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  That should and would have brought him to safety, had a piece of another ship not come flying out of nowhere to hit one of his rear stabilizers and wedge in it. The impact sent him careening sideways.

  His control panel lit up as the alarms sounded to warn him--as if he couldn't tell he was spiraling through space with no control. Even if he'd been asleep, the impact would have thrown him from his bunk and slammed him into a wall.

  He tried to hold it steady, but his control panel went completely dark. "Jupiter?"

  "I see you, Dagger. Headed your way."

  Yet it was too late. If Jullien didn't set her down, he was going to lose the ship.

  Maybe his life.

  Jullien had no choice. Using his powers alone, he took control and did his best to limp the ship toward the prison grounds for a hot emergency landing. Just as his nose started bleeding from the strain of flying, Jory caught him with his tractor beam and helped to set her down not far from Chayden's ship. Jullien wiped at the sweat on his forehead and blood on his nose.

  Dizzy, he could feel with his powers the shrapnel that was lodged in the panel. It wouldn't take long to get it cleared.

  Unfortunately, he wouldn't be able to do it while they were taking fire on the ground. They needed to get the League prison under control and the soldiers off their backs.

  Switching to a hardsuit, he geared up and went to help evacuate the prisoners.

  He grabbed a rifle and tested his mic before he called out to the only Tavali he personally knew on the ground. "Psycho Bunny? Holler at your Gort drey. Dagger's on the ground to lend a hand. Where you at, boy?"

  Chayden laughed over the headset. "Hey! Dagger, head down the left corridor from the main entrance. Got a party for you. Could use your expertise. Bring it, Andarion. I want some fire to rain down on these assholes."

  Jullien headed to his location, then snorted as he saw them. Shit.... What the Bunny had failed to mention was that he, Ryn, his half-brother Drake Cruel, and the Sentella commander Jayne Erixour were all pinned down by League soldiers.

  Luckily, Jullien came in behind the League forces and shot grenades into their positions. He dislodged them and opened fire so that Chayden and the others could get out and head toward safety.

  Chayden paused by his side and grabbed extra ammo from Jullien's pack. "Thanks. I owe you. I ran out completely while we were trapped."

  "It's all good."

  They jogged back to where the bulk of their team was moving Caronese prisoners into transports.

  Jullien took a younger kid from one of the Sentella soldiers, and half carried him on board one of The Sentella ships before he doubled back to help evacuate more from inside the prison.

  As he neared Chayden, who was with more Tavali, he heard a strange popping, static sound. Concerned, Jullien slowed down.

  Suddenly, the walls around them illuminated to show Kyr Zemin's furious face as he took inventory of the utter destruction The Sentella had wrought on his facility. He demanded they return the prisoners to their cells and leave the prison.

  Immediately.

  Jullien laughed as he joined Chayden's group. "Yeah, that always works. Enemies cooperate so well. Just for the hell of it. You know. If you ask politely enough."

  Laughing, Chayden recharged his blaster while Darling told Zemin as much, in far ruder terms.

  Fain and Ryn moved to stand near them.

  "What are the odds that Darling is about to do something stupid?" Fain said under his breath to Ryn while Jullien took care to stay covered in Tavali gear so that neither recognized him for who he really was. He double-checked that even his voice was masked.

  Chayden snorted. "I'll take odds on radically stupid."

  "Put me down for nuclear-level idiocy," Jullien said in a low tone. "I've never known Cruel to hold his temper long in a situation like this."

  A heartbeat later, as if on cue, Darling ripped his helmet off, exposing his face ... which was a blatant act of war, since he was the ruler of Caron and he'd just led an attack on a League facility.

  Zemin arched a daring brow at Darling. "So you're declaring war on us, then."

  But Darling wasn't intimidated at all. "Interesting concept. I would say that you declared it on us when you marched your army into our empire and destroyed our property, and kidnapped our citizens. And now we're answering it. No one seizes my people. I don't care who you are."

  "We were invited in by your own council, who wanted you removed from power."

  "Were you?" Darling asked with a hint of hysterical laughter in his voice. "That's not what I heard. In fact, I have the entire CDS, who will swear they never asked for you to intervene. That you took it upon yourself to attack us without provocation."

