Born of Vengeance.

Sherrilyn Kenyon.

For my older brother, who gave me the love of all things s.p.a.ce related and who first introduced me to science fiction. And to my sons, who are starting their own SF novels, as well as my hubby for all the SF conventions he's indulged me with for all these decades. To my readers, especially those who began The League adventures with me back in the early 1990s when the first novel was published-my goodness, how far we've come! And to all those who continue to look to the skies and think, what if?

And for my incredible team at SMP for all they do, especially Monique, Erica, Brant, Jennifer, Alex, and John, who do so much on my behalf. They are my silent heroes. And Ervin for the incredible covers he produces! And of course, Robert and Mark for being my champions in all things and for all the countless hours of hard work you put in. You guys rock!.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS.

I'd like to take a special moment to acknowledge my grandfather, the Rev. O. C. Allred, who, when a little girl asked, "Grandpa, do you think there's intelligent life on other planets?" he answered with a profound statement that forever changed my life: "Well, Sherri, the Bible doesn't say that the good Lord only created one Heaven and one Earth. So it's quite possible that there could be millions of other worlds out there that He made. As for intelligence, I certainly hope so. 'Cause Heaven knows it's a struggle some days just to find a little bit of it here on Earth."

PROLOGUE.

"Go ahead and court-martial me. I'm not about to babysit some pampered little b.a.s.t.a.r.d because he's bored with c.o.c.ktail parties!" Major Ember Wyldestarrin glared at the colonel who'd just dropped a serious bombsh.e.l.l in her lap. The smug w.a.n.ker walked beside her as if he were enjoying the fact she'd been a.s.signed watch duty for some aristocratic playboy whose reputation for hedonism must have set untold intergalactic records.

And if not, that was truly a crime. Surely no one had ever been born with a larger sense of ent.i.tlement or ego than the infamous Bastien Cabarro. She couldn't pick up an e-mag or news feed that wasn't laced with his latest exploit or misadventure. The only thing larger than his list of paternity suits was the bill for his average dinner party.

Yeah, that was just what she wanted for a wingman.

Never.

Colonel Werrin smirked. "Technically he's a very large pampered b.a.s.t.a.r.d. Or pain in the a.s.s. At least for me. Which is why he's being a.s.signed to you. My least favorite pain in the a.s.s. After your last stunt, I can't think of a better punishment."

She scoffed indignantly. "Stunt? I saved twenty-two soldiers! Anyone else would have been given a medal."

"Yes, had you not brought down half the station in the process of it. And torched Colonel Dayan's prized fighter."

"Technically that wasn't an accident." She used his words against him to point out the fact that she'd quite intentionally set fire to Syrin's fighter. After she'd caught the worthless p.r.i.c.k cheating on her.

In her own bed.

With her youngest sister.

It'd been a moral imperative. Besides, they should all be grateful she'd only a.s.saulted his ship, given what she'd really wanted to destroy. In fact, it was still a daily struggle not to murder that p.r.i.c.k where he stood.

And her sister, to boot.

"Which is why you're being a.s.signed a new wingman. And you're lucky. General Dayan wanted me to bust your rank down to private and make you a member of the rank-bust club along with Cabarro, who just went from major to captain two weeks ago after his last stunt-and that by order of his own uncle."

Note to self, never ever date a man whose father outranks me.

Yet another reason why she wanted to stay far away from Cabarro. His uncle didn't just outrank her-that b.a.s.t.a.r.d was their military. Commander general of the Gyron Force she was a part of, Barnabas Cabarro was also the prime commander for the entire Kirovarian armed services. You crossed him and he could not only bust your rank, he could end your life and no one would question it. The fact he could take his own pampered nephew's rank without sanction said it all.

No one questioned Barnabas Cabarro when it came to the Kirovarian military. Not even the pampered visir a.s.shole.

But that was neither here nor there. Rolling her eyes, she wanted to scream in frustration. It galled her through and through to be in this mess because of a conscienceless p.r.i.c.k who couldn't keep it in his pants.

Then again, it wasn't completely Syrin's fault, really. It was mostly because of her temper that knew no boundaries and her baby sister who had no morals.

I will not be that stupid again.

Next time I'll murder the b.a.s.t.a.r.d and hide his body where they will never find it.

And she couldn't imagine anything worse than to be saddled with a womanizing pig prince for a wingman. He'd be like a kid in a candy store with her all-female family. Never mind what Alura would do if she ever saw him ...

Yeah, this had all the makings of h.e.l.l for her.

As they approached the training field, she swept her gaze over the soldiers there. Two dozen were running maneuvers.

Well, almost two dozen ... one who should be among them stood off to the side with a c.o.c.ksure grin as he made time with a corporal.

Oh, let me guess....

That had to be Cabarro. He fit what she was expecting to a T. Tall, gorgeous, and more than aware of it. What a scabbing piece of work.

She felt sick just to be this close to him, and he was across the quad. Last thing she wanted was to be near enough to look into what would no doubt be a pair of smug aristo eyes. "Please, Colonel. I'll do anything to get out of this."

"Beg all you want. Cabarro is yours till the binary suns of Ritadaria freeze over."

Of course he was.

Just as she started to curse her CO out loud and get that court-martial so that she wouldn't have to worry about this, she heard a high-pitched squeal. At first, she thought it her imagination.

Until it came closer.

Louder.

"Incoming!" she shouted a few seconds before a bomb struck home. And this wasn't a drill. It hit the building to the east with such force that the percussion and aftershock knocked her from her feet. Fire and shrapnel exploded as the bomb disintegrated the north a.r.s.enal and set off every piece of ordnance kept inside its facility-causing even more damage and mayhem.

