Born of Defiance

“Gods, no!”


Letting out a relieved breath, she gave him a light squeeze before she pulled away. “Good. I’ll go call my brother and make his day.”

Talyn bit back a groan at the reminder. He really wasn’t a social creature. Too many years of being rebuffed at best, ridiculed at worst had made him extremely skittish around anyone else. Though, to be honest, he’d had a friend once.

For five minutes.

It’d been his first day of military training. When he’d moved into the barracks, his bunkmate had been nice and welcoming. Until his CO had walked in and announced Talyn’s lack-Vest status to everyone there.

So had ended any semblance of normality.

Although, once he’d entered the Vested league and had begun winning titles, Andarions would come up to talk to him. But only because of his fame. He was well aware of the fact that they didn’t know him or care to befriend him. He was like a zoo animal in a cage. They wanted to pet his fur and take a photo, then beat a hasty retreat from his presence.

At least Felicia would be with him for the ordeal. That alone made this bearable.

She stuck her head back in the door. “Do you think you’ll feel up to dinner next week?”

“Sure.”

With a dazzling smile, she returned to her call. “He says that’s fine. No, Lo, I’m not telling him that.” She paused for a second to roll her eyes. “Fine, I’ll tell him. My brother says that your last fight paid off his transport. He loves you for that. He’s hoping with your next fight that he can top off his son’s university tuition.”

“Tell him thanks. I’ll do my best for him.”

She laughed at whatever her brother said. “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you then. Bye.” She hung up. “You made his day. I’ve never heard him so happy.”

“I’d much rather make his sister’s day.”

Pressing her lips together, she closed the distance between them. “And I’d rather make yours.”

“You did that the minute you came home.”

Felicia hated the weepy feeling she had every time he said something so sweet to her. She’d always prided herself on being pragmatic. Always on keeping a level head, no matter what, but all that went out the window whenever he was around. He made her want to believe in fairy tales and lies. In males who were decent and loving.

Things she knew didn’t really exist. She was living proof of what happened after a few years of marriage, once the new wore off. Her father had contracted with her mother, saying he loved her and would never love another, and abandoned his wife’s bed.

And since Felicia’s birth, her mother had cycled through patrons routinely. They were all married. They all claimed to love her mother for a year or two, or sometimes as long as five, which seemed to be the magic number. And then they were taken with someone who was shiny and new.

Love, unlike bills, never lasted. Hearts were made to wander. Unless a male was stralen, there was no hope of a lasting relationship with one. A stralen male was one in a billion.

Maybe even more rare.

She kissed Talyn’s hand, wishing for impossible things. She was his mistress and that was all she’d ever be. Females like her didn’t marry and they didn’t stay in committed relationships with any male.

Never mind the Andarion laws that would never allow Talyn to marry at all. Or have children. She had no idea who his father was, but he must have been extremely important and high-ranking to have been pledged to a Winged Blood Clan Batur.

Out of curiosity, she’d investigated Galene’s lineage and seen the prestige on her side that went back for generations. They weren’t just doctors, warriors, politicians, and lawyers. They were nobility. Talyn’s maternal great-grandfather had been the Andarion her father had replaced as the queen’s advisor.

Most likely, his father had been even more connected and well-lineaged than Galene. It was how unifications usually worked. Unless the female was royal-blooded, the male in most marriages held a higher lineage. Talyn’s father might have even been royal. It would make sense given how tight-lipped they were about the male’s identity.

It would also explain Chrisen’s hatred for Talyn. And if that was true, then what had been done to Talyn was the greatest travesty of all. How could he stand the injustice of it?

That, too, said a lot about him – that he never ranted against his lot. He went on courageously, and with an honor and dignity that amazed her.

Talyn brushed his thumb over her brow. “You okay?”

“Just worried about you.”

“Don’t be. I’m a cockroach. Even after nuclear-level devastation, I’ll survive.”

She snorted. “While I believe that might be true, I don’t want to find out.” She snuggled up against him and held him close as a bad feeling went through her. “You’re not going to get caught up in royal politics at the palace, are you?”