed. But I understand her pain. I would be the same if something ever happened to you. In fact, I think I’d make her look sane in comparison.”

He heard Felicia returning.

Felicia pulled up short as she came into the room and saw them together. “Am I interrupting?”

“Nope.” He yawned.

“Is your head better?” Felicia asked as she moved to check him for a fever.

“His head?”

“He had a headache when he went to bed last night.”

“It’s what I was telling you about, Mum. I’m better now, though.”

His mother nodded. “Good.”

He turned his attention to Felicia as she placed her backpack on the floor. “How was your test?”

“I think I did okay on it.”

His mom picked up the shopping bag before Felicia saw it and held it out of sight. “Well, I’m going to put my things away. I’ll see you two in a bit.”

Looking upset and concerned, Felicia turned back to him. “Can I ask you a huge, giant favor? I swear that I’ll never ask you again.”

Not quite certain why she was so skittish and afraid, he nodded. “Sure. What?”

“I know how much you hate company and being with strangers, but…” She clenched her eyes shut as if really dreading his reaction.

“But?”

She twisted her hands together in the cutest, most adorable way. Little did she know, when she looked at him like that, there was nothing he wouldn’t do to make her happy. “Is there any way I could talk you into having dinner with my brother and his two sons?”

Talyn cringed at the mere thought of it. To say he hated company was tantamount to saying the core temperature of a star was slightly warm. “Can I ask why?”

She sat down beside him on the bed. “It’s my nephew’s birthday and they’re huge fans of yours. I screwed up and told my brother that I knew you. I swear I’ll never ask another favor. Ever. Ever. Ever… ever.”

He brushed her hair back from her face. “Only if you do something for me.”

“What?”

“Kiss me.”

“That’s it?”

“That’s it… well, and smile. Don’t look so scared, Licia. I’d never hurt you.”

Laughing, she kissed him. “Thank you!”

Talyn held her against his chest. “No problem.” For her, there was nothing he wouldn’t do. He just couldn’t afford to let her know that. He’d already seen what happened when one partner loved another and the other one left.

It was devastating. Even decades later.

The last thing he wanted was to have the same heartache his mother dealt with every day. He had no idea how she could still love his father, but she did.

Talyn swallowed as he tried not to think of the picture his mother kept hidden in her nightstand. The photo he’d found years ago while hunting for clues on what to get her for a birthday gift. It was of his parents in school. His mother had been staring up at his father with an adoring look he’d never seen on her face. One of complete, untainted happiness. To this day, even when she was ecstatic, there was always a twinge of sadness in her eyes that nothing ever erased.

For that alone, he hated his father. And he hated how much he looked like him. It had to have been excruciating for his mother to watch him grow into an exact duplicate of the male who’d fucked her over and ruined her life. Yet to her credit, she’d never once said anything about it. At least not negatively. Nor would she allow him to say anything against his father. That, too, told him how much she’d loved Fain Hauk.

Bastard. Too bad he hadn’t been stralen.

“You okay?”

He blinked at Felicia’s worried frown. Smiling, he fisted his hands in her beautiful curls. “Fine.”

“You sure you’re not mad at me?”

“For this? No, baby. Not even a little.”

Her eyes widened. “Are you mad at me for something else?”