That led him back to his War Hauk analogy as they were made up of equal parts of stupid and courageous.
But he didn’t miss the way the Andarion watched his eyes carefully, as if to see whether or not Bastien intended to attack him. That alone told him just how skilled a killer this gargantuan male was.
Which meant he’d kill Bastien if he sensed a threat.
With no choice, Bastien did something he hadn’t done in a long time.
He trusted his gut and lowered his weapon.
Yet not so much that he couldn’t get a well-placed shot off should the Andarion make a move he didn’t like.
“Look, I’m just here to scavenge before the others arrive. You do your thing, I do mine, and we part ways.”
The Andarion nodded. “You’re Kirovarian?”
That set off every alarm in Bastien’s body. He took aim at his heart again. “How do you know that?”
The warrior holstered his weapon with a nonchalance that said he had no intention of attacking. “Your accent. So what was your rank, soldier?”
Yeah, he was an astute bastard. Deciding the best course of action would be to attempt a friendly encounter, Bastien finally put his own weapon away. “What kind of Andarion knows humans so well?”
“I was schooled with humans.”
Bullshit! Bastien knew that never happened. He brought his weapon up, intending to kill him where he stood. But before he could pull the trigger, the Andarion disarmed him with lightning speed.
Bastien attacked.
The Andarion deflected the blow and returned it with one that would have incapacitated him had it made contact. Luckily, Bastien dodged just in time. But before he could counter with another strike, the Andarion twirled, and delivered a staggering fist to his jaw that rang his bell for days. Worse, the oversized bastard head-butted him then flipped him to the ground.
Stunned and dazed, Bastien waited for the Andarion to finally put him out of his never-ending misery.
He didn’t.
Instead, the Andarion stared at Bastien’s stomach, where his shirt had lifted to betray the brand that cut through Bastien’s soul and dignity every time he saw it.
His Ravin mark.
The Andarion immediately held his hands up and backed off. “I’m not here to hunt or kill you, friend.”
Yeah, right.
And yet, he could have easily killed him a second ago and had chosen not to. Bastien wasn’t sure why as he glared at the beast. “You’re League, aren’t you? Isn’t that why you’re here?”
The Andarion scratched his chin with the back of his hand. “Used to be, and was discharged years ago. If I wasn’t, I’d have killed you already. These days, I’m Sentella only.” He gestured toward the weapons on the ground that were left behind from his victims. “Walk with peace, brother. Take your supplies and go. I won’t stop or track you.”
Still not sure he could trust him not to shoot him the minute he turned his back, Bastien wiped at the blood on his lips, then pushed himself to his feet. One thing was sure, he wanted more distance between them.
Like the gutter rat he’d been forced to become, Bastien scurried over to the other side to watch the muscled mountain. He still had the traditional Andarion warrior’s braids that fell to the middle of his back. And even though he was dressed in civilian gear, there was no doubt this warrior had taken a lot of lives.
Something evidenced as he viciously cut off one of the heads of the men who’d been sent to kill him and then put it in the container they’d brought to house his. Brutal and yet poetic.
Bastien would have done the same.
As the Andarion started for his airbee, Bastien called out to him. “I was captain first rank. Gyron Force.”
The expression on the Andarion’s face as he turned back to rake him with another look said that he knew who and what Gyron Force was. The elite of the elite for the Kirovarian armada and infantry. Less than one percent of one percent of their soldiers qualified to wear their uniforms.
Hell, even Bastien’s dad had been proud the day he earned rank among them. His uncle had stood in total disbelief … along with his older brother, who’d never been able to pass the tests to get in.
“I’m Hauk,” the Andarion finally said.
Hauk … yeah, he looked a lot like Fain. Fought like the vicious beast, too. They had to be related.
“Bastien Cabarro.” He licked at the blood on his lips as he narrowed his gaze on Hauk. “You really Sentella?”
Hauk slid his hand toward his blaster again, as if he was now afraid Bastien might go for his back. Made sense given the bounty that was attached to the heads of their membership. Even before the war that had broken out, The League had hated The Sentella. A rival organization, The Sents had made their living by saving and rescuing innocent League targets and putting them in places where The League couldn’t find them.
The higher-ups in The League tended to take issue with anyone who defied them.
“Yeah.”
“You guys really declare war on The League?”