Chapter 15

Chapter

Fifteen

Vyk

A dmiral Zoran stood at the tall, narrow window cut into the obsidian stone of his office. He peered at the Restless Sea in the distance, but I had a feeling he wasn’t focused on the crashing waves.

I shifted from one foot to the other as I stood at attention on the other side of his desk. “The reports are inconclusive, Admiral.”

“But the Taori believe the swarm is still out there?”

I glanced at my device and the report from our Taori allies, who were on a lifelong journey across multiple galaxies to defeat a menacing alien swarm. “They do, although there have not been any sightings or distress calls from planets. ”

Zoran grunted and spun around. “One advantage to increasing our defense against the Kronock is that it will provide protection from this swarm.”

I heard the disbelief in his voice. It was true that the Sythian swarm had been encountered by our Drexian brothers when they also first met the Taori, but the swarm had gone quiet. It was as if they’d vanished, although I knew that was too good to be true.

“Our deep-space sensors will alert us if any enemy approaches,” I told the admiral. “And our pilots have been briefed on battling the swarm.”

“Let us hope it does not come to that.” Zoran braced his hands wide on his desk and leaned forward. “In the meantime, we have more pressing issues.”

I slid my gaze to my security report. We had reviewed every area of concern I had, which had included the upgrades to the perimeter monitoring and more robust alarms on the forbidden tower. I had also briefed Zoran on my plans to remove the remaining beast from the dungeon and transport it back to its home world, although I was awaiting word from an Inferno Force captain on his willingness to transport it. The warrior owed me one after I’d saved his ass from a pair of irate Carrithian warlords on Devos. I had not revealed that particular detail to Zoran.

Had Zoran heard about the game? Had he heard about the wager? Fiona had sworn me to secrecy. She would not have gone to the Academy Master, would she? As I was debating the possibility that I was about to be seriously questioned for a breach of professional conduct, Zoran dragged a hand across his brow .

“The humans are sending an emissary to assess the status of the integration of our staff and our cadets.”

It took me a moment to cast aside my defensive arguments and process what he meant. “We are being inspected?”

Zoran huffed out a breath that was more weary than angry. My own feelings were less nuanced.

I curled my hands into tight fists. “They wanted this alliance. They wanted their cadets and instructors to assimilate with ours. Now they wish to judge us?”

“There are concerns.” He didn’t need to add the words after the trials . We both knew they were implied. Earth had been horrified to discover that members of the Drexian High Command had been trying to rid the school of humans. Part of that blame lay at my feet.

I rested my fists on his desk. “If they have concerns, I will assure them.”

The admiral slid his gaze to my white-knuckled fists. “Let us assume the visit is only to confirm the positive updates I have provided. At least we are between terms. There will be time to show the visiting captain the academy without the chaos of the cadets.”

I straightened and nodded at my superior officer, but my ire was still up. Another human was coming to the Drexian Academy, and this one was coming to judge. I could almost feel the human’s critical gaze on me, and my lip curled in response.

“I trust this will not be a problem?”

I snapped my head at Zoran’s question. “No problem. ”

Once dismissed, I strode through the academy, fuming that even more Earthlings were on their way. When would humans ever stop tormenting me? Then I asked myself the crucial question, why did I persist in tormenting myself with the one who consumed every waking thought? Why had I not avoided her at all costs? Why had I insisted on torturing myself with a female I would never have, could never have, should never have?