Obsession (Warriors of the Drexian Academy #4)

Chapter 1

Chapter

One

Britta

I t was starting again.

I darted between two massive Drexians as their booming voices bounced off the vaulted ceiling. My shoulders tensed at the crush of bodies filling the ancient stone corridors. After weeks of blessed quiet during the break, the return of hundreds of cadets made my skin prickle.

It couldn’t stay quiet forever, I reminded myself as I straightened my shoulders and tried to take up more space around the massive alien cadets.

A part of me wished that the break between terms could have lasted longer, the corridors could have stayed empty, and the only sounds echoing off the high, arched stone could have been the occasional slap of boots as one of the few remaining instructors stalked the halls.

Not that it had been only instructors who’d stayed when most of the Drexian cadets had left for their homes. Most of the humans had remained—instructors and cadets—since returning to Earth was a voyage that required multiple jumps through space, a process most avoided. I’d been one of those who opted not to have their body sucked through the fabric of space over and over in an attempt to return home. Not that I had much of a home on Earth.

I shook my head to shake off unpleasant memories and snap my focus back to my life now. I was a second-year cadet at the Drexian Academy and a member of the School of Engineering, otherwise known as the Irons. As I turned into the main hall of the school, my gaze drifted to the archway with the crossed hammers hammered into it, the symbol of the Irons. I swiveled my head to take in the other three stone archways that led to the other schools within the academy—Strategy, Flight, and Battle—each with its own insignia carved into the obsidian stone.

A chill went through me as I took in the details of the ancient building and once again wondered at the fact that I was there at all. I was part of the first group of humans to integrate the alien training school, a school that had been turning out fierce warriors for centuries. The long history of the Drexian Academy still left me speechless sometimes. They’d been training their people in complex battle skills long before there had been even a hint of organized military—let alone military training—on Earth. And now, against all odds, I was part of that storied tradition.

At first, almost everything about the school had intimidated me—the dark stone, the massive Drexians, the often-dangerous curriculum. But somewhere along the way, things had changed. I had changed. The awkward engineering geek who could barely make eye contact was gone. Well, mostly gone. I still preferred circuits to small talk, but having real friends for the first time in my life had helped me emerge from my shell.

Being the first females to join the academy, all the human women had banded together, forming bonds stronger than any I'd known. Jess and Morgan were as close to me as sisters and even Fiona and Ariana—the first female instructors—were more than superior officers. They were friends.

"Britta!"

The female voice drew my attention to the top of the sweeping staircase, where Jess was waving from a crush of cadets moving both up and down the wide stairs like currents battling for dominion. Her brown hair was pulled up to make her look more serious, but her smile was wide.

I lifted a hand to wave back, watching as one of the inclinators that followed the curve of the staircase whizzed past her, packed with cadets traveling to the higher levels. The sight of so many warriors-in-training crammed into the transparent compartment made my stomach flip. I preferred taking the stairs, even if my legs burned from the climb.

I pushed my way through the sea of Drexians until I met Jess at the bottom of the stairs. She grabbed my hand and tugged me from the throng of cadets rushing to class and to an alcove beneath the stairs.

“Can you believe this?” She had to raise her voice to a near-shout to be heard over the cacophony of deep voices and stomping boots. “Was it this crazy last year?”

“Crazier,” I told her, the memories of being a terrified first-year cadet still fresh in my mind. I might have risen to the top of my class in college and survived basic training for the Air Force, but none of that had prepared me for being surrounded by seven-foot-tall, alien warriors who weren’t all thrilled to be bringing humans into their ranks.

“I guess so.” Jess lifted a hand to run it through the hair that usually hung loose around her shoulders but stopped her fingers when she realized her hair was in a tight topknot. “It feels like forever ago that we were clueless first-years.”

I didn’t want to confess that I didn’t feel much less clueless on this first day of term than I had the last time. Sure, I now knew where to go, but the new cadets were still bigger and stronger than me. Every Drexian towered over me, and most barely spared me a glance.

The only upside to being a second year was that we didn’t have to take classes in each of the schools anymore. That meant I didn’t have to suffer through sparring lessons or muddle through flight training. As an Iron, all my classes were higher-level, engineering ones.

