Page 70 of Legend

Then I needed to find out from her who had attacked the captain and why. There was more to this story than the lies thehuman had spun for me—and I was going to find out what they were and what he was hiding.

Chapter

Fifty-Four

Fiona

“Idon’t know when I’ve seen you eat so much.” Ariana sat across from me, eyeing me as I ate my fourth strip of fried padwump.

I paused with the crispy strip of salty meat inches away from my mouth. “What can I say? Vyk wore me out.”

Ariana grinned at me. “I could not be happier for you.”

“Why? Because I had a wild night with a Drexian who’s driven me crazy since I got here? It’s not like this could ever be something real.”

I didn’t have to worry about anyone overhearing us because we were the only people in the staff dining room. Since classes weren’t in session, instructors kept erratic hours, and the long tables were almost never full.

I had been a bit dismayed when we’d walked in, but did I truly expect that Vyk would be there? He was probably still sleeping it off, since he’d left my quarters in the middle of the night. Even so, a part of me wanted to see him again and wanted to get our first public encounter out of the way.

Ariana leaned forward and braced her arms on the table. “Why not? Some of the best couples start out hating each other or at least annoying the living fuck out of each other. Take me and Volten. We started out with him insulting me. Torq was a cocky asshat to Jess before he fell for her. Even Admiral Zoran had a bumpy start with Noora and look at them now.” She tilted her head and scrunched her lips to one side. “Come to think of it, not a lot of Drexian-human couples start out liking each other.”

I bit off the end of my padwump and swallowed it. “I don’t know what that says about us or them, but none of that means that Vyk or I want more than a fun fling.”

“But he’s your type. You said it yourself the very first day we were here.”

I groaned. “You and your excellent memory can be really annoying sometimes, you know that?”

Before Ariana could answer, chattering in the doorway caught our attention. Britt, Jess, and Morgan walked in, and it seemed like they were all talking at the same time.

Ariana waved at them. “Over here!”

The women joined us, sliding into seats on the benches. I slid my overflowing plate ofpadwumpto the center, so they could help me work through the overly ambitious stack of crispy strips.

Britta swept her gaze around our group, then it landed on me. “I guess it’s okay that none of us are busy distracting Captain Gorman if you’re here.”

I thought back to Vyk knocking the man to the floor with a single punch and the captain lying on the black stone and groaning. “Maybe he’s sleeping in, but I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

Morgan nudged Britta in the side. “We walked him back to his quarters in the most roundabout way possible after the banquet, didn’t we?”

Britta nodded as she snatched a slice of padwump off the top of the heap. “We did manage to traverse three of the four schools and go through almost every tower.”

“It would be a miracle if he had any clue where his quarters are in reference to the rest of the academy.” Morgan flipped her blonde hair off her shoulder. “He might not be sleeping in. He might be walking in circles.”

Britta laughed as Jess shook her head. “Even if he finds his way through the academy, I put Torq on distraction duty.”

“Torq?” Ariana wrinkled her nose. “You gave your boyfriend a shift?”

“He volunteered,” Jess corrected. “He didn’t like seeing me pretend to flirt with the captain, so he agreed to help us keep the guy busy and away from you.”

Ariana let out a low whistle. “That Drexian must be crazy about you.”

Jess smiled shyly. “He is, actually.”

Morgan smiled brightly at her fellow cadet. “Why shouldn’t he be? Jess is brilliant and beautiful, and she has amazing taste in friends.”

Britta and Jess laughed and groaned while Ariana winked at me from across the table.

“Well, thank you,” I said. “I really appreciate you all helping me, but I hope that Devon got the hint that I’m not into him.”

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