Chapter 31

Chapter

Thirty-One

Vyk

I stepped from the bathroom with water trickling down my back and dripping onto the stone floor. I’d wrapped a towel around my waist after rubbing it quickly over myself, but I was by no means dry. It didn’t matter. It would have to do. I needed to return to work or, in today’s case, start work.

Now that I was not with the human envoy, the reality of what I’d done gnawed at me. At the time, it had felt reasonable—necessary, even—to knock him down a few pegs and show him what it meant to be a cadet at the Drexian Academy. How could the man assess our school if he had no idea what the cadets, including the humans embedded with us, experienced.

I did not know if Admiral Zoran would agree with me. I could tell from the look on Tivek’s face that he had not been impressed when he’d found me putting the captain through his paces. Seeing the human bare-chested and bruised had not been what he’d expected.

“I will answer for that,” I said to myself, as I snatched a fresh uniform from the standing wardrobe and laid it out on the bed.

My gaze lingered on the bed that was still rumpled from Fiona’s abrupt departure earlier. I hadn’t slept after she’d left, although part of me had wanted to slip beneath the blanket and feel the warmth her body had left behind.

I scowled at myself, shaking my head in disgust. What was wrong with me? I had spent decades living on cold battleships with other Drexian warriors. I was used to being alone. I preferred it. So why was I preoccupied with the human female? If I had seen another Inferno Force warrior luring a female into his quarters and obsessing over her, I would have taken him to task. But I could hardly take myself to task when I had no idea why I could not purge myself of thoughts of her.

I clenched my teeth as determination pulsed through me. “I will conquer this.”

What I would rather do was conquer her, but I forced that thought to the back of my brain as I dropped my towel to the floor and stepped into my snug boxer briefs and then my dark uniform pants. A thumping on my door made me turn and stifle a groan.

I would be answering for my actions sooner than I expected. I had no doubt that Tivek had come to summon me to speak to the Academy Master, so I did not glance back. “Come. It is open.”

I picked up my shirt as the door slid open behind me.

“What the actual fuck did you do?”

The voice was piercing, sharp, and female. Not Tivek.

My entire body tensed as I turned, shirt still in hand. Fiona did not wait for me to invite her in or finish putting on my shirt. She didn’t even glance at me as she stormed into my room, her fists tight by her side and her face flushed.

“I did not expect to see you again so soon.” I managed to keep my voice steady, even as my heart pounded.

She whirled on me, her eyes flashing fury. “Well, are you going to answer me?”

She’d come in on a whirlwind of rage and caught me off-guard, and I had little memory of what she’d asked me. Luckily, she had no intention of letting me answer.

Fiona flung one arm wide. “Did I hear correctly, or was the envoy from Earth, the captain sent to assess how the exchange of humans is progressing, the man who will determine my future here, barely on the planet for an hour before you beat him up?”

I bristled at this accusation. Not that I would not have relished beating him. Not after the way he’d stood so close to Fiona, eyeing her like she was something to be devoured. But I had not laid a hand on the man. “I did not touch the captain.”

She barked out a derisive laugh. “Then how did he end up with a bruised face?”

I flinched but fought to keep my expression measured. I had enjoyed seeing the human smack the incline wall, but now the moment of triumph felt hollow and small. “I showed him the gauntlet in the School of Battle and offered to run it with him. He fell.”

Her eyes became slits. She did not believe me. I did not blame her. That was hardly the entire story. “You thought the tour of the academy should include him testing out the apparatus that humbles most Blades? I’m surprised you didn’t send him through the maze.”

I clenched my jaw to keep from responding. What could I say? Her anger was justified, not that I would admit that. If I confessed that I had relished seeing the human struggle, that I had savored his sweat and strain, then I would have to admit why, and that I could not do.

The gauntlet was a punishment for him knowing you, touching you, invading your space like you would never allow me. The bruise was his payment for being someone you do not reject and despise.

“I treated him as if he were a Drexian,” I finally said. “I am sorry if that was wrong.”

Fiona crossed her arms over her chest and loudly expelled a breath. “So, mistakes were made?”

I did not answer that. As we stood staring at each other, her gaze drifted to my bare chest, as if she had just noticed that I was not fully dressed. She bit her bottom lip and jerked her gaze away. “Are you going to put on a shirt?”

“You did interrupt me,” I reminded her.

She pressed her lips together as if biting back a response, but I sensed she would not continue talking until I dressed.

I did not rush as I slipped my arms through the sleeves of my shirt. “Who is he to you? ”

Her eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard the question, Captain. It is evident that you know this human. How well?”

She spluttered for a few moments, pink splotches coloring her cheeks. “We were stationed on the same base before I left to come to the Academy.”

I buttoned my shirt, never taking my gaze from her. “I have been stationed with many warriors. I have shared close quarters with many of them, but none have ever stood as close to me as he was to you.”

“I am not involved with the captain.”

That had not been what I had asked, but I did not challenge her. It was clear that there had been something between her and the human. “I will have to take your word that whatever was between you is over.”

“I do not lie.” She practically spit the words at me.

“Then I will be honest with you. I do not trust the captain. I do not believe he is here to give a fair assessment of the human integration at the academy. I think he is here because of you.”

Fiona was silent, but concern flitted across her eyes. She did not disagree with me. Not enough to argue.

“But his arrival changes nothing,” I husked, stepping closer to her. “The terms of our wager have not changed.”

She drew in a quick breath, as she tipped her head to hold my gaze. “I never said it did. I don’t welch on deals.”

I gave a single nod. “Good. I will expect to see you tonight. ”

Fiona released an exasperated sigh and flounced from my quarters with almost as much outrage as when she’d arrived.

What are you doing, Vyk?

I did not know how to answer myself. All I knew was there was a threat to my plan, a threat to Fiona’s place at the Academy, and a threat to my world.

And the only way an Inferno Force warrior knew how to handle threats was head on.