Born of Defiance

Tylie glared at him. “I am not playing this with you. You have three seconds to produce the major, or I will rain down a hell-wrath so fierce that the gods themselves will weep for your remains.”


His expression sullen, he crossed his arms over his chest. “I can’t do that. He was banished by Commander Anatole for assaulting him and Chrisen. And for your information, he was leading a revolt against our family. I have a vid of him threatening us all.”

Felicia gasped.

Tylie cursed again under her breath. “What did you do, Jullien?”

“I merely allowed my cousin to punish a traitor. That is my right as tahrs!”

Tylie ignored his outburst. “Where is Talyn?”

“He’s on Onoria.”

Felicia had never heard of the place, but the look on her brother’s, Galene’s, and the princess’s faces said that it was deplorable.

Tylie winced as she turned back toward Galene. “I’m so sorry, Lena.”

Galene appeared to be one wrong word away from assaulting Jullien herself. She faced Tylie. “Highness? If I get him back, will you pardon him?”

“Lena —”

“Please. I know someone who can track him, even there.”

“They’ll die trying to find him. You know that. It’s impossible to retrieve someone from that hellhole. If he’s even still alive.”

Galene shook her head. “He’s alive… I know it. Will you allow me to send them in?”

Finally, Tylie nodded. “Get him back, and I’ll make sure he has a full pardon waiting.”

“You can’t do that!”

Galene spun on Jullien. “You really need to visit your father for a while, Highness.”

Jullien started to speak until Tylie cut him off. “She’s right, Jules. Run. Run to Aros.”



Terrified and frantic, Felicia sat in Galene’s elegant palace office while the commander spoke to her friends in The Sentella. Felicia had wanted to go after Talyn herself, but the planet they’d sent him to was so dangerous, and she lacked the training needed to navigate it. Unlike Talyn, climbing wasn’t her hobby. And the last thing Felicia wanted was for her inexperience to get in the way of Talyn’s rescue or to delay it in any way.

They had to get him home as quickly as possible.

Lorens had been recalled to his post shortly after their arrival here, but had promised to return as soon as he could.

Galene finally rejoined her in the posh sitting area. “They’re already en route to his location. We should know something by midday tomorrow.”

“Do you think they’ll find him?”

Galene bent over to whisper in Felicia’s ear, making sure to keep her lips covered so that no one would be able to read them through a monitor. “One of my best friends is a member of The Sentella High Command. She’s like a mother to Talyn. Trust me, she’ll find him.”

No wonder Galene was so cautious with that nugget. While The Sentella was technically a legal military organization, they skimmed the laws of The League and had a lot of enemies in high places.

Including the tadara of Andaria.

Eriadne had issued a death warrant for any member of their High Command. It said a lot for Talyn that he’d never betrayed them. With one word about The Sentella to his CO or Lorens, he could have had any command position he wanted.

Galene patted her arm. “I have full faith that if anyone can find him, Hadrian can.”

“Hadrian?” she whispered between clenched teeth.

She lowered her tone again to the faintest of whispers and spoke behind her hand. “He views Talyn as a son. He won’t rest until he finds him and returns him to us.”

Felicia nodded. She prayed Galene was right. But then Galene loved her son enough that if Hadrian and the others weren’t more than competent, she’d never trust them with Talyn’s safety.

“What can we do, Commander?”

Galene wrapped her arms around her chest. “Wait for them to do their job.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “If Talyn’s still alive, they’ll find him for us.” A single tear slid down her cheek. “Either way, they’ll bring him home.”

As she whispered a prayer for them all, Felicia’s biggest fear was what condition he’d be in when they did.





Chapter 15





J

ayne Erixour paused as they neared one of the most inhospitable places she’d ever seen – and given some of the shitholes she’d been forced to live in growing up while her father hid from various authorities, criminals, and governments, that said a lot. The more she skimmed from their readings, the more she wanted Jullien eton Anatole’s testicles in her fist. This was ridiculous.

What kind of sentient creature would place a boy on a planet like this, alone? Yes, Talyn was a soldier and he was a fierce fighter, but he was barely old enough to shave.

No one should be relegated to this.

Over and over, she saw Talyn as the painfully shy boy he’d been when she first met him. And that did nothing to settle the bloodlust in her heart. Payback for Anatole was coming, and she planned to be the brutal harbinger who shoved it up his arrogant ass.