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“I believe stealth is the objective.”
Vyk grunted, as if he did not prefer that method. “If the enemy has human prisoners, they will not make them easy to rescue.”
“There is always room on our team for an Inferno Force Commander who has experience battling the Kronock and infiltrating their space.” Noora’s voice was like silk, and I was reminded of a spider silently and expertly weaving a web.
Vyk rocked back on his heels as he considered her words. “You have no one else working on the plan who has been inside Kronock territory?”
“Not yet.” Noora smiled at him.
Vyk gave her a curt nod. “I will speak to your…I will speak to the admiral about lending my knowledge to the mission.” He cut his gaze to me. “I trust you will return to your tower?”
I bobbed my head without speaking, almost afraid to break the spell that Noora had cast over him. He gave us both a sharp, small bow and strode away from us and up the wide staircase that led to the Academy Master’s office.
When his footsteps had faded, I allowed myself a regular breath. “Thanks for saving my ass.”
Noora grinned at me, a wide smile that looked nothing like the ones she’d used to lure Vyk into her cleverly laid trap. “You’re welcome. I won’t ask what you’re really doing out here, but I’d be careful about repeating it. Our security chief has a habit of roaming the corridors at night. Zoran says it’s because he’s tormented by his guilt at being even a small part of the maze sabotage, but I think he likes to catch cadets breaking rules.”
“Were you serious about him helping with the rescue?” I hadn’t known she knew of it, much less that she could recruit additional participants.
“I might not be the Drexian’s biggest fan, but even I can’t deny that he has a great deal of experience with the enemy. His experience would be an asset. It would also ensure that he was working with us and not against us.”
“Keep your friends close and your enemies closer?”
“Something like that, although I hope he is no longer an enemy of the academy. We have enough challenges from without to worry about those from within.”
Before I could ask her to elaborate, she spun on one heel and started to walk away with the hem of her dress fluttering behind her. “Have a good night, Jess.”
I had no choice but to resume my swift journey back to my tower, but my mind raced with questions about threats to the academy and how much I trusted Vyk. I didn’t think about Torq again until I was slipping under my sheets. Then I remembered that he was scaling the side of a tower with a bunch of Blades, and fresh worry kept sleep at bay until I was certain he was back in his own bed. I refused to think of the alternative.
Chapter
Thirty-Eight
Torq
Ipeered at the looming tower that appeared even more treacherous and unstable in the veiled moonlight. The forbidden tower had been sealed shut so long ago I knew of no one who’d actually seen it when it wasn’t unstable and foreboding. I would have dismissed the rumors that it was cursed as foolish, but I could not explain why it had been abandoned yet not destroyed or repaired. The parts of the academy that had been damaged in the Kronock attack had been restored, but the forbidden tower remained untouched and unwelcoming.
“Up to the top window and back down?”
Kort pulled his gaze from the black stone and the crumbling window ledge at the top. “Unless you wish to go inside and be stuck there.”
I grunted my thoughts about that idea, as one of our Blade brothers tied a grappling hook to the end of a length of rope. We all backed up, our feet wobbling on the rocky ground surrounding the tower. Even less pleasant than being trapped in a cursed tower? Falling to the rocks below.
Do not fall, I told myself.
The prospect of falling to certain death made it difficult to think about anything else and impossible to dwell on leaving Jess in my room. I couldn’t worry too much about being interrupted just as I’d been about to pull down her pants with the prospect of another, more deadly, fall occupying my mind.
You are a Blade. Blades are brave and strong and rush in where others would not dare.
That didn’t mean I wanted to die, especially when I wasn’t in battle. Perishing while completing a secret cadet rite of passage was not how I intended to go out. Not that I thought much about death.
The Blade who’d attached the hook heaved it up and into the window, latching it onto the sill on his first attempt. Only when he tugged and some loose stone fell did it occur to me that the window might not hold us.
This wasn’t the first time I’d had second thoughts about being a Blade, but I did wonder if the Wings bothered to do this. I’d always been told that it was a point of cadet honor to complete all four challenges, but the tower had not been as decrepit when my own father or brother had attended the academy. Since my brother hadn’t finished the academy, had he even attempted one of the four?
“You weren’t going to start without me, were you?”
I didn’t have to turn to see that it was Dom who’d joined us. I shot a glance at Kort, who avoided my eyes. What was the Drexian who’d already pushed me off a wall once doing here? Hadn’t he shown that he couldn’t be trusted? Hadn’t he proven to be dangerous to fellow Blades?
