Born of Defiance

“Then why did you take it?” Brach asked eagerly.

“End of the day, fighting is a business. While I know he’s after my throat, the payout on the fight is substantial compared to most. Plus, he’s only lost two fights. I take him down, and it’ll be a while before I have to defend my title again. A match like this keeps the posers at bay. And makes them think twice about calling me names in public.”

Gavarian wiped his lips. “You have a lot of those?”

Talyn nodded. “There’s always a new kid out to prove himself. Comes in cocky and ill-trained. They’re actually more dangerous in a fight than someone like Death Warrant.”

Lorens cocked his head as he tried to understand that. “How so?”

Felicia passed the bread to Brach, knowing Talyn wouldn’t eat it.

Talyn took a drink of water. “Death Warrant is a calculated, cold-blooded killer. You can study his moves and know where and how he’ll react to every blow. How he’s going to strike. He’s practically choreographed. There will be a new move or two that he hasn’t used before, but he’s reliant on his previous fights where he picks those up. So again, you study his last few fights and you can still predict what he’s going to do with pretty good accuracy. But the new fighters are wild cards, usually emotional and highly volatile… They get angry or they can’t handle the pressure and adrenaline, and just start pounding their opponent. They’re the ones who are going to break your back and leave you crippled, if you’re not careful. So before you step into that Ring with one of them, you have to know beyond a doubt that you’re willing to kill them if you have to.”

The boys sucked their breath in.

“Have you ever killed anyone in the Ring?” Lorens asked.

“Not that I know of… That’s not why I fight.”

Gavarian frowned. “But isn’t that the point of serious Ring fighting? To kill the enemy?”

Talyn shook his head. “That’s the point of war. Not sport. And it’s not easy to kill someone, especially when they’re so close to you that you can feel their breath on your skin. Andarions respect strength and we are natural-born fighters. But we are sentient creatures, and we have a conscience. In battle, you know that you’re protecting your family and our homeworld. In that Ring, you’re fighting only for personal glory. In my opinion, that’s not worth my opponent’s life. No matter how much I might want to close his mouth forever.”

“Here, here,” Lorens said, raising his glass. “Truly, there are some battles not worth fighting. And not every insult is worth a broken jaw. We’re not Phrixians. As I often tell my boys, sometimes you just need to shrug it off and let it go.”

Talyn lifted his glass of water to return the salute. “Very true.”

“Even if they insult your mother?” Brach asked.

Talyn flashed a grin. “That’s different. A mother’s reputation is a sacred thing. Notice, that’s one public insult no fighter ever hurls to another. We know better.” He took Felicia’s hand into his and held it tight. “Nor any of their females. For we are Andarion. Family honor and lineage, the honor of our females and children… that we will all take a life over. You never threaten or assault, even verbally, those we hold in our hearts.”

Smiling, she pressed his hand to her cheek. “I would still rather you walk away from all fights than ever be harmed.” She looked to her nephews as she kissed Talyn’s hand and released it. “And your mother would agree with me about the two of you.”

“As would your paka.” Lorens took a deep drink. “So Talyn, what got you into fighting?”

“Honestly? Got tired of having my butt handed to me in school. Figured if I was going to get that bloody, that often, I should be paid for it. As my mother often says, don’t ever bring a fight, just make sure you finish it.”

Her brother scowled at the food Talyn was given. “Is that really your dinner?”

Talyn shrugged nonchalantly at his plain meal. “Told you, a fighter’s life isn’t glamorous. My diet is very specific. Especially when I have a big fight coming up.”

Gavarian stuck his tongue out. “All right, Paka. You win. I’ll never fight! Not if that’s what I have to live on. Thank you for forbidding it.”

Brach nodded in agreement. “How often do you have to eat that . .” He cut a sideways stare to his father. “Crap?”

Talyn glanced to Felicia and laughed. “Always. I have to stay in shape, and can’t afford to cheat.”

Eyes wide, she duplicated Brach’s nodding. “He’s not joking. First time I saw him eat, I wanted to weep. Especially at the quantity. You don’t ever want to know how much food he goes through in a day. It’s insane.”

Lorens laughed. “Judging by what’s on that plate, for one meal… yeah. Glad I don’t have your grocery bill.”