CHAPTER 13

Adara

I messed up.

I was expecting Cadet Corporal Ituk and his team. After Dorian came to check on them the other night I had spoken with Xander about it. I was fully aware of the dangers they faced, and while I had pushed for them to remain in their room for their own safety, I could see as well as anyone that they were starting to go stir crazy. So when Xan came to me for help with picking which team (or teams, that hasn’t been removed from the table just yet) to help guard Arty, Bromm, Foryk and Reece, Dorian’s was the first face that popped into my head. It was widely believed that I was insane. Most people wrote me off as unstable and kept their distance, even if they respected my intelligence and my work. I supposed having a high intelligence quotient came with a stigma that we also had a low emotional quotient to go with it. That simply was not the case. At least for me. I felt a lot, and I felt it loudly, especially when it concerned other people.

One of the main benefits of having both was that it allowed me to gather the intel and implement it in a social situation with rarely an unsuccessful result. Most considered it a ‘gut feeling’, or instinct if you will, but I knew better.

Well… I was conscious of the process that led to the conclusion, rather than just believing the conclusion came to me through supernatural or divine means.

What I wasn’t so good at, I was learning, was keeping other people in the loop. My brain had already found and enacted a solution to a problem, so it had already moved onto the next. I had a terrible habit of leaving people in my dust without giving them even a frayed piece of string as a guide to help them catch up .

Which was how I found myself eagerly welcoming Dorian and the other three I hadn’t met yet, while the boys were standing back, lost and confused. The poor sweet things.

Speaking of boys, I needed to get Arty alone. After accidently feeling him up when I’d tackled him to the floor yesterday, I had some questions.

But it seemed it was my turn to provide some answers first. ‘Guys, you already know Cadet Corporal Ituk. He and his team have just been assigned as your protection detail for the duration of the investigation. How fun!’

Foryk looked like his muscles were about to triple in size as he considered raging around the room, destroying everything in sight. It was obvious that he viewed himself as the team’s primary protector, and while he could still hold onto the role, having additional protection outsourced was probably a blow to his toxically masculine ego. I could see it behind his eyes, that whole me man, me protect mantra repeating over and over in his brain.

Meh, he’d just have to get over it.

Bromm seemed nonplussed, already digging through the piles as he got back to work. Reece looked pleased, though he eyed the three complete strangers behind him warily. At the end of the day, it was extra muscle and an additional barrier between them and those that were targeting them.

Arty, on the other hand, didn’t react. Like, at all . He was studying the new group like he could peer deep into their souls and uncover each and every one of their deepest, darkest secrets. Perhaps he could. I was not privy to any evidence that suggested the existence of preternatural powers, but that didn’t mean that didn’t exist.

‘Well, come on in. Don’t just stand there. There’s lots of work to do. Chop-chop!’ I beckoned them further inside.

‘So, we’re going through each pile one by one and sorting them into smaller piles. We’ve got a good system going, see. With you lot here, you can work on another pile at the same time and it’ll fly by twice as fast!’ I exclaimed, excited. It had been far too long since my workshop was clear and organised, and I was looking forward to being able to find what I needed immediately and without fear of being crushed under a mountain of metal.

The new guys stood back and watched the others work for a moment before Dorian approached me. ‘Uh, our job is supposed to be more of a… security focused gig. I think it would be better to have us posted outside the door,’ he tried.

‘Nope. No one is supposed to know about your assignment. Didn’t Xander tell you?’ I informed him, then whispered for dramatic effect. ‘It’s a secret mission.’

‘Xander?’ he questioned.

‘Oh, uh, Captain Hironimus. We’re friends, so I’m used to the informality. Sometimes I forget.’

‘Right. So… secret mission. Work on the piles. Keep up the pretence of a typical cadet shift of manual labour. Got it.’

He sauntered over to his friends and they studied Arty’s team before copying their actions.

By the end of the shift, it was clear that more hands were better. We achieved far more than before. There was actual space to move around now which was just weird . Workshops were supposed to be full of stuff taking up every available surface. We weren’t supposed to see the floor.

I knew that wasn’t true, but it just felt so strange to stand inside a semi-tidy workspace. It wasn’t, well, me.

Oh well. Adapt and keep moving forward, or whatever the saying was.

I followed the cadets outside as they left, though their destination was the mess hall while mine was my room. I usually had someone deliver my meals so I could avoid the more populated areas of the ship. While I was aware of how others perceived me and I didn’t particularly care what they thought of me, it was still a nuisance trying to socialise or wedge myself into a conversation I wasn’t exactly welcome in.

It was hard to make friends when everyone thought you were the weird kid. Even my own family didn’t want me around, so it wasn’t as if I blamed them. I was used to it. That’s why I held on so tightly to my friendship with Xander, and why I’d flagged Arty as potential friend material and decided to snag him up before anyone else could. I had the same instinct about Arty as I did about Xan all those years ago, and nobody could say I didn’t follow my gut.

But those same feelings were screaming at me that something was off about him. Not off as in he was a bad person, but more like he was hiding something. Something didn’t add up. There was a puzzle piece missing.

It wasn’t until the other day that I realised it wasn’t a missing puzzle piece, but an entirely different one wedged into a slot that it didn’t fit. He was a mysterious guy through and through, and it sparked my intrigue to the point of obsession. I’d watched him every moment we were in the same room. I’d even gone so far as to pull up his file to dig deeper into his past, but that was a little too obtrusive even for me, so I exited out of it without looking.

I knew I could be obsessive on occasion. I’d latch on and hyper-focus on something or someone, and if it were a living being then it would typically end up scaring them off. Xander was the only one who wasn’t afraid of the intensity of my friendship and loyalty. Until Arty.