  "You have no idea what you're unleashing right now, verikon."

  Jullien winced at that particular insult.

  Which Darling answered with a worse one. "And neither do you, ciratile. You ever try this shit again with me and mine, and I will rape and plunder the village, and burn the motherfucker to the ground...."

  Jullien let out a low whistle at something he knew Kyr wouldn't take well.

  Darling looked around at the bodies on the floor. "And as you've seen here today, there ain't nothing you bitches can do to stop me. Talk is cheap. Pain is free. And I'm peddling the shit out of it. So you come on and get some."

  Jullien turned toward Chayden. "Pay up, Bunny. Nuclear stupid, for the win."

  Chayden held an expression that said he'd just sprouted an Andarion-sized ulcer.

  But all kidding aside, Jullien wasn't as lighthearted as he pretended. This was serious. While he might have his pardon out of this, The Sentella had just officially declared war on The League.

  With Tavali help.

  There was no going back now. Darling's dumbass temper had just pulled their entire universe into a bitter, nasty war. All the major empires would now be split....

  Those who still supported The League.

  Those who backed The Sentella.

  Jullien had no idea who would win it, if they would even survive it, but one thing was certain.

  Nothing would ever be the same again.

  CHAPTER 32

  "The war is on."

  Ushara froze as Jullien came into the command center, where she was having lunch with Trajen and the girls.

  Unaware of what the word meant that their father had just used, the twins ran to him, laughing and shouting out, "Paka!" at the top of their shrill lungs.

  Smiling in spite of the knot in his gut over what had happened on Caron, Jullien scooped them up and hugged them close, wishing to the gods he could put them under lock and key for the rest of eternity. This was what scared him most about Darling's stupidity. They would have to pay a price for it. Their children were the ones who would bear the worst brunt of their bad decisions.

  Trajen exchanged a frown with Ushara.

  "What war?" Trajen asked, seeking clarification.

  Jullien carried the girls with him to sit in a chair before he turned on the monitor, and directed it to an Andarion news channel. "The Sentella has declared war on The League."

  "What?" Ushara gasped. "When did this happen?"

  "While we were helping Cruel liberate his fiancee from League custody. He and Zemin got into it, and ... well, I would give you his exact spiel, but we have young ears in the room. The edited version is Darling, as emperor, declared war on The League, with the backing of Andaria, Exeter, and according to Ryn Dane, us."

  "Paka?" Mira asked. "What's war mean?"

  "It's a bad fight, tura." Jullien sighed as he smoothed the hair back from her forehead and kissed it. "I had no idea when I told Saf where they were keeping Zarya that he'd tell Cruel where she was. He was supposed to give that intel to my brother for a rescue, not her idiot SO."

  Ushara gaped. "What?"

  "I wanted him to pass the information on Zarya's location to Nyk. Not Cruel. Darling's never had his head on straight.... Did you know he once blew up Nyk's favorite fighter while running away from home? He's lucky he survived that. Nyk loves his ship the way I love mine."

  "Who's Nyk, Paka?" Mira asked.

  "My twin brother."

  She gasped and looked at her sister. "Paka's gots a twin like us!"

  "There's two Pakas!" Viv gasped, wide-eyed. "We's gots two pakas!"

  Laughing, Jullien picked up Viv and kissed her cheek. "No, baby. You only have one paka. Please don't tell anyone else that you have two pakas or they'll give your mother strange looks. My twin brother is your basha, like Trajen is."

  Viv settled down into his lap and started tracing the lines of the INDURARI tattoo on his inner forearm with her fingertip. For some reason, it'd always fascinated her. Thankfully, she was now old enough that she no longer tried to bite into it. There had been a time or two when she was first cutting her fangs that she'd actually drawn blood.

  Jullien met Trajen's gaze and sighed. "So, boss, we are now at war with The League ... according to our ambassador."

  "Does Dane have the authority to do that?" Ushara asked. "Doesn't he have to consult the UTC before he makes a declaration of this magnitude?"

