Just as she was sucking her breath in, in appreciation of his rugged handsomeness, recognition slammed into her. Yes, he was older and now sported three days' growth of his beard, but she knew that proud jawline. Knew those perfect, gorgeous features and caramel skin that had once set her on fire.

Actually, they still did. Only instead of l.u.s.t, they filled her with raw, unmitigated rage.

Reacting on pure instinct, she pulled her blaster out and fired. The shot landed straight in his chest where his missing heart should have been.

Total chaos erupted as he fell to the ground and the other Tavali pulled their blasters out and took aim. As did the Andarion soldiers with her.

Throwing himself in front of her, Talyn pulled the weapon from her hand. He and the ten Andarions he'd chosen as her personal guard formed a wall between her and the others.

"Medic!" a human Tavali called out in Andarion.

"Arrest them!" a Sentella soldier demanded.

Galene looked past Talyn's shoulder to see Dancer Hauk, Fain's younger brother, calling out for the soldiers to secure her and her team.

Talyn moved in closer, to protect her.

"No!" She grabbed her son's arm to keep him from doing something even more rash than her stupidity. "Stand down!"

Talyn did, until a soldier went to cuff her wrists. "Get your hands off her!"

Before she could catch him again, Talyn had eight Tavali and two of their own bleeding on the ground at his feet. With a blaster in each hand, Talyn held the others at bay as he kept himself in front of her. "Anyone else want a free trip to the hospital and paid leave?"

"Talyn!" she snapped, placing her hand on his shoulder. "Enough! Everyone calm down."

Dancer held his blaster angled at Talyn's head. "I believe you started this, Commander, when you shot my brother."

"And now I'm ending it. Everyone, arms down!"

They all hesitated.

"Dancer!" Fain growled as he rose to his feet. "Drop your weapon." Biting his lip, he grimaced and glared a hole through her. "I deserved it."

Only then did Dancer lower his blaster.

"Talyn," she said gently as she ran her hand down his arm and pushed his aim toward the floor. "It's all right."

She felt his muscles flexing in debate before he glanced to her and let his weapons fall to the ground. The Tavali surged forward to handcuff him. Something he didn't protest until they went to cuff her again.

Faster than anyone could blink, Talyn knocked the two guards closest to him away and used his foot to kick his blaster back into his hand. He put himself between her and the others. "One hand to the commander and so help me, I'll f.u.c.king kill every one of you b.i.t.c.hes!"

Fain's gaze darkened as Talyn's weapon went back to Dancer, who was inching toward them. With unbelievable speed, Fain attacked Talyn.

Galene's head spun as cold terror consumed her. Both Fain and Talyn were former t.i.tled Andarion Ring fighters. And right now, they fought with death in their eyes. If she didn't do something fast, they'd tear each other apart.

Dodging their blows, she forced herself between them, and pushed them to opposite sides.

"Enough!" she roared.

Dancer moved forward to take Fain by his arm.

Holding his chest where she'd shot him, Fain spat the blood on his lips to the ground. He glared his hatred at Talyn. "Aim at my brother again, and I'll rip your f.u.c.king spine out, punk!"

Talyn didn't flinch at the threat. "One hand to the commander again, and I'll rip apart every a.s.s here, including yours and his, old man."

She sucked her breath in sharply at the double-edged insult. Not just that Fain was older, but to insinuate he wasn't Andarion... it was the worst sort of slap in the face for their kind.

Fain licked at his busted lip as he watched Galene place her hand over the heart of the soldier in front of him.

"It's all right, mi courani," she said in a gentle tone, using an endearment that called the male soldier her precious heart. "Stand down."

The soldier's eyes softened as he glanced at her and covered her hand with his. Lowering his head, he brought her hand to his lips, and kissed it before he stepped back.

But not so far that he couldn't shield her with his body again if he needed to.

Disgusted, Fain met Dancer's gaze and shook his head. Galene had chosen quite the boy toy for herself. The kid was large, even for an Andarion. And as much as Fain hated to admit it, the b.a.s.t.a.r.d could fight. It was actually impressive what he'd done.

And the ease with which he'd accomplished it.

"Isn't he a little young for you?" Fain asked her snidely.

Galene pinned him with a sneer. "I don't think it's any of your business who I live with."

Fain's jaw went slack that she'd openly admit such a scandalous relationship in front of everyone. While it wasn't unheard of for unmarried commanders to sleep with their staff, they were usually highly discreet about it. Rarely did they flaunt it.

He scowled at her. "Well, aren't you full of surprises?"

She raked him with a scathing grimace. "I learned early... from the best."

He took a step forward.

So did Talyn.

Galene pushed them apart again. "Boys! Enough!"

Fain curled his lip before he dropped a potent verbal bomb on them. "You do realize that you both just attacked a member of the Andarion royal family?"

Galene gaped. "Excuse me?"

Dancer quirked a smug grin. "The tadara adopted my brother."

