Ignoring him, Gavarian rose and stepped back so that Fain could take over. He reviewed the data on the tablet and checked the diagnostics. Then he double-checked the couplings and swabbed them out with disinfectant before he added more gel to the connectors. The trick was to slide it in smooth and quick before either he or Talyn moved even a millimeter. Something he and his brothers had learned to do fast since their father was p.r.o.ne to knock the s.h.i.t out of them if they hurt him in the process of reattaching his limbs.

Bracing the cyber foot against his own thigh, Fain gripped Talyn's real knee and the prosthetic calf muscle. "Ready?"

Talyn inclined his head to him and held on to the chair's arms.

Fain slid the leg into place.

For a full minute, Talyn didn't move or breathe as he no doubt waited for pain to kick in. "Is that it?"

"Should be. Can you move anything?"

Talyn wiggled his toes and finally let out a relieved breath as he slumped back in the chair. "Thank the G.o.ds," he said with a happy note underlying his raspy tone. He slowly moved his leg back and forth to make sure it wasn't malfunctioning.

Fain had to give the surgeons credit. When attached, it looked completely natural. Unless you were right up on it, there was no way to detect the faint line that marked where Talyn's natural leg stopped and the cybernetic replacement began. It even felt real to the touch.

"What happened to cause that?"

His features sullen, Gavarian picked up the pad and link. "You should know, Hauk. You were there."

"Vari," Talyn chided, "don't."

But it was too late. Over and over, Fain replayed that firefight against Viper and Reaper in his mind. It'd been a brutal fight. No wonder Galene had fallen apart at the prospect of putting Talyn back into a c.o.c.kpit. Pain struck him hard in the pit of his stomach at what he'd unknowingly cost his son.

And Galene.

"I'm so sorry, Talyn. I would never have hurt you had I known."

Talyn shrugged with a nonchalance Fain would never fathom. "It's okay. Really." He glanced over to Gavarian. "My leg for Vari's life was a fair trade as far as I'm concerned. And it could have been worse. Could have been my head I lost, or something else not so easily reattached."

Gavarian snorted. "You weren't saying that ten minutes ago when you were threatening to kill me." He took the pad and cord out into the living area.

As Fain started away, Talyn stood and caught his arm. "Seriously, Hauk. Let it go."

"How can you stand to look at me?"

Talyn answered in an honest tone. "I fought in the Ring for over a decade. Open and Vested. With Warswords and without. Honestly? I never thought I'd live to this age. Every time I entered a match or flew down a launch tube for battle, I fully expected to lose my life or a limb in the fight. I made peace with both possibilities a long time ago. We're warriors and we're Andarions. It's what we do."

Still, Fain couldn't imagine how his son could stand to be in a room with him and not kill him for what he'd taken from him. It made no sense. "You have every right to hate me."

"I do hate you, old man. But not for this. We all make mistakes. The G.o.ds know, I'm not perfect. So I'm not going to hold what happened in battle against you when you had no idea who you were facing off against. We do what we have to, to survive war. And I don't fight for myself. I never have. I fight for what I love."

"Your mother."

Talyn nodded. "For your sake and hers, don't ever let her know you had anything to do with me losing my leg. Don't even let her know you were there that day. She won't forgive you."

"I still don't understand how you can. And if you don't hate me for the leg, what the h.e.l.l else could you possibly hate me for?"

Talyn pulled out his link and turned it on. He showed Fain the lock screen photo of him with his arms around Felicia. They appeared to be on a camping trip and inside a bright yellow tent. When Talyn unlocked it, Felicia turned and said in the sweetest contralto, "Love my s.e.xy baby!" Then she gave him a loud, audible kiss.

Swallowing hard, Talyn turned the screen dark and slid the link back into his pocket. "Every day I wake up and have her in my life, I have no real problems with anything or anyone. I'm just glad to be here. I don't know why my mother loves you like that, but she does. Whenever you come around, that sadness inside her vanishes and she lights up in a way she never has before. While I might not get it, I won't stand between you. So long as you treat her like she deserves, I'll do anything I can to help you. My personal feelings be d.a.m.ned."

