Page 38 of Legend

“What do you mean?”

“When I saw the human, he was with the admiral’s adjunct and they were near Zoran’s office, so I assume…”

“Tivek?” How had he ended up with him when he’d left with Vyk? The back of my neck started to tingle, as if sensing that I wasn’t going to like the rest of what Reina had to say.

The Vexling nodded, but her gaze darted to the floor. “He was escorting the human, who looked like he had been through some kind of battle. Perhaps he came from a battle on Earth? He is a warrior, right?”

I thought about Devon and wondered the last time he’d been in an actual fight. “He did not come from a battle on Earth. When I saw him this morning, he looked fine. His uniform didn’t even look as rumpled as mine does.”

Reina glanced at the clothes I’d slept in and still hadn’t changed out of, and she shook her head. “Oh, no. His clothes were sweaty, and one side of his face was slightly bruised.”

“Bruised?” My embarrassment at thinking the worst about Vyk quickly morphed into fury. Had he attacked Devon? “How did he get bruised during a tour of the school?”

Reina giggled nervously. “I’m sure there’s a perfectly logical explanation, hon. He might have tripped or—”

“Or our security chief punched him,” I finished Reina’s sentence for her, the sharp words bursting from my lips.

Reina reared back. “Why would he do that?”

“Don’t ask me! Ask the maniac who tried to sabotage the maze and who’s had it in for humans since we stepped foot in this place. Why wouldn’t he do something to Devon? It’s totally on brand for a human-hating grump like Commander Vyk!”

Reina glanced around as if the Drexian might appear from the shadows. “I don’t think that’s true, hon. Sure, the Drexian made mistakes, but he’s changed since the trials.”

I pulled away from her. “Has he? Well, I guess I’m going to find out when I ask him what the hell he did to our guest.”

Then I stormed off, with Reina’s voice calling after me. I didn’t care what I’d wagered, Vyk was going to regret messing withthishuman.

Chapter

Thirty-One

Vyk

Istepped from the bathroom with water trickling down my back and dripping onto the stone floor. I’d wrapped a towel around my waist after rubbing it quickly over myself, but I was by no means dry. It didn’t matter. It would have to do. I needed to return to work or, in today’s case, start work.

Now that I was not with the human envoy, the reality of what I’d done gnawed at me. At the time, it had felt reasonable—necessary, even—to knock him down a few pegs and show him what it meant to be a cadet at the Drexian Academy. How could the man assess our school if he had no idea what the cadets, including the humans embedded with us, experienced.

I did not know if Admiral Zoran would agree with me. I could tell from the look on Tivek’s face that he had not beenimpressed when he’d found me putting the captain through his paces. Seeing the human bare-chested and bruised had not been what he’d expected.

“I will answer for that,” I said to myself, as I snatched a fresh uniform from the standing wardrobe and laid it out on the bed.

My gaze lingered on the bed that was still rumpled from Fiona’s abrupt departure earlier. I hadn’t slept after she’d left, although part of me had wanted to slip beneath the blanket and feel the warmth her body had left behind.

I scowled at myself, shaking my head in disgust. What was wrong with me? I had spent decades living on cold battleships with other Drexian warriors. I was used to being alone. I preferred it. So why was I preoccupied with the human female? If I had seen another Inferno Force warrior luring a female into his quarters and obsessing over her, I would have taken him to task. But I could hardly take myself to task when I had no idea why I could not purge myself of thoughts of her.

I clenched my teeth as determination pulsed through me. “I will conquer this.”

What I would rather do was conquer her, but I forced that thought to the back of my brain as I dropped my towel to the floor and stepped into my snug boxer briefs and then my dark uniform pants. A thumping on my door made me turn and stifle a groan.

I would be answering for my actions sooner than I expected. I had no doubt that Tivek had come to summon me to speak to the Academy Master, so I did not glance back. “Come. It is open.”

I picked up my shirt as the door slid open behindme.

“What the actual fuck did you do?”

The voice was piercing, sharp, and female. Not Tivek.

My entire body tensed as I turned, shirt still in hand. Fiona did not wait for me to invite her in or finish putting on my shirt. She didn’t even glance at me as she stormed into my room, her fists tight by her side and her face flushed.

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