Chapter 14

Chapter

Fourteen

Fiona

“ I t makes no sense,” I said under my breath, as I stood at the front of the classroom and stared at my lecture notes on the lectern without focusing on the words. Of course, I wasn’t talking about my lecture on using traditional battle formations for battles in space. I was still obsessing over the bet I’d lost against Vyk.

Why did the Drexian want to spend the night with me—aside from the obvious, which he promised he would not attempt? It had always been clear that he hated me, hated my kind, hated that we were ruining his academy. So, what kind of twisted mind wanted to submit himself to my presence and force me to spend time with him when I’d made it equally clear that I would rather do just about anything else? Hell, if we were going to get real, I would rather do just about any body else .

I frowned at this, realizing that it wasn’t entirely true. As much as I hated Vyk for his attitudes toward humans and women, he was exactly the type of growly older guy I’d go for, if he wasn’t such an ass.

I glanced up when I heard footsteps. The seats that fanned out around me in a half moon were empty, and the light were dim. Cadets weren’t even at the academy, but someone was walking toward me, their face obscured by the low lighting. I frowned at the male form that I suspected was Vyk. “Are you here to discuss details?

“I am not.”

I instantly recognized the low, deep voice, and my shoulders relaxed. Tivek. Then I realized why he’d probably sought me out, and I bit my lower lip. I’d made Vyk promise not to reveal the terms of our wager to anyone, which meant that I also couldn’t reveal it. As much as I wanted to expose the commander, I did not want to expose myself and the impulsiveness that had gotten me into my current mess.

It was a situation that did not look good for a Strategy instructor. Of anyone, I should have seen it coming. I should have known that he was better at Drexian cards than me. I should have known that he would not make a huge wager he thought he had any chance of losing. Now that I had some distance from the game, I could see all my mistakes. I also knew that they were all a result of me being convinced that I was smarter and shrewder than a big warrior who struck me as a hit-first-and-ask-questions-later type. It was hard to admit how badly I’d misjudged him and myself.

When he came fully into view, I attempted to act surprised. “I thought you were someone else? ”

“Someone else who needs to discuss details?”

I ignored this. “Did you come to hear about the game? Or did you come because you already heard?”

Tivek joined me at the lectern, his expression revealing nothing. “I only heard that the security chief played well.”

I barked out a bitter laugh. “That’s an understatement. Vyk clearly knows his way around a card game.”

Tivek nodded. “He has a reputation for being good.”

Another wild understatement. “You could have told me, you know.”

Tivek held my gaze, his eyes penetrating as he seemed to study me. “I have never played against the Drexian. I have heard rumors though. Rumors that he took many credits from his Inferno Force crew mates.”

I wished credits were the only thing I’d wagered. “You should have told me that I couldn’t win.”

The admiral’s adjunct cocked his head at me. “Would you have believed me?”

Touché. The Drexian had a point. I had been fully confident in my own strategic skills and talent at cards. I never would have taken anyone’s opinion that I could be defeated. If I believed everyone who’d doubted me as a woman in the military, I would never have gotten where I was now. I’d had to assume the hubris of my male counterparts to even the playing field, which meant that I charged in boldly, even if I shouldn’t. Not that I regretted this. It had worked most of the time. Until Vyk had literally called my bluff .

I managed to give Tivek a weak smile. “Probably not. Thank you for coaching me. I was able to hold my own against the rest of the players.”

He inclined his head to me in an abbreviated bow. “You are very welcome.”

“You’re sure you didn’t get in trouble for taking us into your boss’s secret lair?” I was still reeling from the knowledge that the Academy Master had a luxurious study hidden behind the wall of his stark office. But I’d learned not to be startled by any secrets held by the ancient school.

The tall Drexian clasped his hands behind his back. “No. Admiral Zoran fully approved of me helping you. It was his idea.”

This made me remember something about Zoran. “The admiral was also Inferno Force. Is he how you heard rumors about Commander Vyk’s card prowess?”

“Zoran did not have personal experience playing Vyk, but he has his pulse on much of what happens in the Drexian Empire, and especially in Inferno Force.”

The stern Academy Master continued to surprise, and his loyal and enigmatic adjunct was part of the mystery surrounding him. “Did you serve under Zoran when he was part of Inferno Force?”

Tivek’s expression quickly shuttered. “I did not.”

Before I could ask about the details surrounding him becoming the Admiral’s closest associate and confidante, he cleared his throat. “There is another reason I sought you out today.”

My curiosity about him and Zoran was pushed aside as he dangled a new mystery in front of me. It wasn’t the most skillful change of subject, but I was too interested in what he wanted to tell me to question him further.

“Earth Planetary Defense wishes to send an emissary to assess the success of integration of humans in the Drexian Academy.”

“They couldn’t ask for reports from the officers stationed here?” I’d thought that was part of our job. We were embedded in the school and would be the boots of the ground who could report back about its success or failure.

Tivek moved his head from side to side. “After the trials, there has been discussion that outside eyes are required.”

This made my back stiffen. Earth military didn’t trust us. Even though we’d worked tirelessly and often behind the scenes to keep our human cadets safe and the program moving forward, they were second-guessing us. I wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that the highest ranking human officers at the Drexian Academy were women. Would they be sending outside assessors if I was a man?

“The Admiral is okay with this?”

Tivek released a breath as the first few cadets started to enter the back of the classroom. “He does not have much choice. He was notified of the Earth officer’s arrival in a few days’ time.”

It didn’t miss me that Tivek had emphasized the word notified . It sounded like the Admiral was not pleased with this intrusion, but also that he had little say in the matter. Not if he wished to keep the tenuous alliance with Earth after the disastrous first term. I was all-too-familiar with politics in the military, but even though I was an Assassin, navigating the politics of the Earth Planetary Defense was my least favorite part of serving.

“Did they say who they’re sending?” I asked as Tivek started turn away.

He paused and glanced back at me, pursing his lips and twisting them to one side as if concentrating. “His name is Gorman, I believe.”

My mouth went dry, and I was unable to ask for a first name. But I didn’t need it. I knew exactly who they were sending. Devon Gorman was exactly who’d I’d send if I was in charge. He was tough, smart, and ruthless. He also happened to be the officer I’d ended up in bed with right before I’d left for the Academy. I’d actually snuck from his bed and barely made it to my flight without a single parting word. And now he was coming to the Academy.

Suddenly, Vyk was not my biggest problem.