Chapter 27

Chapter

Twenty-Seven

Fiona

I stood in a state of shock after Devon and Vyk left. Had that just happened? I’d been glad for Vyk’s arrival, since it saved me from a very awkward conversation with the captain, but I had not been comforted by the look in the commander’s eyes as he’d led Devon away.

I sat on my desk and released a long breath. Should I go after them? Should I join the tour of the academy’s security systems to make sure the two guys didn’t end up in some kind of standoff? No, my presence definitely would not help with that. Besides, Vyk had no reason to flex his authority over Devon. It wasn’t like I was anything to him, after all. And Vyk wasn’t a brute.

I winced at that thought. He had been Inferno Force, and he’d been known for ruthless interrogations. Not that he had any reason to interrogate Devon. Keep telling yourself that, I thought.

“He wouldn’t do anything to the man,” I said out loud, more to convince myself than anything. Would he?

The sound of steps in the hallway made my pulse quicken. Were they back so soon or had Gorman managed to escape? Then I realized that the footfall wasn’t heavy and determined, it was light and quick.

“There you are, hon.” Reina’s towering blue hair popped around the doorframe before the rest of her appeared. Her snug fuchsia dress hugged her angular frame and reached below her knees, which explained her short stride. The contrast between her hair and dress was striking, and seemed even more dramatic since everyone else in the school wore dark uniforms. “I thought I might find you here. I did check the female tower, the staff dining room, and the Stacks before coming here, so it wasn’t my first guess, but here you are!”

I managed to return her bright smile even though my heart was still hammering from the appearance of first Gorman and then Vyk. “What can I do for you?”

“Not a thing, hon, but I thought you might have seen the Earth envoy.”

“Captain Gorman?”

Reina nodded her head and her vertical swish of hair bobbled. “That’s the one. I heard that

you know him. ”

“Barely,” I said, the words rushing out so quickly that the Vexling’s eyebrows shot skyward. I tempered my voice. “I mean, I do know him but not well.”

“Then you haven’t seen him yet?”

“Actually, I have.” My cheeks warmed. Why did I feel like I was on the receiving end of a

very skillful interrogation and losing? “But he’s not here now.”

Reina’s smile didn’t falter. “Do you know where he is? Noora was hoping to give him an official welcome alongside the admiral.”

The thought that Admiral Zoran and his wife would be waiting on Devon while Vyk toured him around the school made me twitch with guilt, although I also knew that it wasn’t my fault. I hadn’t asked Vyk to show the captain around.

“He’s with Vyk.”

This surprised the lanky alien, and she steepled her thin fingers in front of her face. “I suppose it makes sense that the security chief would want to elaborate on all the safety improvements at the academy. I suppose Noora can wait to officially welcome him at the banquet.”

“Sorry.” I didn’t know why I was apologizing but I felt responsible for the missing captain. Then I blinked a few times. “Banquet?”

“We have to welcome him to the academy properly. I know we don’t have a full house of cadets, but a dinner with those remaining and the staff should impress him.”

How had I missed the memo about that? As long as I wasn’t assigned a seat next to Devon, it shouldn’t be too awkward .

“I know we can count on the Earthlings to make our visitor feel welcome. He is here to assess the exchange program, after all. We want to give him the best possible impression of life here at the academy.”

I stifled a groan. I had a sinking feeling that Vyk did not have impressing the captain at the top of mind. He might want to impress something on him, but I doubted it was anything that would help the case of the exchange program.

Reina cocked her head at me. “Is everything okay, dear? You look a bit green. I wouldn’t worry if you were a Vendelen, but the shade isn’t as flattering on Earthlings.”

“Totally fine,” I lied, as I walked her to the door of my office, “but I should probably get back to work.”

“Of course.” Reina fluttered her hands at her throat. “I’ll see you tonight.”

I waited until her brisk steps had faded before stepping into the corridor myself. I needed to find Gorman and Vyk before, well, I didn’t know what, but I had a gut feeling that it wouldn’t be good for the captain.