Born of Legend (40 page)

“Ha! You're old,
žumi
!”

“Old? Ha! I'm the one winning.”

Vasili blew him a raspberry as Jullien stumbled and almost tripped over a potted plant. “You're not winning. Falling on top of it 'cause you're fat doesn't mean you won.”

“I'm not fat,” he said indignantly as he continued to fight. “I'm fluffy.”

Vasili turned his entire body as he attempted to control his drone to tackle Jullien's. “You're hairy and gross. Not fluffy!”

Laughing at them and the fact that they didn't stop for anything—not even when Jullien stepped in a bowl of plant water and Vas ran into her wind chimes and became tangled with them, she pushed the door open to watch a few more minutes of their adorable play. “What are you two lunatics doing?”

They froze and the drones instantly crashed to the ground.

“We didn't have them in the house.” Jullien said that so fast and defensively it made her wonder how many times he'd gotten into trouble as a child for playing with drones in the palace.

“I figured as much. Where did they come from?”

Vasili picked his up and ran it to her. “We built them! Aren't they neat?”

She was in awe of the intricate devices. “Yes, they are.”

Vas turned it over to show her the propulsion gears and tanks they'd used. “Jullien was teaching me about engineering. This was part of my project.”

Ushara smiled at Vas's exuberance. She'd never seen him happier. Jullien still looked as if he were afraid he'd done something wrong and was waiting for her to start yelling at him for it.

While Vas explained the drone to her, Jullien went inside.

Subdued and unusually quiet, he came back a few minutes later with a small serving tray of food for her.

Stunned at the unexpected bounty, she gaped at him. “What's this?”

“Dinner. We already ate. We would have waited, but we didn't know how long you'd be and Vas was starving. So we kept yours warm for you.”

Touching her heart, she smiled up at him, grateful beyond measure for his kindness. “This is why I love you.”

He gave her a bashful smile before he pulled away.

Vas grabbed his drone from her hands. “Rematch!”

The smile finally returned to Jullien's face as he ran after him. “You're on,
bryth
! Arm up!”

Smiling at them, she watched their war while she ate. Jullien had just conceded defeat when her door rang.

“I'll get it,” she said, rising with her plate to carry it back inside. She set everything in the kitchen and noted how clean Jullien had left it all before she went to see who was visiting.

It was her father and grandfather. How strange for them to ring, though. They never did such, which told her exactly how furious her father was over her marriage that he would be so formal. He must have assumed she'd still be at work. Or he was doing this to be a pain in her ass.

She released an exhausted sigh as she let them in. “Paka, I'm too tired tonight. Can we discuss this tomorrow?”

“We're not here for you.”

Those cold words froze her to the spot. “What's that supposed to mean?”

He handed her the papers in his hand. “Dagger's been reassigned to the crew of the
Night Rain
. We're here to help him gear up since they're launching within the hour.”

Her stomach hit the floor. “What?”

“Kirill lost one of his men. He's agreed to take Dagger on to train him.”

She shoved the papers back at him. “This is bullshit. I'm not letting you to do this.”

“Do what? He's a candidate. It's his duty to go where he's assigned.”

“Davel—”

“Won't be traveling for awhile. Dagger has to have two full years in as a cock to be admitted to the Nation. You know the Code. He has to be active on a crew immediately for his status to stand. No one is above our laws.”

She glared at her father and what he was doing.

And why.

“Kirill's a savage. And he hates Jules. You know that.”

“Careful, daughter. That's your blood you're talking about.”

“And this is my husband you're sending out with a vicious crew you know will treat him like shit. You do this, Paka, and I won't forgive you for it.”

“It's already done.”

Tears blinded her over their cruelty. She couldn't believe that this was the same male who'd preached benevolence and kindness to her, her entire life.
Never judge until you've seen their circumstances.

What happened to
that
father?

“Where is he?” her grandfather asked.

She curled her lip at him, unable to believe he was in on this. “Follow the laughter,” she said, her voice breaking on those words.

And that laughter died a few seconds later when they went outside and told Jullien to pack his gear.

“No!” Vasili screamed. “No!” His shrill cries broke her heart and made her want to claw out her father's eyes.

Jullien swallowed hard as he knelt on the ground by Vasili's side and handed him his controller. “It's okay,
luden
. I'll be back before you know it. Just remember to keep your grades up, and watch after your
matarra
for me, okay?”

Tears flowed down Vasili's face. “Will you be here for my Confirmation?”

“I'll do my best. And I'll call every chance I get.”

Nodding, he hugged Jullien, who in turn held onto him. “I'll miss you, too,
tana
. Be a good boy for me.”

“Love you, Paka.”

“Love you, too.” Jullien balled his fist in Vas's hair and kissed his cheek, then released him. Rising to his feet, he refused to look at her father or grandfather. Instead, he held his hand out for her. “You okay?”

“No. I'm furious.”

“Don't be. And now when the seat gets left up in the bathroom you'll definitely know who to yell at.”

“You're not funny.”

He took her hands into his and held them to his lips to kiss them. Then he cupped her face and kissed her lips. “I was going to give this to you later tonight. But I guess I can't wait.” He reached down into his pocket to pull out something he wouldn't let her see. “I know it's not much … one day I promise I'll get you a bigger one.”

Tears choked her as he slid a pitch-dark wedding ring onto her finger. The black center stone came up like a rose that was nested in dark leaves formed by the black rhodium band and white melee diamonds. The side band was a delicate, intricately carved filigree. Tiny and extremely feminine, the ring was a very unorthodox choice. “Black?”

