Part 31 (1/2)
In the hallway, she saw the b.l.o.o.d.y trail Fain had left. Her throat constricted at the sight of the carnage. Please don't let that blood be his.
It was awful and it left her sick to her stomach.
But in all honesty, she was impressed. There were bodies everywhere. Fain had torn them apart as he headed to secure Talyn and Felicia. She only prayed that he'd made it.
By the time she reached Talyn and Felicia's room, her fears had almost paralyzed her. Yet the moment she saw Felicia with Morra, Jayne, Qorach, Sumi, Kalea, and Darice, she calmed. They had Felicia surrounded like a treasured crown jewel.
”Where's Talyn and Fain?” Galene asked.
Jayne hugged her. ”They went out with Dancer, Vari, and Brach to chase after the bad guys. You okay?”
”Rattled. They hit Talyn's old room first.” Tears made her vision swim as she glanced to Felicia. ”Had his father not changed rooms with him, they would have probably killed him in his sleep.”
Felicia rose to her feet with a growl. She grabbed the blaster from Morra's hip and headed for the door in a feral, determined stride.
Qorach caught her and shook his head.
”Q, out of my way! No one goes after Talyn's back. No one! By every G.o.d of Andaria, I'm going to find them and skin them alive while they scream!”
The only thing that kept Felicia from attacking the mountainous Qill in an effort to get past him was that her link went off with Talyn's ring. She pulled it from her robe pocket.
”Baby?” she breathed.
”Hey, Lish. We're good. They were League a.s.sa.s.sins. We cornered them and they killed themselves before we could capture them. You all right?”
”Fine. Where are you?”
The door to her room opened to show Talyn and Fain, with Dancer, Vari, and Brach pulling up the rear. Talyn slid the link into his pocket before he disarmed Felicia and gathered her into his arms.
Fain hesitated in front of Galene.
Relieved that he was still breathing, she quickly examined the blood on his body to make sure it wasn't his. ”Were you hurt?”
”No, thanks only to your quick reflexes. I didn't even know they were there. They'd have had my a.s.s, had you not shot them while I fumbled for my blaster.” Fain kissed her before he turned his attention to Talyn. ”They went for you first. Thank the G.o.ds you weren't in your room.” He scowled as he glanced about. ”Did they go after anyone else?”
”No.” Morra jerked her chin toward Galene. ”They only went after Galene and Talyn.”
Raw, unmitigated fury tore through him over that. He'd just started for the door when it opened to admit Venik, who wore a similarly enraged expression.
The Tavali leader's gaze swept the room as he took inventory of the occupants and their varying stages of dishabille. His gaze narrowed on Fain as he raked him from head to bare feet. ”You all right, Hauk?”
Fain wiped at the blood on his face. ”More p.i.s.sed than I've ever been in my entire life. I want the throat of the Porturnum b.a.s.t.a.r.d who sold us out to The League.”
A strange darkness descended over Venik's features. ”No one attacks my base.” His scowl deepened as he noted Fain's eyes. ”Stralen? Really?”
Fain gave him a snide smile. ”Told you it was complicated.”
”Everything with you always is. I should have finished killing you when I dragged you off that s.h.i.+p. Teach me to show mercy.” He sighed heavily. ”We're searching for more League a.s.sa.s.sins. Everyone's being scanned for IDs, prints, and DNA. All of you have to submit, too. I want anyone who has any ties, past or present, with those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. I intend to feast on their entrails.”
”I'll come back positive for League ties.” Sumi stepped forward. ”But I can a.s.sure you, I have no love for them, and I didn't do this. I went rogue from my post, and have a staggering price on my head as a result. You can check the reports. Last time I was with Kyr, I almost succeeded in ending this war. If I'm ever near him again, I plan to finish him.”
”So you're the woman who almost gutted him. Good job. Shame the slimy b.a.s.t.a.r.d escaped.”
”Yes, it is.”
Fain got his brother's attention. ”Did you get anywhere with that recording I sent over?”
”No. The b.i.t.c.h got erased.”
He glared at his brother. ”Erased?”
Dancer nodded glumly. ”I was going to tell you later.” He pa.s.sed a meaningful stare toward Galene. ”Didn't want to ruin your night.”
Fain ground his teeth. ”Well, whoever that little b.i.t.c.h is, he's about to learn what three stralen War Hauks are capable of. I will find him... or her, if I have to tear this entire station down, rivet by rivet.”
Venik opened his mouth to speak, but the lethal expression on Fain's face backed him down instantly.
Fain moved away from Galene to check the charge levels of his weapons. ”We need to split our families up to keep them from becoming a bigger target.”
Dancer nodded in agreement. ”Nyk has reinforcements headed in.”
Galene's and Talyn's links started buzzing with an alert tone.
Fain scowled as they checked the message. ”What is it?”
Gasping, Galene went pale. ”The League and her allies just bombed the Andarion palace. The heaviest strike was made against the royal family wing.”
”Where's Nyk's family?”
Dancer appeared to be one step away from hurling. ”They came in for our wedding and have been staying at the palace with Cairistiona ever since... even Nyk's father.”
With tears in her eyes, Galene handed Fain the link.
Fain cursed before he pa.s.sed the link to Dancer so that he could see the photo that had been sent to Galene. ”They didn't just strike the palace, drey. They leveled it. No survivors.”
Chapter 12.
W.
hile Galene had held Fain's utmost respect before, he truly saw the depth of her mettle as she kept herself together in the wake of this news. Her spine went straight and her chin lifted defiantly. She met Talyn's gaze. ”Tough times never last.”
”But tough Andarions do,” Talyn finished for her as if it was something she'd said so many times that he knew it by heart.