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She gave me a knowing look. “Is it the battle of the schools that’s making you nervous? You know, it’s not supposed to be as deadly as the trials.”
“I’d hope not, since we were all supposed to die in those.”
“Good point.” She snagged a strip of fried padwump from my plate. “So, is that it?”
I removed my cheek from my palm. I wished I could tell my closest friend at the academy why I was so sleepy, but telling her one part of the story would unravel so many secrets that I feared my entire life would collapse. If I told her that I was sleeping with Torq, she’d want to know how that happened, which would mean telling her about the tutoring, which would result in having to reveal that he’d blackmailed me. No decent friend would give that two thumbs up.
“I think it’s all of it,” I said. “The battle, the classes in Strategy, the research to find Sasha. All of it’s important, and I don’t think I’m doing a great job of balancing things.”
“The elusive work-life balance.” Morgan said the words slowly, as if she were a sage sitting on a mountaintop. “Does anyone have that?”
“Does anyone have what?” Britta asked as she sat down next to Morgan, her silvery-blonde hair hanging in a long braid down her back.
“Work-life balance,” Morgan said after she swallowed. “Jess is a bit overwhelmed by everything we’re juggling.”
“I get that.” Britta grabbed the end of her braid and brushed her fingers over the tip absently as she talked. “Classes in Engineering have been intense, but I’m not also trying to search the entire galaxy for a missing pilot. How’s that going?”
“Impossible,” I muttered while Morgan said, “Great!”
Britta looked between us and quirked one brow. “I know you don’t need an engineer for this, but I’m happy to help out, if I can.”
I ran a hand through my hair as I sat back. “I don’t know if tracking Kann down to the giant circuit in Battle requires an Assassin, so don’t sell yourself short.”
“Giant circuit?”
“It’s wild.” Morgan put a hand on Britta’s arm. “Kind of like one of those ninja-warrior obstacle courses but less cheery.”
Britt’s eyes were wide. “I had no idea. It seems like Battle has all the cool play areas.”
“If you call that playing.” The circuit had looked impossible to me, but maybe Britta was more of a thrill-seeker than I knew.
“I don’t mind a physical challenge or two. I used to date a rock climber, so our dates were usually at a climbing gym.”
“Then you should check out the Blades’ climbing wall.” I grinned at her. “Maybe you should have been a Blade.”
“I like gadgets too much, but I wouldn’t mind spending some time in Battle. The Drexians over there are pretty hot.”
Morgan made a noise in the back of her throat that told us she agreed. “Don’t you have to be hot to join a school devoted to kicking ass?”
Britta laughed. “Didn’t the cadet who went through the maze with us end up in Blades? I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t notice how ripped he was when he took off his shirt. Not to mention that academy tattoo on his shoulder.”
I joined my friends in agreeing that Torq was hot, but an uncomfortable twinge of jealousy made me wish that my friends hadn’t seen him shirtless.
Which is ridiculous, since you aren’t even his girlfriend, I told myself. We weren’t dating, we weren’t a couple, we weren’t anything to each other. Except he was something to me, which I knew was going to be a big fucking problem.
“He’s not the only Blade worth ogling.” Britta leaned forward and lowered her voice. “I wouldn’t mind take a big bite out of—”
“More padwump?” Zalina walked up with a plate filled with the crispy strips. “I snagged some before the cadets from Battle arrived.”
As soon as she mentioned it, I realized that she was right. There were no Blades in the cadet dining hall, and they were usually taking up at least one long table and making lots of noise. My pulse fluttered with unease.
Britta took a strip then swung her head to take in the entire long hall. “Where are they?”
“You didn’t hear?” Zalina’s expression turned somber. “ One of the cadets from the School of Battle died last night.”
Morgan and Britta gaped at her, while cold chills washed over my entire body and sent a shudder through me.
“They were scaling some tower that’s supposed to be cursed, and one of them fell.”
