When that battle ended, only two Hauks remained. Father and son. The father died just days later of his injuries, leaving his son to found what was considered the first true blood lineage of Andaria. A hero who would later refuse to be the chieftain of his homeworld when they’d offered him the first united crown of Andaria.
“A Hauk is not a politician. There is no room in our hearts to sit in peace with those who would do any Andarion harm. We are, and will forever be, protectors of our brethren, family, and homeworld. So long as a single War Hauk lives, no nation will defeat us. No race will dare to invade our air, lands, or sea. We will stand and we will defend.
“For we are not bred of mercy and we are not bred for peace.
“We are born of fury.
“Forever Andaria!
“And forever fear the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk.”
Sumi had learned to recite that speech as a class project to honor Fain’s Andarion heritage. He’d never once said a word about it being his direct ancestor who’d originally given it.
She looked at Thia. “I didn’t realize that was his lineage.” Because of the legend of the Thirteen War Hauks, Hauk was the most common surname on Andaria – taken to honor the family that had given so much to protect their freedom and planet, and to remind their people that it only took a handful of brave Andarions willing to fight and die for their brethren to hold back a superior army.
Thia nodded. “Dancer is the name of that first War Hauk who founded their lineage. His brother Fain is named for the War Hauks’ father and the eldest brother, who was the first to die in action while protecting his father’s back. Uncle Hauk and Darice are the last two members of that most prestigious bloodline, and are the only two in all of Andaria who can legally be styled as the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk. If Dariana releases Uncle Hauk from his pledge —”
“Another female could tie into his lineage.”
Thia nodded. “One with a higher-caste bloodline than hers. Should Uncle Hauk do that, Darice would no longer be styled as Darice of the Warring Blood Clan of Hauk – only the children of the two strongest unified lineages can use that title. Darice would be downgraded to Darice of the War Hauk Blood Clan. And Dariana would fall back a level in the Andarion caste system. Forever.”
But there was one thing that still didn’t make sense to Sumi. “Then why not marry Hauk and breed children with him herself? Would that not ensure her lineage and theirs?”
The darkness returned to Thia’s gaze at that question. “To begin with, that would still downgrade Darice’s title. Unless she’s willing to allow Uncle Hauk to be listed as his father and remove Keris from Darice’s lineage – something she has said repeatedly that she would never do… as I said, she hates Uncle Hauk and really doesn’t believe he’s worthy of her bloodline. So much so, that to preserve her right to keep Keris’s lineage as her own and to block Uncle Hauk from his, she had Darice more than a decade after his father’s death.”
Sumi gaped at something she should have figured out by their ages. But honestly, it hadn’t dawned on her. “How did she do that?”
Had she exhumed his body for DNA?
Ew!
Thia raked her hand through Illyse’s coat. “Whenever the males of prestigious bloodlines enter their obligatory military service, their sperm is taken and frozen so that if they die before they procreate, a female who has a legitimate claim to that bloodline, such as a pledged or married female, can be artificially inseminated with it.”
To carry on their lineage and DNA. Man, Andarions were weird.
Sumi was still aghast at their customs. “Pardon the pun, but that is so cold.”
“No, the coldest part is keeping Uncle Hauk tied to her and not going through with unification. It’s selfish and wrong on every level.” There was a lot of hatred and venom in those words.
“How so?”
Thia cursed Dariana under her breath before she spoke. “How much do you know about Andarion male anatomy?”
“They’re huge compared to humans.”
She snorted at that statement of the obvious. “Anything else?”
“No. Not really. Other than the fangs, claws, and eyes. Why?”
Thia lowered her tone before she spoke again. “They are creatures with very strong passions and urges.”
“Yeah, the whole I-would-rather-kill-you-than-look-at-you kind of gives that away.”
“Yes, but that’s not the only thing they’re aggressive about. Unlike humans, Andarion males have to…” Thia’s face turned absolutely red in the darkness.
“You okay?”
Fanning her face, Thia glanced to Sumi. “No idea why I’m telling you this, other than to illustrate what a bitch Dariana is, but… the males have to be… drained, for lack of a better word. Kind of like a lactating woman. If they don’t get regular release, it’s extremely painful for them and causes all kinds of problems and even severe illnesses for them. It’s why they mate early and tend to have extremely,” she dragged out the word, “large families.”
“Oh.” Now her face was as red as Thia’s. “So why’s that a problem? I’m sure any female would be more than willing to…” she cleared her throat, “drain Hauk.”
Including her.
Thia snorted. “He can’t. Ever. That’s why she’s a whoring, conniving Queen Bitchtress.”
Sumi arched a brow. Why not? Was there something physically wrong with Hauk? “You’ve lost me again.”
Thia released an irritated breath. “Long ago, to protect the purity of the lineages, the Andarions set down stringent laws. Adultery, which covers both married and pledged males, is punished severely and publicly. And…” Thia held her index finger up for emphasis. “Adultery by their laws means an Andarion male can’t touch any female, except his wife or pledged, without being removed from his lineage.”
Whoa. Wait a minute. Was Thia implying…
“Are you telling me Hauk’s a virgin?”
Thia visibly cringed. “Well… this is really awkward suddenly. Given that he’s my beloved uncle, my thoughts never went to that particular conclusion. I was speaking of celibacy, generic Andarion customs, and total bitches. But… now that you’ve mentioned it… considering his age when he was first pledged, and that the only time he wasn’t pledged, he was undergoing surgeries and physical therapy…” She bit her lip and nodded. “Yeah. That would be a safe bet. One that makes me want to hurt Dariana even more now that I know. What a minsid whore!”
Wow. Sumi sat back in total stupor. So no one had ever climbed aboard that giant piece of sexy male and taken him for a ride.
Unbelievable. Who in their right mind would bypass that opportunity? She didn’t know who this Dariana was, but the female had to be the dumbest cow ever bred.
It explained a lot about Darice. So much for superior genetic material. Brains were a nice component to have with all that brawn.
Not to mention, her opinion of her own sister bottomed if Omira had been told any of this. And surely she’d known what her marriage to Fain would do to him. That it would cost him his extremely prestigious family name. Forever.
Why would Fain have given up all of that for Omira? Surely not even love would be worth that degree of stupid.
“What about his brother Fain? What happened to him?”
Thia curled her lip in distaste. “Fain made the mistake of marrying a human who decided too late that the last thing she wanted was to be tied to an Andarion male who had no lineage.”