  Trajen gave her a droll stare. "Sure. But since his mother is the one we all answer to..." He glanced back to Jullien. "Not that it would matter. Venik would side with The Sentella just for the profiteering opportunities. And Exeter will do whatever Syn and Caillen say. If Exeter's in it, Chayden's in it. If Chayden's in it, Hinto and the Septurnum are in it. And Hermione Dane will always back whatever Darling does, since she thinks of him as her own. That leaves us as the solo Tavali Nation standing."

  Which was never a good position to be in.

  Ushara groaned out loud. She tugged a protesting Viv into her lap and held her close. "Tell me that you at least got your pardon out of this nightmare?"

  Jullien pulled it up on his link and handed it to her. "That I did. I'm officially safe to fly through Sentella-held space for the rest of my life. Provided I don't prey on any of their cargo or people. If they win this fiasco, I'm home free."

  Trajen let out a bitter laugh. "They'd all shit their pants if they knew who they'd really handed this pardon to."

  "Yes, they would. Much as I almost did when I had to take it out of my father's secretary's hands to get it, while my father was standing over him."

  Ushara's eyes widened. "What? For real?"

  He nodded. "They broke us into groups by our surnames. "Lucky me, the S's were being handled by the Triosans."

  Mira gasped at his words. "Did you see the bad Andarions there, Paka? Did they try and hurt you?"

  "I saw some." He widened his eyes and tickled her until she squealed and laughed. "But I was bigger and meaner."

  Mira made a large O with her mouth.

  Ushara continued to hold Viv.

  Jullien didn't miss the panic in her gaze or the tenseness in her grip. And with that, he turned to face Trajen. "Did you get my transfer request?"

  Trajen glanced to Ushara. "I did, and I noticed that you bypassed my VA to make it." He tsked at him. "You still haven't learned the proper chain of command, drey."

  "What request?" The panic seeped into her voice. "What dumb idea are you contemplating now?"

  Trajen laughed. "I'm so glad you phrased it that way.... Your husband wants to take a rank reduction to start making regular runs again."

  "What!" She glared at him. "Why?"

  Growling at both of them, Jullien adjusted Mira in his lap and handed Ushara his link. "Did you see this?"

  She ground her teeth as she read the file. "Of course I did. I already chewed my father out for going behind my back and filing the forms for Vas. He came home yesterday, after withdrawing from his classes without consulting us, thinking I was going to put him on a crew. He's now swabbing out latrines for Sheila as punishment."

  Amused at the thought, Jullien glanced to Trajen before he returned his link to his pocket and spoke to Ushara. "Your father wasn't wrong. It's been over a year since Vas graduated. We can't keep him from flying. It's in his blood."

  That only seemed to piss her off more. "I wanted him at university ... like his paka. It won't hurt him to get a degree first."

  "But he's not me, Shar. He wants to be Tavali, not a professor or a politician. We have to give him credit. He spent a year at university like we asked, but he hates it. He's young and anxious to prove himself. Just like his mother was at his age."

  "Don't you dare throw logic at me. You'll be sleeping on your ship tonight." Tears welled in her eyes as she tightened her grip on Viv to the point their daughter began protesting it. "I can't assign him to a crew. Especially not now!" There was a note of hysteria in her voice.

  "I know, mia," Jullien said calmly, though he felt the same way she did. "It's why I requested the reduction. As you said, especially now that we're at war. I'll take him on as my crew, with Thraix. You know we're not going to put him in harm's way. We would die before we let any harm come to him."

  Trajen got up. "Hey, girls? Want to visit Basha Trajen's treasure room? See what new toys I have for you?"

  They both shrieked in excited happiness as they scrambled from their parents' laps toward him.

  He looked at Jullien, then Ushara. "You two work this out. I will do whatever you want about the ranks and assignments. Personally, I like Jules where he is. But Vas comes first. Send over whatever paperwork I have to authorize. I'll watch the twins until you two fight it out."