In that moment, Fain felt even more like s.h.i.t that he hadn't told Talyn Felicia was on her way here. He should. But he wanted to see Talyn's face when his son saw her unexpectedly.

"What I hold against you, Hauk, are all the years I watched my mother suffer because you weren't there for her. I hate you for every lonely tear she's ever shed in your name."

The front door opened. "Talyn?"

"In here, Mum."

The sound of her voice filled Fain with both panic and joy. d.a.m.n, that female had way too much power over him. It made a mockery of Ven's kill switch in his brain.

He followed Talyn out of the room to find Galene with Morra and Qory. They were each carrying two large covered trays of food. And Vega and War came in the rear of the group with small bags of chips in their hands.

After kissing Talyn on the cheek, Galene flashed a dazzling smile at Fain.

Suddenly, he felt out of place. "Did I misunderstand our plans?"

Galene laughed. "Not at all. You're a little early. But it's fight night and we always have dinner together while we watch."

Baffled, Fain looked from Talyn to Gavarian to Qory and Morra and back to Galene. "I thought you hated fighting."

She arched her brow. "I'm Andarion. I love the Ring. Not when my son or pledged are the ones bleeding in it, but for the rest..."

"She loves it." Talyn pulled back a lid and snuck a crunchy bit from one of the platters. "More than even I do." He snuck another piece and handed it off to War, who grinned before he ate it.

Morra sidled up to him. "Don't look so disappointed, Fain. This is a family tradition she's invited you to."

He locked gazes with Galene. "Really?"

Galene nodded. "Only Felicia's missing from it. Talyn and I have been doing this since he was in nappies. Even when I couldn't be with him, we'd watch together via links whenever we could."

And it was something she'd started doing with Fain and his brothers and father and uncles when they were kids. As physicians, her family had never cared much for the sport. But every weekend, his had come together for the big fight. His mother and aunts would prepare food and everyone would crash wherever they could find s.p.a.ce at his paternal grandparents' ma.s.sive house. Since the event was vastly chaperoned, Galene's father would drop her off for it, and they'd sit on the floor in front of the screen next to Dancer and their cousin Dimie.

How weird that Galene would carry on a Hauk family tradition without him when he'd basically abandoned it after his mother had disowned him.

Galene handed plates of food to the kids and helped them sit in front of the screen before she returned to make a plate for herself.

Morra pa.s.sed an ale off to Qory and waters to Talyn and Gavarian. Since they were Andarion military, they weren't allowed to imbibe. She arched a brow at Fain. "Hearty or boring?"

"The good stuff with bite in it."

She popped the cap and handed him the bottle. Galene gave him a plate before she grabbed a water for herself and headed toward the living room with the others.

"Who's fighting?" Fain started to sit next to Qory, but Galene grabbed his belt and pulled him down beside her.

Too stunned to argue, he balanced his plate on his legs and set his drink on the table next to the couch.

Talyn licked the sauce from his fingers. "Torrid and Gallows."

"Who you banking on?"

Talyn shook his head. "Only gamble with my life, Hauk. Never my money."

Galene tossed a pillow at her son. "Not my favorite thing about him, either."

Sitting on the floor, next to the kids, Gavarian picked up his link to place his bet. "So who's going to win?" he asked Talyn.

"Gallows. Six rounds in."

"Thank you."

Fain frowned. "You sound like a prophet."

"He's never wrong," Galene, Gavarian, and Morra said simultaneously while Qory nodded in agreement.

"Then why don't you bet?"

Talyn rubbed at his leg. "Loyalty. I only put creds on a match when I know a portion's going to the fighters, or Erix's the trainer."

"Erix? He's still training fighters?"

Talyn grinned. "Yeah, I know, right? The way he complained about me sucking the life out of him, I'm stunned he didn't retire with me."

Fain laughed. "He did the same with me. All the time." He deepened his voice to mimic his old trainer. "'I swear, Hauk, you're sucking the last few good years of life right out of me.'"

Talyn laughed. "You do that well."

Frowning, Morra looked back and forth between them. "Didn't he know you two were related? I mean... c'mon. You're dead ringers for each other, and no snide comments about how Andarions look alike to foreigners, 'cause I know better."

