it seemed so weird to her. “He’s an Andarion soldier. You could just order him to eat with you.”
“Not the same. Besides, I didn’t know that until you told me. Had no idea he was a fighter pilot. But I can easily get him transferred to the Tadara’s Guard or any place else. Hell, the Guard’s where he should be with his skill set. I don’t understand why he’s not. And why are you crying, anyway?”
Wow, he only just now noticed that. Typical.
She sniffed. “Anatole propositioned me. He’s threatening to hurt Talyn unless I meet with him.”
Lorens screwed his face up as if he couldn’t fathom what she was telling him. “Can I ask why he’s threatening you about the Hammer?” Now there was the condescending tone she was used to.
She glanced over to Galene before she cleared her throat. “I’m Talyn’s female.”
“Ah, hell, no, you’re not…” He gaped. “Are you really?”
The doubt in that one word offended her. “Yes, I am.”
“And you’re just now calling me? You. Suck. So hard.”
“Well, you’ve never been this nice to me before. Why would I have told you?”
“Yeah, well, you weren’t sleeping with the greatest fighter to ever step into the Ring. This changes things.”
Offended, she growled at him. “Thanks, Lorens.”
“What? You want me to lie?”
She narrowed her eyes at him. His honesty was the only good thing she could say about him, sadly. “I would call you an obnoxious ass, but I don’t want to insult obnoxious asses or for you to reconsider transferring Talyn.”
Lorens laughed good-naturedly. “Not going to happen. I’ll put him wherever you tell me.” He signed something before he glanced back to his monitor. “Can I bring my oldest boy to dinner, too?”
“You get my baby transferred away from Anatole’s control and you can bring both boys.”
He flashed a fang-tinged smile at her. “Have I told you how much I love you, Felicia?”
“Never.”
“Bad oversight on my part. I’ll put in for an immediate transfer. And I’ll do you one better. The Hammer wins his next fight, I’ll personally give your male a promotion in rank.”
And for that, she would kiss her obnoxious brother’s cheek, and those of his evil spawn, too. “There is one condition to all of this.”
“I still have to kill Anatole?”
She laughed, even though she wanted to say yes. “No. Don’t tell Talyn I requested this from you. Ever.”
“Then how are you getting him to dinner?”
“I’ll worry about that. You get the transfer and I’ll get you your dinner with Talyn.”
“Deal. I’ll put it through today.”
“Thank you, Lo. I won’t forget this.”
“Hey, I’m just glad you called me and not Paka. He wouldn’t have invited me along. He’s selfish that way.” Lorens inclined his head to her. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Bye.” She hung up and met Galene’s stunned expression.
“Your paka is Satrapehs Saren ezul Terronova? The male head advisor for Tadara Eriadne? And your brother is Lieutenant Commander ezul Terronova, the second-in-command of the entire Andarion armada?”
“Yes,” she said sheepishly. “I told you my father was high-lineaged.”
“You did, but you left out those vital details at the hospital when we talked about this.”
Nervous over the nondisclosure, Felicia twisted a strand of her hair around her index finger. “I didn’t know if Lo would do it. He really is a big jerk. Normally.”
“Yes, I know. I’ve dealt with him on several unpleasant occasions. And he’s never sounded that nice before.”
“I know, right? But he’s been a huge Ring fan all his life. It’s the only thing our paka ever did with him, growing up. Lorens fought some, but he sucked at it so he quit within his first year of primary school.”
Galene shook her head. “Do you really think he’ll do it?”
“He usually has good follow-through. Especially when it’s something he wants. And he definitely seems to want this.”
An evil glint appeared in Galene’s eyes. “I would love to see Chrisen’s face when those orders come through. He’ll be livid.”
“You think he’ll fight them?”
That stole the happiness from the commander’s face. “Sadly, I do. He’s a spiteful bastard.”
Felicia released her hair as a new fear went through her. “What are the odds that he might be successful?”
“I don’t know. Your father is the head male advisor for the tadara. Chrisen’s mother is the tadara’s head female advisor and niece. If it comes down to it, the tadara will side with her blood relations. That I know for a fact. And God help Talyn if it comes to that.”
Felicia’s stomach tightened. Please, don’t let me have made