Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
Kann
I knew exactly where he would be. I’d seen him working on the holochambers almost every morning before classes. The Taori was nothing if not predictable. Some might say reliable, but as I strode down the empty Battle corridor and rounded the corner, I grinned.
Zav was standing at an open console panel as he tapped away at the screen and twisted the wires. Predictable.
Also unsurprising was him stiffening and turning as I approached. I’d never been particularly quiet on approach, and I had no reason to sneak up on him. Not when he was exactly who I needed.
“Lieutenant.” He pivoted to face me, only a flicker of curiosity crossing his face. “Are you coming to check on my progress with your simulation?”
I wasn’t, but his mention of it piqued my interest. “Is that what you’re doing now?”
He cut his gaze to the closed door of the holochamber. “It is not ready to test but I have set the parameters that you gave me and tried to make it as realistic as possible.” He studied me for a beat. “You are sure you wish the simulation to be so historically accurate?”
I wasn’t sure, but I did know that I wanted to test out a few alternatives to the maze we’d been using to test cadets. “I’m open to input, but only after you take a break and join me for a morning climb.”
Zav narrowed his eyes. “A climb? I did not know the academy used the cliffs by the sea for recreation.”
“Not those.” I had tried climbing the cliffs that overlooked the Restless Sea before, and that was one cadet dare I was glad I would never again repeat. “The climbing wall here in the School of Battle.”
His probing gaze returned. “You wish to climb a wall with me…now?”
When he said it in that tone, it sounded ludicrous, but I did not let that deter me. “This is the best time. Classes haven’t started, cadets are roaming the halls, we’ll have the place to ourselves.”
He tipped his head to one side as if considering my reasoning. “I suppose those things are all true.”
“Come on.” I slapped the side of his arm, instantly impressed by the rock-hard muscle there. “I know how hard you’ve been working between the security improvements to evade the Sythian swarm and the tweaks to our holo programs. You deserve a break, and there’s no better way to burn off some steam than by scaling a wall. Besides, you’re an instructor now, so we should get to know each other better.”
The Taori turned to the panel, and for a moment I thought he was going to resume his work without another word, but he closed it and pivoted back to me. “I will follow you, Lieutenant.”
“Call me Kann.” I took long strides since he was just as tall as me and would have no problem keeping up. “Lieutenant is too formal, especially since we’re colleagues now.”
“Kann.” He repeated my name. “Then you should call me Zav.”
I had been calling him Zav, but it struck me that he might have had another title I’d been neglecting. “Do you have another name?”
His arms swung at his side as we walked, and his tail swished from side to side. “I am formally called Zaventi, Science Master of the Ten Thousand.”
“That’s a mouthful.”
He grunted. “Of course, I am only called that by my people.”
I stopped and pressed a palm to the side of a wide door. When it slid open, I waved him inside. I hadn’t spent too much time thinking about Zav being the only Taori who had remained, but he must feel even more out of place than the humans at the Academy. At least they had a few others like them, but he was the only one of his kind at our school. “Do you regret that you stayed behind while the rest of your crew continued on their journey?”
As he stepped inside, the room illuminated itself and his gaze went to the towering wall covered in climbing holds. “Regret is not something I wish to let dwell in my soul.”
I’d heard that the Taori were a poetic species given to dramatic statements—they did ink the record of their journey on their skin—and flowery language, but this was my first experience with it.
I nudged him in the ribs and grinned. “That sounds like something a Blade would say.”
He followed me to the wall where I slapped a hand to the hard surface. He tipped his head back to look to the top and then peeled his shirt over his head and tossed it to the floor. “I believe the Taori possess traits you assign to all your different schools.”
Glancing at the broad expanse of muscles that were etched with an incomprehensible pattern of numbers and symbols, the black ink covering almost every speck of exposed skin on his chest, I suspected he was right. He did not look like any science officer I’d seen, even the ones in Inferno Force. With his leather pants hanging low on his hips and a pendant hanging between his pecs, he looked like he would be an ideal candidate for Inferno Force, which made me want to best him even more.
As much as I wanted to convince myself that I had invited Zav to climb to get to know him better, the idea had started to consume my mind only after I’d taught Britta how to flirt with him. The idea of her trying to seduce the Taori had so consumed me that I hadn’t been able to sleep, and I’d finally leaped from bed determined to learn more about the enigmatic alien.
I did not want to be responsible for her trying to seduce someone unworthy of her attention. At least that was what I’d told myself with every step I’d taken to find Zav.
I stripped off my own shirt and kicked off my boots while the Taori pared down to nothing but his pants. Before I could wonder if he could move easily in leather, he had leaped into the air and landed on the wall.
Grekking hell. I scrambled to catch up, grabbing two high holds and pulling myself up. The Taori was fast and agile, and his snug, leather leg coverings did not seem to slow him down one bit. I focused on my own technique, remembering to climb with my legs and use strategy over brute strength, although it was hard to fight the urge to power up the wall to catch Zav.
Sweat trickled down my back as I chased him up the wall, but I welcomed the burn of my muscles. I’d let myself go soft over the term break since my usual workout partner had been distracted by his new mate. I didn’t begrudge Volt his happiness, but I did miss our sparring sessions and our races up the wall.
Glancing up, I spotted Zav only a few moves from the top. Gritting my teeth, I lunged for first one distant grip and then another, slapping the top of the wall only moments after he did.
Zav tossed his long hair back, his pale eyes flashing with triumph. “Again?”
Had he really beaten me on my own course? Had I underestimated the Taori so completely? I could not let my defeat go unanswered.
I gave him a single nod. “Again.”