I didn’t particularly want to befriend the others, but team dynamics ensured they were a packaged deal, so I was trying with them, too. Though they didn’t outright shun me, they weren’t exactly seeking me out, either. They tolerated me, and that was enough. The feeling was mutual.

Before they hopped into the elevator, I called out. ‘Arty, a moment?’

He glanced toward the others that were already inside, but Reece let him know they’d wait for him on the upper deck, then reached over to press the button to close the door. Dorian’s immediate protests were cut off by the door closing on him, and we were left alone as they climbed the decks.

‘What’s up?’ he asked.

I pulled him back towards my workshop. And that’s what it was. It amused me how they all thought it was just an overflowing storage room. I was having too much fun waiting for them to figure it out so I hadn’t corrected them.

When the door swished shut behind us, I turned around to face him. Or rather, her.

‘I know you’re a girl,’ I blurted, and watched with morbid fascination as the colour completely drained from her face.

‘W-what?’

‘You’re a girl. I know. It’s a really good disguise, but not much can fool me. Good try though!’ I grinned at her, but it only seemed to make things worse. Instead of smiling back, she paled even further and swayed as if she were about to faint.

I reached out, prepared to catch her if she fell, but the colour suddenly returned to her skin. She steadied herself so quickly I almost believed I imagined it. Huh.

‘How?’ A ha! Confirmation received.

‘Well, there was just something about you that was a little too feminine, and when I was on top of you yesterday I felt the chest binding beneath your uniform. Oh, and when you leaned over in your sleepwear the other day and I noticed two little somethings underneath. You should really make sure the binding is tight enough. Anyway, when I put two and two together, I couldn’t see you as a boy anymore. Not unless you were going for pre-teen.’

I expected a little laughter at the joke but must have misread the room. Oops. I was proved correct when she looked me square in the eyes, and I suddenly felt as if I were prey and she the predator.

‘What are you going to do?’ she asked, her voice a higher tone now that she wasn’t trying to lower it to blend in as a male. But the cold, calculated quality almost had me backing away. The fatal promise in her voice was unexpected. I kept my feet firmly planted on the floor, though. I was right about her. I knew it. She wouldn’t hurt me.

‘What do you mean?’ I retorted, her question a little too vague for me to answer adequately.

‘You know I’m masquerading as a male enrolled in a strictly male institution. You’re confronting me about it. So, what now? What happens next? Are you going to turn me in? Have you already done it?’

My eyes widened so much I feared they’d pop right out of my head. ‘No! No, no, no. Not at all. Sorry, I can see now why you might think that, but I really did mean it when I said I wanted to be friends. You can trust me. I promise.’

Her face twisted up into a puzzled scowl. ‘I don’t understand. Why wouldn’t you turn me in? You could lose your job if anyone found out.’

I scoffed, insulted. ‘How many times do I have to tell you? We’re friends. You can trust me. Your secret is safe with me.’

‘Friends,’ she tested the words on her tongue. ‘Why? What do you want from me?’

That question alone made me sadder than I’d been in a long time. ‘I want to be friends , Arty – is that even your name? It doesn’t matter. Anyway, I knew I could trust you after we met. I don’t know why you’re masquerading as a boy, but I figure you’ll tell me eventually. You wouldn’t be doing this without a good reason. Plus, I don’t have many friends. Just Xander, and he’s so surly and broody all the time it can get a little annoying. And I’ve never had a girl friend before. I’ve always wanted one.’

Her brows disappeared beneath the bangs that constantly flopped in front of her eyes. ‘That’s it? You just want to be friends?’

I nodded once, firmly. ‘That about sums it up, yep. ’

She paused. ‘Oh.’

I released a boisterous laugh at her utter bewilderment. I took great pleasure in doing the exact opposite of what people would expect and then watching as they attempted to reconcile the expected outcome with the reality. Arty did not disappoint.

Arty … Speaking of which.

‘What is your real name, by the way? Your girl name?’

Her entire body deflated as if she’d been full of air and I’d just popped her. ‘Arty works. My name is Artemis. I picked a male name that was close enough to my chosen name to avoid confusion.

Wait a minute… ‘ Chosen name? Is Artemis not your given name?’

Wrong question. I’d been doing so well, but every one of her muscles tensed and I knew I’d stepped in it. I didn’t know what it was I’d stepped in, but I was covered in it.

‘You don’t have to answer that if you don’t want to,’ I assured her.

The small, grateful, closed-lipped smile she shot me was like the sun shining down on me from a clear sky on a warm summer’s day. Bittersweet but a confirmation of what I’d already discerned from my past scrutiny. Earning her trust was going to be an uphill battle, and I could see the fight hidden just beneath the skin. She was strong and persevered even when things went tits up.

Yup, that decided it. We were going to be friends for life.

‘Maybe another time. I should go meet the others before they come to find me. Dorian did not look happy to leave me behind.’

‘Ha! He sure didn’t! I’ll see you after lunch, yeah?’

She inhaled slowly, held it for a moment, and then exhaled before responding. She was back to the cooly confident Arty I’d come to know, her mask securely in place. ‘Yeah, I’ll see you in a bit.’

And then she was gone.

I understood from that interaction that she had her secrets, and it would take a while for me to uncover them all, but I would. I wasn’t sure I’d like what I learned, but I could sense she wasn’t a bad person. It’s why I hadn’t turned her in when I realised. She really had struck me as sad and lonely, but also determined. I wanted fill that hole.

It would require a lot of effort to prove I was worth trusting, that I really did have her best interests at heart, but I was just as determined. Once I set my mind on something, I didn’t stop until I got what I wanted.

And I wanted Artemis.