“Did Anatole do that to you?” He dropped his gaze to her neck.
She trembled even more. “Nothing happened.”
Bullshit, and he knew it with every instinct he possessed. Cursing, he started back for the lockers where Anatole was dressing.
Farina grabbed his arm. “Talyn, please. Don’t.”
He wasn’t sure what shocked him most. The fact she deigned to touch him or that she’d used his name. From those actions alone, one thing was clear. Anatole had shattered her spirit. In the past, she’d have never touched the likes of him. For that matter, he was stunned she knew he had a given name, other than “mongrel.” It was all any of them had ever called him. “Our females aren’t his private harem.”
Her grip tightened on his arm as her eyes widened. She lowered her gaze quickly and dropped her hand from his arm.
Talyn turned to find Anatole and his two friends drawing near.
“This isn’t a practice drill! Do I need to put both of you on report?”
Defiant to the level of stupid, Talyn curled his lip at his CO. “I challenge you to the Ring, motherfucker!” he growled.
The colonel’s friends and Farina sucked their breaths in.
Anatole laughed in his face. “You can’t hit me, you stupid piece of shit. It’ll mean your life if you do.”
Talyn glared at him. Cowardly bastard had no right to sully an Andarion uniform. It was a disgrace to have something like him don it. “Are you not Andarion enough to face me?”
Anatole grabbed the front of Talyn’s battlesuit and tried to shove him back. His eyes widened as he realized just how strong Talyn was and the fact that his limp touch had no effect on him. At all. “Watch yourself, mongrel. Be a shame to have such a regaled sports hero go up in flames.” Snapping his fingers, he motioned his lap dogs to follow after him.
When Talyn started forward to finish their discussion, Farina cut off his path.
“It’s not worth it, Batur. But thank you for being the male none of the rest have been.”
Nightdice nodded as she stopped by his side. “Yeah. Everyone else has turned a blind eye.”
A tic started in his jaw as he realized several other female pilots were also looking on with gratitude. Some of them were pledged, even married. That angered him even more. It wasn’t just for them he fought. It was for his mother and Felicia. “I don’t care what he does to me. This stops. Royal-blooded or not, he has no right to touch any of you. Ever!”
Farina offered him a grateful smile as she handed him his helmet. “I’ll be your wingman, Viper.”
He inclined his head to her.
For the first time in his career, Talyn walked into the bay with other Andarions. And that only saddened him more that he’d earned Farina’s and the other females’ friendship by simply doing the right thing. Something every male in their squad should be doing for them.
What had happened to the Andarion race that they would put up with this shit? That they’d allow their females to be threatened and abused by some royal-blooded asshole and his friends?
As he started to jog for his ship, a female stepped in front of him and struck her chest twice with an open palm – a friendly sign of good luck.
Stunned, he barely returned it before he went to his fighter. Even his female ground crew gestured at him.
Wanting to do more for them, Talyn pulled his mic into place. He had Tavali to fight right now. But once this was over, he had a much more pressing war he intended to battle. “Viper-Ichi ready for launch.”
“Viper-Ichi clear to launch,” the controller responded.
Talyn entered the clearance code in his con and was thrown back against his seat as the ship was ejected through its launch tube.
It shot him straight into hell. There were fighters everywhere.
“Damn, Viper,” Farina said in his ear. “You seriously pissed off the Tavali earlier. What’d you do?”
“Apparently, they don’t like being shot at. Who knew?” He banked right and narrowly missed an ion blast to his windshield.
He listened to their comm intel as he kept his eyes on the enemy. It was another group of Porturnum Tavali. Whether or not they were related to the earlier group he’d battled was unclear. While it was said the four branches of Tavali functioned like military governments, no one outside of their pirate world really knew what went on inside their organizations. They were as secretive