Page 76 of Legend

Volten slid his gaze from Kann to me. “Did you know that the human envoy is leaving?”

My breath caught in my chest. “I did not.” I thought of putting him in the surgery and a chill went through me. Was he leaving because of me? If so, there was no one to blame for the fallout but me, no matter what Fiona might think. I had acted rashly, and now the human exchange program would have to pay for my violence. “Do you know why?”

Volten shook his head. “The only reason I know anything is because I found the pilot prepping the transport in my shipyard. He was summoned to return early, and it was done directly by Gorman.”

“I thought he was here to make an assessment of how the humans are faring at the Academy.” Kann sounded confused. “Has he already done that? It has only been a couple of days.”

“He planned to stay longer, but he told his pilot that he hoped to achieve his results sooner.” Volten scraped a hand throughhis hair. “My instincts tell me that true purpose of his visit here might not have been what he claimed.”

I suspected the flight instructor was right. Gorman had come here for Fiona. That had been obvious when he’d grabbed her and refused to release her, but I could not say that without also revealing that I had knocked the man unconscious for the crime of touching Fiona. I had promised Fiona I would not tell, although keeping that secret might not be possible for much longer. Not if everything so many had done for the success of the human-Drexian exchange was at risk.

“Where is he now?” Kann asked.

I slipped on my shirt, not caring that I was still damp with sweat. “He is with the surgeon.”

Volten and Kann both swung their heads to me, obviously startled by my answer and that I had knowledge they did not.

“At the moment, it does not matter why he is there,” I said, although the moment when it did matter was barreling toward us.

Volten blew out a breath. “Okay, but we need to talk to him. We need to know why he decided to leave early and what this means for the future of humans at the academy.”

I started forward, practically jogging up the broad stairs that curled up to the second level. The two instructors kept pace with me, and we strode in silence up the stairs, past the cadet dining hall, and down a side corridor to the surgery.

My pulse jangled at the thought of confronting the captain again, although he did not remember that it had been me to knock him out. I did not like the idea of hiding the truth. Iwanted him to know it was me. I wanted him to know that he had deserved it. I wanted him to know that he had lost.

The door was open, and I was the first through it, sweeping my gaze across the spartan interior of the school’s medical bay. Instead of spotting the human stretched out on one of the beds, the long room was empty. Only a tall, bearded Drexian stood at the far end peering at a tablet.

“The human,” I barked. “Where is he?”

The surgeon lifted his head, studied me for a beat, then looked back down. “Gone.”

Volten sucked in a breath. “Gone?”

“Discharged,” the surgeon corrected himself without glancing up. “He came out of the sedation and was very eager to get back to work.”

Work. I almost laughed out loud. I had a very strong suspicion that work was not foremost on the human’s mind. But I was almost certain about what did consume him, and I needed to find her—fast.

Chapter

Fifty-Nine

Fiona

My hair was still damp from the shower, but I hadn’t bothered to dry it completely. I was already getting a late start to the day, not that I wanted to dwell on exactly why it was approaching midday, and I was only now heading to my office.

My pulse fluttered as I hurried through the dimly lit halls, and for once, I missed the cacophony of cadets that usually filled the school. It was easy to get lost in the crowd of burly Drexians, with their booming voices and thunderous stomping of boots. It was easy to pass unnoticed through the sea of dark uniforms, even if my blonde hair made me an anomaly among the dark-haired Drexians. It was still easy to be anonymous when the ancient school was brimming with activity.

Now that the cadets were on break, not so much.

That was why I power-walked from the female tower, taking steps two at a time even though my legs weren’t nearly long enough. I needed to get back to work and regain some of the focus I’d lost since Devon had arrived.

Not that the captain was completely to blame. He hadn’t been the one fucking me against the climbing wall. My cheeks warmed at the memory and flamed more furiously as I realized just how lucky we’d been not to get caught. My heart tripped at the very real truth that the possibility of getting caught had been part of what had made it so hot.

“You’re acting like a Wing,” I scolded myself as I strode under the School of Strategy’s archway. “An Assassin should know better than to take a risk like that.”

But that had been the thrill of it. It was something I knew I shouldn’t do, something I would never normally do, something that was a huge gamble. And I hated to gamble when the odds were against me.

I flashed back to the card game with Vyk. “Clearly, the commander makes me break all my usual rules.”

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