Fain expected that to take some of the fire out of her boy toy's eyes. It didn't. Defiant and reckless, he snorted disdainfully at the news.

"Talyn!" Galene snapped before the child could speak. "Not another word. I mean it!"

He inclined his head respectfully. "Yes, Commander." But his gaze said that he was struggling to hold back his opinion.

And it wasn't a happy one.

Fain returned his sneer with one of his own. "I should have you both arrested."

"Try it," the male said with an arrogant, taunting grin. "You'll be dead before they cuff me... If I'm going to jail again, old man, I'm going to make it count."

"Talyn!"

A tic started in his jaw as Galene reached up, buried her hand in his braids, and forced the boy to meet her gaze. Only then did the fire in his eyes go out.

She pressed her cheek to his and whispered in his ear before she kissed his forehead. Her hand lingered on his goatee as her gaze held his a moment longer.

Finally quelled, the soldier took a step back.

Fain swept his gaze around the other Andarions here. The fact that none of their soldiers found this display odd said it all about Galene's open affair with her second-in-command.

Normally, Andarions never touched each other in public. Not even married couples. Unless they were fighting, it was their custom to keep a respectful distance from each other at all times.

A fierce, unwarranted hatred for the boy consumed him. He had no idea why he'd care or feel the jealousy inside his heart, but he did. And it wanted that kid's head on a pike.

While Fain's entire life had gone straight to h.e.l.l after their last encounter, it was obvious Galene had been living quite the dream with her child-lover.

Galene stepped back as the medics arrived to tend Fain's injuries.

She met Dancer's glare. "We shall withdraw to my office, where I will contact Tadara Cairistiona immediately and inform her what has happened. If she still wants my arrest, I'll surrender myself to her authority. Until then..." She turned her curled lip toward Fain. "I hope you die painfully of your wounds."

And with that, she walked away.

Talyn pa.s.sed one more hate-filled glare at him before he followed after her. Like a dutiful puppy.

Little f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d.

Yeah, okay, huge f.u.c.king b.a.s.t.a.r.d, but still...

The medic let out a low, evil laugh as she saw Fain's wounds. And especially the one at his eye that was already swelling, and burning like a mother. "I see you met the commander's bodyguard. What'd you do? Speak to her in the wrong tone of voice?"

Fain gave the Andarion female an arched brow. "Does he do this kind of thing a lot?"

She snorted as she examined his eye. "Actually, he must like you."

"How so?"

"You're still breathing. He normally kills anyone who so much as grimaces in the commander's general direction."

Dancer sighed as Fain sat down on the stretcher and allowed them to remove his chest plate to inspect the blast wound. "I'm sorry, Fain. When you said she was a nasty piece of work, I should have listened to you. I had no idea she'd hate you this much. I thought I was the only one you motivated to this level of violence."

Fain looked down at the bleeding wound in the center of his chest. Had he been wearing anything other than his Tavali armor, that shot would have killed him instantly. As it was, it hurt like h.e.l.l and he'd be bruised for a few days, but he'd live. "I figured she wouldn't be happy to see me again. However, I did underestimate her exact degree of hatred for me."

"What did you do to her?" Chayden picked up the helmet Fain had been holding against his groin.

Fain swallowed hard as he met Dancer's gaze before he answered Chay's question. "I broke off our engagement to marry a human."

The medic sucked her breath in sharply at his words.

As a human, Chayden had no idea what a slap that was, and what it would have cost Galene in their society. "Yeah? So?"

The medic snorted. "She must have really loved you at one time."

"Why?"

"She didn't shoot you between the eyes."

Galene swallowed hard as the door to her office closed, and she moved to call the tadara. She'd no more than reached for the controls when Talyn finally spoke to her.

"So that's my father."

"Excuse me?"

He sighed heavily. "There's no other male you'd attack like that, for no reason. Only Fain Hauk."

Tears choked her at his emotionless tone. "If you knew, why did you attack him?"

"He came at my mother. No one does that. I don't care who or what you are."

She could kill Talyn for his own recklessness... which he'd inherited from Fain. "You shouldn't have endangered yourself for me. You know better."

He shrugged nonchalantly. "You didn't hesitate to protect me."

"I'm your mother."

"And I'm your son... as you raised me."

She was torn between the desire to hug him for that, and spank his bottom like she'd done when he was a boy. "I told you to be a doctor, didn't I?"

He gave her an impertinent grin. "You raised me to be fierce. Like you. Not to don a medic's robe and serve others."

"Careful," she warned him, "you're not so big or old that I can't still take you over my knee."

He snorted derisively at her threat. "I'd like to see you try."

She popped his b.u.t.t. "Impudent boy."

The light in his eyes faded as her link buzzed. "Is that the tadara?"

"Most likely."

Talyn gave her a sincere look that said he would be more than willing to die for her. "I won't let them harm you, Matarra. Not for that worthless piece of s.h.i.t."

"He's your father, Talyn. I won't have you insult him."

The tic returned to his jaw as he looked away.