Chapter 28

Chapter

Twenty-Eight

Fiona

“ I don’t understand.” Ariana gave me a side-eyed look. “What do you mean you can’t find him?”

I rubbed my hands briskly over my arms and wished I’d thrown on a jacket before rushing outside. The wind off the water was biting, and even though the water was striking the bottom of the nearby cliffs, I could hear the crashing waves from where I stood.

I’d found my friend in the shipyard, inspecting one of the fighter jets and chatting with the Drexian pilot who’d transported Devon to Drex. After briefly meeting the pilot and thanking him for making all the jumps from the space station, I’d yanked her behind the nearest fighter and told her that I had no idea where Earth’s envoy had gone .

“I mean that I’ve looked everywhere, and there is no sign of him or the security chief.”

Ariana wrinkled her nose. “Why are you looking for Commander Vyk?”

I huffed out a breath, more impatient with myself for not telling my friend the entire story than at Ariana for being confused. “He’s the one who ran off with Devon.”

Ariana’s eyes widened. “Now, that’s a twist I didn’t see coming.”

“Be serious.”

“I am. I did not think Vyk was the type of Drexian to run away with anyone, male or female. He’s too stern for that.”

I wasn’t sure if I agreed with her assessment. Lately, I’d started to see glimpses of emotion in the commander, and when he’d interrupted me with Devon, I had been sure that I’d picked up a flash of something dark and dangerous in his eyes, which was why I was looking for Devon. I didn’t want Vyk to have the wrong idea about me and Gorman and somehow take it out on the guy.

“I don’t mean ran off like that.” I steadied my breath. “I mean that Vyk insisted on taking Comm—Captain Gorman around the academy and telling him about all our security measures.”

Ariana patted the side of my arm. “There you go, then. If he’s showing him the entire academy, it could take a while, especially if he’s going over all the security protocols. I’m surprised I haven’t seen them come out here yet. This is where we launch the perimeter patrols.”

“So, they haven’t been out here? ”

She shook her head. “Nope, and I’ve been here since I left you in your office. I actually saw Gorman’s ship arrive, but I was too busy tinkering with an engine to say hi. I figured I’d meet him later.”

If he survives that long, I thought, letting dark thoughts swirl in my brain.

Come on, Fi. Commander Vyk is not a homicidal maniac. He’s not going to throw the guy out of a tower just because he isn’t a big fan of humans.

“The towers.” I snapped my fingers. “I haven’t checked all the towers yet—or the maze.”

“Why would he show him the maze?” Ariana eyed me like I was unhinged. “Are you sure you’re okay?” She dropped her voice and cut a glance over her shoulder, even though the whipping wind made it impossible for anyone to hear us from more than a few feet away. “This isn’t about you being nervous about how you left things with the guy from Earth is it? Did he mention it yet?”

“Not directly,” I admitted. I wasn’t going to tell her that Vyk walked in on him before he could press me further about how I’d left. Not yet, at least. First I needed to make sure the guy wasn’t being tortured by the security chief. “We don’t have a torture chamber at the academy, do we? Do you think there’s an old one in the dungeons?”

“You’re starting to scare me.” Ariana squeezed my arm. “Why would you think that Vyk is doing anything but exactly what he said he was going to do and give the guy a grand tour?”

I knew that it would sound crazy if I explained it, but I had the craziest feeling that Vyk had been jealous of Devon. Of course, that was absurd. There was nothing between me and Vyk but resentment, judgment, and now a wager.

He had never shown the slightest bit of interest in me. Even what I would have normally perceived as heat from a guy, I could easily assume was just his anger at me for being at the academy. There had never been any love lost between us…and yet, I would have bet money that he had looked at me like a jealous boyfriend would have when he’d seen me talking with Devon.

The craziest part? I’d felt like a cheating girlfriend by just allowing Devon to stand so close to me. When I’d seen Vyk, my first instinct had been to explain my innocence, when I didn’t owe the Drexian a single explanation.

I rubbed a hand across my forehead. Maybe the fact that I’d slept in his bed—although completely alone—had made me feel some misplaced loyalty to him. I had felt a surge of jealousy when he’d come back all sweaty, even though he owed me as little explanation as I owed him.

I blew out a breath and managed a smile. “You’re right. I don’t know why I’m so worried. Maybe because I know Devon, and he’s here to write up a report on the integration of humans into the Academy. I guess I want his visit to go well so nothing changes.”

Ariana released my arm. “If Devon is fair-minded, none of us have anything to worry about. The beginning might have been bumpy, but I think we’ve adapted to the Academy beautifully.”

I shot her a look. “You’re just saying that because you’re banging your boss. ”

Ariana sucked in a breath. “He is not my boss. Volten is my colleague. I’m banging my colleague, thank you very much.”

I laughed at this, already feeling better. “My bad.”

“It’s a good thing Volten is such a big—and I do mean big—distraction. Otherwise, it would be hard for me to stay here with Sasha still out there.”

I pulled her into a fierce hug, kicking myself for being so paranoid about Devon when she was dealing with a sister being held by the Kronock. “You know we’re going to go get her as soon as we have a target.”

When I leaned back, Ariana’s eyes were glassy. “I know. Maybe don’t tell your buddy from Earth about our rag-tag rescue team. I have a feeling it wouldn’t be authorized by Earth Planetary Defense.”

It hadn’t occurred to me to keep that a secret, but now that she mentioned it, I knew Ariana was right. Nothing we were planning was authorized by Drexian High Command or Earth Planetary Defense. It was why we had assembled our own team that included cadets, and why we’d solicited information from Inferno Force warriors on an unofficial basis.

I made a motion of zipping my lips. “You know I would never do a thing to risk our mission. My lips are sealed.”

Ariana forced a laugh. “Not that it will be an issue if Vyk has thrown the guy into the dungeons with that beast.”

“Right.” I laughed along with her as I turned back toward the Academy, hoping that we were both very wrong, and that the security chief was giving the captain the world’s most boring security briefing.