Chapter 2

Chapter

Two

Vyk

I should not have been thinking about it. I should not have been thinking about her.

The corridor was deserted with only the rhythmic slapping of my boot leather against the floor as I stalked through the academy. But it was the pounding of my heart that was distracting me. Fiona had left my office long ago, yet I could think of nothing else.

Infuriating female.

As much as I wanted to sneer at the human for daring to tell me what to do, I could not help but admire her courage. She had risked my wrath by giving me an order that was not hers to give, and she had shown no fear. Then she had challenged me when I’d told her she should fear me.

“Would you like that? ”

Her breathy question echoed in my head and sent heat rushing to my cock. I groaned and shifted my gait so I would not injure myself or arrive at the Academy Master’s office with a noticeable lump tenting my dark, uniform pants.

I was used to being despised by others—the enemy combatants I interrogated, the Inferno Force recruits I initiated through toughness, the cadets at the academy who feared my punishments. It did not bother me because I was generous with my disdain. You did not become notorious and feared by being kind or having legions of friends, and it had taken me most of my career to engender the level of fearful respect that I now commanded. Fearful respect that Fiona clearly did not feel.

How was it possible that a human—a female human—was willing to stand up to me when most Drexians would not dare?

She had courage. I would give her that. I had already learned that humans were stronger and braver than I’d ever imagined, as much as I hated to admit it. They had proven that in the trials, but there was a part of me that still rejected the idea of the smaller species training alongside Drexians. We were allies with the Earthlings, but it was as much because our people needed mates as anything. Until recently, human females were mates for Drexians. Pretty, biddable mates.

The thought of Fiona being anyone’s mate made a growl tease the back of my throat and my cock twitch. Then a gruff laugh escaped my lips and echoed off the vaulted ceiling. Fiona might be beautiful, but she could never be called biddable. Any male who tried to tame her would as soon lose an arm as win a kiss .

I thought back to the first time I had seen her across the crowded main hall when cadets were bustling between classes. Her golden wavy hair had caught my gaze because it was so different from the dark hair of Drexians. She was so different from Drexians in so many ways, which was probably why she’d provoked such strong feelings of resistance in me.

She meant change. A change in the way things had been done for millennia. A change in ancient traditions. A change that would alter the future of my people.

She had been right about me. I had despised the idea of humans at the Academy—my Academy. When I had attended as a cadet, the buildings had already been weathered and the stone well-worn, but there had been only Drexians and only males. It had been a rigorous and often dangerous training ground for those of us willing to venture into the universe as warriors. Like I had told Fiona, it was not for the weak.

“Not that she is weak,” I muttered to myself, my words vanishing into the ominous silence clinging to the stone walls and lurking behind the flickering light from the sconces.

No, Fiona had proven that she was strong enough to stand up to me. Not even many cadets could claim that. My mind wandered traitorously to thoughts of what else she might be strong enough to withstand, of what challenge I would like to issue.

“Commander?”

I jerked to a standstill, blinking at the admiral’s adjunct as he stepped from Zoran’s office. Had I reached the Academy Master’s domain so quickly?

“Tivek.” I gave the Drexian a nod of my head. “Admiral Zoran summoned me.”

He returned the gesture as he moved aside to let me pass. “He is waiting for you.”

I squared my shoulders and walked into the long office flanked by black stone walls, with a single, tall slat of a window that overlooked the Restless Sea. The admiral sat at the desk in front of the window with his head down. Like me, he boasted silver in his hair, but unlike mine, his was only shot through the temples.

“Commander Vyk.” He glanced up as I strode forward. “Thank you for coming. I wished to discuss the security measures that have been put into place since the Kronock attack. I know you inherited a school riddled with security issues, but it seems that the added measures have been successful.”

I stood across from him and grasped my hands behind my back, well-aware that my predecessor had been a mole responsible for allowing the enemy access to our security codes. I had been brought on to enforce stricter security measures, but my original task had also included a directive from the Drexian High Command that I regretted. A directive to ensure that the humans at the academy failed.

“They have been, although I cannot take credit for much of it. You did an impressive job of rebuilding the school’s defenses before I arrived.”

Zoran shrugged one shoulder. “It was what had to be done.”

I nodded, understanding Drexian duty as well as anyone, and understanding that Zoran had also been Inferno Force. It was a brotherhood we shared, which was why I suspected he had insisted I remain in my position after the scandal of the trials. He had given me another chance. It was a chance I would not squander.

