Part 45 (1/2)
He hesitated as they descended the stairs. ”You sure about this? You're not going to try and kick open the door when we go to launch, right?”
She laughed. ”I'm good. Thank you, Basha Jules.”
”My pleasure. As long as you don't get me killed.” Jullien winked teasingly at her.
Until they turned the corner toward the exit and came face-to-face with his father.
Tall, blond, and handsome, Aros was an almost identical copy of Nyk, except he lacked the facial scarring Nyk had from his brutal childhood and battles.
Scowling, his father glanced between them. ”Is something wrong? Are we under attack again? I was just told that Nyk had granted you clearance to land.”
Yeah, because Jullien knew better than to make the request to his father, who'd banned him from landing privileges here more than a decade before-after his father had disinherited him and abandoned him to every a.s.sa.s.sin in the Nine Worlds who'd been hunting Jullien for his grandmother's thrill-kill warrant. He was so used to his father coldly rebuffing him that he'd long ago stopped reaching out to him in any way.
But Thia didn't know anything about their b.l.o.o.d.y history, and the last thing he wanted was to taint her relations.h.i.+p with her only surviving grandfather. ”Basha Jules is going to train me to be a Tavali.”
Aros looked even less enthused about her leaving than Nyk as he met Jullien's gaze. ”You weren't planning to tell me you were here?”
Not really. And why should he? Not like his father hadn't banned him from all Triosan territories.
And Jullien's birthright.
Jullien tried his best to ignore the sick feeling in his stomach he got whenever he spoke to his father-like someone had just kicked him in the stones. ”Didn't see the need for it, any more than I thought you'd grant me docking privileges if you knew it was me trying to land here.”
A harsh dig at his father, but then considering the last time Jullien had requested those privileges he'd been bleeding out from an attack a.s.sa.s.sins had made on him, and his father had coldly denied the request, it was a well-earned one as far as Jullien was concerned.
”I see.” His father cleared his throat, then turned back to Thia. ”Stay in touch, my precious little one. We'll all miss you.”
She kissed her grandfather on the cheek before Jullien began to lead her away.
”Jullien?”
His gut tightening even more, he paused at his father's call to look at him.
”Take care of yourself and your family.”
Like you really give a s.h.i.+t what happens to me, old man.
”I intend to.” With that, he left, hating the fact he hadn't been able to make a clean exit. d.a.m.n it. Last thing he'd wanted was to see either parent.
Their total lack of care for him while he'd been a kid and cold att.i.tudes toward him as a teen and adult had left him with a bitter hole that could only partially heal so long as he stayed far away from them. The moment they came around, those old wounds ripped open anew, and he despised the fact that they still got under his skin and hurt him.
Why couldn't he put their past to rest? Why did it have to continue to burn so much? So often?
”Are you okay, Basha Dagger?”
He smiled at Thia's warm concern. ”Always. Just don't do anything that makes your father kill me,” he repeated.
She laughed. ”Is Vasili on board?”
”No, sorry. He's studying for the first Tavali exam he has next week so that he can go for his Hazard in the fall. And his pilot's license.”
She gaped. ”He's that close to becoming a Canted citizen?”
Jullien smiled as he opened the ramp on his s.h.i.+p. ”He is.”
”You must be proud.”
”Honestly? Scared s.h.i.+tless. Last thing I want is for him to be able to request a transfer to another crew.”
”You think he'll do that?”
Jullien scratched at his beard. ”You know how you're fleeing your father's cloying grasp to join The Tavali because you feel stifled by his overprotective ways?”
”Yeah.”
”Let's just say I make your paka look careless with his progeny.”
”Oh dear G.o.d!”
”Exactly.”
”And I suspect ole Jules here will be even worse with you.”
Thia let out a shriek as she heard Chayden Aniwaya's voice as they entered the flight deck where he was waiting for them. ”Chay-Chay Poo Bear!” She ran to hug him.
Bemused, Jullien locked gazes with his first mate and brother-in-law Thrix, who'd flown in with him and Chayden. ”Chay-Chay Poo Bear?” he repeated.
”Don't even start, Dagger,” Chayden warned. ”My girl can call me whatever she wants. But you two better not.”
Thrix snorted. ”Word to the G.o.ds, I will never call you Chay-Chay Poo Bear. Especially if there's anyone else around to hear it.”
Laughing, Thia moved to kiss Thrix's cheek. ”Basha Tray! How's Sphinx?”
”Growing way too fast for my peace of mind.”
”Please! He's barely two months old.” Jullien shook his head. ”I don't want to hear it, since my girls are now school age. I swear, I blinked and they're ready to start piloting lessons.”
”They're not quite that old.” Thrix shoved at Jullien. ”And speaking of babies, Thia ... have you heard Dagger's latest news?”
”About Vidar?” she asked. Which made sense since Vidar was Jullien's youngest child.
Chayden snorted. ”Sort of.”
She screwed her face up at his cryptic response. ”What's that mean?”
Jullien turned bright red as Thrix answered for him. ”He's going to have a little brother.”
”Pardon?” She gaped.