Page 20 of Legend

I ignored this. “Did you come to hear about the game? Or did you come because you already heard?”

Tivek joined me at the lectern, his expression revealing nothing. “I only heard that the security chief played well.”

I barked out a bitter laugh. “That’s an understatement. Vyk clearly knows his way around a card game.”

Tivek nodded. “He has a reputation for being good.”

Another wild understatement. “You could have told me, you know.”

Tivek held my gaze, his eyes penetrating as he seemed to study me. “I have never played against the Drexian. I have heard rumors though. Rumors that he took many credits from his Inferno Force crew mates.”

I wished credits were the only thing I’d wagered. “You should have told me that I couldn’t win.”

The admiral’s adjunct cocked his head at me. “Would you have believed me?”

Touché. The Drexian had a point. I had been fully confident in my own strategic skills and talent at cards. I never would have taken anyone’s opinion that I could be defeated. If I believed everyone who’d doubted me as a woman in the military, I would never have gotten where I was now. I’d had to assume the hubris of my male counterparts to even the playing field, which meant that I charged in boldly, even if I shouldn’t. Not that I regretted this. It had worked most of the time. Until Vyk had literally called my bluff.

I managed to give Tivek a weak smile. “Probably not. Thank you for coaching me. I was able to hold my own against the rest of the players.”

He inclined his head to me in an abbreviated bow. “You are very welcome.”

“You’re sure you didn’t get in trouble for taking us into your boss’s secret lair?” I was still reeling from the knowledge that the Academy Master had a luxurious study hidden behind the wall of his stark office. But I’d learned not to be startled by any secrets held by the ancient school.

The tall Drexian clasped his hands behind his back. “No. Admiral Zoran fully approved of me helping you. It was his idea.”

This made me remember something about Zoran. “The admiral was also Inferno Force. Is he how you heard rumors about Commander Vyk’s card prowess?”

“Zoran did not have personal experience playing Vyk, but he has his pulse on much of what happens in the Drexian Empire, and especially in Inferno Force.”

The stern Academy Master continued to surprise, and his loyal and enigmatic adjunct was part of the mystery surrounding him. “Did you serve under Zoran when he was part of Inferno Force?”

Tivek’s expression quickly shuttered. “I did not.”

Before I could ask about the details surrounding him becoming the Admiral’s closest associate and confidante, he cleared his throat. “There is another reason I sought you outtoday.”

My curiosity about him and Zoran was pushed aside as he dangled a new mystery in front of me. It wasn’t the most skillful change of subject, but I was too interested in what he wanted to tell me to question him further.

“Earth Planetary Defense wishes to send an emissary to assess the success of integration of humans in the Drexian Academy.”

“They couldn’t ask for reports from the officers stationed here?” I’d thought that was part of our job. We were embedded in the school and would be the boots of the ground who could report back about its success or failure.

Tivek moved his head from side to side. “After the trials, there has been discussion that outside eyes are required.”

This made my back stiffen. Earth military didn’t trust us. Even though we’d worked tirelessly and often behind the scenes to keep our human cadets safe and the program moving forward, they were second-guessing us. I wondered if this had anything to do with the fact that the highest ranking human officers at the Drexian Academy were women. Would they be sending outside assessors if I was a man?

“The Admiral is okay with this?”

Tivek released a breath as the first few cadets started to enter the back of the classroom. “He does not have much choice. He was notified of the Earth officer’s arrival in a few days’ time.”

It didn’t miss me that Tivek had emphasized the wordnotified. It sounded like the Admiral was not pleased with this intrusion, but also that he had little say in the matter. Not if he wished to keep the tenuous alliance with Earth after the disastrous first term. I was all-too-familiar with politics in the military, but even though I was an Assassin, navigating the politicsof the Earth Planetary Defense was my least favorite part of serving.

“Did they say who they’re sending?” I asked as Tivek started turn away.

He paused and glanced back at me, pursing his lips and twisting them to one side as if concentrating. “His name is Gorman, I believe.”

My mouth went dry, and I was unable to ask for a first name. But I didn’t need it. I knew exactly who they were sending. Devon Gorman was exactly who’d I’d send if I was in charge. He was tough, smart, and ruthless. He also happened to be the officer I’d ended up in bed with right before I’d left for the Academy. I’d actually snuck from his bed and barely made it to my flight without a single parting word. And now he was coming to the Academy.

Suddenly, Vyk was not my biggest problem.

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