The admiral touched the flat panel of his desk and a holographic image appeared and hovered between us. He gestured to the scrolling text and rotating schematics of the academy. “Update me.”

I cleared my throat. “The shields have been fortified, there are patrols flown on a rotating schedule, and new sensors have been installed in the perimeter defenses around the school.”

He nodded. “Any indication that the Kronock will try again?”

I bit back a protective snarl. “No, but if they did, they would regret it. Our fortifications are secure, and our defensive weapons are the most advanced in the fleet. I have updated and modified them myself.”

Zoran grinned. “I knew I would not regret bringing on an Iron as my security chief.”

I flushed from the compliment, always proud to have come from the Academy’s School of Engineering, and I decided to take the opening. “We have not spoken directly about the trials, aside from when I was questioned with you present. I want to be sure I still have your confidence, Admiral.”

His smile slipped, and his expression turned solemn. “I am satisfied that you made all attempts to stop the trials when you discovered the true intent and the extent of the sabotage. I believe that you would have stopped them, if the High Commanders had not imprisoned you. ”

My throat was tight as I gave him a curt nod, remembering the frustration of being thrown in the academy’s dungeons before I could stop the trials. “I could have stopped things sooner.”

“You could have.” He held my gaze. “We all make mistakes, even battle-hardened Inferno Force warriors. It is how we face them that defines us. You have done nothing but work to repair the damage and restore faith in our school’s traditions. I hope you have also realized the error of your belief regarding humans.”

My mouth went dry as my mind instantly went to Fiona. I had gone from being irritated by her presence to being haunted by thoughts of her. Then I remembered that Admiral Zoran’s wife was human. “My beliefs are wholly changed, Admiral.”

He held my gaze for a few more beats, the silence hanging heavy between us before he tapped his fingers on the desk and the holographic image vanished. “Then you have my complete trust to protect every cadet and every instructor at the academy.”

I puffed out my chest and lifted my chin. “I will defend them with my life.”

“I have no doubt.” Zoran thumped a fist across his chest in salute, which I recognized as an extreme sign of respect, since he outranked me.

I returned the salute before pivoting and striding from the room, allowing myself an exhale only when I was on the other side of the sliding door.

“You were summoned by the Admiral, as well?”

I turned to the sound of a familiar voice. Lieutenant Volten. The Drexian I’d enlisted to help me save the cadets in the maze before I had been thrown into the dungeons. We had never spoken about the night before the trials when I had confided in him, but there remained a bond between us.

“Lieutenant.” I tipped my head to the young flight instructor then noticed that his friend, Lieutenant Kann, a Blade instructor, was with him. I inclined my head to him as well. “Lieutenant.”

Kann stiffened slightly, even though he saluted me just as Volten did. It was not lost on me that many of the staff still eyed me with suspicion, even if Zoran trusted me.

“I was just leaving.” I stepped to one side so they could enter the Admiral’s office.

Volten cut a questioning look at Kann before he spoke. “Since the term is over and most of the cadets have gone, we were talking about getting a game of cards together with some of the staff. Can we count on you?”

I stared at him. He was inviting me to join them in a card game? From the way the Battle instructor’s eyes popped wide, Kann seemed just as startled. “A game?”

“Nothing serious, but we thought it could be a way for our staff to get to know each other better.”

Kann managed a lopsided grin. “The female instructors will be joining us, so it will not be what Volten’s mate calls a ‘sausage party.’”

I did not know what that meant, but it did not matter. He had said the females would be there. More than one, which meant not only Volten’s mate, Ariana. It meant Fiona. As much as I knew that I should stay far away from the woman who despised me, I could not help but subject myself to the sweet torment of being around her and feeling how deeply she disdained my presence. “I would be pleased to join your game.”

“You would?” Volten seemed surprised before his grin widened. “I mean, good. We look forward to seeing you.”

I did not care that Volten and Kann exchanged a bewildered look before I left them. I did not care that a card game was a trivial use of my time. I did not care that it would mean opening myself up to the judgment of staff members who had not forgiven so quickly. I only cared that I would get a chance to be around Fiona, and maybe I could show her that I was not as hard and unyielding as she believed.

Then I touched the scar on my cheek that was covered in silver scruff, a reminder that Drexians needed to be tough, that we had to be hard to survive. I thought about all I had done and all I had been forced to do to keep other Drexians and other planets safe. My stomach sank. “Which is why no human would ever want a monster like me—not then and not now.”