Jullien nodded. “I don't want you to ever forget that you alone hold my dark heart. You're the only one I've ever trusted with it. And I'm leaving it here with you for safekeeping … in your hands.” He brushed his thumb over her lips. “After all, an Androkyn is never where he lives. But where he loves. And true love will always find its way through paths where even feral lorinas fear to prey. You are my Darling star, and no matter how dark the night or how perilous my journey, your divine light alone will always guide me home.”

Those words shattered her heart. Sobbing, she pulled him against her and wept. In that moment, she hated her father for doing this to her.

How could he take Jullien away?

Even worse, she had nothing to give to him. He was so much more thoughtful than she was. “You better come back to me, Jullien eton Anatole.”

He pulled the ring from her finger and showed her the engraving inside the band. “My oath to you,
mu Ger Tarra
. Any time you need me, glance at this and know that I will never fail to keep it.”

Urtui
æbre gevyly frag
.
I will never break your heart.

Jullien kissed the ring and replaced it on her finger, then kissed her softly. “I am and will ever be yours.”

And with those words spoken, her father and grandfather took him to join her cousin's crew. A crew she knew would hate him for everything he'd never done.

This was wrong and she knew it. Somehow she was going to get him back. She didn't know how, but she would. Even if it meant alienating her family to do so.

*   *   *

Jullien didn't speak to Ushara's father or grandfather as they made their way to Kirill's ship. A part of him kept waiting for them to shoot him in the head so that they could collect the multimillion cred bounty on his life.

Honestly, even though they weren't licensed for it, it was what he expected.

So it was almost a relief to see that they really meant for him to board as part of Kirill's crew.

Her father roughly shoved his bag of gear into his hands. That was as close to a goodbye as they came. At least it was far kinder than the send-off his own parents had given him.

But the look in Petran's eyes was the same. He stared at him as if Jullien disgusted him. As if he were the lowest form of life to ever belly crawl from the cesspit of genetic mutations.

Kirill came down the ramp to add his glare to the group. “I've got him from here.”

“Thanks,” Vidarri said. “We owe you.”

“No problem,
Graspa
. Happy to help out, anytime.” Inclining his head to them, Kirill led Jullien on board, and stopped him as soon as they were inside the ship. He held his hand out. “I need your link.”

Jullien started to ask why, then remembered that as a cock, he wasn't allowed to question his captain. Grinding his teeth, he dug it out of his pocket and handed it over.

Kirill dropped it to the floor and stomped it to pieces. “So you can't be a cry-baby bitch and tattle to Ushara about your treatment.”

Jullien held his temper in check and said nothing.
You can do this. You survived your stints in the vörgäte. You can handle this bunch of pussies, too.
They weren't nearly as tough as the guards and definitely not as frightening as the Ixurian inmates who'd taken their hatred of his grandmother and royal status out on him.

Kirill stood right in his face. “Are you pissed?”

Jullien blinked slowly and ignored him. One thing he'd learned from his “lovely” experiences was that non responses infuriated his tormentors much more than his smart-ass retorts.

“You think you're a badass, don't you?”

He smirked at Kirill before he quoted another passage from the
Book of Harmony
. “Only those who aren't, think it. Those who are, know, and don't have to prove.”

Kirill curled his lip. “You think you're cute?”

“Adorably precious.”

Snarling, he shoved Jullien forward, toward the cargo bay. As he headed for the crew quarters with his gear, Kirill stopped him.

“You haven't earned the right for a bed, slag. What do you think? You're a tiziran?”

That made him want to slug the bastard and Kirill was lucky he caught the urge before he had Kirill searching the floor for his fangs.

“You'll bunk in the engine room and when you prove yourself worthy, we might allow you a blanket.”

Jullien felt his nostrils flaring as he followed Kirill to his new “quarters.”

Over and over, he reminded himself that he'd survived a lot worse than this. Crueler tormentors with a much bigger axe to grind, who'd shoved it up his ass with a vengeance.

This too shall pass
.

This would be a child's play, with a group of infants who thought they knew cruelty. They were amateurs.

Jullien stored his gear in a closet in the engine room and made his way up to the cargo bay to help secure their load for takeoff. What he quickly learned was that Kirill's attitude was contagious, and he was as welcome to their crew as a lethal STD in a whorehouse.

Still, he held his tongue and his temper. For Ushara. She was the goal in this. In the long run, they were inconsequential. His days here would drag by, just as his months in prison had. If his grandmother's cruelty had taught him anything, it was to bide his time and focus on what mattered most.

Survival.

He grimaced as the stryper shoved him from behind. “Watch where you're going, slag!”

Jullien clenched his fist to keep from hitting the bastard. He hadn't been the one moving. Whatever.

The tone sounded to alert them to secure themselves for launch. When Jullien headed for a seat, the stryper stopped him in the doorway and pushed him back through it. “Slags to the bay. You're just cargo.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me, slag.” He slammed the door in Jullien's face and locked it.

Stunned, Jullien watched as they headed down the hallway away from him and laughed at what they'd just done. Turning around, he stared at the cargo bay. Was it even pressurized? Or sealed for an atmosphere? Some of these older ships weren't.

And there was no place for him to secure himself for the launch.

Shit. So this was how they were planning to kill him.

 

C
HAPTER
14

Ushara waited in nervous excitement with Vasili as the
Night Rain
docked in the bay. This was what they'd been counting down to for weeks on end now, and ever since she'd gotten word that they were returning, she'd been breathless with anticipation.

Oxana had even brought little Nadya out to join them to welcome Jullien home.

Strange, she'd never been like this before. Not since she'd been a small child and had waited eagerly with her mother and siblings for her father to return home from his missions. She was absolutely dancing with her eager enthusiasm.

Nadya squealed as the ramp lowered. “Basha Dagger!”

Oxana laughed. “He probably won't be the first one off, Naddicakes. Cocks have duties that take them a few minutes to attend before they can leave their ships.”