His long, black braids were immaculately pulled back into a single ponytail. At his age, she’d expect him to be in their military, yet he wore civilian clothing.
And while it’d always bothered her whenever someone commented on her eye color or Eve’s, she now understood why Andarion eyes were disconcerting. That pale white really stood out against his dark skin.
They alone would have made him appear feral and fierce. Combined with his fangs . . .
Full-blooded Andarions were scary creatures.
Hadrian straightened up slowly to face him. She was impressed that he met him as an equal. If he had any fear, he kept it completely concealed.
Syn grinned at her before he addressed them. “Hadrian meet Hauk.”
Hauk inclined his head to Hadrian.
Hadrian just arched a brow. “He is definitely not going to fit in my fighter . . . even by himself.”
Jayne laughed.
And so did Hauk. Shaking his head, he scowled at Syn. “These the two?”
“Yeah.”
“Awesome.” He swept his gaze from Hadrian to her and then paused. “Sorry. I don’t mean to stare. You just remind me of someone.”
“Friend?” she asked.
“Almost family. But she’s Andarion.”
Hadrian’s frown deepened as he met Jayne’s gaze. “Are you related to Galene Batur?”
She wasn’t sure who was most stunned by the question. Her or Hauk.
“My cousin. Why?”
Hadrian clapped Hauk on the shoulder. “Explains why they favor.”
At the offended look on Hauk’s face, Hadrian’s eyes widened. “Sorry. I forgot the no-touch Andarion rule.”
Rolling his shoulder, Hauk stepped away from him and turned his attention to her. “You really Galene’s cousin?”
Jayne braced herself and slid her hand toward her blaster. “Yeah. You have issue with the Winged Baturs?”
“No. Just wondering how she’s been.”
Jayne shrugged at the last thing she expected him to say. Relaxing, she moved her hand from her blaster. “Haven’t seen her since I was a kid. We don’t exactly stay in touch. Andarions have a natural dislike for half-breeds and that side of the family made it known a long time ago that they had no use for us.”
He held his hands up. “I get it. I’ve flown through that animosity myself, but no worries from me. My best friend is mixed human and Andarion, and my brother married a human.”
That caught her off-guard. “Seriously?”
Hauk made the Andarion sign of sincerity over his heart.
Syn took another drink. “And he’s a War Hauk.”
That caused her jaw to drop. War Hauk’s were second only to their royal house when it came to the Andarion caste system. “And you’re friends with mix-bloods?”
Hauk flashed her an adorable grin. “I’ve never done what was expected of me. Besides, I’m the last male standing in my branch after they disowned my brother for his marriage. They can’t afford to disown me, too. Gives me a lot of latitude.”
Yeah, right. Not from what she knew of her Andarion relatives. They were a mean lot when you displeased them. Most of her family wouldn’t even acknowledge them. Even though she’d been exiled from Andaria, her grandmother had been considered dead by her family the moment she’d married a human.
