Part 4 (1/2)
”That I didn't aim at your head on your arrival.”
Chapter 3.
T.
alyn drew up short as he left his mother's office to find his ”uncle” waiting in the secretary's lounge. A few inches shorter than him, Dancer looked a lot like his father. Enough that it made him want to punch the b.a.s.t.a.r.d out where he stood.
But unlike his father, his uncle had red, glowing eyes, instead of the typical Andarion white.
It was a rare genetic defect that caused Dancer's eyes to glow red like that. One that meant his uncle was overly possessive and loyal to his female and family. A trait that was inside Talyn, too. Ironic, really, as that was a genetic mutation most Andarion females would sell their souls to have in their males.
And here all but Felicia had rudely turned him away.
If they only knew his true heritage...
Dancer raked him with a less than complimentary stare. One that turned into a stern frown as he finally focused on Talyn's features, which were very similar to both his own and Fain's.
Just as Dancer opened his mouth to speak, a tall Hys.h.i.+an female swept into the office with a bright smile.
One Talyn returned immediately as she grabbed him into a fierce bear hug. At least she made his day better since she was like a second mother to him. ”Jaynie? What are you doing here?”
Her back to Dancer, she cupped his face in her hands. ”I heard Lena shot Fain on his arrival and had to tel-a.s.s immediately to see for myself.” She frowned as she saw the bruise on his eye and split lip, courtesy of his father. ”What happened to my s.e.xy baby?”
Talyn shrugged nonchalantly. ”Same as ever. I b.u.mped into a fist.”
Tsking, she continued to examine his face. ”I thought you retired from Ring fighting?”
”I did. But not from a.s.shole fighting... So how's Hadrian and the kids?”
She snorted. ”All good. Sway's been nagging me to let him go camping with you again. I don't know what the two of you did last time, but he really enjoyed it.”
”Traded p.o.r.n mostly. You know... typical guy stuff. Kid gets tired of swimming in the mostly estrogen pool.”
Chucking him on the arm, she laughed.
”You two know each other?”
Turning around, Jayne finally realized Dancer was in the room. ”Hey, sweetie! I didn't see you there. Why you hiding in a corner?”
He jerked his chin at Talyn. ”Keeping my eye on him.”
She laughed. ”I must have missed one h.e.l.l of a party.”
”That you did,” Hauk said drily. ”Fain failed to explain to us exactly what a powder keg the commander would be. We were extremely ill prepared for her hot reception.”
She turned back toward Talyn. ”So, I have to know. Fain refused to tell me. What is this prank your mother supposedly pulled on him in school?”
”Mother?” Dancer asked incredulously.
Talyn ignored him. ”On their graduation day, she shoved him naked into an auditorium full of witnesses.”
She covered her mouth with her hand. ”No, she didn't.”
He nodded.
”Why does she hate him so much?”
”They were pledged,” Dancer answered. ”She's the one Fain left for Omira.”
Jayne sucked her breath in. ”d.a.m.n, Hauk. Why didn't you tell me that before I stuck them back together?”
”I had no idea until Fain opened the door on our arrival here. I was just a kid when he was disinherited. I didn't know anything about a previous pledge... but, in retrospect, his embarra.s.sing a Batur and breaking pledge with that prestigious lineage explains a lot about my mother's unforgiving hostility toward him.” Dancer narrowed his suspicious gaze on Talyn. ”I'm surprised your father married your mother, given that.”
Talyn had to force himself not to roll his eyes at his uncle's dense stupidity.
”Lena's not married,” Jayne said before Talyn could stop her. ”She's never been married that I know of.”
Dancer went pale as he mentally did the math and realized who Talyn's father had to be.
”Yeah,” Talyn said drily. ”So glad I inherited my intelligence from my mother's side of the family.”
Seeing the look on Dancer's face, Jayne scowled. ”What?”
Dancer looked sick as he struggled to accept the bitter truth. ”Why didn't she say something?”
”To whom?” Talyn asked defensively. ”Who in your family would have given a single s.h.i.+t?”
Dancer raked a hand through his braids. ”Does my mother know?”
”Know what?” Jayne asked. ”What do you two know that I don't?”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Dancer jerked his chin at Talyn. ”That he's my nephew.”
She snorted derisively. ”Impossible. Keris would have been...” Her voice trailed off as she finally put it together. ”Oh my G.o.d, no wonder she shot him. I'm just surprised she didn't go for his head.”
Talyn scoffed. ”I'm surprised she didn't go for his crotch. It explains why he was holding a helmet there when he came off the s.h.i.+p. She must not have changed much since her youth.”
Dancer approached him slowly. ”I knew you looked like Fain. But d.a.m.n... I just thought that was why she'd picked you for a lover.”
He screwed his face up in painful distaste. ”That's my mother you're talking about. Do you mind?”
Dancer laughed. ”No. No wonder you attacked us like you did. You were protecting your mother.” He tried to pull him into a hug, but Talyn shoved him back.