The playboy cried out and dashed off to hide.

Of course he did.

The aristos would never sully their hands with helping the wounded. Or trying to dig out survivors.

Furious, she ran to the training field, where a number of their younger soldiers had been injured. As quickly as she could, she checked on them and a.s.sisted the medics.

Until a frantic cry drew her attention toward the offices on her left that had partially collapsed during the aftershocks. "Lieutenant Wyldestarrin? Can you hear me?"

No ... please G.o.d, no!

Her heart stopped as she realized one of her younger sisters was inside that building. A building that was about to come down completely, which would probably render a rescue impossible.

Then she heard the voice beneath the rubble that begged for help. One that cried out for their mother and father.

Tears welled in her eyes. "Alura!" She ran toward the rescue workers with everything she had as she forgot all about the fact that minutes ago she'd wanted her sister dead. That Alura had betrayed her. All that mattered right now was that her sister needed her and that she couldn't let her baby sister die.

That was her blood in that hole.

And she was the big sister Alura relied on.

By the time Ember reached them, she saw there were several soldiers trying to dig Alura out of the rubble.

One in particular stood over the tenuous remains with calm confidence as he secured a line to the ground. "Listen to my voice, Lieutenant, and breathe. I'll get you out in a few minutes. You with me?"

Alura answered with pain-filled whimpers.

Ember scowled as she saw what the tallest soldier there was planning to do. Dressed in a drab olive-chip battlesuit that kept his features completely hidden, the captain intended to rappel to her sister's side in the hole where she was trapped. "You can't reach her like that."

The captain scoffed at her concern. "'Course I can, Major. Been climbing and rappelling my whole life. Certified for rescue. Now, stand back. We don't need anything else falling in on the lieutenant. Especially not her older sister."

And with that he literally jumped straight down into the hole at an extremely reckless pace.

Convinced he was going to land squarely on top of her sister and kill her, Ember bit back a scream. But with expert skill, he stopped his descent a few inches from Alura's position and then, in a most amazing feat, flipped himself upside down so that he could begin shifting debris from Alura's body.

"Hey gorgeous," he said teasingly as he huffed to dislodge a beam. "Come here often?"

"Are you insane?" Alura snarled at him.

"Yeah. Good thing for you, too, otherwise I wouldn't be here right now. I'd be off somewhere where it's safe."

Alura laughed, then groaned in absolute misery.

Terrified and shaking, and mad at herself because there was nothing more helpful she could do, Ember tried to see what he was doing, but it was extremely difficult. Instead, she heard the steady, patient tone of his voice as he explained to Alura what he was doing while teasing her with light banter in spite of the danger.

"Now, hold your breath. This is going to pinch a bit. But as soon as it's moved, we can get you out of here."

"We?"

"Yeah, me and the strident voices in my head that are calling me even more names than you are. Much ruder ones, too. 'Cause let's face it, there are much better places to be this time of year. Ever been to North Beach?"

"No." Alura sniffed back her tears.

"Well, you stay with me and don't let anything happen to yourself, and I promise I'll take you and your husband or boyfriend. Pet gopher. Whatever tickles your fancy. We'll all go for a nice, long vacation after this."

Alura cried out in sudden agony.

"What happened?" Ember shouted before she could stop herself.

"It's fine," he said in that same calm, even tone. "I got her free and-" His voice broke off as he tilted his head to listen to something. "What's that sound?"

It took her a heartbeat to hear it.

"s.h.i.t!" Ember studied the sky for what she heard. "It's another run!"

His expletive was much more colorful and vulgar.

Worse? The rope holding them slipped from the additional weight of her sister's body as he lifted her free and began climbing for the surface. The anchor holding it in the ground started to come loose.

Ember grabbed it and held fast. "I'm pulling!"

He didn't speak. Rather, he moved faster as he struggled to get himself and Alura out of the hole as quickly as possible.

The rope slipped even more, threatening to send them both even deeper into the wreckage.

"Help!" Ember shouted for a.s.sistance with the rope and anchor. But with the new run headed for them, everyone was fleeing to save their own a.s.ses.

No one cared that she was in the open or that her sister and her rescuer would die when additional bombs fell.

The anchor slipped more.

As if he knew intuitively what the others were doing and that there was no help to be had, the captain shot out another line from his belt. "Get your sister up. She's a lot lighter. Easier for you to pull free."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me. Get her to safety, Major! Move!"

Ember let go of his rope to pull at Alura's. He was right. It was much easier to lift her sister up without his extreme muscled weight added to it.

Moving as fast as she could, she got Alura out of that hole and helped her off to the side where the medics had set up a makeshift triage. Without hesitating, she started back for their rescuer. But she'd barely taken a step before the second round of bombs. .h.i.t.

The ground shook even more than it had during the first run. Alura screamed from behind her as part of the triage came down around them.

Ignoring her sister's panic and shaken by the day's events, Ember pushed herself to her feet and ran back to the hole to help their blessed benefactor.

It was too late.

Nothing remained of where he'd been.

Nothing. Only flaming rubble.

No! Sick to her stomach, she stared at the smoldering remains. That last run had completely obliterated the opening. Flaming chunks of building had crashed down over it. There was no sign whatsoever of the captain.

Not even his helmet. And no way to reach him without heavy equipment or an exosuit.

For a moment, she feared she'd vomit as she remembered the kindness of the unknown man who'd saved Alura's life.