Page 71 of Legend

“Because guys are great at taking hints,” Britta muttered.

I knew she had a point, but I was hoping being knocked out cold had been the hint Devon needed to back off. As I considered telling my friends what had happened, Torq rushed into the room.

Jess instantly perked up, her eyes flaring wide as he came up behind her and gave her a kiss that was anything but shy. The Drexian had no problem displaying his affection in front of us, which made me like the guy even more.

“I thought you were on envoy duty,” Jess said a bit breathlessly.

Torq pinned me with a sharp gaze. “I just came from dropping him off at the surgery.”

The rest of the woman gaped at him. “What? Did he have another accident?”

Torq shook his head brusquely. “He says he was attacked, but he didn’t see his attacker. He also claims that Fiona was with him when it happened.”

All eyes swung toward me, and no one spoke for a few beats.

“I was with him,” I finally admitted, my mind racing with the new information that Devon hadn’t seen that it was Torq who’d hit him. That or he didn’t remember. He had hit the floor pretty forcefully.

“Did you see who attacked him?” Torq asked.

I drew in a deep breath. “It was me. I’m the one who hit him.”

Ariana sucked in a breath, and the other women looked at me as if I’d just sprouted horns.

Torq narrowed his gaze at me. “You hit him so hard that he was knocked unconscious?”

The Drexian did not believe me, but I didn’t care. I couldn’t let Vyk take the fall for defending me. He already had enough strikes on his record. He did not need another black mark on his reputation when he’d only been protecting me.

“Why?” Ariana asked in a soft voice. She knew my history with Devon, but she also knew how important it was to me that he turn in a positive report. Hitting him would be ensuring the opposite.

I decided to tell a partial truth. “He got aggressive. He wouldn’t let me go. I had no choice but to get physical.”

Ariana’s expression became steely. “I wish I had been there to help you.”

“Same,” Britta said, her eyes hard and menacing. “Maybe then he wouldn’t have gotten back up.”

“It wasn’t all that.” I tried to laugh it off, even though I knew if I removed my long-sleeved shirt, they would see the finger marks on my arm. “I took care of it.”

Torq held my gaze for another few seconds before standing. “I should go. I asked them to keep him sedated until they healed the bruises, but I should brief the Academy Master.”

I stood as well. “I should go check on the captain.”

“Not alone.” Ariana popped up and the rest of my friends followed suit. “We’ll go with you.”

My throat constricted but I shook my head. “I’ll be fine, especially if he’s sedated.” They grumbled but I insisted. “I promise.”

I headed for the door before Torq had finished kissing Jess goodbye, and I broke into a run as soon as I was in the corridor. But I had no intention of going to see Devon.

I needed to find Vyk.

Chapter

Fifty-Five

Vyk

My fingers shook as I gripped the tiny hold and swung my foot high to reach the next protrusion from the climbing wall. Sweat trickled down my bare back and chest as I heaved myself up higher and dragged in a breath. I balanced on one foot as I scanned above me for the next combination.

Since the holds on the walls were changed frequently, there was little chance of memorizing the best routes, as it was different with almost every climb. But that’s what I wanted. I wanted to have to focus so hard on the climb that my brain could dwell on nothing else. The last thing I needed was my mind whirling with thoughts of the night before.

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