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“I have not been paying much attention to tribute bride gossip,” Volten said. “And I have never been to the Boat or the Island.”
“Neither have I.” I couldn’t believe both Drexians had missed a story so big. “But my family talked about nothing but the rescue that Kax from House Baraat pulled off.”
Volten’s expression darkened. “Maybe they were interested because he was a High Commander and from one of the elite houses.”
Was that it? My father had been friends with Kax’s father before he had died, so maybe we had been more aware of the actions of his High Commander son than most Drexians. “That is not the point. The reason I brought it up is because a rescue of a human from the Kronock has been done before. Why don’t we talk to the Drexian who pulled it off?”
“I think I remember this.” Kann snapped his fingers. “But I think Kax left the High Command after the rescue, and after he took the woman he had rescued as his mate. He went back to intelligence work.”
“Which means he will be hard to find,” Volten added.
“I can find him,” I said, before considering my words. It was not that I could find him as much as I knew Drexians who could find him. My father could find him.
Then it struck me that my father still didn’t know that I was a Blade and not a Wing. He still did not know that I had failed to do what I had been raised to do. Once he knew that his last son had not carried on the clan tradition of joining Flight, how would he react? There was a good chance he would not be inclined to help me find a missing human.
Kann blinked at me a few times. “You can connect us with Kax?”
I squared my shoulders, summoned the confidence that had always helped me mask the doubts that swirled beneath the surface. “Absolutely.”
Chapter
Nine
Jess
Istood in the back of the darkened lecture hall, waiting for a beat at the top of the stairs to let my eyes adjust. “Are we late?”
Morgan was next to me as we peered at the completely circular classroom, with rows of seats ringing a space below that held a single, clear lectern. “Not according to my schedule or all the empty seats.”
“Maybe we’re in the wrong room?” I’d had my introduction to military strategy in the Assassins building during the last term, but I hadn’t spent much time exploring the school. However, I was relatively confident that this was the Oculus Room.
Unless I was wrong, in which case we’d be late for our first official day of classes as Assassins. Not a good look.
“You’re in the correct room.”
I jumped a bit as Admiral Zoran swept past us and down the stairs toward the center of the room. I only saw him at the weekly academy dinners, but it was impossible to miss the silver in his temples and the general air of authority he wore like a cloak.
He paused when he was halfway down the stairs and glanced back at us. “Will you be joining me?”
Morgan and I both snapped into motion and started to follow him down the stairs, but my mind was racing.
“Is he our teacher?” Morgan whispered, as the admiral lengthened the distance between us with his long strides.
I shrugged. “Maybe he taught strategy before he became the Academy Master.”
“If not, he’s the hottest sub I’ve ever had.”
I shot Morgan a look as we slipped into an empty row of chairs near the front—but not so close that we’d feel like we were on top of the instructor, especially if it was the admiral. More cadets were trickling in behind us, loud chatter dropping to whispers as everyone spotted Zoran standing at the lectern with arms long and his hands grasping both sides.
I pulled my tablet from my bag, and when I looked up, the admiral’s assistant was standing off to one side. I nudged Morgan. “When did he get here?”
“Two seconds ago. The guy is stealthy—and hot. I wonder if he was an Assassin, too.”
I knew almost nothing about Zoran’s ever-present assistant, aside from his name, Tivek, and that he had left the academy before he graduated and been taken underwing by the admiral. But I wasn’t about to tell this to Morgan when the guy was within earshot. I also didn’t know any more than that, and Morgan would want to know more. The girl was a stickler for details.
I cut my gaze to her and noticed her tracking Tivek. Did she have a thing for the admiral’s assistant?
Zoran cleared his throat and the hush of conversation vanished in an instant. “Welcome to your first day as an Assassin. I’ve used my considerable pull as Academy Master to serve as your guest lecturer today.”
