of the Hauks to rise up and throw them out, and take the throne they’re technically entitled to.”
“But they haven’t.”
“No, but they, alone, could, and the Anatoles know that. Most of them fear it.”
Morra glanced at Saren. “So where does your family fall in this mess?”
“My lineage is the third of the noble clans. Anatole is first, Nykyrian, then Terronova.”
She looked at Talyn. “Yours?”
“We’re military. The Baturs are ranked second only to the Hauks.”
“So technically the Terronovas are the biggest threat to the queen?”
Lorens shook his head. “No. Because Andarions are warriors, the direct descendants of the Hauks and even the eldest Batur socially outrank the noble bloodlines, except for the ruling family of Sovereign Anatoles.”
Morra pressed her hands to her temples as if fighting a headache. “It’s like playing shuffle cards.”
Felicia laughed. “To you, maybe. Since this is our heritage, we know it intimately. And now you understand why the tadara and Chrisen are so hot for my bottom. My paka is the eldest child of the third noble family. My mother is second-born of the ezul Nykyrian lineage and it was her cousin who married the tadara and fathered Cairistiona and Tylie. So I’m a paternal cousin to the tizarahie, while Chrisen and Merrell are nephews of the tadara herself. With me involved with a Batur… For them, it’s a social nightmare waiting to happen. And because I’m of the Nykyrian and Terronova lineages, if Talyn and I had a legally sanctioned union, our children would be in line for the throne over even Chrisen and Merrell.”
Talyn met his mother’s gaze and smirked. Until now, he hadn’t known the lineage of Felicia’s mother. Given her birth caste, if he could claim his father’s bloodline, their children would be higher than anyone’s, other than the royal heirs. They would even have been styled as honorable tizirans and tizirahs.
“Nykyrian, huh?” There was a strange note in Morra’s voice.
“Yeah, why?” Lorens asked.
“Nothing. Just weird… we have a Nykyrian who works for The Sentella. He’s the only one I’ve ever known who had that name.”
Felicia arched a brow at that. It made sense. Nykyrian wasn’t a common name, even on Andaria. “Really?”
“Yeah, but it’s his first name. And he’s part human.”
Galene paled. “Come again?”
“What?” Morra blinked innocently.
Her jaw slack, Galene met Saren’s puzzled gaze. “What are the odds of there being two human-Andarion hybrids named Nykyrian?”
Saren sat down slowly as the news sank in.
“What?” Morra repeated.
Saren shook his head. “It’s not possible… Is it?”
Morra looked back and forth between them. “Andarions, really. Could you catch the off-worlders up?”
Galene let out a nervous breath. “Cairistiona had a son who supposedly died in a fire when he was a boy. She swears that he lived, and that he’ll return one day to claim the throne. He was a hybrid – half human, half Andarion – named Nykyrian.”
Morra exchanged an exaggerated drop-jaw expression with Qorach, who gestured at her. “Good question. Who was Nykyrian’s father?”
“Emperor Aros of the Triosan Empire.”
Morra typed it into her link, then let out a nervous laugh. She handed it to Qorach. “It’s him… I mean, the emperor’s older, but that’s our Nykyrian. Same facial structure. Same blond hair. I’d bet my life on it.”
Nodding, Qorach handed it back to her and gestured more.
“What Qory said. Nyk is even the same height and build as the emperor. At least if these stats for the emperor are correct. As you said, Commander, what are the odds?”
Talyn let out a nervous laugh. “Cairie was right, then. Her son is still alive… somehow.” He met Morra’s gaze. “Where is your Nykyrian?”
“I don’t know. I answer to him, not the other way around. But he’s a close friend of Jayne’s. She’d have to know how to reach him. They’ve been close friends for years.”
Galene gaped. “You’re kidding me?”
Talyn ignored the question, since it was a typical Jayne thing to do. No doubt Jayne had been protecting her friend. “You think she knows he’s the missing heir?”
“Heir?” Morra choked.
Galene nodded. “Nykyrian was firstborn. He is the legal heir to both the Andarion and Triosan empires.”
“Bullshit! For real?”
“If he really is Nykyrian eton Anatole. Yes.”
Morra continued to gape.
Galene approached Saren. “We have to get to him. If we restore him to the —”
“Wait!” Saren said sternly. “We know nothing about his character. What if he’s worse than the tadara and Jullien combined?”
Morra bristled at his question. “Please! Nykyrian Quiakides is one of the fairest men I’ve ever known. Loyal. Decent.”