Sherrilyn Kenyon: Born of Fury

Thia moved to rub him gently on the back. “It’ll be all right, Uncle Hauk.”

No, it wouldn’t. His family, and in particular Darice and Dariana, would never forgive him for what had happened to Keris. But it wasn’t Thia’s fault they were assholes.

Smiling, he cupped Thia’s gentle face and started to thank her, but before he could say a word, two excited voices rang out.

“Thia! Thia! Thia! Thia! Thia!” The last one was punctuated with a screech so high, he was amazed his ears weren’t bleeding.

He barely had time to step away from her before Adron and Jayce all but tackled their older sister to the ground. To her credit, Thia stayed upright and hugged them against each side while laughing at their enthusiasm. At six and eight, the blond boys had blue eyes and were almost identical in looks. The only way to really tell them apart was the difference in height. Adron, being older, had a good three inches on his brother.

For now. Hauk remembered well when his older brothers and Nykyrian had towered over him, too, and that definitely wasn’t the case these days. He was a good three inches taller than Nyk, and had Keris lived, he’d have barely reached Hauk’s shoulders.

The boys were talking so fast and furiously that Hauk got a headache trying to figure out what they were saying. With the patience of a saint, Thia nodded and listened attentively.

Except for the difference in their ages, no one would ever guess she wasn’t their full-blooded sister.

Freakishly tiny, and graceful in everything she did, Nykyrian’s wife Kiara approached them with her golden-amber eyes twinkling. “Boys, slow down. Take a breath. Give your sister a minute to catch up.”

Jayce immediately started in on a round of “buts” and ended with a simple “Mama!”

Still laughing, Thia patted his back. “It’s okay, Kiara. I can strangely follow their gibberish.” Kneeling down, she took both of Jayce’s arms in her hands and smiled at him. “And yes, I’ll bring you back a rock for your collection. Two, even.”

Adron sighed heavily. “I wish I could go with you.”

With an exaggerated pout for him, she cupped his cheek in her hand. “Me, too, sprout. Maybe next time.”

Nodding, he stepped away then pulled his brother with him. She stood.

Kiara held out a black sweater toward Thia. “Stay warm, sweetie. Don’t get hurt.”

“I will and I won’t.” Thia took her sweater and gave Kiara a light hug. She looked expectantly at her father, who had the same what-did-I-do-now look Hauk was sure he’d worn when his parents told him he had to do this with Darice.

Facing her intense husband, Kiara motioned toward Thia with her hands. “What do we say to our daughter before she leaves us for six weeks?”

Nykyrian recovered himself and unstrapped his blaster from his hips. He checked the charge level before handing it to Thia. “Remember what I taught you. Check your perimeter every night and never sleep with your headphones on.”

With a patient sigh, Thia took the blaster from his hands. “Thanks, Dad,” she said drily.

Arms akimbo, Kiara approached her husband. “Sweetie? Are you out of your mind? You don’t give a loaded weapon to your little girl right before she leaves. What are you thinking?”

“That she might need it.”

“A blaster?” Kiara asked incredulously.

He frowned as if he had no idea why she was upset at him. “I’d rather she have it and not need it than need it and not have it.”

“And what if she accidentally shoots Darice?”

Thia snorted. “Trust me. If I shoot Darice, it won’t be an accident.”

Hauk bit back a laugh at something that really shouldn’t amuse him.

“You see!” Kiara said to Nykyrian as she indicated Thia. “You see what could happen?”

Nykyrian shrugged. “She’s a Quiakides. She’ll have to make a first kill at some point. Why not keep it in the family? Hell, it might even make Hauk’s day if she shoots Darice.”

Sighing in surrender, Kiara shook her head. “You’re awful.” She turned her pleading eyes toward Hauk. “Would you help me out here?”

He met Nykyrian’s gaze. “Is she trained?”

“Fully.”

Hauk duplicated Nykyrian’s earlier shrug. “Then I’m glad to have the backup.”

The boys stared bug-eyed while their mother sputtered at the men’s lack of concern.

Adron flashed a big grin to Jayce. “When I’m big, I’m going to be an assassin, just like Daddy and Uncle Hauk!”

Jayce shoved him. “Hah! I’ll be an even better one than you.”

“Nuh-uh!” Adron dove at his brother. The two of them hit the deck, pounding on each other.

Kiara’s face flushed bright red as she pulled them apart. “Stop it! Both of you. None of my children are going to be assassins. None of you! I mean it!”

“Mom!” they whined.

She made that imperious maternal gesture that never failed to quell squabbling children, and reminded Hauk of how his own mother used to break him and his brothers up from fights.

Hauk let out a tired “heh” as he faced Nykyrian. “Remember when it was just the five of us and the only kids you had to break apart from fighting were me and Darling? Oh, for the blessed peace of those days.”

Nykyrian swept Adron up in his arms to keep him from punching at his brother. A rare devilish grin curved his lips as he held his son against his chest, and Adron laid his head on his father’s shoulder. “I will gladly take one minute of this chaos over an eternity of that peace.”

A tender, heated glance passed between Nykyrian and Kiara. The love they bore for each other never failed to amaze Hauk. The gods knew, he didn’t understand it. He’d never felt that way about anyone. And he still couldn’t believe Nykyrian did. Battle-hardened and battered by life, Nyk had every reason to kill. No reason whatsoever to understand, never mind show, any kind of love or compassion.

For anyone.

Nykyrian pulled Thia against him with his free arm and placed a kiss on the top of her head. “Let no harm come to you, mu tina .”

Adron launched himself from his father into his big sister’s arms with such unexpected force that she stumbled back. “Love you, Thia! Don’t be gone long.”

Closing her eyes, she squeezed him until he protested it. “Love you, too, Addy. Be a good boy and I’ll bring you back a souvenir.”

“Like what?”

She cast a speculative glance toward Hauk. “Darice’s head on a pike if his manners don’t improve.”

Adron laughed as she set him down on his feet. Thia opened her arms for Jayce to get just as warm a hug from her. She released him before ruffling the hair on both their heads. “Keep Tiernan and Taryn out of trouble, and don’t let them steal Zarina’s bottle from her while I’m gone.”

They gave her sharp, military salutes. “It will be done, Captain.”

“Captain?”

Hauk turned at Chayden Aniwaya’s teasing tone as their longtime ally joined them. Almost as tall as Nykyrian, Chayden had the lethal swagger that marked most of the Tavali pirates who brazenly preyed on League ships and flouted the laws of any organized nation or empire. But his laughing hazel eyes and mass of short curly dark hair stole the bad-ass from his gait and demeanor, and gave him a boyish, carefree appearance. It was why he kept his face and hair covered whenever he had to deal with people he needed to intimidate.

Only those who called him friend got to see this relaxed, playful side of the fierce pirate captain who never took prisoners.

Or showed mercy to his numerous enemies.

“Guys,” Chayden said to the boys, “she’s at least a commander. Can’t you tell?”

The boys whooped as they ran to Chayden and jumped into his arms while rattling off their rapid-fire words. The bewildered look on the pirate’s face was hysterical as he met Nykyrian’s gaze. “Help! I don’t speak small-human Andarion. I need a translator.”