Darling shook his head. “And he lets you call him Dancer, too… damn. He really must love you.”
“It’s a beautiful name,” she said defensively.
He scoffed. “Says the woman who didn’t have to go to school or into League training with it. Take it from someone named Darling, it’s been a constant source of agony for him the whole of his life.”
She hadn’t thought about that. “I-I didn’t mean to hurt him with it.”
Darling covered her hand with his. “Trust me, given the way you say it, he doesn’t mind. If he did, he’d stop you. Tolerance is not one of his virtues.”
That was certainly true.
“Little Sumi?”
She went absolutely still as she heard the one voice she’d been dreading most. Her heart choking her, she slowly looked over her shoulder.
Time froze in that heartbeat as her gaze fell to Fain. Much older than the teen who’d once rocked her to sleep, he was still huge. Even bigger than Dancer.
Dressed in a Tavali battlesuit, he had his face painted similarly to the way Dancer had done hers. His Tavali mask hung loose around his neck and his braids were pulled back from his handsome face by a black band. His black gloves were tucked into his holster. Her gaze fell to his hand where he wore Omira’s wedding band on his pinkie. Just like Dancer had said.
The pain on his face was searing. He stared at her as if she were a ghost whose sole purpose was to haunt him. As if he couldn’t believe his eyes.
Darling looked back and forth between them. “You two know each other?”
Sumi licked her suddenly dry lips as she tried to think of how best to answer Darling’s question.
“I was married to her older sister.” Well, Fain took that ball out of play. He blinked as if finally getting a handle on the fact that she wasn’t Omira and that she meant him no harm.
Funny, she’d been so angry at him for so long. Had hated his guts with such passion and blamed him for what Omira had done – when honestly, her sister had destroyed them all.
Sumi had stupidly thought that if she ever saw him again, she’d want to murder him on sight.
Now… that hatred was gone. Melted by a wave of feeling lost, abandoned, and heartbroken. She felt as if she was seven years old and, like Thia with her father, she just wanted to run into his arms and have him hold her the way he’d done when she was a girl. To tell her once more that everything would be okay and that he’d never let anyone hurt her.
Jayne smacked her hand against her own forehead. “That’s why she looks so familiar. I knew I recognized her from somewhere. Stupid me. I was thinking bounty sheets, not Fain’s wife.”
Fain’s gaze dropped to Dancer’s head in Sumi’s lap.
In that moment, Dancer blinked his eyes open as if he felt his brother’s presence. Guilt and anguish marked his features as he realized how this must look to Fain.
Moving forward, Fain dropped to his knees next to Dancer. “Hey, drey. You still with me?”
Hauk couldn’t breathe as he saw the raw agony in Fain’s eyes that his being with Sumi had caused his brother. And he felt like total shit over it. Fain was the one being he would never have hurt for anything. “I’m sorry.”
Fain scowled at him. “For what?”
He glanced at Sumi then back to Fain. “I never meant to hurt you.”
Fain cupped Hauk’s head in his hands. “Dancer… this doesn’t hurt me.” He gave him a sincere smile. “You deserve to be happy, kiran. It’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.” He dropped his hand to Dancer’s then he took Sumi’s into his other hand and joined them together. “Don’t let my past darken or taint your future. I love both my kisa and kiran. I always have.”
But even so, Hauk saw the ragged torment in Fain’s eyes. And he knew how much this hurt him to see them have what Omira had denied him. If anyone deserved to be happy, it was Fain. His brother was the most noble and decent being he’d ever known.
Pain in the ass at times, but always loyal and caring.
Always there.
“I’d rather you hit me, drey.”
Fain laughed. “You’re too weak at the moment. Few days… I’ll be happy to beat you down.”
Hauk playfully slapped his brother’s face. “You suck as a brother. I want my money back.”
Fain snorted. “Could be worse. I’m stuck with you.”
Syn returned to them. He let out an irritated sigh as he checked Hauk’s IV. “How much do I have to give you to keep you unconscious? Damn Andarion metabolism. Stay down, beast!”
He fanged Syn then looked at Fain. “Kill him.”
“I would, but his wife would tear me up. And no offense, she scares me. You really don’t.”
Ignoring them, Syn added more medicine to the IV as a skimmer appeared. A small team of medics ran off with lifts for Dancer and Bastien.
It was only then that Fain saw who was with them.
“Bas!” he said with a laugh. “And here I thought you were dead. Should have known better.”
Bastien gave Fain a droll, offended stare as they placed him on the lift. “Your brother damn near finished what you started. Luckily, I’m like a cockroach. Hard to kill.”
Shaking his head, Fain patted him on his arm. “It’s good to see you again, drey. Thank you for fighting with my brother for me.”
“Only for you, drey. Only for you.”
The medics rushed Bastien into the skimmer.
After carefully laying Dancer’s head on the ground, Sumi moved out of the way. She watched and hesitated as they all boarded the craft.
Fain turned back toward her as she stayed put while the others scrambled. “You coming?”
Afraid, she bit her lip, debating the sanity of going. If she left with them, she’d never be able to go back to The League. While she had no doubt that Dancer would save Kalea, she wasn’t sure what awaited her at their hands.
She was a League agent. They were all enemies to The League. Dancer might love her, but none of the rest did.
Well… maybe Darice and Thia.
But Dariana would hate her guts, as would Dancer’s parents. For that matter, if she went, she might cause him to lose his lineage.
Forever.
I’m not Omira. The last thing she wanted was to cause any harm to Dancer or to those he loved. Her presence with him would be nothing but misery and continued problems for him.
Excessive problems.
He was Andarion. She was human. Thia’s story about their asteroid belt went through her head. She had no business with him.
And yet…
She couldn’t stand the thought of not having him in her life. It hurt so much that it made it hard for her to breathe. It was like losing her daughter all over again.
Fain stepped down from the ramp and approached her. “What’s wrong?”
Overwhelmed by it all, Sumi wrapped her arms around her chest as tears filled her eyes. She couldn’t hurt Dancer the way Omira had ruined Fain. She couldn’t. One look at that wedding band on Fain’s hand and his Tavali uniform, and she knew just how wrong it would be to take away everything Dancer loved.
Even his name.
Clearing her throat, she glanced away, scared she might lose her conviction. “Dancer’s where he belongs. I should be going.”
Fain scowled at her. “Are you nuts? Do I have to toss you over my shoulder and carry you into the skimmer?”
She raked a horrified look over him. “You wouldn’t dare.”
“For my brother, there isn’t anything I would not dare. I would defy the gods themselves to keep him happy and safe.” He moved to stand right in front of her. “I saw his eyes, Sumi, and I know that wasn’t from Dariana. And unless I need to keep Nykyrian from ripping Dancer’s spine out through his nose, there’s only one female who could have done that to him on this trip. The one he was clutching when I arrived. It would devastate him to wake up without you.”