Born of Fire

“Syn.” She moved to touch his arm. “He didn’t mean it.”


Syn just stared at her, his sight dulling. Caillen had meant it all right. After all these years, he finally knew why Caillen had kept him away from his sisters. It wasn’t that he was protective of them.

Caillen thought he was trash and he didn’t want to sully his precious sisters with Syn’s presence.

How could you crawl into bed with a common filch?

All this time he’d deluded himself with the belief that Caillen was actually his friend, that his past didn’t matter to him. Now he knew the real truth. Caillen, like everyone else in his life, had used him.

Gods, he was such a fool.

“Syn?”

He looked at her and the concern on her face. Curling his lip, he decided he was through with it. He didn’t need her pity and he sure as hell didn’t need her. To hell with all of them.

“Don’t touch me,” he snarled as she raised her hand toward his face. “Go be with your brother.” He has your devotion, I don’t. He’d never had anyone’s love like that, except for Talia’s, and she’d abandoned him to their father.

With that thought, he started pulling on the rest of his clothes. Fine, he didn’t need anyone. He’d lived his entire life alone. He was used to it.

He would clear his name so that she could go back to her life and then he’d vanish. Clearing her name would make them even for her rescue. Then he would owe neither her nor Caillen a damn thing.

She followed him as he searched for his boots. “Syn, would you please talk to me?”

He sat on the edge of the bed and jerked his boots on. “What do you want me to say?”

“Caillen was just upset—you know how he gets when he’s mad. He spews out all kind of stupidity. He’ll calm down and be sorry for it later. You’ll see.”

He curled his lip at her. “Don’t patronize me. I’m not an idiot. He meant every word.”

Shahara wanted to argue, but realized Syn might be right. She didn’t really know how much of it Caillen had meant. But if those were his true feelings after all Syn had done for him, she was embarrassed to claim Caillen as family.

How could her brother have hurt Syn like that?

Or worse, use him? If he’d only been using Syn all this time for his money, she vowed to make Caillen pay dearly for it. She’d taught him better than that. Expected better than that from him.

“What are you doing?” she asked as Syn strapped his blaster to his lean hips.

“I’m getting ready to leave.”

“Where are you going?” For a moment, she feared he was headed after Caillen to finish their fight.

He turned on her with a snarl. “After the damn map, remember?” Pulling his hair back off his face, he secured it with a black band. “You stay here and I’ll be back later.”

Something inside told her that if he left her, he’d never come back. Shahara had learned a long time ago to listen to that inner voice. She ran into the bathroom and hurriedly pulled her clothes out of the dryer.

Once dressed, she met Syn in his office by his desk.

“What are you doing?” he asked, looking her up and down.

“I’m going with you.”

“Like hell.”

“Like hell, nothing.” She stood toe to toe with him. “I’m going with you and you can’t stop me.”

Syn wanted to choke her even more than he wanted to beat the shit out of her brother. “It’s too dangerous for two. Stay here where it’s safe.”

Shahara arched an angry eyebrow. “I don’t think so. I started this with you and, by God, I’m going to finish it. And the last thing I need is some overly macho guy telling me that I can’t take the heat. If I can pull you out of prison, kick the ass of everyone who’s come at us so far, then I think I’m qualified to pilfer a map from your apartment.”

Syn clenched his teeth. He didn’t want her along. He was used to working alone and that’s the way he liked it.

He ignored the part of him which laughed a bitter denial.

Shahara grabbed her pack off the floor and slung it over her shoulder. “Okay, convict, what’s the plan?”

His teeth still clenched, Syn had half a notion to knock her over the head and leave her behind. But as stubborn as she was, she’d just come after him once she woke up.

With his luck, she’d lead about a dozen or more Rits to him.

At least if she were with him, he could keep his eye on her and make sure she didn’t do something stupid that would get them both caught. “All right, you can come. But if you so much as sneeze without my permission, I swear I’ll cut your throat and run for cover.”

Instead of angering her, his words made her smile.

She’s as crazy as the rest of her family.

But then what did that make him?

A first-rank idiot who deserves whatever the Rits do to you.