Born of Defiance

If only that was in the nature of the Baturs and Hauks.

Merrell arched a brow. “Do I hear treason in your voice?”

Talyn shook his head slowly, reminding himself all the kinds of stupid it would be to punch that look off Merrell’s face. “No, sir. I understand your terms.”

And just like at his previous post, there was no one to appeal to. No justice left in this empire. WAR was right. The Anatoles were rotten, through and through. They had become a disease that needed to be carved out of their gene pool.

What sickened Talyn most was that all but one member of his father’s family had been slaughtered in war to put these bastards and their forefathers on the Andarion throne. His mother’s lineage had been persecuted to the brink of extinction by the Anatoles – hence the real reason the commander was called the Bloody Axe. His mother’s direct family were the last of the once-great Baturs, who had rivaled the Hauks for their military strength and expertise.

Until the current tadara herself had gone after the Baturs and driven them into exile or graves. Only his mother’s grandfather had survived the “Purging” to remain in Andarion territory.

“Is that defiance I see in your gaze, Major?”

Yes, it was. But he wasn’t completely stupid enough to confirm it. “I can’t comment on your delusions, Commander.” Talyn cringed at the fact that he hadn’t quite managed to get the sarcasm out of his tone.

Merrell tried to intimidate him, but since the moron only came up to Talyn’s armpit, it was a less-than-impressive ploy.

“Wipe the smirk off your face, Batur. It’s time you met your royal charge.” Merrell raked him with a sneer. “Follow me.”

A bad feeling went through him. But he had no choice except to obey his orders. Yet every instinct he possessed told him to cut Merrell’s throat while he could.

And when he entered Jullien’s office, he knew why. The prince sat with Chrisen standing smugly at his side.

His stomach cramping in angry trepidation, Talyn saluted them.

They didn’t return it.

Corpulent and pompous, Jullien leaned back in his chair. Unlike a pure-blooded Andarion, his eyes weren’t white. They were a strange greenish-brown, rimmed in red. His long black hair was pulled back into a ponytail that really didn’t enhance his looks. Even with the Andarion title of tahrs, Jullien would have a hard time getting laid.

“Damn, Chris,” Jullien snarled. “You weren’t kidding. He looks just like the slimy bastard. How did you stand looking at him every day?”

“Now you know why I shot him down. It was a moral imperative.”

Merrell curled his lip. “Remember that time when we were playing with that serving bitch and Fain reported us?”

“I wasn’t there for that,” Jullien said, his eerie humanesque eyes glowing with fury. “What I remember is that hybrid piece of shit we went to school with. We’d just found the way to get rid of him. Permanently. And then, that little whore, Dancer Hauk, showed up with my class ring. ‘Look what I found,’ ” he mocked. “ ‘His Highness must have misplaced it. The hybrid didn’t steal it, after all.’ ” He sneered at Talyn. “You’ve no idea how much we hate Hauks here.”

Probably as much as the Hauks hated Anatoles, would be his guess.

“No, shit,” Chrisen agreed. “I still have the scar from when Dancer crashed our pod because of his bleeding heart. Not even plastic surgery could remove it.”

Jullien snorted. “Never met a Hauk yet who wasn’t a bitch.”

Talyn kept his jaw locked. To strike Jullien would be a death sentence. To hit a CO was a court-martial. He kept repeating that over and over again in his head as he held his salute.

“Hauks and Baturs have always thought they were so superior to the Anatoles,” Jullien continued. “Too good to mix their blood with ours.”

Chrisen and Merrell closed rank around Talyn.

Merrell had to stand up on his toes to meet Talyn’s gaze. “Your worthless father and * uncle were smart. They jumped planet to save their little bitch asses. You should have followed their cowardly example.”

“Instead of threatening me,” Chrisen snarled in his ear. “Reporting me to Commander ezul Terronova. You little bitch!”

Jullien moved to stand in his face. “Are you a quim, too, Iron Hammer?” He glanced at his cousins as if seeking courage from them. “You must be.”

“Yeah,” Chrisen said with a laugh. “He’s a puss. Tattletale little bastard. Just think, boy. Had your whore of a mother sucked my cock instead of your father’s, you’d be a commander now.”

Talyn’s gaze darkened.

“Aw now,” Jullien taunted. “Does that hurt your little feelings?”

Chrisen slapped his brother on the arm. “Wait until you see the whore he has sucking his cock now. Nicest piece of ass I’ve ever seen on a female. We’re going to have fun with her.”