Desideria smiled proudly. “We do. Lillya.”
“Dancer has a picture of him holding her that he carries.”
Her smile widened. “It’s adorable, isn’t it? She thinks her uncle Hauk hung the very moons, he’s so tall.” She stepped aside for another Tavali to step forward. “This is my brother, Chayden. He flies a lot with Hauk and Ryn, and is an old friend of my husband’s.”
Chayden held his hand out to her. “Pleased to meet you.”
“You’re the one who dropped Dancer off on Oksana.”
“I am.”
She grinned. “I’ve heard you’re quite the pilot. Nice meeting you, Chayden.”
After that, the faces and names blended together until an extremely intense, frightening redheaded woman came up, holding a small boy in her arms. While all of them held the stances of trained soldiers and assassins, there was something particularly deadly about this one.
She eyed Sumi with suspicion. “I’m Shahara Dagan-Wade,” she said before Fain had a chance. “Syn’s wife.”
Ah… now she understood why everyone was so terrified of crossing this woman. A famed bounty hunter for the Overseer, she’d hauled in some of the worst criminals in the Nine Worlds.
Alone.
“You’re the one who shot Dancer for pretending to drop, I assume, this little guy.” She tickled his belly.
A miniature copy of his father, Devyn laughed. “I’m this many years old.” He held his hand out with all five fingers spread wide.”
They both laughed at him while Shahara kissed his cheek. “This is our little Devyn Devil.”
Sumi shook his tiny hand. “Pleased to meet you, Devyn.”
He screwed his face up thoughtfully. “So are you my new Aunt Hauk?”
Unsure how to answer, she exchanged an uncomfortable stare with Shahara before her gaze went to Darice. For once, he didn’t seem to mind that she was with his uncle.
She suspected part of it was that he was too thrilled to have Mari braiding his hair to match Dancer’s and Fain’s to be agitated over her relationship.
“There we go.” Mari patted Darice on the shoulder and stepped back to admire his handiwork. “Like a true Andarion warrior.”
Fain pulled out his sword so that Darice could use the blade as a mirror.
Slack-jawed, Sumi met Shahara’s unamused gaze.
Shahara sighed. “They’re like feral animals. You really can’t home-train them. I’ve been trying to for years.” She glanced back at Fain, who had a what’d-I-do expression as he noticed Shahara’s censure. “I give up.”
Thia let out a “heh” sound. “At least he didn’t hand him a loaded blaster and tell him to check the perimeter at night.”
“And was that so bad, daughter?”
Sumi turned to see Nykyrian standing directly behind them. Dang, he moved as silently as Dancer.
Thia patted her father on his cheek. “It’s fine, Dad. Scarred for life. But fine.”
Nykyrian wrapped his arms around her shoulders and held her back against his chest. There was no missing how much he loved and adored his daughter. How fiercely protective he was of her.
Nor did she miss the way Thia savored her father’s loving embrace.
Syn stepped around Nykyrian and handed a small jar to Sumi before he took his son from his wife and squeezed him until Devyn protested.
Sumi lifted it to see a small electronic chip. “What’s this?”
“Hauk’s TD. I killed the signal, but can’t peg where it came from. I can’t even ID the chip’s DOM or origin. Thought you might have better luck.”
Nykyrian gaped at Syn’s disclosure. “You? You couldn’t trace it?”
“Yeah, I know. Right? It’s really pissing me off that I got nothing. I’m sure Hauk can do something with it when he wakes up though.”
Sumi studied it carefully. “It’s not a League tag. Any ideas?”
Syn shook his head. “I hit a wall.”
Mari took it next to study it. “Never seen one like this before.”
“Looks Andarion.”
They stared at Fain, who was peering over Mari’s shoulder.
Fain took it from Mari’s hand. “It’s an older model, but I swear it’s similar to what we used when I was in the infantry corps.”
His jaw ticcing, Nykyrian narrowed his gaze. “You think it’s Jullien who tagged him?”
Shrugging, Fain handed the chip back to Sumi. “I don’t know. He’s had a hard-on for Dancer since he saved you at school. And the last few years definitely haven’t endeared my brother to him… It’s possible.”
“And speaking of…” Syn handed Devyn back to Shahara. “I need to borrow our lovely new friend and remove her tracker before it’s turned back on.”
Darice stepped forward like a respectful guard. “Do you need me to go with you, Sumi?”
She hugged him. “I’ll be fine, sweetie. Thank you for offering, though. It means a lot to me to have such a fierce and noble protector.”
When she started to release him, he held on to her. “Kimi asyado.”
She glanced to Thia for the translation, but it was Fain who explained it. “He says that he loves you tremendously.”
Sumi tightened her arms around him. “I love you, too, baby.” She placed a kiss on his cheek. When she pulled back, she saw the tears in his eyes.
“I’m an adult male now, Sumi. Not a baby.”
“Yes, you are, Darice. And you’re a strong, beautiful male. You honor your ancestors and all of Andaria.”
Darice smiled happily.
“Damn,” Darling breathed as he joined them. “Whatever she has, we need to bottle it in droves.”
Nykyrian scowled at him. “What are you talking about?”
“First Hauk, now Darice. I’ve never seen anyone tame so many rowdy Andarions with nothing more than a smile. Just think, if we had that, we could rule them all.”
Nykyrian pinned him with a wry stare. “I already rule them all.”
“Oh yeah, there is that.”
Syn gave his son one last squeeze before he turned to Sumi. “Come on, let’s get you deactivated.” He led her toward the infirmary.
Sumi hesitated. “Can I see Dancer before we do this?”
“Sure.” He took her to a small room where Dancer was hooked up to several monitors.
Her heart wrenched at the sight of him like that. He was so strong and vibrant that, like his friends, it was easy for her to forget that he was a mortal being who could be brought down by something as simple as a well-placed small shot or infection. “Is he all right?”
“The compound they used to stun him isn’t playing well with his system. He had something similar to an allergic reaction to it – which is more serious for an Andarion than a human. But he’ll pull through. I’m only keeping him unconscious because I know he won’t stay down if he’s awake. The bastard thinks he’s invincible.”
He was right about that. “Andarion TAM.”
Syn laughed. “He told you, huh?”
“Yes, he did.”
“Well maybe now that he has you, he’ll be less suicidal.”
“Meaning?”
Syn pinned her with a grim expression. “Instead of having something to live for, he now has someone to live for.”
Sumi wasn’t sure of the difference. From what she’d seen, Dancer had lots of people he lived for already. “I still don’t follow.”
Syn moved to check one of the monitors. “Since the day I met him, Hauk’s fought the world with one foot already on the other side of eternity. Like he’s fighting a ghost. He’s had no real sense of self-worth. No regard for whether or not he returned from a mission. I know, ’cause I was like that, too. We all were. We fought because it’s all we knew. But it’s different when you have something to fight for. Someone to come back to. Someone you know will be destroyed if you don’t make it.”