  Trajen picked them up. Mira immediately hugged him and put her head down on his shoulder, where she smiled and flashed her little fangs. Trajen's features softened as the dark shadows of his past flitted across his eyes, leaving them haunted and filled with grief. "And don't worry about the war. The other Nations can fight if they want. We're sitting it out, officially. I won't stop any of our crews from making a profit from it, but I have no intention of putting our family on the line for them. I've seen enough war in my lifetime. I want no more of it."

  Grateful for his position and words, Ushara squeezed her eyes shut until they were alone, so that she wouldn't cry. Clearing her throat, she locked gazes with Jullien. "Trajen told me earlier that you've only been running rescue the last few months for him? Not carrying cargo?"

  "Yeah. It's what I'd keep doing with Vasili. That way he'll have his training and hours, but won't risk jail or fighting."

  Getting up, she moved to sit in his lap. "You would really take a rank reduction?"

  "For you and Vasili? Of course. Without hesitation."

  She shook her head, amazed by him as she straddled his waist. Her darkheart was ever the most precious thing in her life. Always looking after them. "Then I'll assign him to your crew."

  "And I will guard him for you."

  Ushara cupped his whiskered cheek and stared into those beautiful stralen eyes. "I was so mad at you for staying behind to fight."

  "I know."

  She tugged at his bleached hair, missing his darker locks. "I always thought I'd be happier in a command position. I didn't want to be like my parents ... dragging my kids along on missions. Or leaving them behind with their grandparents while my husband and I ran our own crew. I was so thrilled when Trajen made me his VA."

  "I sense a but coming."

  "But," she said with a sad smile. "I feel like I don't have your back. Like I'm leaving you unprotected."

  He took her hand into his and led it to his cheek--the ultimate Ixurian expression of love and affection. "No, mu tura. I've been alone the whole of my life. Cast out by everyone, except you. Whether you're with me or on the other side of the universe, I can feel your protection. You are my Darling light. Ever guiding me home and keeping me straight."

  Her heart pounding, she smiled at him while she traced his lips. "I hate being apart from you, for even a heartbeat."

  "As do I." Jullien sucked his breath in as she reached down to stroke him. "Shara--"

  "Hmmm?"

  He forgot his protest the instant her cool fingers swept against his hard cock. Burying his hand in her soft hair, he kissed her.

  Desperate to be inside her, he carefully stood with her in his arms and set her on her desk. As he pulled away from her lips, she stared up at him from beneath her lashes. That heated look, with her swollen lips, ragged breathing, and tousled hair always set him on fire.

  Jullien fumbled with her pants until she laughed.

  "Having trouble, keramon?"

  He growled in his throat. "I swear half the time you choose clothes based on how much frustration they're going to cause me later."

  Laughing, she nipped at his chin as she reached down to open her pants and slide them down so that he had access to her. "Better?"

  Jullien couldn't speak while she slowly undid her top. Dipping his head to take her breast into his mouth, he slid inside her body.

  Ushara cried out in pleasure and wrapped her legs around his hips. She reached under his shirt and dug her nails against the flesh of his back in the most exquisite way. It sent chills over his entire body as he thrust against her.

  She hooked her heels behind his back and pulled him in even deeper. "Kimi ti, mi ixur."

  "Iki, tu, haefre."

  She sank her fangs into his neck an instant before she came in his arms.

  Jullien savored every shudder of her body against his as he waited for her finish. Only when she was completely sated did he join her.

  Her eyes glowing with warmth and love, she placed her well-manicured hand that held her wedding ring against the tattoo in the center of his chest, over his heart. No one before her had ever looked at him the way she did.

  Without scorn or hatred.

  Without judgment.

  With total acceptance.

  She traced the petals of the rose with her fingernail, leaving a trail of goose bumps on his chest. "I wish I could keep you inside me forever."

  Cupping her breast, he smiled down at her. "You're always inside me. There's not an instant of the day when I don't carry you in my heart."

  Ushara bit back a sob at his tender words. "What's bothering you? And don't say nothing. I know you better."

  With a ragged breath, he withdrew from her and pulled his pants up to fasten them. "Guilt."

  Terrified of what he might have done while away, she paused as she righted her uniform. She tried not to jump to any conclusions, but her mind was running rampant with all manner of horrors. "Over what?"

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