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“I don’t think—”
“We all know what you think of humans,” Kort cut me off. “You made it pretty clear last term. Unless that changed?”
Did I tell him that my opinion had completely changed? Did I tell him I now believed the opposite? Did I tell him that I thought human females were fascinating, one especially?
Not unless I wanted my friend to be suspicious. Not unless I was prepared for him to discover the truth. I might not be ashamed of Jess, but I’d promised her that no one would know. Promises had not been something I’d valued before, but I was determined to keep my promise to her.
What I didn’t want to admit to myself—what I couldn’t admit—was that I had to keep the promise for myself, as well. Jess was a secret that my family could never discover. Not unless I was ready to lose everything.
“I do not despise the humans,” I told Kort, “but I will leave enjoying them to you, brother.”
Kort grinned at me with his cheeks bulging with bread, and I tried not to think about what might happen if I had to see Jess in public with someone who paid better attention than my Battle brother.
Chapter
Thirty-Two
Jess
Morgan and I jogged to catch up to Ariana and Fiona, who’d practically sprinted across the main hall and disappeared under the arched entrance to the School of Battle. Reina brought up the rear with her boots clip-clopping on the stone floors. I was so sidetracked by where we were going and why that I barely heard Morgan as she whispered to me.
“Am I the only one who thought that was weird?”
The lights inside the Blades’ domain were low since classes were finished for the day, and the corridor that connected the school to the main hallway was empty and echoed our footsteps back to us.
I glanced at her as we caught up to the two instructors. “What was weird?”
Morgan’s eyes became narrow. “You really didn’t see it?”
I knew exactly what she meant, but the only thing I could think to do was to play dumb and hope she believed me. Considering we were both Assassins, I put the odds very low. “The two Blades? Of course, I saw them. I also saw that they were pilfering food from the kitchens. Is that what you mean?”
She rolled her eyes as we reached the end of the connecting corridor and entered the main building that housed the Blades classrooms, the holo-chambers, the climbing wall, and multiple sparring gyms. Unlike the School of Strategy, which was mostly classrooms and archives, the School of Battle consisted of mostly gyms and training facilities. I suspected that the couple of lecture halls in the school got little use.
“I mean, Torq staring at you.” Her voice was low but sharp. “You really didn’t notice?”
There were a few ways I could play this. One was to admit everything. Not my first option because then I’d have to explain the whole sordid story. A second option was to deny everything and hope she bought it. But a third option was to admit part of the truth in hopes that it might throw her off the scent.
“Okay.” I stopped and pivoted to face her. “I noticed, but I tried to ignore him because he’s been weird around me since the trials.”
Morgan face pinched. “Weird how? Do I need to kick his ass?”
I put a hand on her arm. “Thanks, but no. I think he might have a crush on me, but I’m managing to ignore him.”
“You’re telling me that the cockiest cadet in our class is letting you ignore him?”
I forced myself to stay calm and not launch into how much Torq had changed. “I don’t think he’s so cocky anymore. He did almost die in the maze with us.”
“True.” Morgan nodded. “He wasn’t bad in the maze. I guess I shouldn’t judge him by what a colossal ass he was all term before that.”
I laughed at her honesty and because it was true. Torq had been a jerk and a bully before he’d had to work with us in the trials and before he’d learned that he had been sacrificed right along with us by the Drexians on the High Command. A part of me wondered how much he’d really changed, and how much I was hoping he’d changed. He was sweet to me now, but was that because I was giving him what he wanted? Would he be so nice if I’d refused to tutor him? Would I be determined to see the best in him if I hadn’t decided to lose my virginity to him?
“Are we talking about the handsome Drexian cadets?” Reina asked as she reached us panting.
“I think one of them has a thing for Jess.”
I didn’t have a chance to protest before Reina was bobbing her head vigorously. “He does, but then, who wouldn’t?”
I smiled at the Vexling, who was beaming at me with genuine affection. “Thanks, but he’s a Drexian cadet. He probably has a thing for all the women here.”
