Page 4 of Legend

Kann managed a lopsided grin. “The female instructors will be joining us, so it will not be what Volten’s mate calls a ‘sausage party.’”

I did not know what that meant, but it did not matter. He had said the females would be there. More than one, which meant not only Volten’s mate, Ariana. It meant Fiona. As much as I knew that I should stay far away from the woman who despised me, I could not help but subject myself to the sweettorment of being around her and feeling how deeply she disdained my presence. “I would be pleased to join your game.”

“You would?” Volten seemed surprised before his grin widened. “I mean, good. We look forward to seeing you.”

I did not care that Volten and Kann exchanged a bewildered look before I left them. I did not care that a card game was a trivial use of my time. I did not care that it would mean opening myself up to the judgment of staff members who had not forgiven so quickly. I only cared that I would get a chance to be around Fiona, and maybe I could show her that I was not as hard and unyielding as she believed.

Then I touched the scar on my cheek that was covered in silver scruff, a reminder that Drexians needed to be tough, that we had to be hard to survive. I thought about all I had done and all I had been forced to do to keep other Drexians and other planets safe. My stomach sank. “Which is why no human would ever want a monster like me—not then and not now.”

Chapter

Three

Fiona

The Stacks loomed around us, dusty and quiet, shelves upon shelves crammed with leather bound books that had been tucked away for centuries. The wooden table in front of me was covered with yellowed papers, unrolled parchments, and glowing tablets.

In the dim light from wrought-iron chandeliers that dangled from the vaulted ceiling, Ariana's face was etched with worry lines I'd come to know all too well since she’d learned that her sister was being held as a prisoner of the Kronock.

"Thanks for staying, Fi," Ariana’s voice echoed softly off the stone floors. "I couldn’t do this without you."

"Wouldn't dream of being anywhere else. We're goingto find her.”

Ariana nodded, but her top teeth worked the corner of her bottom lip. “You’re sure you wouldn’t have rather gone back to Earth between terms?”

I scoffed at this. “And miss the chance to walk around without hundreds of massive Drexians stomping around like they own the place?”

“They do own the place.” Ariana allowed herself a small smile.

I shrugged. “Point taken, but I still like the academy better when there’s less testosterone. Besides, even with jump technology, it takes a while to get all the way back to Earth.”

My friend grimaced. “And a lot of jumps.”

I didn’t hate jumping through space as much as Ariana did, which was unusual, since she was the daredevil pilot, and I was supposed to be the rational strategist. But I’d learned that my pilot friend did not like space travel she couldn’t control, or heights, which was another unusual fact about the woman.

“We aren’t the only ones who stayed,” I reminded her. “Only a few human cadets went home.”

“And not all the Drexian instructors left.” My hostile meeting with Commander Vyk was an all-too-potent reminder that he had remained.

Footsteps broke the quiet, and Jess strode into view, her brown hair in a high ponytail and her posture relaxed, a stark contrast to the tension knotting my shoulders. She flashed us an apologetic grin. “Sorry I’m late.” Then she swept her gaze around the table that was empty except for me and Ariana. “Am I late?”

“Not really. Since we’re between terms, it feels like everyone has switched to vacation time.”

Jess wrinkled her nose. “I don’t think I’ve ever been on vacation time, but you’re right that the school feels different now that there aren’t classes and schedules.”

The way she said it made me laugh. “I take it you’re not a fan?”

Her cheeks colored slightly. “I don’t mind having more free time, but the place feels almost eerie. I’m starting to believe the stories that it’s haunted.”

I knew that Jess had chosen to stay at the academy between terms not because she disliked jumping through space to return to Earth, but because her boyfriend Torq was staying. He was no longer welcome in his clan since he’d chosen a human, since he’d chosen Jess. I also got the feeling she didn’t have much to return to on Earth.

“Who says it’s haunted?” Ariana straightened and then glanced nervously around the ancient library that was shrouded in shadow.

“Every old building everywhere is said to be haunted.” I shook my head, dismissing the idea out of hand. “Maybe we should take the academy being deserted as an opportunity to stage a coup.”

Jess barked out a laugh. “If I was going to stage a coup, I would want to take over a place that needed considerably fewer repairs and less cleaning.”

The old, alien school had endured an attack by the Kronock before we’d arrived, and although most of the damage had been repaired, there was no denying that the place was worn and weathered from hundreds of years of cadets passing through its stone halls.

---