“If I’m being honest,” I told Jess, leaning close to her ear so I wouldn’t have to shout my confession to the entire hall, “I miss having the academy to ourselves.”

Jess nodded. “Same. It’s like we’re being invaded.” Her face twisted as she clearly thought about what she’d said. “Not that new cadets are the same as an invasion by the Kronock or the Sythians…”

The school had been attacked by the Drexian’s sworn enemy, the Kronock, shortly before they’d welcomed the first human cadets, and there had been a threat of an attack by the Sythian swarm over the break, so the school was no stranger to actual invasion.

I put a hand on her arm. “I know what you mean. It does feel like we’ve been inundated by Drexians after such a calm break.”

Jess gave me a grateful grin. “I never thought I’d miss the creepy echo of the empty corridors, but I do.”

I tightened my grip on her arm. “You don’t think some of these cadets will ruin the quiet of the Stacks for us, do you?”

Our group of human women had found solace in the academy’s ancient library and used the dimly lit corners between dusty bookcases to strategize a rescue for our friend Ariana’s sister, Sasha.

Jess glanced at the burly Drexians surrounding us and shook her head. “How many Drexian cadets did we run into last year in the Stacks?”

“Not counting your boyfriend, when you made him meet you there?”

Jess’s cheeks colored as she elbowed me in the ribs. “Not counting Torq. Or Ariana’s boyfriend Volten, Fiona’s Commander Vyk, or that hottie Kann.”

Now it was my cheeks’ turn to warm, although there was no reason why the mention of Kann should make my heart trip in my chest. He was a friend. Nothing else.

Of course, there was that matter of the deal we’d made. My palms tingled at the memory of Kann offering to teach me the art of seduction. I looked away and hoped Jess didn’t notice my reaction.

What had I been thinking? First off, I should not be trying to seduce anyone, especially not the Taori who’d been working with the engineering school to upgrade the academy’s security systems. I’d been assigned to be Zav’s liaison while he was at the school, which meant that the last thing on my mind should be anything but work.

But there was something about the Taori with his silvery horns, long hair, heavily inked skin, and swishing tail. He was both serious and primal, highly intelligent, and deeply intuitive. I didn’t know much about the Taori, but I did know that they were journeying across the universe to defeat the destructive Sythian swarm that came from their planet. They’d been traveling for decades and would probably never return to their home world. Maybe it was a combination of that heroism and Zav’s brilliance that made it impossible for me to act normal around him.

Kann had witnessed me being reduced to a simpering idiot, which was why he’d offered to help me. That had been embarrassing enough, but why had I agreed to his offer? There was no way I was going to make a move on the Taori, even if I did find myself drawn to him. And there was no way I could let Kann teach me his moves. That would be beyond mortifying.

“Britta?” Jess’s voice jerked me back to our conversation.

“Sorry. I was thinking that we should be safe from Drexian cadets in the Stacks.”

Jess smiled at me. “That’s what I think. At least we’ll be able to continue our strategy sessions for Sasha’s rescue in there without being disturbed.”

“I hope so.” The thought of the new term slowing down our plans to rescue the abducted Earth pilot made me anxious. If we didn’t launch the rescue missions soon, Ariana would steal a ship and go get her sister on her own.

I might not have any siblings, but now that the women at the academy were like family to me, I couldn’t imagine letting them languish in an enemy prison. No, we needed to find Sasha and save her from the cruel Kronock.

“I’d better get to class.” Jess cast a glance toward the School of Strategy. “Fiona might be our friend, but she’s a hard-ass about being late.”

I released a reluctant breath. “I don’t know who’s teaching my first class.”

“Tell me all about it at lunch.” Jess gave me a wave as she backed away.

I ducked under a Drexian's gesturing arm as I threaded my way through the crowd toward the School of Engineering, my heart lurching as I spotted Kann near the entrance to the School of Battle, no doubt on his way to teach his first class.

Dark stubble dusted his cheeks, and his dark, Drexian uniform was open slightly at the collar to reveal the flash of metal that I knew to be a silver Blade pendant. Everything about him oozed confidence and brawn, which was probably why the sight of him made my heart race. I dipped my head low and hoped he would not see me as I hurried to my class.

I’d just walked beneath the arch leading to engineering, when running footsteps behind me made me stiffen. Then, a deep voice calling my name made my heart drop.