Talyn snorted. "He never really said anything. But yeah, I think he knew. I always suspected it was why he took me on as a lack-Vest."

"What do you mean?" Fain asked.

"Just that he wasn't known for taking pity on punk kids. And every now and again, I'd overhear him mumble something that sounded suspiciously similar to 'just like his useless paka.' I a.s.sume he had to mean you."

Fain laughed at his spot-on impression of Erix's gruff tone. "He never called me useless."

"True, but I like to embellish." Talyn ate another bite of his ribs.

Fain shook his head as he considered his son's words. "But you do bet, though."

Talyn shrugged. "Not a bet when it's a sure thing."

The more Fain learned about his son, the more he respected him and regretted how little he'd had in the making of such a great Andarion male. Then again, maybe that was a good thing. Had he been around, Talyn might not have grown into such an exceptional being.

The G.o.ds knew Talyn was definitely a better male than Fain had ever been.

Warwyk popped his head up. "Commander Galene? May I have some of the cake pieces?"

She narrowed her eyes at his plate. "How much did you eat?"

He held it up for her to see. "All."

"Wow! You inhaled that! By all means, sweetie. Go grab what you want."

With a happy shout, he ran to the kitchen to get another plate full of sweets and chips.

Laughing, she leaned against Fain's shoulder and made his heart quicken. "I forgot how much boys that age eat. I could barely keep Talyn in groceries."

"You can still barely keep me in groceries." He wiped his hands on his napkin. "Hey, War? Can you grab me another plate, too?"

"Sure, Big T!"

As the fight started, Talyn checked his link and frowned.

Qory signed at him to ask what was wrong.

Talyn let out a heavy sigh. "Still haven't heard from Felicia. I'm really getting worried about her. She knows what a psychotic a.s.shole I am so she doesn't normally stress me."

Qory silently laughed.

From his seat on the floor, Gavarian pa.s.sed a covert hate-filled scowl at Fain. Since they were traveling through League-controlled s.p.a.ce, there was no way to safely contact them right now. Especially not with an unknown spy on the loose. "I'm sure she's fine. Just busy."

Galene brushed the hair back from Talyn's face. "Don't worry, baby. I'll have her brother check in on her. You know Aaron and the others would never let anything happen to your Felicia."

"Yeah. I just don't like being out of touch. I can't stand not talking to her. I have to know she's okay."

Galene gave him a hug and light kiss before she leaned back against Fain as if no time had ever pa.s.sed. As if she'd forgiven him completely...

Shaken by the familiarity and emotions he couldn't even begin to define, Fain drank his ale while they bantered and chided each other the way he used to do with his family and friends back in the day. He watched silently as War and Vega teased and played with Gavarian and each other. It was so surreal and dream-like.

Then all of a sudden, for no reason whatsoever he felt like such an outsider.

I don't belong here. With them.

Worse, he was a danger to them. If Ven or someone else hit the b.u.t.ton, he'd take out every person in this room...

I'm a walking bomb. A bomb their enemies could exploit...

Panic set in with iron claws that shredded him. Everything was so painfully obvious now. While he'd known Morra and Qory for years, it'd always been at a distance. They were friends of his brother and Jayne.

Because of the years he'd spent as a slave and the fact that he was bonded to his ship and had a kill switch that could be detonated at any second and destroy anyone standing near him, he'd never bothered to make friends of his own. The only exception had been Bastien Cabarro, and even he had vanished one day without any explanation. Fain knew now that Bastien had been betrayed and imprisoned by The League in a situation as bad as his, but it'd only been recently he'd learned his friend's fate.

And they'd only become friends because Bastien wouldn't take no for an answer. Like Gondarion spiderweed, he'd latched on to Fain and wouldn't let go.

But Bastien was the rare exception who'd made it past Fain's carefully guarded defenses that kept everyone in the universe at a safe distance. Mostly because Fain hadn't wanted to go through the pain of being abandoned again. Not after everyone had shunned him over Merrell's lies, and Omira's faithless betrayal. Once in a lifetime was enough for him.

Now...