Born of Defiance

Tears choked her. “It’s me, precious. I’m here to take you home.”


Instead of moving toward her, he drew back and collapsed into the filth, near one of the smaller bodies.

Using his powers, Hadrian jumped straight into the pit so that he could reach Talyn first. “Nero! Keep Jayne out of here. Toss me a rope and we’ll lift him out.”

Talyn turned on him with a fierce growl, as if he was about to attack.

Hadrian removed his helmet and held his hands out. “Hey, little buddy. Remember me?”

Talyn blinked slowly before he finally calmed down. “Uncle Rian.”

“That’s right. Just hang on. We’ll…” His voice trailed off as he looked at the walls around him and saw what Talyn had clawed into the stone with his bare hands. “Nero! Hurry with the rope.” He used his powers to rip down the spikes so that they wouldn’t accidentally harm Talyn on the way out.

Jayne cursed every being who’d had a hand in doing this to her little T. Before Nero could obey Hadrian, Jayne did something she was never supposed to do. She unfurled her wings and flew into the pit to retrieve them both.

Be damned if she was going to leave them in that mess for one heartbeat longer than she had to. Screw the rope. Her baby and husband were all that mattered.

As she went for Talyn, he pulled back and shook his head. “Get Berra first.”

“Berra?”

Talyn’s senses dulled so fast, he feared he’d pass out. Everything was so blurry around him. Like walking in a thick dream. But the one thing he’d promised was that he’d keep Nightdice safe and see her home again.

He licked his chapped lips as he knelt in the filth by her side. “Berra?”

She didn’t move.

“Nightdice?”

Her eyes slowly fluttered open as blood ran from the corner of her lips. She reached up to touch his face before she went limp in his arms.

“No!” he growled, trying to shake her awake. “Berra!”

“She’s dead, T.”

Roaring in pain, Talyn glared at Jayne. “I’m going to kill them! So help me gods!” He rose, intending to climb out with his bare hands, but the moment he stood, everything went dark.



Hadrian caught Talyn before he hit the ground. Her heart breaking for Talyn’s pain and injuries, Jayne quickly flew Talyn out, handed him off to Nero, then returned for her husband.

She made one more trip for the female’s body.

“Who is she?” Hadrian asked as Jayne flew up and handed off the female to him.

“I don’t know. But I don’t think we should leave her behind. She’s obviously important to Talyn.”

Hadrian took the female’s body from her.

Tucking her wings in, Jayne swept her gaze around the unconscious males, littering the ground, who had abused her Talyn. He was so hurt, and bleeding. Filthy. It was all she could do not to retch at the sight and smell of him. Before she could reconsider her actions, she headed for his captors.

Hadrian caught her arm in a gentle grip. “Forget them. We need to get Talyn out of here as fast as we can before he dies, too.”

“I want to kill them!”

“So do I, but Talyn’s more important. Focus, Jayne. He’s barely holding on right now. We have to get him medical help.”

Nodding, she pulled Talyn into her arms and flew him back to the ship while Hadrian and Nero teleported with the female’s body – something they couldn’t do with Talyn because of his special anatomy. His breed of Andarion didn’t play well with Trisani teleportation powers.

Tears blinded her. Talyn was so beaten, malnourished, and dehydrated that she wasn’t sure if he’d really understood who they were. That he was finally going home.

As gently as she could, she laid him down on the floor of the ship while Nero went to do preflight checks. Hadrian placed the female a few feet away and respectfully covered her with his jacket.

Jayne pulled their first-aid kit out and started rudimentary care. At least as much as she dared. Since Andarions were very different from humans and Hyshians, she couldn’t do much for fear of harming him more.

“Who’s Felicia? Is she the female we recovered?”

She paused at Hadrian’s question. “How do you mean?”

He lifted Talyn’s hand up so that she could see his worn-down claws. “Talyn scratched her name into the walls, over and over again.”

“I don’t know.” Tears choked Jayne as she noted the number of fresh scars and wounds on Talyn’s body. The traitor’s mark that had been tattooed on his neck, below his left ear. Andarions were fiercely vain creatures, and any scar or physical mark was viewed as hideous and undesirable.

It was obvious Jullien and his friends had gleefully “deformed” Talyn’s beauty. Worse, they’d shaved his head. While older Andarion males might do that later in life, for a male Talyn’s age, it was a mark of dishonor or military cowardice. Desertion of post.

Rage burning inside her, she met Hadrian’s stern frown. “Why did they do this to him?”

“Punishment.”