But before Darling could leave, Nykyrian pulled him into a man hug. “May the gods walk beside you every step of the journey, little brother.”

The meant a lot to him coming from the Andarion prince. Nyk had been an atheist who believed in nothing until Kiara had entered his life. For him to whisper a prayer for Darling…

It was special indeed.

One by one, the others did the same, and wished him well. It was something they’d never done before. Which made Darling wonder if they did it to try and keep him from killing himself or if they’d accepted the fact that he wasn’t coming back and they wanted to say their last good-byes.

They kept him so long, that it gave Nero and Jayne time to land and join them.

As Darling turned to head for the prison’s back entrance, he froze. There was a Kimmerian Corps uniform in with Nero’s crew. It stood out as much as Maris’s Phrixian battlesuit.

He frowned at the unknown soldier. What the hell was a Kimmerian doing here? They were a vicious breed of freelance assassins. Highly trained, they were known for their ruthless kills and merciless natures. Their uniforms were jet black, and like the Sentella’s tinged with whatever color the blood of the wearer was so that it would camouflage them should they ever be wounded.

This one was red blooded.

“Can we help you?” Darling asked him.

“I’m here for you, brother. To the end and beyond.”

Darling’s jaw went slack as he recognized a voice he knew as well as his own. “Drakari? What the—”

“You’re not the only one harboring secrets, Kere. One ass-whipping in a lifetime was enough for me. I won’t ever go down like that again, and by the gods, you’re not going down today. I won’t let you.”

Darling wanted to both hug and slap sense into his brother. Simultaneously. “We can’t both go in there. You know that.” If they both died, it would leave Caron without a governor.

But Drake wouldn’t be swayed by logic. “Then we both better get out alive. I mean, c’mon, do you really think I should lead anyone anywhere besides the local pub?”

He did have a point with that.

Touched by his brother’s loyalty, Darling reached out and cupped the back of Drake’s helmet in his hand. He pulled him forward and hugged him close. Nipple to nipple—just to piss him off. “I love you, little brother. You die on me today, and so help me, I’ll spend eternity kicking your ass.”

“Ditto.”

Darling released him and looked to Maris. “Keep him safe.”

“I intend to keep you both safe.”

And Darling was determined to see his people freed and then to blast this place to the real Kere’s domain. After that, while his friends, family, allies, and people headed back to Caron, he was going to fly to the League command center and drive his assassin’s blade straight through Kyr’s chest cavity where his heart would be if the man had one.