Born of Betrayal by Sherrilyn Kenyon Page A

Hauk.
    Talyn sneered at his hesitation, misreading its cause. “We’re not going for your throats, old man. We came to defend this station. We’re allies who understand that a threat to one is a threat to all. We are Andarion. It’s not in us to sit out during a fight. None of my soldiers will shoot down a Tavali fighter.”
    â€œThat’s not what I was thinking. I was merely considering the sheer number of body parts I’m going to have to fortify with blast armor should your mother catch you in a Tavali cockpit.”
    The slightest bit of amusement quirked Talyn’s lips. “She won’t hurt you for this. I’m the one she’ll beat.”
    Yeah, right. Not after what he’d just witnessed. It was his balls she’d want on a titanium platter. “What about the doctor’s orders?” That seemed like the safest excuse Talyn might buy.
    â€œWe’re not lifting off from a planet. The G-force in a launch tube won’t hurt me. It’s nothing like escape velocity.”
    True, but …
    Fain glanced around the Andarions with Talyn, who waited for orders. If he held Talyn back and let them go, it would impugn his authority with his soldiers. Make him look weak and ineffective. On Andaria, that was the worst sort of an insult to a commander.
    She’s going to geld me.
    But he couldn’t bring himself to harm Talyn or his reputation.
    Knowing he was screwed, Fain jerked his chin toward his personal fighter that was faster and more maneuverable than most. “She’s fueled and ready to launch. I’ll assign ships to the others. What’s your call sign?”
    â€œPit Viper.”
    Horrified, Fain went stock-still at the last name he’d expected to hear. The main reason being he’d thought Viper was long dead.
    That familiar sick feeling returned to his gut. “Viper-Ichi?”
    A snide smile toyed at the edges of Talyn’s mouth before he answered. “Yeah … nice to finally meet you, Blister .”
    Minsid hell . His son was the archenemy he’d once put a fierce bounty on with The Tavali. They’d faced off many, many times in battle.
    Until about seven years ago when the Porturnum, at Fain’s direction and under his direct command, had ambushed Viper and brought him down in one of the worst firefights Fain had ever been in.
    Now, he understood why Galene had broken down the way she had. They’d blasted Talyn’s ship apart with a weapon Darling had specifically designed for the trap they’d laid. How the hell Talyn had survived it, only the gods knew. Nothing but genetic fragments should have been left of him.
    That alone said it all about his son’s superior skills as a pilot.
    Talyn leaned forward to whisper, “Don’t worry, old man. I never told her who shot me down. I’m Andarion. I don’t hold grudges in war. We’re soldiers. We know when we don the uniform what we’re risking.” Talyn stepped back and turned toward the young major who’d approached him on the Storm Dancer . “Reaper, you’re with me. No heroics.”
    Reaper . The other pilot Fain had been hell-bent to send to his maker.
    And he was just a kid now . He must have been an infant in that firefight.
    Pain racked him hard while he watched Talyn’s uneven gait as his son headed for the fighter Fain had been flying when he’d brutally assaulted Talyn and no doubt given him that limp.
    Worse? He’d meant to kill him that day.
    In that moment, Fain wished Galene had shot him in the head on his arrival. Anything to save him from this pain and knowledge.
    How could I have harmed my own child?
    Disgusted with himself, he was headed toward Dancer’s fighter when he heard someone let out a shrill catcall whistle.
    â€œOwn that walk, Sexy Baby T!”
    Talyn stopped midstride.
    For the first time, Fain saw the boy really smile, at the sound of Morrtalah Deathblade’s