Chapter 35
Chapter
Thirty-Five
Fiona
I released a whoosh of air as I spotted the women walking toward me. “I’ve been looking for you.”
Jess glanced at Morgan. “You have? Is this about the mission to find Sasha? Has something happened?”
I immediately regretted my breathless voice and urgent tone. “No, nothing like that, but I do need your help.”
Jess flicked her fingers through the dark hair that swept across her forehead. “You can count on us. Is this Assassin business?”
I swept my gaze to include Britta, an Iron, who stood by their side with her silvery-blonde hair pulled into a high ponytail. “No. It’s not even official academy business.”
Morgan lifted her eyebrows. “Even more intriguing. What’s up?”
I swiveled my head to make sure the corridor was empty, but it was just as deserted as the rest of the school. Not only were there not the throngs of cadets that would normally fill the halls, but the few of us who were left were probably at the welcome banquet.
Before I could speak, Jess narrowed her eyes at me. “Is this about the envoy from Earth who arrived earlier?”
I nodded, trying to think how to word this so I didn’t undermine my authority with the women. After all, they were still cadets, and I was their instructor. In the case of Jess and Morgan, I was an instructor in their school. “The envoy sent by Earth is someone I know. We were stationed together right before I left to join the academy.”
“Small world,” Britta said.
Too small, I thought.
“So, you know him?” Jess asked.
“I do know him.”
“How well?” Morgan asked with a smile twitching the edges of her mouth.
Leave it to an Assassin to read between the lines. Of course, these women would pick up on the real issue. “Let’s just say we were very close right before I left, and I might not have given him closure.”
Britta’s eyes widened. “You ghosted him? ”
I shifted from one foot to the other, starting to regret sharing this with anyone. “I don’t think it can be called ghosting if I’m on the other side of the galaxy. I left and he stayed. There was never going to be anything more.”
Jess cocked her head at me. “Did he know that?”
“Maybe not.” I let out a half sigh, half groan. “I feel awful about it, but I never thought I’d see him again. No time soon, at least.”
“And you never imagined that he would be the one sent to evaluate the human integration into the academy,” Morgan said, her hint of a smile fading.
“Not even a little bit.” I gave them a tentative smile. “This is where you all come in.”
Jess linked her arm through mine and started walking me in the direction of the banquet hall. “So, what’s the plan?”
I hadn’t come up with a specific plan, but the cadet was right. We needed a plan. “I’m afraid that the captain might have come here hoping to start things up again.”
Morgan hooked her arm through mine on the other side as we walked four astride. “And you do not want that?”
I thought about Devon and our night together. It had been fun—hot, even—but I was sure that was because I’d been leaving the next day. The fact that he was my colleague, and I wouldn’t be seeing him again, had combined to make a potent cocktail of forbidden and last-chance love. It had been great, but I did not want to go back for seconds. “Not even a little bit.”
Britta leaned forward to catch my eye. “Has he told you he wants to start things up again? ”
“Not in so many words,” I admitted. “But I get the feeling that he does and he’s waiting for a moment to get me alone.”
“Then our job is to make sure he never gets you alone,” Jess said, squeezing my arm closer to hers. “We run interference.”
Morgan snapped her fingers with her free hand. “With the three of us, we can keep the guy distracted while he’s here.”
My throat tightened. “You would do that for me? Are you sure?”
“Of course, we’re sure,” Jess said. “It’s not like it will be hard with three of us. We’ll take turns. Right, girls?”
Britta and Morgan nodded and grinned.
“There’s one more thing,” I said, hesitant to add more to their plates. “Vyk has it out for the captain.”
Morgan shuddered. “The security chief has it out for everyone, doesn’t he?”
“He’s not so bad,” Britta said. “He’s an Iron, so he pops into our school every so often. He’s not as scary as I used to think.”
Jess made a face. “He might have saved me in the dungeons, but I would not want him on my bad side. So, we need to distract the captain so he can’t get you alone and we need to keep Vyk from getting him alone?”
Britta shook her head so hard her ponytail swung around her face. “Commander Vyk would never hurt a visiting envoy from Earth.”
I thought about the bruise on Devon’s face. “All I’m saying is to watch out for Vyk. I don’t trust him around Devon. ”
All the women eyed me curiously as I used the envoy’s first name, and my cheeks warmed under their scrutiny.
“Keep the visiting captain distracted and keep Vyk from killing him.” Morgan twitched one shoulder. “That should be simple enough.”
“You don’t need to worry about Vyk.”
We all looked up as Ariana rounded the corner in front of us.
“I was looking for you,” I said, noticing that my friend had changed from her oil-stained uniform to a clean one.
She jerked a thumb behind her. “I went to the banquet but saw that you all were missing. I came to tell you to hurry up.”
“We were just getting marching orders from Fiona,” Jess said. “To run interference so the Earth envoy can’t get her alone.”
Ariana grinned at me. “Sounds like a plan. I’m in.”
“Why were you saying that we don’t have to worry about Vyk going after Devon?” I asked.
Ariana pivoted on one foot and joined us in walking toward the banquet hall. “Because I just saw the two of them in the banquet. Vyk seemed to be having a great time talking to the guy. He was even laughing.”
I almost tripped at this. “Vyk was laughing?”
Morgan let out a low whistle. “I don’t know if I’ve seen the Drexian smile, much less laugh.”
Only earlier in the day, the commander had told me that he didn’t trust Devon. Plus, he was the reason Devon sported a bruise on his cheek. How had Vyk gone from glowering at the man to laughing with him ?
“I guess that’s good, right?” Britta asked. “One less thing to worry about?”
I nodded, but I was far from sure I agreed. A stubborn Drexian like Vyk would not change his tune so quickly. The commander was up to something, and I had a bad feeling that it was going to bite me in the ass.